BROADCASTING BEGINS FOR KRMA-TV 1956
By Laura Sampson, Founder, Station’s Archived Memories (SAM)
KRMA-TV, Channel 6 in Denver, first went on the air on January 30, 1956 as the instructional TV station licensed to Denver Public Schools. It broadcast for only two hours that first day from a studio in the Emily Griffith Opportunity School in downtown Denver. The equipment was secondhand, the sets were primitive, and the television industry was still in its infancy.
Planning for the new educational station began a few years earlier. Records show that as early as 1950, the Denver Public Schools, Denver Public Library, the University of Denver, The Rocky Mountain Radio Council of Denver and the Adult Education Council met to discuss educational television, even announcing that a frequency might someday be reserved for educational purposes for Denver.
In December 1952 the first public meeting was held. This followed the FCC’s action early in 1952 to set aside 242 channels in the VHF and UHF frequencies for nonprofit educational stations. Meetings continued in 1953 and a consortium of interested organizations was formed in March 1953. The call letters K-R-M-A were approved in August 1953 standing for “Knowledge For the Rocky Mountain Area.”
On May 22, 1953, a formal application was submitted to the FCC from Denver Public Schools, the Denver Public Library and the University of Colorado. The school district was named as the licensee.
In the fall of 1953, the Denver Area Council for Educational Television was established. It was made up of 50 different groups to oversee the work and mission of KRMA for more than 30 years. Funds were raised, construction of the studio and transmitter was started, ten television employees were hired and plans were laid to “go live” on the air on January 30, 1956.
At 6:45 pm, January 30, 1956, KRMA began beaming a signal over the greater Denver metropolitan area earning a place in history as the 18th educational television in the United States and the 5th station for the Denver area.
The first “live” 15-minute program was Thimble Theatre hosted by Earl Reum (DPS teacher) and his puppet friends. Other opening
night programs included Religions of Man hosted by Dr. Huston Smith, discussing various faiths and Denver Yesterdays hosted by Mrs. Louisa Ward Arps, produced by the Denver Public Library that focused on Cheesman Park and its history as a cemetery. The final program of the inaugural evening was Redman’s America produced by Denver University featuring Dr. Ruth Underhill, a professor of anthropology. (Photo, Jim Case, KRMA production staff)