KHMA-TV,

VHF Very high frequency (VHF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) from 30 to 300 megahertz (MHz), with corresponding wavelengths of ten meters to one meter. Frequencies immediately below VHF ...

analog Analog or analogue may refer to: Computing and electronics * Analog signal, in which information is encoded in a continuous variable ** Analog device, an apparatus that operates on analog signals *** Analog electronics, circuits which use analo ...

channel 11, was a short-lived

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...

licensed to

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in, and the parish seat of, Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's government ...

, United States that served the south Louisiana community.

History

The

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) licensed channel 11 to St. Anthony TV Corporation in 1958, and the station was intended to be an

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

affiliate. In 1964, St. Anthony TV Corp. petitioned to move the station's transmitter to a point north of Houma near Geismar, Louisiana so that the station could also serve

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

(which did not have a primary ABC affiliate at the time). After the FCC granted permission to move the tower on the condition it did not interfere with WTOK of

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

, both Louisiana Television Broadcasting Corporation (owner of Baton Rouge's then- NBC affiliate WBRZ, (now Baton Rouge's ABC affiliate) and Guaranty Broadcasting Corporation (owner of Baton Rouge's CBS affiliate

WAFB WAFB (channel 9) is a television station A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio ...

) filed an appeal to block the transfer. In 1965, the District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the two Baton Rouge stations, blocking the FCC's grant. On March 1, 1972 at 11:30 a.m., the station signed on as an independent station serving the tri-city area of Morgan City (although part of the Lafayette DMA),

Thibodaux Thibodaux ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The population was 15,948 at the 2020 census. Thibodaux is a principal city ...

, and Houma and the ten-parish area south of Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The first program the station aired was ''

The Phyllis Diller Show ''The Pruitts of Southampton'' is an American situation comedy that aired during the 1966-67 season on the ABC network. The show was based on the novel ''House Party'' (1954) by Patrick Dennis. It was ABC's attempt to turn female stand-up comic P ...

''. During weekdays, KHMA signed on at 11:30 a.m. and signed off at 12:30 a.m., and, on weekends, it signed on at 8:00 a.m. and signed off at 12:30 a.m. The station suffered financial trouble, and the FCC authorized the station to go dark on October 15, 1973, and St. Anthony TV Corp. declared

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

. At the same time, station owner Denver T. Brannen launched WDTB (now

WMBB WMBB (channel 13) is a television station in Panama City, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios are located on Harrison Avenue/US 231 in downtown Panama City, and its transmitter is l ...

) in Panama City, Florida, which served as that region's NBC affiliate and is now the ABC affiliate. The license was deleted at the request of the licensee on November 12, 1974. In the mid-1980s, New Dawn Broadcasting was issued a permit to establish a new TV station in Houma on channel 11, KNHH, but due to technical trouble, the FCC denied their request for an extension. Today,

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

member station WYES-TV in New Orleans uses the digital channel 12, and Martin Folse established KFOL-CD (HTV Channel 10) to serve the Houma area.

Programming

Among the locally produced programs included a local news show (''The Tri-City Report'') twice a day, at 5:30 and 10 p.m., sports (''The Tri-City Accent''), and a third show hosted by local farm authority George W. Shannon, as well as a program by local musician L. J. Foret. KHMA primarily aired old

movies A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and syndicated reruns, including ''The Phyllis Diller Show'', '' Peyton Place'', ''The Movie Game'', '' The Munsters'', '' Petticoat Junction'', ''

Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...

'', '' Dragnet'', '' The Virginian'', ''

Lassie Lassie is a fictional female Rough Collie dog and is featured in a short story by Eric Knight that was later expanded to a full-length novel called ''Lassie Come-Home''. Knight's portrayal of Lassie bears some features in common with another fic ...

'', '' America Sings'', ''

Time Tunnel ''The Time Tunnel'' is an American color science fiction TV series written around a theme of time travel adventure starring James Darren and Robert Colbert. The show was creator-producer Irwin Allen's third science-fiction television series and ...

'', ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western, espionage, and science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 1969. Two satirical comedy television film sequels w ...

'', '' The Name of the Game'', ''

The Andy Griffith Show ''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color. The ...

'', ''Happy and His Friends'', '' Land of the Giants'', ''

Galloping Gourmet Graham Kerr (born 22 January 1934) is an English cooking personality who is best known for his television cooking show ''The Galloping Gourmet'' from December 30, 1968 to September 14, 1973. Early life Kerr was born in Brondesbury, London. H ...

'', ''

Lost in Space ''Lost in Space'' is an American science fiction television series, created and produced by Irwin Allen, which originally aired between 1965 and 1968 on CBS. The series was inspired by the 1812 novel ''The Swiss Family Robinson.'' The series fo ...

'', and '' Engelbert Humperdinck''. The station also broadcast movies under the following monikers: ''Cinema 11'', ''Western Theatre'', ''Adventure Theatre'', ''Nightmare Theatre'', ''The Late Movie'', and ''Afternoon Theatre''.The Houma Courier, various issues from 1972 and 1973

References

{{TV Stations Louisiana Houma, Louisiana Television channels and stations established in 1972 Television channels and stations disestablished in 1973 1972 establishments in Louisiana 1973 disestablishments in Louisiana Defunct television stations in the United States Television stations in Louisiana Defunct mass media in Louisiana