Editing WSVN (section)

=== Competing license applicants ===
{{Multiple image
| direction         = vertical
| align             = left
| width             = 175px
| image1            = James M. Cox 1920 (cropped2).jpg
| image2            = John S. Knight on Wall Street with newspaper.jpg
| image3            = Niles_Trammell.jpg
| alt1              = closeup picture of James M. Cox from 1920
| alt2              = A picture of newspaper publisher John S. Knight, holding a folded up newspaper under his left armpit
| caption1          = James M. Cox
| caption2          = [[John S. Knight]]
| caption3          = Niles Trammell
| header            = Biscayne Television Corp. main partners
}}

Due to the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) imposing [[FCC#Freeze of 1948|a freeze on additional television licenses]] on September 30, 1948,<ref>{{unbulleted list citebundle|{{Cite news |last=Crater |first=Rufus |date=October 4, 1948 |title=Television Freeze: FCC Action Halted Pending Definite Policy |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |pages=22A, 57 |volume=35 |issue=14 |id={{ProQuest|1040475180}}}}|{{Cite news |date=October 11, 1948 |title=TV Freeze: Generally Approved by Industry |work=Broadcasting |page=28 |volume=35 |issue=15 |id={{ProQuest|1285668301}}}}}}</ref> the Miami market had only one television station in operation during that period: WTVJ, which signed on the air on March 21, 1949.<ref name="Miam520412">{{Cite news|date=April 12, 1952|title=TV Thaw Due But Long Lag Seen In Miami|page=B1|newspaper=[[The Miami Herald]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94672179/tv-thaw-due-but-long-lag-seen-in-miami/|access-date=February 10, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210203551/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94672179/tv-thaw-due-but-long-lag-seen-in-miami/|url-status=live}}</ref> In preparation for the freeze being lifted, [[WIOD]] radio and the ''[[Miami Daily News]]''—jointly controlled by publisher [[James M. Cox]]—filed an application with the FCC for a new station on [[very high frequency]] (VHF) channel 7 on May 26, 1952. WIOD and the ''News'' proposed in the application to build a studio valued at $1.25&nbsp;million (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US|1250000|1952}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}) at WIOD's transmission towers on the [[79th Street Causeway (Miami)|79th Street Causeway]].<ref name="Miam520525">{{Cite news|date=May 25, 1952|title=$1,250,000 TV Station Is Proposed By WIOD; New FCC Application Asks Use Of Channel 7|page=1|newspaper=[[The Miami News]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94671982/1250000-tv-station-is-proposed-by/|access-date=February 10, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214234601/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94671982/1250000-tv-station-is-proposed-by/|url-status=live}}</ref> The WIOD-''News'' application was met with a competing application filed several weeks later by [[WQAM]] owner Miami Broadcasting Company,<ref name="Miam520629">{{Cite news|date=June 29, 1952|title=WGBS Seeks Channel 10 TV Outlet|page=12|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94675009/wgbs-seeks-channel-10-tv-outlet/|access-date=February 10, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210211048/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94675009/wgbs-seeks-channel-10-tv-outlet/|url-status=live}}</ref> controlled by ''[[Miami Herald]]'' publisher [[John S. Knight]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=February 12, 1945|title=Miami-Herald Buys WQAM; Newark News to Get WBYN|volume=28|page=14|work=Broadcasting|issue=7|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1945/1945-02-12-BC.pdf|access-date=January 31, 2020|via=World Radio History|archive-date=December 1, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201201150956/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1945/1945-02-12-BC.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Faced with the possibility of protracted competitive hearings before the FCC lasting last two to three years, Cox and Knight withdrew their bids and filed a joint application as Biscayne Television Corporation, operating autonomously from either newspaper and with former [[NBC]] president Niles Trammell as its president.<ref name="Miam521208">{{Cite news|date=December 8, 1952|title=Niles Trammell Heads Joint Move For TV Outlet Here|page=1|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94675344/niles-trammell-heads-joint-move-for-tv/|access-date=February 10, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210211048/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94675344/niles-trammell-heads-joint-move-for-tv/|url-status=live}}</ref> Trammell, who joined NBC in 1929 and parent [[RCA]] in 1923, was credited for developing much of the network's talent<ref name="Miam560729">{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Jack E.|date=July 29, 1956|title=Veteran Heads WCKT|page=H1|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94800381/veteran-heads-wckt/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215005737/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94800381/veteran-heads-wckt/|url-status=live}}</ref> and organized Biscayne after convincing Cox and Knight to collaborate rather than compete.{{r|Miam600614}} Biscayne would purchase WIOD from Cox, while Knight would divest WQAM to meet regulatory approval;<ref name="Miam540120">{{Cite news|date=January 20, 1954|title=FCC Sets Hearings On Channel 7 Bids|page=1A|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94815426/fcc-sets-hearings-on-channel-7-bids/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212204535/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94815426/fcc-sets-hearings-on-channel-7-bids/|url-status=live}}</ref> Cox and Knight would each hold 42.5 percent of company stock, with Trammell holding the remaining 15 percent.{{r|Miam550119}}

Despite this new joint venture, the application found itself as one of 12 competing applications for four channel allotments in the market: VHF channels 7 and 10 and [[ultra high frequency]] (UHF) channels 27 and 33.<ref name="Miam530426">{{Cite news|date=April 26, 1953|title=12 TV Applicants Create Jam, Stall New Station Here|page=9|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94636873/12-tv-applicants-create-jam-stall-new/|access-date=February 10, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210225356/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94636873/12-tv-applicants-create-jam-stall-new/|url-status=live}}</ref> In particular, Biscayne Television faced three competing applications for channel 7, including one from two [[Davenport, Iowa]], residents;<ref name="Miam530114">{{Cite news|date=January 14, 1953|title=Group Seeks UHF Video Outlet Here|page=19|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94681669/group-seeks-uhf-video-outlet-here/|access-date=February 10, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210225355/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94681669/group-seeks-uhf-video-outlet-here/|url-status=live}}</ref> Florida [[United States Senate|Sen.]] [[George Smathers]] warned of a possibility that Miami might not have another television station sign on before 1958 due to the number of competing applications.{{r|Miam530426}} The number of applicants for a channel 7 license increased to five on December 16, 1953, after [[real estate]] developer Sidney Ansin filed one under the [[Sunbeam Television|Sunbeam Television Corp.]] name. Ansin included a proposal for studios located in Miami's [[Allapattah]] neighborhood and encompassing his existing six-block Park-and-Shop City development dubbed "Television City", with sons Ronald and [[Edmund Ansin]] assisting.<ref name="Miam531216">{{Cite news|date=December 16, 1953|title='Television City' Eyed By Channel 7 Applicant|page=6|newspaper=The Miami News|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94636504/television-city-eyed-by-channel-7/|access-date=February 10, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220210225357/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94636504/television-city-eyed-by-channel-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> Originally a [[shoe maker]] from [[Massachusetts]], Sidney relocated to [[Miami Beach, Florida]], in 1941<ref name="Miam540617">{{Cite news|date=June 17, 1954|title=Channel 7 Hearings Concluding Today|page=4C|newspaper=The Miami Herald|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94814052/channel-7-hearings-concluding-today/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215000131/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94814052/channel-7-hearings-concluding-today/|url-status=live}}</ref> and later sold land to [[Mitchell Wolfson]] for WTVJ's transmission tower after the [[Federal Aviation Administration]] (FAA) rezoned it for broadcasting; this became the source for his interest in the medium.{{r|Miam870525}} Sidney filed an application after consulting a friend in [[Washington, D.C.]],{{r|Miam870525}} and included Ronald and Edmund—both [[Harvard University]] students—when they expressed interest.{{r|Miam540617}}

After the Davenport-based group withdrew their bid,<ref name="Miam540210">{{Cite news|date=February 10, 1954|title=TV Applicants Ask Dismissal|page=6B|newspaper=The Miami News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94815741/tv-applicants-ask-dismissal/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 12, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212204534/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94815741/tv-applicants-ask-dismissal/|url-status=live}}</ref> hearings were scheduled to begin on February 19, 1954, for the four remaining applicants—Biscayne, Sunbeam, East Coast Television Corporation, and South Florida Television Corporation—supervised by FCC examiner James D. Cunningham.{{r|Miam540120}} All four applicants agreed to a timetable of informal conferences with Cunningham so as to reduce the amount of needed testimony to one-tenth of what normal applications called for.<ref name="Miam540220">{{Cite news|date=February 20, 1954|title=Channel 7 Applicants Huddle|page=4A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94852589/channel-7-applicants-huddle/|access-date=February 13, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213061209/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94852589/channel-7-applicants-huddle/|url-status=live}}</ref> Biscayne was the first to complete their case in mid-May,<ref name="Miam540518">{{Cite news|date=May 18, 1954|title=FCC Hears Plea By WIOD Chief|page=1A|newspaper=The Miami News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817243/fcc-hears-plea-by-wiod-chief/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213061222/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817243/fcc-hears-plea-by-wiod-chief/|url-status=live}}</ref> with Cox and Knight extolling the accomplishments of both the ''News'' and ''Herald''; Cox cited the ''News''{{'}}s coverage of [[Al Capone]]'s 1929 move to Miami, while Knight referenced multiple awards given to the ''Herald'' for public service, with both newspapers being [[Pulitzer Prize]] recipients.<ref name="Miam540519">{{Cite news|date=May 19, 1954|title=First Plea Heard For TV Channel 7|page=5B|newspaper=The Miami News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817181/first-plea-heard-for-tv-channel-7/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213061211/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817181/first-plea-heard-for-tv-channel-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> East Coast was primarily represented by Lee Phillips, a former WTVJ employee,<ref name="Miam540602">{{Cite news|date=June 2, 1954|title=FCC Resumes Hearing on Channel 7|page=12A|newspaper=The Miami Herald|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817124/fcc-resumes-hearing-on-channel-7/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213061213/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817124/fcc-resumes-hearing-on-channel-7/|url-status=live}}</ref> while South Florida Television president Jack C. Stein testified that his corporation consisted of Miami-based [[shareholder]]s and was best able to represent the interests of Miamians.<ref name="Miam540609">{{Cite news|date=June 9, 1954|title=South Florida's Quiz Near End On Channel 7|page=7A|newspaper=The Miami News|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817038/south-floridas-quiz-near-end-on/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215000059/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817038/south-floridas-quiz-near-end-on/|url-status=live}}</ref> The last to present, Sidney Ansin stated on Sunbeam's behalf that he believed television "presented a wonderful future" and was described as the organization's "moving spirit".{{r|Miam540617}} All four applicants completed their case summaries by mid-August.<ref name="Miam540817">{{Cite news|date=August 17, 1954|title=TV Applicants File FCC Briefs|page=1A|newspaper=The Miami News|agency=United Press|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817089/tv-applicants-file-fcc-briefs/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213061216/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817089/tv-applicants-file-fcc-briefs/|url-status=live}}</ref> Cunningham delivered his recommendation for Biscayne Television on January 18, 1955; in response, Trammell announced the new station's planned affiliation with NBC while also saying, "while it would be improper to anticipate when the commission will confirm Mr. Cunningham's report, Biscayne hopes to be in operation as shortly thereafter as possible."<ref name="Miam550119">{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Jack|date=January 19, 1955|title=New TV Station Gets Nod|pages=1A–[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817343/new-tv-station-gets-nod-p2/ 2A]|newspaper=The Miami Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817306/new-tv-station-gets-nod/|access-date=February 12, 2022|via=Newspapers.com|archive-date=February 13, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213061220/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/94817306/new-tv-station-gets-nod/|url-status=live}}</ref>