W2XB/WGY/WRGB Schenectady

Marking on the back of  photo says: Camera Operator at G.E. Station W2XB  Schenectady, New York - 1939  

WRGB, channel 6, is a television station located in Schenectady, New York, USA. WRGB is owned by Freedom Communications, and is the CBS affiliate for the Albany-Schenectady-Troy television market. The station shares its studio and office facility with co-owned WCWN (channel 45) in Niskayuna, New York, and its transmitter is located in an unincorporated area of the town of New Scotland, New York.

IN THE BEGINNING...

The station started as W2XB and was General Electric's television station in Schenectady, New York. 

In charge of GE's television program was Dr. Ernst Alexanderson, who first demonstrated his television system in late 1927. In January of 1928, GE began broadcasting as 2XB, on 790 kHz using a 24 line mechanical standard. Soon afterward the station switched to 48 lines. The country's first television drama, The Queen's Messenger, was broadcast by W2XB in September of 1928. In 1939 W2XB began broadcasting electronic television using the camera shown above. One of the first television networks interconnected W2XBS, the NBC station in New York City,with W2XB. Except for a short period in 1941, the station continued a regular schedule of television programming. After the war, W2XB became WRGB.

 It later became one of a handful of television stations licensed for commercial broadcasting operation before the end of World War II.

MODERN TIMES FOR  WRGB

The station launched the TV career of syndicated TV chef Mr. Food in 1975. More recently in the 1990s, the station also launched the television career of Rachael Ray, who started the "30 Minute Meals" segment on WRGB's newscasts once a week before moving on to Food Network and, eventually, a nationally-syndicated daytime talk show.