Did you know that Asbury Park had its own broadcast television station? The call letters were WRTV, named after the owner Walter Reade Jr. He was the son and heir to his father’s massive empire of movie theaters, including the local Asbury Park landmarks, the Paramount, and the Mayfair.
Walter Reade Jr. was interested in expanding his media reach by tapping into the new frontier of television. In August of 1952 he filed for a channel on the Ultra High Frequency Dial (UHF). January 22,1954 his channel # 58 went live on air.
WRTV was situated in Asbury Park, but it would broadcast from a facility in Eatontown next to the Reade Eatontown Drive-In. WRTV offered a variety of programming from original children’s shows, western serials, sermonettes, filmed wrestling bouts, to first run feature films from the 1930’s -1940’s and local news.
After fighting systemic problems with UHF television and unable to get licensed to air on the more desirable yet highly competitive VHF Chanel. On April 1, 1955 WRTV signed off.
Nearly 55 years later in walks Ms. Ann Shangazi Denson. A graduate of Asbury Park High School, with an MS degree in Special Education from Columbia University. Ms. Denson was a strong proponent for community public access television. She was first in line to meet with Cablevision when they first introduced public access to NJ residents. She chronicled every public event from music festivals, candidate debates, City and School Board meetings to parent engagement activities that were coordinated by the Asbury Park School District. Her programming was aired on the public access television channel 77.
On December 5, 2012 the City Council adopted the Asbury Park Television (APTV) resolution. In the past 13 years APTV has won two Emmy awards. It consists of 7 volunteer members who serve as the Advisory Board appointed by the Council and Mayor.
APTV is currently seeking Media Techs for filming and in-house production. If you are interested in serving on the Advisory Board, you may submit your application online to the City Clerk.
It is recommended that you attend one or two meetings before making an application. Monthly meetings are generally held on the 3rd Wednesday of each month at 6 pm. Our location is: Stephen Crane House, 508 4th Avenue, Asbury Park, NJ 07712
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