The March 18, 1949 Federal Communications Commission decision to grant a license to the Pittsburg Broadcasting Company gave eastern Contra Costa County its first radio station. The owners chose the call letters KECC as a geographical nod.
KECC was licensed to Pittsburg and its main studios would be built there. But the transmitter site was actually across the Sacramento River in the Collinsville area, which is in Solano County. The cost of running a broadcast-quality telephone line from studio to transmitter was estimated at $6,000 (it’s a bit over 3 miles as the crow flies between the two locations but 14 miles by road), so general manager Mel Marshall and his staff settled on a wireless studio-to-transmitter link.
The shortwave approach nearly kept KECC from pulling off its inaugural broadcast. Something wasn’t working and plans for a November 5, 1949 station launch were thrown into doubt…until San Francisco’s KNBC offered a loan of the 25-watt shortwave unit it used for remote broadcasts. Problem solved.
KECC was soon airing plenty of local fare: high school sports, re-broadcasts of recorded City Council and school board meetings, hourly newscasts, and the like. Operating hours were 7 AM to midnight. Local newspapers were supportive enough of the new station to print detailed daily program logs.
In a 1952 Oakland Tribune article that described KECC as an “up-and-coming radio station”, it was reported that the station’s ownership had applied for one of the new UHF television frequencies being allotted by the FCC. In this case, it was Channel 15. KECC sought a license for the tiny community of Port Chicago and told the Tribune that a UHF station based there would have trouble serving the majority of the East Bay but could easily reach Vallejo and Marin County. It was a small victory for David over Goliath; CBS had sought to have the frequency allotted to an Oakland location closer to its San Francisco property KCBS.
In mid-1952, KECC had filed for permission to boost its signal from 1,000 watts to 5,000 watts. Approval for the more powerful transmission came through in late 1954. Station manager Mel Marshall said the new $30,000 transmitter would be on the air in five or six months. It took much longer than that.
In early 1955, KECC provided live coverage of a story that had captured the interest of Contra Costa County government-watchers. The county Civil Service Commission was being asked to overturn the firing of George K. Burton by Sheriff Harry Brown. Working with the Martinez News-Gazette, KECC covered the hearings gavel-to-gavel, and did the same thing again later in 1955 when another case involving dismissals by the sheriff reached the Civil Service Commission.
In late 1956, KECC was sold to a group led by Les Malloy. The well-known Bay Area bandleader had previously owned San Mateo station KVSM. Malloy’s partners included former KVSM station manager Jack Grant and bandleader Benny Strong. The media-savvy Malloy made it clear that he had grand aspirations for his new property, seeing it as more than a local station.
Malloy announced the hiring of new air talent including Gene Taylor and Don Pitts, and said the call letters would be changed to KATT. Within a few months, former general manager Mel Marshall would file suit, claiming he was still owed more than $13,000.
