Lanesville TV

Background

Often called the first American pirate TV station, as well as the smallest TV station in the world, run by a group known as the Videofreex, a group of left-wing hippie youth founded in 1969 by David Cort, Mary Curtis Ratcliff and Parry Teasdale, and used to promote radical leftist ideologies and extremist paramilitary groups, such as the Symbionese Liberation Army and Black Panthers. The Videofreex formed after CBS tried to recruit young hippies to create a programme about counterculture. The programme went unaired due to the network disagreeing ideologically with the content. This encouraged the group to start their own pirate station, in Lanesville, New York. The station ran from 1972 to 1978, getting 300 viewers at most. The content ranged from interviews with members of designated terrorist organisations, as well as reports on the happenings in the local area, to shows and skits produced by the crew, such as "Bart's Cowboy Show", which were produced to promote environmentalism. In 1978, the crew moved to Woodstock and renamed to Channel 6 Woodstock TV.

ID (March 22, 1972-1978)

Visuals: There is a sun partially obscured by clouds behind hills, with the text "Channel 3" positioned in the top right corner. The word "Lanesville" curves to shape the hills, while "TV" appears underneath.

Variants:

There exists a coloured variant with the added text "Low-Power Pirate TV Station Unlicensed By FCC".
There is variant that has been chroma-keyed to overlay on the footage, making it appear rough and hollow.

Technique: A still printed image.

Audio: Sunny Disposish by The Manhattan Transfer.

Availability: It was seen after reruns of pirated TV shows such as WNET's Video and Television Review.