On November 13, 1952, television history was made on the South Plains. KDUB-TV signed on as Lubbock's first commercial television station, beginning the Channel 13 broadcasting legacy that continues today under the KLBK-TV call letters.
A remarkable account published that very day in The Post Dispatch said the station's first live telecast was planned for 7:30 p.m. Its opening program would feature a street scene in downtown Lubbock between the Lubbock National Bank Building and the Caprock Hotel.
Residents in nearby Post were preparing to watch. Local furniture stores had installed tall antennas, and employees reported receiving the station's test pattern before the official broadcast.
How Channel 13 got started
W. D. “Dub” Rogers Jr. led the new station, which initially operated from a temporary building. Contemporary broadcast industry records list CBS and the DuMont Television Network as its affiliations. The station used a five-kilowatt transmitter and DuMont studio equipment.
In April 1953, Broadcasting magazine reported that about 20,000 visitors attended a four-day open house at KDUB-TV's permanent facilities at 74th Street and College Avenue.
From KDUB-TV to KLBK-TV
Rogers and his associates later expanded television service across the region, developing stations serving Abilene, Big Spring and Clovis, New Mexico. The stations became part of the West Texas Television Network.
In 1961, KDUB-TV was sold to Grayson Enterprises and adopted the KLBK-TV call letters. Channel 13 remains a CBS affiliate in Lubbock.
A piece of Lubbock history: Texas Tech University's Southwest Collection maintains records of KLBK-TV from 1952 to 1968 and papers relating to Dub Rogers, preserving materials from the early years of local television.
Historical sources
The Post Dispatch, November 13, 1952, page 6 — contemporary report on the station's first telecast.
Broadcasting, April 20, 1953 — report on KDUB-TV's opening and new facilities.
1953 Telecasting Yearbook — station technical details and affiliations.
Texas Tech Southwest Collection — archival holdings for KDUB-TV and KLBK-TV.
