joined that network on March 1, 1955. As a full-time CBS affiliate, it was now able to feature Autry's show Gene Autry's Melody Ranch on its schedule. Tom Chauncey, who also owned the biggest Arabian horse ranch in Phoenix, was a minority partner with Autry. Over the years, KOOL-TV ran nearly the entire CBS schedule; Chauncey was a fierce loyalist to the network. In addition to local news, channel 10 produced a series of other local programs, such as the bilingual children's program Niños Contentos and investigative and feature series Chapter 10 and Copperstate Cavalcade. Phoenix audiences' loyalty to KOOL-TV was proven in 1971. That September, a group of Valley business leaders led by Del Webb, organized as the Valley of the Sun Broadcasting Company, filed an application for a competing channel 10 proposal to KOOL-TV's license renewal; this group proposed to return the channel to Phoenix-based ownership. However, the KOOL-TV license challenge was met with a decidedly cool reception by viewers and power brokers alike. Senators Barry Goldwater and Paul Fannin and governor Jack Williams threw their support behind KOOL; Goldwater noted he often cited KOOL as an example of a quality television station, Fannin was "amazed" to learn of the counterproposal, and Williams—a former broadcaster—lauded its "record of public service" and inclusion of minority groups. Further, hundreds of phone calls and letters in support of KOOL were received by the station. Ten days after the application was first made public, Valley of the Sun abandoned their channel 10 bid. It was later revealed that the same Washington law firm had backed a string of similar license challenges to other stations across the country. After the license challenge was rebuffed, Chauncey became the majority stakeholder as a result of a sale of shares by Autry. In 1978, KOOL AM was sold to Stauffer Communications of Topeka, Kansas, with the FM and television stations remaining under the Autry–Chauncey ownership. However, cracks began to form in the longtime ownership partnership of KOOL-FM-TV. That same year, Autry allegedly began to try and induce Chauncey to reach an agreement with Signal Oil upon which the latter company would have the option to buy Chauncey's stake at his death. Chauncey then began negotiating to buy Autry out. These talks ended in April 1981 when Autry sold half of his 48.11-percent stake in the company to the Gulf United Corporation of Jacksonville, Florida. That May,