In television broadcasting , the network era , also known as the Silver Age of television , refers to the period in American television history from the end of the first Golden Age of Television in the late 1950s to the beginning of the multi-channel transition in the mid-1980s. During this era, the Big Three television networks — ABC , CBS , and NBC —dominated American television. This determination is established by institutional aspects that regularized television for the majority of the country, including color television , made standard by the late 1960s. As the arrival of new technologies emerged, it offered television viewers more choice and control. This eventually ended the network era and forced viewers to move into the multi-channel transition, leading to the post-network era and second Golden Age of Television .
83-812: History of: From the 1950s to the 1980s, during the network era of American television, there were three commercial broadcast television networks – NBC (the National Broadcasting Company, "the Peacock Network"), CBS (the Columbia Broadcasting System, "the Eye Network"), ABC (the American Broadcasting Company, "the Alphabet Network") – that due to their longevity and ratings success are informally referred to as
166-486: A Big Three network . Significant financial losses, poor timing, and a lack of overall advertising support prompted the network to shut down after only one month of operations. A second-generation warehouse owner, Daniel H. Overmyer had entered prominence in the field, owning and operating up to 260 buildings in 55 cities nationwide by 1965. By 1966, Overmyer successfully built and signed on WDHO-TV in Toledo, Ohio , owned
249-442: A "programming service" which primarily carries acquired programming. Pax TV , a venture of Paxson Communications , debuted on August 31, 1998, as an attempted seventh broadcast network to compete against UPN and The WB; although Pax carried a limited schedule of first-run programs in its early years, its schedule otherwise was composed mainly of syndicated reruns. Pax TV later rebranded to i: Independent Television in 2005, before it
332-467: A 14-person syndicate led by three stockholders in the Mutual Broadcasting System : Jack McGlothlin, a Texas oil operator; Willard Garvey, a grain dealer, an oil investor and land developer; and James Nichols, a Texas advertising and public-relations executive. No money changed hands. By February 15, 1967, Overmyer encountered second thoughts over the feasibility of the network and realized
415-521: A 25-percent stake, split at nominal 12.5-percent stakes for both companies. Under Nexstar, The CW also began to broaden its programming to include national news (primarily via collaborations with Nexstar-owned cable news channel NewsNation ) and sports programming, Fox launched MyNetworkTV at the same time as The CW, with a lineup of English language telenovelas ; it later shifted toward unscripted programs and movies, though its persistent lack of ratings success led News Corporation in 2009 to convert it to
498-409: A Sunday night lineup for all but its first half-season on the air. In 1998, Tribune launched The WB 100+ Station Group in 1998, a programming service primarily intended for smaller markets. Both networks mainly aired only prime time and children's programming. The latter was the only form of weekday daytime programming offered by either one, although UPN discontinued its children's lineup in 2003 at
581-402: A culture. Networks selected programs that would reach a wide range of people, such as family sitcoms, police procedurals, and game shows. However, networks still directed their programs to the white middle class . Rural Americans were a major target audience in the 1960s, and rural sitcoms and Westerns were among television's most popular shows in that decade; advertiser objections to targeting
664-433: A far more beneficial advertising format. Not only was this system more cost-sufficient in the production of television, but networks also began to have a broader blend of advertisers. Television viewers of the network era had very few choices and extremely limited technology—unlike AM and shortwave signals that could use skywave propagation to cover large radii, television stations were largely limited to line-of-sight from
747-763: A few local television stations, but they quickly affiliated with other stations to cover almost the entire U.S. by the late 1950s. Several of these stations affiliated with all three major networks and DuMont, or some combination of the four, in markets where only one or two television stations operated in the early years of commercial television; this resulted in several network shows, often those with lower national viewership, receiving scattershot market clearances, since in addition to maintaining limited broadcast schedules early on, affiliates that shoehorned programming from many networks had to also make room for locally produced content. As other stations signed on in larger cities, ABC, NBC, and CBS were eventually able to carry at least
830-637: A few markets. In the 21st century, the "Big Four" have controlled only a relatively small portion of the broadcasting market in the United States. By 2007, their collective share was estimated at a combined 32%. The Big Three's market share has declined considerably as a result of growing competition from other broadcast networks such as Ion Television, The CW, and MyNetworkTV; Spanish language networks such as Univision , UniMás , and Telemundo ; national cable and satellite channels such as TNT , ESPN , and AMC ; and streaming channels such as Netflix . Each of
913-582: A fourth national network to join ABC, NBC and CBS since ABC's formal reorganization in 1953. Treyz envisioned the Overmyer Network supplying up to eight straight hours of evening programming to affiliates, including a prime time block devoted to different genres every night, two hours of newscasts supplied by United Press International (UPI), and a late-night talk show originating from Las Vegas, Nevada . Cultural and sports programming including Tales from
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#1732844161041996-527: A fourth network is necessary and maybe a fifth as time goes by." Jack Gould mused in his Times column at the end of 1967 that United's failure was "further evidence that expansion of commercial TV is little more than a pipe dream". In a February 1969 column on recent attempts at a fourth television network (including DuMont , NTA and a Pat Weaver effort), Newspaper Enterprise Association media critic Joan Crosby deemed United "the latest, and most noteworthy fiasco ... that barely lasted long enough for
1079-501: A limited amount of programming to get through to viewers. Without personal recording capabilities and few alternative ways to receive programming, viewers had little opportunity to rescreen content on their own terms. Television, however, was not just a technology but also a set of experiences and practices associated with viewing it. During the Network Era, television acted as a cultural institution. It communicated values and ideas within
1162-494: A mix of programs from both predecessors, as well as some newer shows after the launch. The last surviving series of The CW's predecessors — Supernatural , from The WB — continued until its finale on The CW in 2020. Nexstar Media Group acquired a 75-percent ownership stake in The CW on October 3, 2022; former joint owners Paramount Global ( successor to CBS Corporation) and Warner Bros. Discovery (successor to Time Warner) retained
1245-404: A more physical task. VCRs allowed users to time shift their favorite programs to a more convenient viewing time, as well as the ability to purchase or rent pre-recorded content from stores and video rental shops . With cable TV, as well as new broadcast networks such as Fox , The WB , and UPN , consumers also had much more choice in live programming, which led to a slow audience shift away from
1328-453: A relatively poor segment of the population led to the rural purge , an early 1970s shift in programming tastes that eliminated most shows of rural interest in favor of more urbane, socially conscious shows that drew a more prosperous audience. The programming of much of the early post-Golden Age network era was noted for its poor quality and campy gimmicks. The network era featured extremely limited program genres and people became accustomed to
1411-640: A respectable number given the varied airtimes among the stations and competition against Tonight , Joey Bishop and The Merv Griffin Show . Despite the hype, the United Network quickly started to bleed money. AT&T's transmission lines proved to be too expensive: advance fees for the lines amounted to $ 400,000 per month and $ 7 million annually (equivalent to $ 64 million in 2023), with United paying for all eight hours despite using only two of those allotted hours. Under existing toll tariff rules, United
1494-454: A significant role in postwar American identity. During the Golden Age, when television itself was still a niche market , experimental programs were more common; as the medium matured, there was no incentive for these corporations to take further financial risk in creating shows that catered to niche audiences. The first (and, for several decades, only) network built exclusively for television was
1577-452: A single-sponsorship style (a situation in which a single corporation finances the costs that could have been earned if advertising were sold to sponsors; it also allows more cinematic television) with corporations becoming more focused on selling a product rather than an image. With this change, the broadcasters had more control over the network because they had a magazine-style format for advertisers. Thirty-second advertisements dominated during
1660-461: A sizable portion of their programming on one station. Of the four original networks, only DuMont did not have a corresponding radio network. Ironically, the fourth major radio network of the Golden Age of Radio era, the Mutual Broadcasting System , which maintained a long time extensive news reporting unit up to the 1980s, had briefly considered the idea of transitioning with expansion and launching
1743-538: A stake in the Overmyer Network in 1967 (resulting in a branding change to "The United Network"), but other than a single late-night talk show, The Las Vegas Show , which lasted one month, that network never made it to its full launch. For most of the history of television in the United States, the Big Three dominated, controlling the vast majority of television broadcasting. DuMont ceased regular programming in 1955;
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#17328441610411826-618: A television network , with consideration being made to have film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer supply programming talent. In fact the former Bamberger Broadcasting 's local stations WOR-TV (currently in Secaucus, New Jersey , serving metropolitan New York City ) and WOIC (later WTOP-TV, now WUSA-TV in Washington, D.C. ) - both stations affiliated with Mutual, the latter with a Washington, D.C. video outlet - maintained stationery letterhead with " Mutual Television " decorating their identifications. It
1909-434: A third hour of prime time , or late-night talk shows . Other networks eventually launched in an attempt to compete with the Big Three as well as Fox, although these "netlets" have been unable to ascend to the same level of success. The WB and UPN launched in 1995; like Fox, they both added nights of prime time programming over the course of a few years, although The WB was the only one that aired any on weekends, carrying
1992-519: A younger audience than NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson . The Las Vegas Show also debuted two weeks after ABC launched The Joey Bishop Show . Dana had a 13-week contract with United to host the show and was reportedly paid $ 8,000 per week. The primary focus on Las Vegas , coupled with changes to the network's distribution, delayed the UPI newsfeed to a September 11, 1967, launch. UPI merged their television news service with ITN earlier in
2075-524: Is not considered part of the Big Three. Among Fox's differences with the Big Three is its reduced weekday programming. It lacks national morning and evening news programs; Fox has a news division consisting of cable and radio operations, but does not provide content for the broadcast television network other than a weekly news analysis program , limited special breaking news reports and an affiliate news service for its stations called Fox News Edge. Fox does not feature any daytime programming on weekdays,
2158-622: The DuMont Television Network , which ceased regular programming in 1955 and even during its heyday was a distant fourth in viewership. (DuMont has a corporate descendant in the modern Fox network, the formation of which was a key moment in the end of the network era.) Conventions that defined the network era such as the television set , antenna and 30-second advertisements were not established immediately. Film studios and independent television producers had only three possible places to sell their media, so they were forced to comply with
2241-515: The NTA Film Network , unusual in that its programming, all pre-recorded, was distributed by mail instead of through communications wires, signed on in 1956 and lasted until 1961. From 1961, and lasting until the early 1990s, there were only three major networks. Every hit series appearing in the Nielsen top 20 television programs and every successful commercial network telecast of a major feature film
2324-526: The Second Golden Age of Television . Overmyer Network#From ON to UN The United Network , known prior to launch as the Overmyer Network , was a short lived attempt at a fourth television network in the United States that operated through the month of May 1967. Founded by Daniel H. Overmyer , a Toledo, Ohio , warehouse chain operator and television station owner, majority control of
2407-588: The Toledo Monitor , a weekly tabloid paper, and founded Progress National Bank; he also secured construction permits for six additional ultra high frequency (UHF) stations across the country, joining existing UHF station WDHO. The creation of the Overmyer Network was announced on July 12, 1966, with former ABC president Oliver Treyz hired as network president. In addition to Overmyer's planned UHF outlets serving as owned-and-operated stations , New York City station WPIX-TV , owned by Tribune Broadcasting ,
2490-555: The " Big Three ". The three networks' dominance was interrupted with the launch of Fox (the Fox Broadcasting Company, "the Searchlight Network") in 1986, leading it to join them as one of the expanded " Big Four ", while the viewership shares of all the major broadcast networks declined over the following years. The National Broadcasting Company and Columbia Broadcasting System were both founded as radio networks in
2573-507: The 1920s, with NBC eventually encompassing two national radio networks, the prestige Red Network and the lower-profile Blue Network . They gradually began experimental television stations in the 1930s, with commercial broadcasts being allowed by the Federal Communications Commission on July 1, 1941. In 1943, the U.S. government determined that NBC's two-network setup was anticompetitive and forced it to spin off one of
Big Three (American television) - Misplaced Pages Continue
2656-401: The 1990s, the growing ubiquity of technologies such as the remote control , videocassette recorders (VCRs) , cable television , and fiber-optic networks weakened the distribution bottleneck by offering viewers easier access to a wider variety of content than was previously available. With the remote control, viewers were able to easily change the channel without leaving their seat, previously
2739-474: The Big Four (to Five) networks is now owned by a media conglomerate , providing corporate synergy with various cable channels, a major film studio , a companion streaming service, and other sibling media assets. NBC is owned by NBCUniversal , a Comcast company (whose assets include Universal Pictures , Peacock , Universal Destinations & Experiences , E! , MSNBC , and Golf Channel ), since 2004, CBS and
2822-720: The CW are owned by Paramount Global (who also owns Paramount Pictures , MTV , Showtime , Nickelodeon and Paramount+ , among other units; The CW and The CW Plus is jointly owned with Warner Bros. Discovery and Nexstar Media ) since 2019, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company (whose assets consist of, but not limited to, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products , Disney Channel , Walt Disney Pictures , 20th Century Studios , ESPN , Disney+ and Hulu ) since 1996, and Fox and MyNetworkTV are owned by Fox Corporation (who assets include Fox News , Tubi , Fox Sports , and others) since 2019. Network era Early television evolved from
2905-524: The Great Book (an animated Bible series) and regional games of the Continental Football League were also planned, as was professional soccer. Lewron Television, a Baltimore, Maryland –based production company that provided mobile television facilities for ABC, CBS and NBC, was contracted to supply their facilities for the late-night show. By July 1966, 35 stations agreed to affiliate with
2988-564: The Las Vegas program and other United Network endeavors. Station co-operation has been magnificent. We are indeed indebted to you for all your help. Regretfully, Oliver Treyz. United filed for bankruptcy on June 22, 1967, having accrued a debt of $ 690,000. Creditors included Chase Manhattan Bank , Texas Bank and Trust, Overmyer Network and Productions, and Bill Dana. Treyz left at the end of June. Managing director James Nichols expressed hope to resume United's operations within two months, saying
3071-501: The UHF bands did not transmit as far with the same broadcast power and were at a competitive disadvantage to the long-established Big Three affiliates, which were on the VHF band in the largest markets. The viewers were receptive to the fact that there was limited programming choices and had to base their daily duties around the television schedule that the networks had mandated. Despite obvious setbacks,
3154-456: The conclusion of a content deal with Disney, and UPN aired sports programming via the short-lived XFL , as well as WWF SmackDown! . While The WB and UPN each had a few popular series during their existences, they struggled for overall viewership and financial losses. This led their respective parent companies, Time Warner and CBS Corporation , to shut them down and jointly launch The CW and The CW Plus in 2006. The CW initially featured
3237-404: The deal, the Overmyer Network was renamed the United Network and now had a launch date of May 1, 1967. The new date came after negotiations with Lewron that included a $ 60,000 rider inserted in their contract and the right for United to terminate with seven days' notice. Broadcasting called the transaction "a rescue mission ... [that] has saved the fourth television network from death in
3320-416: The definite case of 'the operation was a success, but the patient died'. I can only ascribe the failure of the enterprise to the consummate naivete on the part of the backers. The whole thing went against all principles of sound fiscal policy. Even if you open a candy store, you should have enough capitalization to last more than three or four weeks." Overmyer said after the shutdown, "I am sorry. I still think
3403-752: The establishment of two rules: the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (fin-syn) and the Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR). Fin-syn effectively forced the networks to divest their syndication arms and archival program libraries. PTAR prohibited the networks from programming the earlier fringe hour of prime time and forced individual stations to program the hour themselves. In practice, most shows were purchased from syndicators or episodes of existing network daytime series (especially game shows ), which were exempt from fin-syn because they were not aired in prime time, produced specially for syndication using
Big Three (American television) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3486-521: The first commercial". Industry spokesmen described United to Crosby as "a promotion stunt" and "a fraud". Homer Brickey of the Toledo Blade later called the network "a victim of the Overmyer cash crunch" and claimed Treyz "slid into oblivion and reportedly became a bum on the streets of New York City." Historian Hal Erickson wrote that "... the United Network came to an end—making The Las Vegas Show
3569-504: The first series in history to leave the air because its network was cancelled." A two-page advertisement published on the April 3, 1967, issue of Broadcasting magazine listed all the planned affiliates for the United Network. Prior to that, the December 5, 1966, issue of Broadcasting listed planned all the affiliates for the Overmyer Network, 123 in total. In some markets, a different station
3652-519: The following month and established Independent Broadcasting Co., which like United would provide news and public affairs, including content from Pathé News , to affiliates. This network also failed to materialize and Pauley was eventually hired as president of Mutual Broadcasting. Pete Barbutti told the Omaha World-Herald in a January 1968 interview any plans to revive United or Las Vegas were "quite unlikely" as ownership decided to write-off
3735-405: The longer-established networks, becoming the second most-watched network behind CBS during the 2000s. During the 2007–08 season, Fox was the highest-rated of the major broadcast networks, as well as the first non-Big Three network to reach first place, but it lost the spot in the 2008–09 season and dropped to a close second. From 2004 to 2012 and 2020 to 2021, Fox also dominated American television in
3818-443: The lucrative and viewer-rich 18–49 age demographics, in large part due to the success of its NFL coverage and its top rated prime time program, American Idol . Given the network's success in its prime time and sports offerings, it has been occasionally included with the Big Three, in which case the phrase "Big Four" is used. Although Fox has firmly established itself as the nation's fourth major network with its ratings success, it
3901-405: The major networks toward the more risqué or specialized content of fledgling channels. With the cost of adding content reduced, network owners profit from programs that create any increase in use, however tiny. Niche programmers no longer needed to produce enough content to fill a channel all day, and can now put any amount of it on a server, from one program to hundreds, and charge viewers as much as
3984-486: The market will bear. The "big three" networks ( ABC , NBC , and CBS ), now faced with more competition for advertisers, shifted their programming focus. Rather than the broad, generic content they had previously offered, the networks pivoted towards more targeted content based on age, gender, and ethnicity demographics, intending to win back more audience share from their competitors. Research suggests that, however many channels there are, people watch only seven or so. But
4067-497: The more channels they have, the less likely it is that ABC, for example, will be among the seven. As viewers were freed from the inconvenience of schedules, and as cable and telephone firms encroached on the distribution end of the TV business, the broadcast networks ended up standing or falling purely as content providers. This gradual change of content, along with other emerging technologies such as DVDs and streaming television , ushered in
4150-619: The network did not fold but dropped all programming while undergoing a reorganization . Nichols retained Robert Pauley , formerly of ABC Radio , to serve as United's future president. Minority shareholder Willard Garvey planned to incorporate a new company named Detinu, Inc. (United spelled backward), to "precede development of a fourth nationwide television network". By September 1967, Nichols announced United would relaunch with seven hours of news and public affairs per week, transmitted between 2 a.m. and noon when AT&T fees were lowest. Pauley "severed ties" with United's investor team
4233-421: The network era. While initially the single-sponsorship system worked, it soon became clear that this advertising strategy could not afford to pay for the continuous production cost. Scandals also became an issue with this system and this only further contributed to the development of a new advertising model called the "participation format." For all involved (except the viewers), the participation format proved to be
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#17328441610414316-399: The network for tax purposes. Lewron Television sued both the network and Overmyer for $ 117,000 in unpaid rental bills, half of what had been owed to them under their contract; Overmyer was included because of his past status as a minority owner. While Overmyer was initially found liable of up to $ 53,683 in a summary judgment , this was later reversed on appeal. The lawsuit against United
4399-465: The network organization of radio in the early 1940s. Three of the four networks that rose to dominance, NBC , CBS , and ABC , were corporations that were based in the business center of New York City ; the fourth was the Mutual Broadcasting System , a cooperative of radio stations that, though its member stations entered television individually, never had a counterpart television network. These three networks were first established by radio and played
4482-465: The network was sold by Overmyer to a 14-person syndicate weeks before it launched, resulting in the name change to the United Network. Despite lofty plans outlined by network president Oliver Treyz , United's lone offering was The Las Vegas Show , a late-night talk show hosted by comedian Bill Dana . This program was successfully cleared in a majority of the nation's television markets ; many United affiliates had existing primary affiliations with
4565-491: The network, although companies like Colgate-Palmolive , General Mills and General Foods did emerge as advertisers. During the last days of operation, network president Oliver Treyz made an on-air appeal to potential sponsors, pointing out that air time on The Las Vegas Show was a mere $ 6,000 a minute, barely a third of what NBC was charging for The Tonight Show . Syndicated columnist Jack O'Brian reported these $ 6,000 rates were reduced further by up to two-thirds. Lewron
4648-456: The networks; NBC chose to sell the Blue Network operations, which eventually became the American Broadcasting Company. All three networks began regular, commercial television broadcasts in the 1940s. NBC and CBS began commercial operations in 1941, followed by ABC in 1948. A smaller fourth network, the DuMont Television Network , launched in 1944. The three networks originally controlled only
4731-557: The new network; this grew by October to 100 stations, 75 of which already agreed to carry the late-night show. The number of planned affiliates increased to 123 by December, including 24 of the largest 25 markets. Many of these new affiliates were existing CBS affiliates; after Overmyer Network made the late-night show a priority, CBS declined to launch a late-night show of their own. Overmyer encountered numerous financial difficulties in late 1966, attributed largely to an overexpansion of his warehouse company. Construction of his warehouses
4814-468: The original projected April 3 launch date promised months earlier in trade advertising would not be met. Overmyer proposed to the Mutual board a merger with the Overmyer Network as a way to help finance production of the new late-night show until advertising revenue became more available. While the Mutual board rejected the idea, McGlothlin, Garvey and Nichols, were receptive and formed the syndicate. As part of
4897-482: The other UHF stations was delayed, with only the San Francisco ( KEMO-TV ) and Cincinnati ( WSCO-TV ) permits having any tangible progress to speak of. Overmyer sold off 80 percent majority control of these unfinished construction permits to American Viscose Corporation in exchange for a $ 3 million loan . Overmyer announced the sale of 80 percent majority control in the network on March 5, 1967, to
4980-409: The practices established by the networks. Early television, like early radio, had only one advertiser that usually sponsored a single program. However, after the quiz show scandals of the late 1950s had exposed the danger of such a business model, the networks eliminated that format and changed to multiple corporations purchasing commercials. In the 1950s, the network-era advertising style turned into
5063-436: The remaining stockholders. H. L. Hunt and Howard Hughes were both approached as investors, but both rejected their respective offers, and another merger proposal with Mutual Broadcasting was reportedly rejected. United also launched at the end of the traditional television season, which was also the last quarter for traditional advertising budget cycles, limiting the ability for blue-chip companies to become clients for
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#17328441610415146-407: The rules allowed Fox affiliates to force their way onto cable lineups, and the network's affiliation deal with New World Communications , which it later purchased in 1996, and the acquisition of National Football League broadcast rights brought a wave of new Fox affiliates. Since its founding, Fox has surpassed ABC and NBC in the ratings during the early primetime hours in which it competes against
5229-426: The same sets and production staff as the mainline run. Fin-syn was repealed in 1993, leading the networks to re-establish syndication wings and reacquire their backcatalogs over time; PTAR was phased out by the 1990s, but the networks have never resumed programming the fringe time slot directly because they now own the syndicators whose programming is used in those slots. Beginning in the early 1980s and continuing into
5312-520: The shutdown of the United Network United's executive board voted to cease operations on Thursday, June 1, 1967, forcing affiliates to find replacement programming that same evening, some with only a few hours notice. One station, WREC-TV in Memphis, Tennessee , which carried Las Vegas at midnight, opted to sign-off at that time. Las Vegas was cancelled after 23 episodes; production staff
5395-463: The television was cutting-edge technology that created a huge demand for everyone in the United States to purchase one. By 1970, only 32 percent of homes had more than one television set in the United States. Television programming was strictly uniform and these basic characteristics contributed to the programming strategies used throughout the network era. A fundamental aspect of the network era
5478-549: The transmitter; the wide bandwidth (6 MHz, compared to just 0.01 MHz for an AM radio station and 0.2 MHz for FM radio ) heavily limited the choices in a given geographic area, especially given the relatively narrow VHF television band that the Federal Communications Commission allotted for television. The opening of the UHF television band and the All-Channel Receiver Act attempted to resolve this problem, but
5561-522: The way television was. In 1975, the FCC struck an agreement with the Big Three networks and the National Association of Broadcasters to establish a Family Viewing Hour in primetime, limiting content in that key time slot to family-friendly content; it was ruled unenforceable less than two years later. Efforts were made to break the hegemony of the Big Three networks beginning in 1971, particularly with
5644-479: The womb." Overmyer also relinquished any managerial role or board seats with the network. Rechristened the United Network, the new network signed on the air on May 1, 1967, with The Las Vegas Show on 106 stations. Hosted by comedian Bill Dana from the Hotel Hacienda , the show featured regulars Ann Elder , Pete Barbutti , Danny Meahan, Jo Anne Worley , Cully Richards and Jack Sheldon , and aspired for
5727-431: The year to form UPITN , and United was to have been one of UPITN's first clients. With Las Vegas derisively dubbed "Ollie's Follies" by industry insiders, United was described by Variety as a syndication service similar to Sports Network , but utilizing AT&T Bell System transmission lines—the main carrier for television network transmissions—to send programming on a regular schedule. United's affiliate base
5810-590: Was aired by one of the Big Three networks. A viable fourth television network in the commercial sense would not again become competitive with the Big Three until Fox was founded in October 1986 from some of the assets and remnants of the DuMont network, which had become Metromedia after DuMont folded, and were acquired by News Corporation earlier in 1986. Fox, which began as a distant fourth network, rose to major network status in 1994 after must-carry rules took effect;
5893-425: Was also not paid on May 22 and May 29 and issued a telegram threatening to deny United usage of their facilities. Other columnists began to suggest United "is in financial trouble", had a "shaky" future, or was "dying", with O'Brian calling Las Vegas both "new and ailing". At least I set a record. I'm the first man in history to sink an entire network. Bill Dana , host of The Las Vegas Show , after
5976-436: Was briefly halted after the lead contractor encountered financial distress, owing $ 18 million to shareholders; in response, Overmyer agreed to guarantee the contractor's $ 5–6 million debt. Overmyer also employed a large financial development staff for his warehouse arm that traveled across the country, resulting in substantial travel expenses and monthly airfare totaling $ 80,000 a month. Consequently, construction of
6059-499: Was decided on May 8, 1972, with the network owing the firm $ 13,326.86. WPIX president Fred Thrower called United "a valiant attempt" and said "it's a shame it didn't work... to ask for a success in five weeks was too much. If the backers of the network didn't intend to give it sustenance until it found its place they shouldn't play in this league with peanuts." Bill Dana expressed frustration over United's management and finances, telling an Associated Press reporter, "this appears to be
6142-458: Was even speculated at the time that WOR & WOIC were being considered by Mutual as possible flagship stations for a Mutual-branded TV network if one were ever launched. Beyond this, there is no confirmation, however, that a cooperative video service was ever seriously considered by the radio service, although Mutual's individual component stations themselves launched television outlets in their home cities. Some of Mutual's component stations bought
6225-413: Was notified after the previous night's taping that the show "would stop taping for awhile". Financial losses for the network's investors totaled $ 2.2 million (equivalent to $ 20.1 million in 2023) from a starting capital of $ 10 million. Las Vegas executive producer David Sontag said United needed up to $ 8 million more in order to sustain further production of the program. A notice
6308-472: Was prohibited from subleasing these unused hours to another program service or for educational television , which drew the ire of New York Times columnist Jack Gould . After the network launched, Overmyer sold his nominal 20 percent stake back to the syndicate for $ 240,000 cash and a $ 115,000 promissory note . Two weeks into the network's operations, several members of the syndicate declined to have any further involvement with United, further burdening
6391-541: Was regarded as "irregular" by Variety and retrospectively seen as "erratic". As the network was made up mostly of existing Big Three affiliates, The Las Vegas Show aired in tape delay in most markets; some NBC affiliates delayed the show to the late afternoon or aired it after Tonight . The show's airtime on WPIX varied during the week, which was also the case for WGN-TV in Chicago . The network also lacked clearance in some large cities, including San Francisco, which
6474-605: Was renamed to Ion Television in 2007. Likewise, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which has existed since 1970, is not considered to be a "Big" network. PBS operates as a noncommercial service with a very different distribution form compared to the major networks; its member stations basically own the network instead of the traditional mode of a network owning some of its stations and affiliating with additional stations owned by other broadcasters, and it maintains memberships with more than one educational station in
6557-453: Was sent to the network's 107 affiliate stations on June 1, 1967, which stated: The executive committee of our board of directors, instructed me to inform you that with deep regret we are obliged to advise you that the United Network ceased its interconnected program operations as of May 31, 1967. Please be advised that the United Network staff has done everything possible in connection without [ sic ] efforts to plan and launch
6640-466: Was signed up as the planned flagship . Los Angeles station KHJ-TV , owned by RKO General , was announced as the lead station for the West Coast ; had KHJ-TV not signed, KBSA (channel 46) , a station that had yet to sign on the air, would have been designated as West Coast flagship. The Overmyer Network, abbreviated "ON" with the slogan, "Turn ON", was regarded as the first credible attempt at forming
6723-438: Was the affiliate due to the planned station not yet signing on. Overmyer's KEMO-TV (channel 20) was listed as an affiliate in both lists, but it was not on air until April 1, 1968; as a result, The Las Vegas Show did not air in San Francisco. A blue background indicates a station only included in the April 3, 1967, list. Some listed affiliates did not carry the show: The following stations were listed as affiliates in
6806-507: Was the limited ability of networks to reach viewers, which defined how the television (in essence) was used. Distribution windows were numbered as a result of producers reselling original-run episodes to international markets, independent stations and broadcast affiliates to combat the costs of deficit financing . During the network era, the limited number of distribution windows created a bottleneck for new shows. Producers only sold series either to networks or to local stations, which allowed only
6889-473: Was waiting for KEMO-TV to sign on. While initially debuting to strong ratings in New York and Los Angeles, Las Vegas experienced significant declines through the month of May 1967. By the third week, Las Vegas was ranked dead last in New York and reportedly fell to a fraction of a point nationally. Dana later said some audience surveys showed Las Vegas had an average viewership of around 2.6 million,
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