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141-523: The Paramount Television Service (or PTVS for short and also known as Paramount Programming Service ) was the name of a proposed but ultimately unrealized " fourth television network " from the U.S. film studio Paramount Pictures (then a unit of Gulf+Western , now owned by Paramount Global ). It was a forerunner of the later UPN (the United Paramount Network), which launched 17 years later . In 1974, Barry Diller started his tenure as

282-528: A Fox affiliate. For 50 years, DuMont was the only major broadcast television network to cease operations, until CBS Corporation and Time Warner merged two other struggling networks, UPN and The WB , in September 2006, to create The CW Television Network – whose schedule was originally composed largely of programs from both of its predecessor networks. On February 22, 2018, Lightning One, Inc., owned by Smashing Pumpkins lead singer Billy Corgan , filed

423-501: A television film due to launch the new series at a cost of $ 3.2 million – which would have been the most expensive television movie ever made. Despite Barry Diller's best efforts, the Paramount board, and studio chief Charles Bluhdorn , passed on the network, as Bluhdorn worried that PTVS would lose too much money. Six months before the launch, Paramount canceled the network before PTVS was set to debut. Ultimately, Star Trek: Phase II

564-631: A DuMont public affairs program, was awarded a Peabody Award in 1952 in the Education category. Sheen's Emmy and the Science Review Peabody were the only national awards the DuMont Network received. Though DuMont series and performers continued to win local TV awards, by the mid-1950s the DuMont network no longer had a national presence. The earliest measurements of TV audiences were performed by

705-476: A U.S. trademark application for "The Dumont Network." The application by Lightning One was very likely associated with its ownership of the "National Wrestling Alliance" trademark, the moniker of one of the oldest wrestling promotions in the United States. However, according to the registration filing, the trademark for "The Dumont Network" as owned by Lightning One was allowed to lapse on July 2, 2020, rendering

846-418: A UHF outlet with a limited audience. NBC and CBS had been the larger networks, and the most successful broadcasters in radio. As they began bringing their popular radio programs and stars into the television medium, they sought – and attracted – the most profitable VHF television stations. In many areas, ABC and DuMont were left with undesirable UHF stations, or were forced to affiliate with NBC or CBS stations on

987-499: A badly needed cash infusion, giving it the resources to mount "top shelf" programming and to provide a national television service on a scale approaching that of CBS and NBC. Through UPT president Leonard Goldenson , ABC also gained ties with the Hollywood studios that more than matched those DuMont's producers had with Broadway. Realizing that ABC had more resources than they could even begin to match, DuMont officials were receptive to

1128-485: A cash crunch brought on by Overmyer's other businesses, majority control of ON was sold to a 14-investor syndicate and renamed the United Network weeks before it launched. Overmyer's unbuilt television stations were also sold off at the same time. United's lone program, The Las Vegas Show , debuted on May 1, 1967, to 107 stations, many of which were already affiliated with a Big Three network. The poor timing of

1269-449: A considerable loss after attempting to compete with three established VHF stations. The FCC's Hyman H. Goldin said in 1960, "If there had been four VHF outlets in the top markets, there's no question DuMont would have lived and would have eventually turned the corner in terms of profitability." During the early years of television, there was some measure of cooperation among the four major U.S. networks. However, as television grew into

1410-454: A failed 1976 joint venture with Ogilvy and Mather called MetroNet, the company continued to operate solely as a station owner and syndicator. Westinghouse president Donald McGannon denied his company had any network aspirations, estimating it would take $ 200 million per year to operate a full-time television network and a modest news department. HTN continued to operate as a sports syndicator and never offered non-sports programming. After

1551-834: A few nights a week, expanding to additional nights before eventually filling all seven nights in 1993), allowing it to make money and grow in ways that the established networks were prohibited from doing. News Corporation also had more resources and money to hire and retain programming and talent than DuMont. In addition, the expansion of cable television in the 1980s and 1990s allowed more viewers to receive UHF stations clearly (along with local VHF stations), through cable systems, without having to struggle with either over-the-air antennas or television sets with limited channel tuners to receive them. The Foxnet cable channel began operations in June 1991 to provide Fox's programming to smaller markets that were not served by an over-the-air Fox affiliate or one of

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1692-415: A fixed medium, were not eligible for copyright at the time, although films of those telecasts could if they contained a proper copyright notice) or lapsed into the public domain in the late 1970s when DuMont's successor-company Metromedia declined to renew the copyrights. A large number of episodes of Life Is Worth Living have been saved, and they are now aired weekly on Catholic -oriented cable network,

1833-684: A former president of NBC, twice attempted to launch his own television network; daughter Sigourney Weaver once said, "it was always his dream to transform television." According to one source, the network would have been called the Pat Weaver Prime Time Network. Although the new network was announced, no programs were ever produced. In mid-1965, radio businessman Vincent C. Piano proposed the Unisphere Broadcasting System. The service would have operated for 2½ hours each night. However, Piano had difficulty signing affiliates;

1974-533: A fourth network, the network was later regarded as a "fiasco", "a promotion stunt", "a fraud", and a " tax write-off ". New York Times columnist Jack Gould wrote that United's failure was "further evidence that expansion of commercial TV is little more than a pipe dream". Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser assembled a chain of six UHF stations in the mid-1960s under the Kaiser Broadcasting name. In September 1967, Kaiser announced their intentions to create

2115-414: A fourth television network. Murdoch's News Corporation first purchased controlling interest in 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation (TCF) on March 20, 1985, for $ 250 million, then on May 6, 1985, purchased Metromedia's program syndication unit and six television stations for $ 2.5 billion. The latter purchase immediately launched industry speculation of a new fourth network, as Murdoch boasted that

2256-401: A full complement of five O&Os, augmented by nine primary affiliates. ABC also had a radio network descended from NBC's Blue Network from which to draw talent, affiliate loyalty, and generate income to subsidize television operations. However, ABC had only 14 primary stations, while CBS and NBC had over 40 each. By 1951, ABC was badly overextended and on the verge of bankruptcy. That year,

2397-670: A lease on the Adelphi Theatre on 54th Street and the Ambassador Theatre on West 49th Street gave the network a site for variety shows. In 1954, the lavish DuMont Tele-Centre opened in the former Jacob Ruppert 's Central Opera House at 205 East 67th Street, today the site of the Fox Television Center and home of WABD successor station WNYW. DuMont was the first network to broadcast a film production for TV: Talk Fast, Mister , produced by RKO in 1944. DuMont also aired

2538-475: A major milestone when it won the National Football Conference (NFC) rights to NFL football games from CBS , a move that by all accounts firmly established itself as the fourth major television network. Soon afterward, Fox convinced several affiliates of the other networks (CBS, NBC, and ABC) to switch to Fox . As the nucleus of Fox centered around the former Metromedia, a company born from

2679-720: A member of the Operation Prime Time steering committee. Plans relating to the proposed launch of the Paramount Television Service were first announced on June 17, 1977. Set to launch in April 1978, its programming would have initially consisted of only one night a week. Thirty " Movies of the Week " would have followed Star Trek: Phase II on Saturday nights. Planned too was a series derived from Paramount's version of The War of The Worlds (1953) as "backup" for Phase II ;

2820-495: A merger offer from ABC. Goldenson quickly brokered a deal with Ted Bergmann, DuMont's managing director, under which the merged network would have been called "ABC-DuMont" until at least 1958 and would have honored all of DuMont's network commitments. In return, DuMont would get $ 5 million in cash, guaranteed advertising time for DuMont sets, and a secure future for its staff. A merged ABC-DuMont would have been an entity rivaling CBS and NBC, as it would have owned stations in five of

2961-648: A minority shareholder in DuMont Laboratories when it advanced $ 400,000 in 1939 for a 40% share in the company. Paramount had television interests of its own, having launched stations in Los Angeles in 1939 and Chicago in 1940. DuMont's association with Paramount would later come back to haunt DuMont. Soon after his experimental Washington station signed on , DuMont began experimental coaxial cable hookups between his laboratories in Passaic and his two stations. It

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3102-510: A newsfilm service for stations in the United States and Canada. TVN was majority-owned by the Coors Brewing Company , with Visnews as a minority owner, after Joseph Coors was receptive to Pauley's idea of a syndicated news supplier. TVN also proposed using the Westar satellite system to transmit programming to affiliates on a full-time basis. A political conservative sympathetic to

3243-473: A pact, to turn out 100 hours of television programming, and partnering will be dubbed by America 5 Enterprises, which will produce miniseries, TV series and telefilms using U.S. and international talent, and the two companies will share equally in costs and profits, and the company would handle worldwide and domestic television rights, with the exception of Europe , where distribution of the company will be handled through Berlusconi arm Reteitalia. In 1988, after

3384-501: A part-time basis. ABC was near bankruptcy in 1952; DuMont was unprofitable after 1953. On August 6, 1956, DuMont ceased regular network operations; the end of DuMont allowed ABC to experience a profit increase of 40% that year, although ABC would not reach parity with NBC and CBS until the 1970s. The end of the DuMont Network left many UHF stations without a reliable source of programming, and many were left to become independent stations . Several new television companies were formed through

3525-496: A pilot presentation was completed by the film's producer George Pal . PTVS was delayed until the 1978-79 season due to cautious advertisers. At the time, Star Trek was being broadcast on 137 stations in the United States in syndication, and it was expected that the new television as an effort for the station could become the fourth national network in the United States; Diller and his assistant Michael Eisner had hired Jeffrey Katzenberg to manage Star Trek into production with

3666-509: A potential Mutual all-movie network together. Mutual purchased a large group of English films and paid $ 1.5 million for the right of unlimited play for two years of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry westerns . On October 15, 1956, National Telefilm Associates launched the NTA Film Network, a syndication service that distributed both films and television programs to independent television stations and stations affiliated with NBC, CBS or ABC;

3807-451: A profitable business, an intense rivalry developed among the networks, just as it had in radio. NBC and CBS competed fiercely for viewers and advertising dollars, a contest neither underfunded DuMont nor ABC could hope to win. According to author Dennis Mazzocco, "NBC tried to make an arrangement with ABC and CBS to destroy the DuMont network." The plan was for NBC and CBS to exclusively offer ABC their most popular series after they had aired on

3948-492: A radio network from which to draw big-name talent, affiliate loyalty, or radio profits to underwrite television operations until the television medium itself became profitable. Most early television licenses were granted to established radio broadcasters, and many longtime relationships with radio networks carried over to the new medium. As CBS and NBC (and to a lesser extent, ABC) gained their footing, they began to offer programming that drew on their radio backgrounds, bringing over

4089-528: A sense, NET was less a true network than a distributor of programs to educational stations throughout the country; it was not until late 1966 that simultaneous broadcasting began on educational outlets." NET ceased to exist as a standalone entity in 1970 when it merged with WNDT to form WNET , with the Public Broadcasting Service assuming program distribution functions; the "NET" name lasted for WNET-produced programs until 1972. Pat Weaver ,

4230-458: A small number of surviving episodes released commercially by at least one major distributor of public domain programming. Because so few episodes remain of most DuMont series, they are seldom rerun, even though there is no licensing cost to do so. There also is a small collection of various DuMont programs available via the Roku streaming service. DuMont programs were by necessity low-budget affairs, and

4371-606: A staggered process. The network's first program, The Late Show with Joan Rivers , debuted on October 6, 1986, amid plans to unveil their first night of prime time programming on April 5, 1987. At the same time, TCF chairman Barry Diller openly floated the idea of Fox bidding against ABC for the rights to Monday Night Football , which proved unsuccessful. Encountering poor ratings and negative critical reviews, Joan Rivers left The Late Show on May 15, 1987; while briefly encountering success with guest host Arsenio Hall , Fox replaced Late Show with The Wilton North Report , which

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4512-946: A station to brand itself better and to stand out amongst the increasing number of television channels, particularly cable networks. Various other attempts at commercial broadcast networks: Additional networks were formed with increasing frequency immediately before and especially following the digital television transition , which gave stations the ability to multiplex their broadcast signals by adding subchannels, many of which since 2009 are being used to host networks focusing less or not at all on original content and relying mainly on programming acquired by various distributors (particularly classic series and feature films that are no longer being picked up by many cable networks). Segrave, Kerry (1999). Movies at Home: How Hollywood Came to Television . McFarland. ISBN   9780786406548 . Retrieved April 8, 2015 . DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also

4653-446: A television network with programming supplied by their station group; this included Lou Gordon from WKBD-TV , Hy Lit from WKBS-TV , Alan Douglas from WKBF-TV , and Joe Dolan from KBHK-TV . This planned network never gathered traction, and Kaiser faced significant financial losses from constructing the stations, with only WKBD-TV turning a profit. Gordon's program, however, was syndicated until his 1977 death. Kaiser Broadcasting

4794-399: A television network. The decision was made to shut down network operations and operate WABD and WTTG as independent stations . On April 1, 1955, most of DuMont's entertainment programs were dropped. Bishop Sheen aired his last program on DuMont on April 26 but later moved it to ABC. By May, just eight programs were left on the network, with only inexpensive shows and sporting events keeping

4935-517: A two-hour movie telecast, while its stations would retain 11 1 ⁄ 2 minutes. 100 television stations were signed as affiliates by October 1984, with the planned launch pushed back and set for November 10 of that year. Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of American independent television stations to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, Television Program Enterprises (TPE), were formed by Al Masini . During its existence, OPT

5076-406: A week of programming for three hours, with 30 Movies of the Week that would have followed Star Trek: Phase II on Saturday nights. PTVS was delayed until the 1978–79 season due to advertisers that were cautious of purchasing commercial slots on the planned network. This plan was aborted when executives decided the venture would be too costly, with no guarantee of profitability. In the 1970s,

5217-559: A year in September, January, March and May, and had 14 films assigned to the network from the MGM library. By 1984, the studio, now known as MGM/ United Artists , created the MGM/UA Premiere Network , an ad hoc network that broadcast 24 movies in double-runs on a monthly basis. Affiliation agreements had been signed with eight large-market television stations by that summer; MGM received 10 1 ⁄ 2 minutes of advertising time within

5358-460: A year later, no launch date had been set, and the network still lacked a "respectable number of affiliates in major markets." The network finally launched under the name Mizlou Television Network in 1968, but the concept had changed. Like the Hughes Network, Mizlou only carried occasional sporting and special events. Despite developing a sophisticated microwave and landline broadcasting system,

5499-539: Is available on the Roku streaming channel under the DuMont name. Allen B. DuMont Laboratories was founded in 1931 by Allen B. DuMont with $ 1,000 from a laboratory in his basement. He and his staff were responsible for early technical innovations like the first consumer electronic television receiver in 1938. Their most revolutionary contribution came when the team extended the life of a cathode-ray tube from 24 to 1,000 hours, making television sets practical for consumers. The company's television receivers soon became

5640-470: Is best remembered for being used by Jackie Gleason's producers for the 39-half-hour episodes of The Honeymooners that aired on CBS during the 1955–56 television season. In August 1955, Paramount, with the help of other stockholders, seized full control of DuMont Laboratories. Shareholders approved a split of the manufacturing and broadcasting operations of the company in August 1955, and the sponsored shows on

5781-415: Is said that one of those broadcasts on the hookup announced that the U.S. had dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki , Japan, on August 9, 1945. This was later considered the official beginning of the DuMont Network by both Thomas T. Goldsmith , the network's chief engineer and DuMont's best friend, and DuMont himself. Regular network service began on August 15, 1946, on WABD and W3XWT. In November 1946, W3XWT

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5922-684: Is still the standard for US TV. It was another two years before the West Coast got live programming from the East (and the East able to get live programming from the West), but this was the beginning of the modern era of network television. The first broadcasts came from DuMont's 515 Madison Avenue headquarters. It soon found additional space, including a fully functioning theater, in the New York branch of Wanamaker's department store at Ninth Street and Broadway. Later,

6063-465: Is to attract the big spenders from the ranks of sponsors." Advertisers, too, called for the creation of a fourth network. Representatives from Procter & Gamble and General Foods , two of the largest advertisers in the U.S., hoped the competition from a fourth network would lower advertising rates on the Big Three. Independent television producers, too, called for a fourth network after battles with

6204-499: The C. E. Hooper company of New York. DuMont performed well in the Hooper ratings; in fact, DuMont's talent program, The Original Amateur Hour , was the most popular series of the 1947–48 season. Two seasons later, Variety ranked DuMont's popular variety series Cavalcade of Stars as the 10th most popular series. In February 1950, Hooper's competitor A. C. Nielsen bought out the Hooper ratings system. DuMont did not fare well with

6345-518: The DuMont Network , DuMont Television , DuMont / Du Mont , or (incorrectly) Dumont / ˈ d uː m ɒ n t / ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks , rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in the United States. It was owned by Allen B. DuMont Laboratories , a television equipment and television set manufacturer. DuMont was founded in 1940 and began operation on August 15, 1946. The network

6486-493: The DuMont Television Network operated as an existing fourth network alongside ABC, CBS, and NBC, but an inability to find solid financial ground, a weaker affiliate base, and internal competition from co-owner Paramount Pictures all contributed to DuMont's closure. Multiple companies, film studios and television station owners all either considered, announced or launched networks or program services that aspired to be

6627-702: The Eternal Word Television Network , which also makes a collection of them available on DVD (in the biographical information about Fulton J. Sheen added to the end of many episodes, a still image of Bishop Sheen looking into a DuMont Television camera can be seen). Several companies that distribute DVDs over the Internet have released a small number of episodes of Cavalcade of Stars and The Morey Amsterdam Show . Two more DuMont programs, Captain Video and His Video Rangers and Rocky King, Inside Detective , have had

6768-640: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suspended approvals for new station construction permits. Although other companies – including Paramount Pictures (with the Paramount Television Network ) – announced network plans or began limited network operations, these companies withdrew from television after the first few years, or in the Paramount Television Network's case the service withered through attrition over

6909-636: The First transcontinental railroad ) was activated. The ceremony, hosted by DuMont and WDTV, was carried on all four networks. WGN-TV (channel 9) in Chicago and WABD in New York were able to share programs through a live coaxial cable feed when WDTV signed on in Pittsburgh, because the station completed the East Coast-to-Midwest chain, allowing stations in both regions to air the same program simultaneously, which

7050-411: The Paramount Television Network , a service that provided local television stations with filmed television programs. Paramount's network "undercut the company that it had invested in." Paramount did not share its stars, big budgets, or filmed programs with DuMont; the company had stopped financially supporting DuMont in 1941. Although Paramount executives indicated they would produce programs for DuMont,

7191-684: The UCLA Film and Television Archive in Los Angeles, in the Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia , and in the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. Although nearly the entire DuMont film archive was destroyed, several surviving DuMont shows have been released on DVD . Much of what survived was either never properly copyrighted (live telecasts, because they were not set on

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7332-547: The UHF band. Hundreds of new UHF stations began operations, but many of these stations quickly folded because television set manufacturers were not required to include a built-in UHF tuner until 1964 as part of the All-Channel Act . Most viewers could not receive UHF stations, and most advertisers would not advertise on stations which few could view. Without the advertising revenue enjoyed by

7473-494: The Yankee Network , and Paramount, were interested in starting television networks, but were prevented from doing so by restrictive FCC regulations, although the Paramount Television Network had limited success in network operations in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Despite no history of radio programming, no stable of radio stars to draw on, and perennial cash shortages, DuMont was an innovative and creative network. Without

7614-573: The channel 9 allocation in nearby Steubenville, Ohio , and move it to Pittsburgh so Steubenville had a chance to have its own television station. As a result, no other commercial VHF station signed on in Pittsburgh until WIIC-TV in 1957, giving WDTV a de facto monopoly on television in the area. Since WDTV carried secondary affiliations with the other three networks, DuMont used this as a bargaining chip to get its programs cleared in other large markets. Despite its severe financial straits, by 1953 DuMont appeared to be on its way to establishing itself as

7755-414: The destruction of its extensive program archive by the 1970s, has prompted TV historian David Weinstein to refer to it as the "forgotten network". A few popular DuMont programs, such as Cavalcade of Stars and Emmy Award winner Life Is Worth Living , appear in television retrospectives or are mentioned briefly in books about U.S. television history. In addition, a collection of programs and promos

7896-419: The "fourth network", but none succeeded. Several of these attempts never advanced from being niche program services, while others either failed to launch or failed after launching. General consensus within the industry and by television critics was that a fourth television network was impossible; one television critic wrote, "Industry talk about a possible full-time, full-service, commercial network structured like

8037-633: The "occasional" television networks started to appear with greater frequency with Norman Lear , Mobil Showcase Network , Capital Cities Communications , and Operation Prime Time , all entering the fray along with Metromedia. In 1978, SFM Media Service , which assisted with the Mobil Showcase Network, launched its own occasional network, the SFM Holiday Network and the General Foods Golden Showcase Network . SFM

8178-521: The 13th: The Series , War of the Worlds (unrelated to the 1970s attempt) and Star Trek: The Next Generation . On February 9, 2017, Viacom announced that Spike would take on the new branding of the Paramount Network in early 2018, as the company switches to a focus on six prime ViacomCBS brands with most of the company's backing and resources. Fourth television network Prior to 1956,

8319-599: The 1940s and 1950s, television signals were sent between stations via coaxial cable and microwave links owned by AT&T. The service provider did not have enough circuits to provide signal relay service from the four networks to all of their affiliates at the same time, so AT&T allocated times when each network could offer live programs to its affiliates. In 1950, AT&T allotted NBC and CBS each over 100 hours of live prime time network service, but gave ABC 53 hours, and DuMont 37. AT&T also required each television network to lease both radio and television lines. DuMont

8460-414: The 1960s and 1970s. The studios considered the fact that the networks usually ran their films during rating sweeps periods up against other theatrical films, as being the cause of the slide in viewership. These ad hoc networks, formed by an advertiser or studio, would provide to the production companies ratings histories that the pay services could not provide for sales in a syndicated package, and only tie up

8601-570: The Big Three. George Fox, the president of the George Fox Organization, announced tentative plans for a television film network in May 1956. The plan was to sign 45 to 50 affiliate stations; each of these stations would have input in deciding what programs the network would air. Four initial programs – Jack for Jill, I'm the Champ, Answer Me This, and It's a Living – were slated to be broadcast;

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8742-622: The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Pictures Corporation. With Diller at the helm, the studio produced television programs such as Laverne & Shirley (1976), Taxi (1978), and Cheers (1982). With his television background, Diller kept pitching an idea of his to the board: a fourth commercial network. Paramount Pictures purchased the Hughes Television Network including its satellite time in planning for PTVS in 1976. They also hired Rich Frank of KCOP-TV and

8883-482: The FCC ruled that Paramount essentially controlled DuMont, which effectively placed the network at the five-station cap. Paramount's exertion of influence over the network's management and the power of its voting stock led the FCC to its conclusion. Thus, DuMont was unable to open additional stations as long as Paramount owned stations or owned a portion of DuMont. Paramount refused to sell. In 1949, Paramount Pictures launched

9024-534: The MGM Family Network (MFN), on September 9, 1973, with the movie The Yearling on 145 stations. MFN was created to fill the family programming void from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. due to the implementation of the Prime Time Access Rule , using movies from the MGM library scheduled to air on one Sunday every two months. The premiere of MFN registered a 40 rating. The network broadcast only four times

9165-582: The Metromedia stations could be used to exploit TCF's film and television library. To win regulatory approval for the deal, Murdoch gave up his Australian citizenship and became a naturalized U.S. citizen on September 4, 1985. When the Metromedia deal closed on March 6, 1986, it was renamed Fox Television Stations Group ; an executive team began to be recruited for Fox Broadcasting Company (Fox), which at that point only consisted of president Jamie Kellner and his secretary. The launch of Fox took place through

9306-531: The VHF stations, many UHF station owners either returned their station licenses to the FCC, attempted to trade licenses with educational stations on VHF, attempted to purchase a VHF station in a nearby market to move into theirs, or cut operating costs in attempts to stay in business (see also: UHF television broadcasting § UHF vs VHF ) . Since there were four networks but only three VHF stations in most major U.S. cities, one network would be forced to broadcast on

9447-510: The battle between the Hearst Corporation (then-owners of WCAE ) and KQV over the channel 4 license that eventually would become WTAE-TV , and -- perhaps the most impactful one to DuMont's future -- locally-based Westinghouse Electric Corporation (owners of radio pioneer KDKA ) battling with local interest groups for the channel 13 license that was intended to be a non-commercial license. The FCC also denied CBS's request to be granted

9588-579: The bigger networks. ABC would become a network of re-runs, but DuMont would be shut out. ABC president Leonard Goldenson rejected NBC executive David Sarnoff 's proposal, but did not report it to the Justice Department . DuMont survived the early 1950s only because of WDTV in Pittsburgh, the lone commercial VHF station in what then was the sixth-largest market in the country after New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington. WDTV's only competition came from UHF stations WENS-TV (on

9729-439: The cancellation of Robotech II: The Sentinels , a number of the staff were recruited to work at Saban Entertainment . Carl Macek, along with his friend Jerry Beck went on to found Streamline Pictures . Meanwhile, Harmony Gold began moving away from production and began focusing more on film distribution, dot-com ventures and real estate. After the scuttling of the plans for PPS, MCA tried again. The Hollywood Premiere Network

9870-426: The change: none of its shows appeared on Nielsen's annual top 20 lists of the most popular series. The aforementioned Life is Worth Living did receive Nielsen ratings of up to 11.1, meaning that it attracted more than 10 million viewers. Bishop Sheen's one-man program – in which he discussed philosophy, psychology, and other fields of thought from a Christian perspective – was the most widely viewed religious series in

10011-455: The company announced a merger with United Paramount Theaters (UPT) (the former theater division of Paramount Pictures, which was spun off as a result of the United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. antitrust decision), but it was not until 1953 that the FCC approved the merger. By this time, DuMont had begun to differentiate itself from NBC and CBS. It allowed its advertisers to choose

10152-565: The company never developed into a major television network. On July 12, 1966, warehouse entrepreneur Daniel H. Overmyer announced the launch of the Overmyer Network (ON), to be built around Overmyer's chain of five planned UHF stations and an existing station in Toledo, Ohio . Headed by former ABC president Oliver Treyz , ON planned to have up to eight hours of program nightly, along with news programming from United Press International . Due to

10293-482: The existing Paramount syndicated series Star Trek: The Next Generation ; They Came from Outer Space and She-Wolf of London were paired in prime time Tuesday, while Shades of L.A. followed The Next Generation in prime time Wednesday. The budget per episodes were estimated at $ 600,000 less than the network per episode cost at $ 1 million that the partners claimed. The Hollywood Premiere Network began broadcasting on October 9, 1990. MCA and Chris-Craft canceled

10434-477: The existing big three, ABC, CBS and NBC, pops up much more often than the fictitious town of Brigadoon ." Non-commercial educational television, especially with stations aligned with National Educational Television and successor PBS , also found success as program services with network-capable functions. The launch of Fox in October 1986 was met with ridicule; despite industry skepticism and initial instability,

10575-440: The existing system of allocation and control of television broadcast stations and affiliations". The name was later changed to "Metropolitan Broadcasting Company" to distance the company from what was seen as a complete failure. In 1958, John Kluge bought Paramount's shares for $ 4 million, and in 1961 renamed the company Metromedia . WABD became WNEW-TV and later WNYW . WTTG still broadcasts under its original call letters as

10716-510: The failure of the United Network in 1967, former ABC Radio president Robert Pauley was briefly retained by United ownership to relaunch the network as a supplier of news and public affairs programming. The following year, Pauley briefly pitched a television news service of his own, using the same concept, before being hired by Mutual Broadcasting. In 1973, Pauley became the founding chief executive officer for Television News Inc. (TVN),

10857-451: The few superstations that carried the network. Boosted by successful shows like Married... with Children , 21 Jump Street , COPS , Beverly Hills, 90210 , In Living Color , Martin , Melrose Place , Living Single and The X-Files (all appealing to the highly coveted and lucrative 18-49 demographic), Fox proved profitable by the 1990s. Finally, in December 1993, Fox hit

10998-522: The first TV situation comedy , Mary Kay and Johnny , as well as the first network-televised soap opera , Faraway Hill . Cavalcade of Stars , a variety show hosted by Jackie Gleason , was the birthplace of The Honeymooners skits (Gleason took his variety show to CBS in 1952, but filmed the "Classic 39" Honeymooners episodes at DuMont's Adelphi Theater studio in 1955–56). Bishop Fulton J. Sheen 's devotional program Life Is Worth Living went up against Milton Berle in many cities, becoming

11139-399: The first U.S. TV show to star an Asian American person; and The Hazel Scott Show , starring pianist and singer Hazel Scott , the first U.S. network TV series to be hosted by a black woman. Although DuMont's programming pre-dated videotape , many DuMont offerings were recorded on kinescopes. These kinescopes were said to be stored in a warehouse until the 1970s. Actress Edie Adams ,

11280-552: The first show to compete successfully in the ratings against "Mr. Television". In 1952, Sheen won an Emmy Award for "Most Outstanding Personality". The network's other notable programs include: The network was a pioneer in TV programming aimed at minority audiences and featuring minority performers, at a time when the other American networks aired few television series for non-whites. Among DuMont's minority programs were The Gallery of Madame Liu-Tsong , starring film actress Anna May Wong ,

11421-402: The former DuMont Television Network, veteran radio programmer Clarke Ingram —who researched the history of DuMont and early UHF broadcasting —surmised that Fox was not a new network but DuMont "rising from the ashes". With the success with Fox, several other media companies started to enter the broadcasting world in the 1990s to create an additional commercial broadcast network that would allow

11562-770: The former. It also would have had to sell two other stations – most likely ABC's two smallest O&Os, WXYZ-TV in Detroit and KGO-TV in San Francisco (both broadcasting on channel 7) – to get under the FCC's limit of five stations per owner. However, Paramount vetoed the plan almost out of hand due to antitrust concerns. A few months earlier, the FCC had ruled that Paramount controlled DuMont, and there still were some questions about whether UPT had really separated from Paramount. With no other way to readily obtain cash, DuMont sold WDTV to Westinghouse for $ 9.75 million in late 1954, after Westinghouse decided to give public backing to

11703-699: The four networks, depending on the number of licensed stations within a given media market in this early era of television broadcasting. These four networks – the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), and the DuMont Television Network (DuMont) – would be the only full-time television networks during the 1940s and 1950s, as in 1948,

11844-441: The frequency now occupied by WINP-TV ) and WKJF-TV (now WPGH-TV ) and distant stations from Johnstown, Pennsylvania , Youngstown, Ohio , and Wheeling, West Virginia . There also were external factors such as the FCC's freeze on licenses and intense competition for the remaining VHF licenses in Pittsburgh, including WENS-TV appealing the FCC's granting of the channel 11 license that was eventually affirmed for WIIC-TV (now WPXI ),

11985-704: The history of television. 169 local television stations aired Life , and for three years the program competed successfully against NBC's popular The Milton Berle Show . The ABC and CBS programs that aired in the same timeslot were canceled. Life is Worth Living was not the only DuMont program to achieve double-digit ratings. In 1952, Time magazine reported that popular DuMont game show Down You Go had attracted an audience estimated at 16 million viewers. Similarly, DuMont's summer 1954 replacement series, The Goldbergs , achieved audiences estimated at 10 million. Still, these series were only moderately popular compared to NBC's and CBS's highest-rated programs. Nielsen

12126-443: The honors. Sheen also was nominated for Public Service Emmys in 1952, 1953, and 1954. DuMont received an Emmy nomination for Down You Go , a popular game show during the 1952–53 television season (in the category Best Audience Participation, Quiz, or Panel Program ). The network was nominated twice for its coverage of professional football during the 1953–54 and 1954–55 television seasons. The Johns Hopkins Science Review ,

12267-414: The last broadcast of Monday Night Fights .) According to one source, the final program aired on only five stations nationwide. It appears that the boxing show was syndicated to a few other east coast stations until 1958, but likely not as a production of DuMont or its successor company. Likewise, the remains of DuMont were used to syndicate a high school football Thanksgiving game in 1957; that telecast,

12408-515: The launch limited available budgets for prospective advertisers; this, coupled with onerous charges to transmit over AT&T Bell System phone lines, resulted in the network's failure and the cancellation of Las Vegas after one month. Ownership filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy several weeks later, and despite multiple teases of relaunching as a supplier of news and public affairs programming, United never resumed operations. While United managed to transmit programming unlike prior attempts at

12549-467: The locations where their advertising ran, potentially saving them millions of dollars. By contrast, ABC followed NBC's and CBS's practice of forcing advertisers to purchase a large "must-buy" list of stations, even though it was only a fourth the size of NBC and CBS. ABC's fortunes were dramatically altered in February 1953, when the FCC cleared the way for UPT to buy the network. The merger provided ABC with

12690-511: The market, WNTA was sold to the Educational Broadcasting Corporation and relaunched the following year as non-commercial station WNDT, aligned with National Educational Television (NET). National Telefilm Associates continued syndication services for stations for several years after the closure of NTA Film Network, with Divorce Court was seen as late as 1969. Educational television (ETV) had existed since 1952, but

12831-510: The most popular radio stars. Early television station owners, when deciding which network would receive their main affiliation, were more likely to choose CBS's roster of Lucille Ball, Jack Benny , and Ed Sullivan , or NBC's lineup of Milton Berle and Sid Caesar , over DuMont, which offered a then-unknown Jackie Gleason and Bishop Fulton J. Sheen . In smaller markets, with a limited number of stations, DuMont and ABC were often relegated to secondary status, so their programs got clearance only if

12972-499: The movie for a two-week window. These were set up using a barter system, with the network retaining five minutes per hour of ad time. Besides the Premiere Network and Debut Network, Orion Pictures , Warner Bros. and a joint venture of Viacom and Tribune Broadcasting all followed suit in announcing the launch of their own ad hoc networks in late 1984. MGM Television entered the field with its self-proclaimed fourth network,

13113-474: The movie network broadcast a special edition of Dune as a two-night event, with additional footage not included in the film's original release. In June 1990, the Debut Network was ranked in fifth place among the ten highest-rated syndicated programs according to Nielsen . In 1987, Harmony Gold USA collaborated with international backers, including Société Française de Productions and Reteeurope, both of

13254-592: The national networks. By the 1970s, TVS was producing entertainment programming alongside its sports programming. Einhorn eventually sold his interest in TVS to the Corinthian Broadcasting Corporation for $ 5 million. By 1985, there were 267 independent television stations operational in the U.S., most of which were broadcasting on VHF and UHF. Rupert Murdoch , an Australian publishing mogul, initiated two major transactions in 1985 that finally resulted in

13395-682: The network eventually proved profitable by the early 1990s, secured rights to NFL football in 1993 and initiated a major affiliate realignment the following year. Fox became the first successful fourth network, eventually surpassing the Big Three networks in demographics and overall ratings by the early 2000s. In the 1940s, four television networks began operations by linking local television stations together via AT&T 's coaxial cable telephone network. These links allowed stations to share television programs across great distances, and allowed advertisers to air commercial advertisements nationally. Local stations became affiliates of one or more of

13536-514: The network five owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), the maximum allowed by the FCC at the time. However, DuMont was hampered by Paramount's two stations -- KTLA (channel 5) in Los Angeles and WBKB (channel 4, now WBBM-TV on channel 2) in Chicago – the descendants of the two experimental stations that rankled DuMont in 1940. Although these stations generally did not carry DuMont programming (KTLA did for just one year, 1947 to 1948), and, in fact, competed against DuMont's affiliates in those cities

13677-538: The network had signed agreements with over 100 affiliate stations. The ad hoc network's flagship station was WNTA-TV (channel 13) in New York City . The NTA Network was launched as a "fourth TV network," and trade papers of the time referred to it as a new television network. Despite this effort, by 1961, NTA carried a significant debt load and WNTA-TV was losing money against stiff competition from independent stations WNEW-TV and WOR-TV . After being placed on

13818-477: The network received relatively few awards from the TV industry. Most awards during the 1950s went to NBC and CBS, who were able to out-spend other companies and draw on their extensive history of radio broadcasting in the relatively new television medium. During the 1952–53 TV season, the aforementioned Bishop Sheen won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Personality . Sheen beat out three CBS nominees -- Arthur Godfrey , Edward R. Murrow , and Lucille Ball -- for

13959-473: The network were discontinued. The last non-sports program on DuMont, the game show What's the Story , aired on September 23, 1955. After that, DuMont's network feed was used only for occasional sporting events. The last broadcast on what was left of the DuMont Television Network, a boxing match , aired on August 6, 1956. (The date has also been reported as September 1955, November 1957 or August 4, 1958, with

14100-405: The network's initial series), which became the first series from a fourth network to enter the top 30 since the demise of DuMont more than 30 years earlier. By then, Fox did have some advantages that DuMont did not have back in the 1950s. During its first few years, Fox programmed just under the number of hours to be legally considered a network by the FCC (by carrying only two hours of programming

14241-515: The network's shows. NBC head Grant Tinker declared, "I will never put a fourth column on my schedule board. There will only be three." Indeed, just two years into its existence, the network was already struggling, and Fox executives considered pulling the plug on the network. By 1990 , however, Fox cracked the top 30 in the Nielsen ratings through the surprise success of The Simpsons (an animated series spun off from The Tracey Ullman Show , one of

14382-568: The networks relied on separate regional networks in the two time zones for live programming, and the West Coast received network programming from kinescopes (films shot directly from live television screens) originating from the East Coast. On January 11, 1949, the coaxial cable linking East and Midwest (known in television circles as "the Golden Spike", in reference to the golden spike that united

14523-536: The only DuMont broadcast to have been sent in color, was a personal project of Allen DuMont himself, whose hometown team in Montclair, New Jersey , was contending in the game for a state championship. DuMont spun off WABD and WTTG as the DuMont Broadcasting Corporation; in requesting the FCC's approval of the reorganization, it told the commission that the network "could not be operated profitably under

14664-560: The original 1937 acquisition proposal required Paramount to expand its television interests "through DuMont". Paramount representative Paul Raibourn, who also was a member of DuMont's board of directors, denied that any such restriction had ever been discussed, but Dr. DuMont was vindicated by a 1953 examination of the original draft document. DuMont aspired to grow beyond its three stations, applying for new television station licenses in Cincinnati and Cleveland in 1947. This would have given

14805-612: The package after the first season. However, MCA TV was shopping the block and its shows at the NATPE January 1991 TV trade show. In 1968, then minority owner & vice chairman of the Chicago White Sox, Eddie Einhorn, founded the Television Sports Television Network (or TVS Television Network, for short) to telecast college basketball games to regional networks at a time when the sport was of no interest to

14946-774: The picture quality was marginal at best, depending on geographic location. (see also: UHF television broadcasting § UHF reception issues ) . Tied to this was a decision to restrict VHF allocations in medium- and smaller-sized markets. Meanwhile, television sets would not be required to have all-channel tuning until 1964, with the passage of the All-Channel Receiver Act . Forced to rely on UHF to expand, DuMont saw one station after another go dark due to dismal ratings. It bought small, distressed UHF station KCTY (channel 25) in Kansas City , Missouri , in 1954, but ran it for just three months before shutting it down at

15087-463: The primary network was off the air or delayed via kinescope recording ("tele-transcriptions," in DuMont parlance). Adding to DuMont's troubles was the FCC's 1948 "freeze" on television license applications . This was done to sort out the thousands of applications that had come streaming in, but also to rethink the allocation and technical standards laid down prior to World War II. It became clear soon after

15228-571: The programs would be filmed in Hollywood . However, only 17 stations had agreed to affiliate in May. The film network never made it off the ground, and none of the planned programs aired. The Mutual Broadcasting System , as one of the four major radio networks that existed at the time, was considered a candidate for creating a fourth network. When Mutual came under the ownership of General Tire 's General Teleradio along with five television stations, General Tire president Thomas F. O'Neil started putting

15369-453: The public interest groups for the channel 13 allocation in Pittsburgh, allowing the station to launch that spring as educational WQED . While this gave DuMont a short-term cash infusion, it eliminated the leverage the network had to get program clearances in other markets. Without its de facto monopoly in Pittsburgh, the company's advertising revenue shrank to less than half that of 1953. By February 1955, DuMont realized it could not continue as

15510-412: The radio revenues that supported mighty NBC and CBS, DuMont programmers relied on their wits and on connections with Broadway . The network largely ignored the standard business model of 1950s TV, in which one advertiser sponsored an entire show, enabling it to have complete control over its content. Instead, DuMont sold commercials to several different advertisers, freeing producers of its shows from

15651-402: The remains of the network going through the summer. The network also largely abandoned the use of the intercity network coaxial cable, on which it had spent $ 3 million in 1954 to transmit shows that mostly lacked station clearance. The company only retained network links for live sports programming and utilizing the company's Electronicam process to produce studio-based programming. Electronicam

15792-499: The respective French , Italian and Spanish interests to set up a new project, and what the worldwide market represented to set up the Harmony Premiere Network, which was to be the next Operation Prime Time , and brings together U.S. and international financers to co-produce the products for Harmony Gold. In 1987, the company had teamed up with Italian company Silvio Berlusconi Communications to pay $ 150 million for

15933-427: The same span as did DuMont's, losing most of its programming by 1953 and ceasing operations in 1956. The FCC's " freeze ," as it was called, was supposed to last for six months. When it was lifted after four years in 1952, there were only four full-time television networks. The FCC would only license three local VHF stations in most U.S. television markets. A fourth station, the FCC ruled, would have to broadcast on

16074-428: The six largest U.S. television markets (excluding only Philadelphia) as well as ABC's radio network. It also would have inherited DuMont's de facto monopoly in Pittsburgh and would have been one of two networks, along with NBC, to have full ownership of a station in the nation's capital. However, it would have had to sell a New York station – either DuMont's WABD or ABC's flagship WJZ-TV (channel 7, now WABC-TV ), probably

16215-459: The standard of the industry. In 1942, DuMont worked with the U.S. Army in developing radar during World War II . This brought in $ 5 million for the company. Early sales of television receivers were hampered by the lack of regularly scheduled programming. A few months after selling his first set in 1938, DuMont opened his own New York-area television station (W2XVT) in Passaic, New Jersey . In 1940,

16356-625: The station moved to Manhattan as W2XWV on channel 4 and commenced broadcasting on April 13, 1940. Unlike CBS and NBC , which reduced their television broadcasting during World War II, DuMont continued experimental and commercial broadcasts throughout the war. In 1944, W2XWV received its commercial license, the third in New York, under the call letters WABD (derived from DuMont's initials). In 1945, it moved to channel 5. On May 19, 1945, DuMont opened experimental W3XWT in Washington, D.C. which became commercial station WTTG . Paramount Pictures became

16497-507: The studio never supplied the network with programs or technical assistance. The acrimonious relationship between Paramount and DuMont climaxed during the 1953 FCC hearings regarding the ABC– United Paramount Theaters merger when Paul Raibourn, an executive at Paramount, publicly derided the quality of DuMont television sets in court testimony. DuMont began with one basic disadvantage: unlike NBC, CBS and ABC, it did not have

16638-519: The third national network. despite a smaller footprint than ABC. While DuMont programs aired live on 16 stations, the network could count on only seven primary stations – its three owned-and-operated stations ("O&Os) plus WGN-TV in Chicago, KTTV (channel 11) in Los Angeles, KFEL-TV (channel 2, now KWGN-TV ) in Denver , and WTVN-TV (channel 6, now WSYX ) in Columbus, Ohio . In contrast, by 1953 ABC had

16779-494: The three major networks," they were skeptical that a fourth network would offer better material: "[O]ne wonders if a new network lacking the big money already being spread three ways will be able to come up with tripe that is equal. Certainly a new network is not going to stress quality programming when the ratings indicate that the American public prefer hillbillies, cowboys and spies. A new network will have to deliver an audience if it

16920-483: The trademark dead. All three DuMont-owned stations still are operating and are owned-and-operated stations of their respective networks, just as when they were part of DuMont. Of the three, only Washington's WTTG still has its original call letters. WTTG and New York's WABD (later WNEW-TV, and now WNYW) survived as Metromedia-owned independents until 1986, when they were purchased by the News Corporation to form

17061-589: The veto power held by sole sponsors. This eventually became the standard model for U.S. television. Some commercial time was sold regionally on a co-op basis, while other spots were sold network-wide. DuMont also holds another important place in American TV history. WDTV's sign-on made it possible for stations in the Midwest to receive live network programming from stations on the East Coast , and vice versa. Before then,

17202-522: The views of the John Birch Society , Coors viewed TVN as an "alternative" to the established news services of ABC, NBC and CBS, which he deemed to be "liberal" in content . Former Nixon administration official Roger Ailes served as an executive for TVN briefly in 1975. TVN was shut down in October 1975 after Coors, who had been nominated to the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting ,

17343-448: The war that 12 channels (" channel 1 " had been removed from television broadcasting in 1948 for allocation to land-mobile radio) were not nearly enough for national television service. What was to be a six-month freeze lasted until 1952, when the FCC opened the UHF spectrum. The FCC, however, did not require television manufacturers to include UHF capability. To see UHF stations, most consumers had to buy expensive converters . Even then,

17484-644: The war. ABC had just come into existence as a radio network in 1943 and did not enter network television until 1948 when its flagship station in New York City, WJZ-TV ( WABC-TV ), began broadcasting. CBS also waited until 1948 to begin network operations, because it was waiting for the Federal Communications Commission to approve its color television system (which it eventually did not, due to its mechanical nature and incompatibility with black and white receivers). Other companies, including Mutual ,

17625-488: The wife of comedian Ernie Kovacs (both regular performers on early television) testified in 1996 before a panel of the Library of Congress on the preservation of television and video. Adams claimed that so little value was given to these films that the stored kinescopes were loaded into three trucks and dumped into Upper New York Bay . Nevertheless, a number of DuMont programs survive at The Paley Center for Media in New York,

17766-399: The years in failed attempts to band these stations together in a new fourth network. Some within the industry felt there was a need for a fourth network; that complaints about diversity in programming could be addressed by adding another network. "We need a fourth, a fifth, and a sixth network," one broadcaster stated. While critics rejected "the nightly tripe being offered [to] the public on

17907-407: Was a provider of ad hoc network as a service to other clients including Del Monte Foods . A few ad hoc networks were developed during the 1980s as conventional full-time networks were not buying theatrical feature films as much due to declining ratings for those telecasts, with networks arguing that pay television channels and videotapes had reduced the demand for films compared to those seen in

18048-505: Was cancelled after 21 episodes. Fox was ridiculed by critics and scorned by Big Three network executives, which believed that, like previous fourth network attempts, it would be limited by being mostly on UHF stations. NBC entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff dismissively nicknamed Fox "the coat hanger network," implying that viewers would need to attach wire hangers (often used as a free alternative to set-top loop antennas used to receive UHF signals) to their television sets to view

18189-472: Was considered the de facto fourth television network. Prime Time planned three book adaptions for their shows to air in May, July and November or December 1978 with two of them being John Jakes 's The Bastard and The Rebels leading the way for the rest of the book series that OPT optioned including two then currently being written. Martin Gosch's and Richard Hammer's The Last Testimony of Lucky Luciano

18330-454: Was formed by MCA and Chris-Craft Industries , owner of several major independent stations via their United Television subsidiary. With basic cable channels snapping up movie packages, independents looked to making their own programming. Hollywood Premiere was originally tested as a two night programming block on United's KCOP and MCA's WWOR before syndicating the programming to other markets. The block took three new programs and paired them with

18471-412: Was founded in 1956 as sports syndicator Sports Network, and purchased and renamed by business magnate Howard Hughes in 1968. Crosby speculated HTN could potentially add non-sports programs that "...can change viewer's dialing habits... it would be one way, less costly and with far less of a risk, to start the illusionary fourth network". While Metromedia "dabbled at creating a fourth network," including

18612-632: Was granted a commercial license, the capital's first, as WTTG , named after Goldsmith. These two DuMont owned-and-operated stations were joined by WDTV (channel 3) in Pittsburgh on January 11, 1949. Although NBC in New York had station-to-station television links as early as 1940 with WPTZ ( KYW ) in Philadelphia and WRGB in Schenectady, New York , DuMont received its station licenses before NBC resumed its previously sporadic network broadcasts after

18753-401: Was hindered by the cost of broadcasting , a freeze on new television stations in 1948 by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and even the company's partner, Paramount Pictures . Despite innovations in broadcasting, and launching one of television's biggest stars of the 1950s— Jackie Gleason —the network never reached solid finances. Forced to expand on UHF channels when UHF tuning

18894-496: Was not the only company to report TV ratings. Companies such as Trendex , Videodex , and Arbitron had also measured TV viewership. The chart in this section comes from Videodex's August 1950 ratings breakdown, as reported in Billboard magazine. DuMont struggled to get its programs aired in many parts of the country, in part due to technical limitations of network lines maintained by telephone company AT&T Corporation . During

19035-411: Was not yet standard on television sets, DuMont fought an uphill battle for program clearance outside its three owned-and-operated stations: WABD New York City , WTTG Washington, D.C. , and WDTV Pittsburgh , ultimately ending network operations on August 6, 1956, leaving three main networks other than public broadcasting , until the founding of Fox in 1986. DuMont's obscurity, caused mainly by

19176-478: Was poorly funded. Only a few educational television stations existed during the 1950s. By 1962, 62 educational stations were in operation, most of which had affiliated with NET. That year, the U.S. Congress approved $ 32 million in funding for educational television, giving a boost to the non-commercial television network. Although at the 1962 revamp of the organization, NET was branded a "fourth network", later historians have disagreed. Historian Alex McNeil wrote, "in

19317-620: Was scrutinized over his ownership of TVN and imposing of political beliefs into news content, along with his disdain for public broadcasting. Coors's CPB board nomination was rejected by the U.S. Senate on the same day that TVN closed. In 1977, Paramount Pictures made tentative plans to launch the Paramount Television Service , or Paramount Programming Service, a new fourth television network. Paramount also purchased HTN, including its satellite time. Set to launch in April 1978, it would have initially consisted of only one night

19458-494: Was sold to Field Communications in 1977. In a series of columns in 1969 about a theoretical fourth network, Newspaper Enterprise Association writer Joan Crosby floated Westinghouse Broadcasting , Metromedia and Hughes Television Network (HTN) as possible candidates; Westinghouse was in the middle of merger talks with MCA Inc. , while Metromedia was entertaining a purchase by the Transamerica Corporation . HTN

19599-541: Was the only television network without a radio network, so it was the only network forced to pay for a service it did not use. DuMont protested AT&T's actions with the Federal Communications Commission, and eventually reached a compromise. DuMont's biggest corporate hurdle may have been with the company's own partner, Paramount. Relations between the two companies were strained as early as 1939 when Paramount opened experimental television stations in Los Angeles and Chicago without DuMont's involvement. Dr. DuMont claimed that

19740-711: Was the third adaptation scheduled for 1978. The Kraft General Foods Golden Showcase Network, or Golden Showcase Network, was launched in 1980 with assistance from SFM and ran at least to 1989. Programs on the Golden Showcase included The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank and Little Girl Lost . The Universal Pictures Debut Network, or simply the Debut Network, was a similar ad hoc film network created by MCA Television . The service reached agreements with ten stations in larger markets such as New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago by late 1984. The network planned to launch in two stages beginning in September 1985. In 1988,

19881-633: Was transformed into Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979). Diller then took his fourth network idea with him when he moved to 20th Century Fox to start the Fox Broadcasting Company . Meanwhile, Paramount, long successful in syndication with repeats of Star Trek , with several impressively popular first-run syndicated series by the turn of the 1990s, in Entertainment Tonight , Hard Copy , Webster (which moved from ABC for its last two seasons), The Arsenio Hall Show , Friday

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