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The DuMont Television Network was an American Television Network , beginning operation in 1946 . Parent company DuMont Laboratories , a broadcasting-equipment and set manufacturer, had begun experimental broadcasts in 1938. Founded by Dr. Allen B. DuMont , generally considered one of the inventors of television, DuMont Laboratories was incorporated in 1935; Dr. DuMont and his staff were responsible for many early technical innovations, and the company's sets, offered from 1938, were said to be superior to those of rival RCA . In 1946, CBS and NBC had not resumed their pre-war experimental efforts. ABC had only begun its radio network, and had no television plans. A minority shareholder in DuMont Laboratories was Paramount Pictures , which had advanced $400,000 in 1938 for a 40% share in the company. Paramount had television interests of its own, having launched experimental stations in Los Angeles in 1939 and Chicago in 1940 . This would come back to haunt DuMont later. When network service began in 1946, DuMont owned and operated two stations: WABD (for Allen B. DuMont) in New York City (now WNYW ) and W3XWT in Washington, (later renamed WTTG for Dr. Thomas T. Goldsmith, DuMont's head of research, and Dr. DuMont's best friend.) They were joined in 1949 by WDTV in Pittsburgh (now KDKA-TV ). EARLY STATION-TO-STATION LINKS Prior to its beginning as a network, DuMont had conducted experimental hookups, using Coaxial Cable , between its laboratories in Passaic, New Jersey , and its New York and Washington stations. While regular network service didn't begin until 1946 , the "official" beginning of the network was said to be on August 9 , 1945 , with the announcement of the U.S.'s dropping of an Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki, Japan . NBC and CBS had also experimented with station-to-station hookups prior to World War II . PROGRAMMING With no history of radio programming to draw on, and always strapped for cash, DuMont was an innovative and creative network. Without the radio revenues which supported mighty NBC and CBS, DuMont programmers had to rely on their wits and on connections in New York's theatrical community to provide original programs still remembered fifty-plus years later. The network also largely ignored the standard business model of 1950s television, in which one advertiser sponsored an entire show, enabling it to have complete control over its content. Instead, DuMont sold Commercials to many different advertisers, freeing producers of its shows from the veto power held by sole sponsors. This eventually became the standard model for U.S. television. The first broadcasts came from DuMont's Madison Avenue headquarters, but it soon found additional space (including a fully-functioning theater) in the New York branch of Wanamaker's department store. Still later, a lease on the Adelphi theater on 54th Street gave the network a site for variety shows, and in 1954, the lavish DuMont Tele-Centre was opened in the former New York Opera House at 205 East 67th Street, where Channel 5 in New York still has its studios today. Among some of DuMont's better-remembered programs:
In addition, DuMont also offered:
Although DuMont's programming pre-dated videotape, many DuMont offerings were caught on Kinescope s, films shot directly from live television screens. These kinescopes were said to be stored in an ABC-network warehouse until the 1970s . Actress Edie Adams , 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 in the early 1970s the kinescopes were removed from ABC's warehouse and dumped into Upper New York Bay . Nevertheless, a number of DuMont programs survive at the Museum Of Television And Radio in New York City, the UCLA television archives in Los Angeles, and the Museum Of Broadcast Communications in Chicago. HALTED AT THE START DuMont began with one basic disadvantage; unlike NBC and CBS, it did not have a radio network from which to draw revenue. Also, early television licenses were granted to established radio broadcasters, and many long-time relationships with radio networks carried over to the new medium. As CBS and NBC gained their footing, they began to offer programming that drew on their radio backgrounds, bringing over the most popular radio stars; thus early television stations, asked to choose an affiliation with CBS, offering a Jack Benny , a Lucille Ball or an Ed Sullivan , over DuMont, with an unknown Jackie Gleason or Bishop Sheen , took the easier route. 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 the primary network was off the air. DuMont aspired to grow beyond its three stations, applying for licenses in Philadelphia and Cincinnati ; this would have given the network five VHF stations, the maximum allowed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at the time. However, DuMont was hampered by minority owner Paramount's two stations, KTLA-TV in Los Angeles and WBKB-TV (now WBBM-TV ) in Chicago. Although these stations never carried DuMont programming (with the exception of 1 year on KTLA from 1947-48), the FCC ruled that Paramount's two licenses were in theory DuMont owned and operated stations, which effectively placed DuMont at the five-station cap. 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 the war that 12 channels (channel 1 had been removed from commercial use) 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. However, the FCC didn't require television manufacturers to include UHF capability. In order to see UHF stations, most people had to buy an expensive converter. Even then, UHF signals were just barely viewable. Tied to this was a decision to restrict VHF allocations in medium- and smaller-sized markets. Television sets weren't required to have all-channel tuning until 1964 . Forced to rely on UHF to expand, DuMont saw one station after another go dark due to dismal ratings. DuMont bought a small, distressed UHF station in Kansas City in 1954 , but ran it for just two months before shutting it down at a considerable loss, after attempting to compete with three established VHF stations. The FCC's Dr. Hyman 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. I have no doubt in my mind of that at all." THE END DuMont only survived the early 1950s because of WDTV in Pittsburgh, the nation's sixth-largest market at the time. WDTV's only competition came from UHF stations and PBS pioneer WQED-TV (no other commercial VHF station signed on until 1957 ), giving it a de facto monopoly on television in Pittsburgh. 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. But by 1953 DuMont was in severe financial straits. That year, the struggling ABC (with only fourteen primary affiliates) was bought by United Paramount Theaters (recently spun off from Paramount Pictures). Until then, ABC was widely considered a distant fourth behind DuMont, even though it was descended from NBC's Blue Network. The merger provided ABC with a huge cash infusion, and effectively placed DuMont on life support. ABC approached DuMont about a possible merger, offering $5 million in cash, promotional time for DuMont receivers, and a secure future for DuMont's staff. ABC head Leonard 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 honored all of DuMont's network commitments. However, Paramount Veto ed the plan almost out of hand due to Antitrust concerns. A few months earlier, the FCC had ruled that Paramount controlled DuMont, and there were still 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. While this gave DuMont a short-term cash infusion, it eliminated the leverage DuMont had to get clearances in other markets. By February 1955 , DuMont realized it could not continue as a television network. It decided to shut down network operations and operate WABD and WTTG as independents. On April 1 , 1955 , most of DuMont's entertainment programs were dropped. Bishop Sheen aired his last program on DuMont on April 26 and later moved to ABC. By May, only eight programs were left on the network, with only inexpensive shows and sporting events keeping what was left of the network going through the summer. The network also 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. In August, Paramount, with the help of other stockholders, seized full control of DuMont Laboratories. The last non-sports program on DuMont aired on September 23 , 1955 . After that, DuMont used its network feed only for occasional sporting events. DuMont's last broadcast, a boxing match, occurred on August 8 , 1956 . DuMont spun off WABD and WTTG as the "DuMont Broadcasting Corporation." It later changed its name to "Metropolitan Broadcasting" to distance itself from what was seen as a complete all-around failure. John Kluge bought Paramount's shares for $4 million in 1958 , changing the company's name to Metromedia in 1960 . WHAT ABOUT THE DUMONT STATIONS? All three DuMont-owned stations are still operating, though they are now affiliated with other networks. (Coincidentally, all three are O&O stations of their respective affiliations, just as when they were part of DuMont.) Of the three, only Washington's WTTG still has its original call letters. New York's WABD (later WNEW-TV, and now WNYW) and D.C.'s WTTG survived as independents in the Metromedia Group before being bought by Rupert Murdoch 's News Corporation for its Fox Broadcasting Company , in 1986. Clarke Ingram , who maintains a DuMont memorial site, has suggested that Fox is a revival or at least a linear descendant of DuMont. {Link without Title} Westinghouse changed WDTV's calls to KDKA-TV, and switched its primary affiliation to CBS immediately after the sale. Westinghouse's acquisition of CBS in 1995 made KDKA-TV a CBS owned-and-operated station. LIST OF DUMONT AFFILIATES This is a partial list of DuMont affiliate stations. At its peak in 1954, DuMont was affiliated with around 200 TV stations {Link without Title} {Link without Title} . In its later years, DuMont was carried mostly on poorly-watched UHF channels or had only secondary affiliations on VHF stations. The DuMont affiliation ending dates listed here are somewhat tentative in several cases; DuMont ended most operations on April 1, 1955, but honored network commitments until August 1956. EXTERNAL REFERENCES AND LINK
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