Fourth television network
In American television terminology, a fourth network is a reference to a fourth commercial
When the U.S. television industry was in its infancy in the 1940s, there were four major full-time television networks that operated across the country: ABC, CBS, NBC and the DuMont Television Network. Never able to find solid financial ground, DuMont ceased broadcasting in August 1956. Many companies later began to operate television networks which aspired to compete against the Big Three. However, between the 1950s and the 1980s, none of these start-ups endured and some never even launched. After decades of these failed "fourth networks", many television industry insiders believed that creating a viable fourth network was impossible. Television critics also grew jaded, with one critic placing this comparison in the struggles of creating a sustaining competitor to the Big Three, "Industry talk about a possible full-time, full-service, commercial network structured like the existing big three, ABC, CBS and NBC, pops up much more often than the fictitious town of Brigadoon."[1]
The first lasting attempt at a fourth network as DuMont went into decline was the non-commercial Educational Television and Radio Center (ETRC). Founded in 1953, it slowly grew into the National Educational Television (NET) network, and was superseded by PBS in 1970. The October 1986 launch of the Fox Broadcasting Company was met with ridicule; despite the industry skepticism and initial network instability, the Fox network eventually proved profitable by the early 1990s, becoming the first successful fourth network and eventually surpassing the Big Three networks in the demographics and overall viewership ratings by the early 2000s.
Background
In the 1940s, four television networks began operations by linking local
The FCC's "
Since there were four networks but only three VHF stations in most major U.S. cities, one network would be forced to broadcast on 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 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
Early network timeline
Rationale
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.[1] While critics rejected "the nightly tripe being offered [to] the public on 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 is to attract the big spenders from the ranks of sponsors."[5]
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.[6] Independent television producers, too, called for a fourth network after battles with the Big Three.[7]
Failed attempts
1950s
George Fox Organization network
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; the programs would be filmed in Hollywood. However, only 17 stations had agreed to affiliate in May.[8] The film network never made it off the ground, and none of the planned programs aired.
Sports Network/Hughes Network
Also in 1956,
Despite the speculation, the Hughes Network never offered non-sports programs and never developed into a fourth major television network.
Mutual Broadcasting System
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 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.[10]
NTA Film Network
On October 15, 1956, National Telefilm Associates launched the NTA Film Network, a syndication service which distributed both films and television programs to independent television stations and stations affiliated with NBC, CBS or ABC; the network had signed agreements with over 100 affiliate stations.[11] The ad hoc network's flagship station was WNTA-TV (channel 13) in New York City.[12] The NTA Network was launched as a "fourth TV network," and trade papers of the time referred to it as a new television network.[13]
Despite this major fourth network effort, by 1961 WNTA-TV was losing money, and the network's flagship station was sold to the
1960s
Pat Weaver's network
Pat Weaver, a former president of NBC, twice attempted to launch his own television network.[15] 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.[1]
Unisphere/Mizlou
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; a year later, no launch date had been set, and the network still lacked a "respectable number of affiliates in major markets."[16]
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, the company never developed into a major television network.
National Educational Television
Overmyer/United Network
Millionaire Daniel Overmyer built a chain of five UHF stations during the mid-1960s. In late 1966, Overmyer announced plans for a new fourth network, named the Overmyer Network. The name was later changed to the United Network, but the network itself broadcast only for a single month, and aired only one program, The Las Vegas Show. The lack of reliable VHF stations helped kill the new, unprofitable network. Shortly after the network ceased operations, one critic called Overmyer/United a fiasco, and likened it to the earlier DuMont, NTA Film Network and Weaver network failures.[1]
Westinghouse or Metromedia
By the late 1960s, several fourth networks had vanished. Television set manufacturers were required to include a UHF tuner after 1964, and it was thought this would help UHF stations and any company hoping to band (mostly) UHF stations together in a fourth network. Two companies, Westinghouse and Metromedia, were floated in 1969 as possible fourth network entries.[1]
Westinghouse was the owner of several VHF stations and produced several series which aired on its stations and those owned by other companies; along with
Metromedia, the successor company to the defunct DuMont Network, was a healthy chain of independent television stations. Although Metromedia "dabbled at creating a fourth network," the company was content with offering series to independent stations on a part-time basis, "nowhere near the conventional definition of a network."[19]
Kaiser Broadcasting
In September 1967, the
1970s
In the 1970s, the "occasional" television networks started to appear with greater frequency with
MGM Family Network
MGM Television entered the field with its self-proclaimed fourth network, 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.[23][24][25][26][27] The network broadcast only four times a year in September, January, March and May, and had 14 films assigned to the network from the MGM library.[28]
MetroNet
In 1976, Metromedia teamed up with
Operation Prime Time
Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of
Prime Time planned three book adaptions for their shows to air in May, July and November or December 1978 with two of them being
Paramount Television Service
In 1977,
1980s
A few ad hoc networks were in 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
Golden Showcase Network
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.[22][36] Programs on the Golden Showcase included The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank and Little Girl Lost.[36]
MGM/UA Premiere Network
The Premiere Network, or MGM/UA Premiere Network, was an ad hoc network created by MGM/United Artists, which announced plans to launch in 1984, originally set for an October launch. By that summer, the network had signed affiliation agreements with eight television stations in large markets. The service was expected to broadcast 24 movies in double-runs once a month for two years. MGM received 10½ minutes of advertising time within a two-hour movie telecast, while its stations would retain 11½ minutes.[mah 2] 100 television stations were signed as affiliates by October 1984, with the planned launch pushed back and set for November 10 of that year.[37]
Debut Network
The Universal Pictures Debut Network, or simply the Debut Network, was a similar ad hoc film network created by
Harmony Premiere Network
In 1987, Harmony Gold USA collaborated with international backers, including Société Française de Productions and Reteeurope, both of 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.[40]
In 1987, the company had teamed up with Italian company Silvio Berlusconi Communications to pay $150 million for 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.[41]
In 1988, after the cancellation of
1990s
Hollywood Premiere Network
After the scuttling of the plans for PPS, MCA tried again. The Hollywood Premiere Network was formed by MCA and
Fox Broadcasting Company
By 1985, there were 267 independent television stations operational in the U.S., most of which were broadcasting on VHF and UHF.
The new network was ridiculed by critics and scorned by executives of the Big Three networks. They believed that Fox, like previous fourth networks, would be limited by being on UHF stations which had poor viewership and mediocre signal reception. NBC entertainment president
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 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
(all appealing to the highly coveted and lucrative 18-49 demographic), Fox proved profitable by the 1990s.Finally, in December 1993, Fox hit a major milestone when it won the
Children's networks
- While commonly considered a part of the Fox network, the weekday Disney Afternoon syndicated block and to avoid being classified as a network under FCC rules if they aired over 15 hours of programming a week.[52]
- Bohbot Entertainment and Media moved its
Additional networks
Channel America was mainly carried on smaller full-power or low-power television stations and depended more on barter and archived public domain content rather than first-run original programming. In the shadow of Fox's launch, Channel America was founded in 1987 as a network made up of low-power television stations; it launched in 1988 and added some cable-only affiliates.[55][56]
With the success with Fox, several other media companies started to enter the broadcasting world in the 1990s to create the fifth commercial broadcast network that would allow a station to brand itself better and to stand out amongst the increasing number of television channels, particularly cable networks.[57]
The first concept was the Premier Program Service, a proposed joint venture between
However, the first actual attempt (though ending in failure) was the Star Television Network, which launched in September 1990 with a lineup consisting primarily of classic television series.
In October 1993, Chris-Craft subsidiary
In March 1998, USA Broadcasting announced the launch of a programming concept known as "CityVision", a local general entertainment independent format that the company planned to expand to the company's other stations (most of which were Home Shopping Network affiliates) and was one of eight programming concepts or proposed networks being developed at the time (and referred to be a network venture by then-NBC president Bob Wright).[71] The concept was test-launched in June 1998 on USA's Miami station WAMI (now a UniMás owned-and-operated station).[72][73]
In 1999, Viacom purchased (the original)
In
Additional networks were formed with increasing frequency immediately before and especially following the
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