DuMont: Difference between revisions

The fourth network from the early days of television (1946-1956) in the United States, though actually the third to come to the air. It eventually failed, as its problems included [[No Budget]]; an FCC ruling restricting the number of stations it could own (because of part-ownership by Paramount, which itself owned two VHF TV stations); not having an associated radio network to bring over affiliates, programs and performers (and absorb costs); and a forced over-dependence on UHF stations in an era when the tuners weren't standard equipment. (The All Channel Receiver Act required UHF from 1964 onward, but by then eighty of the first 100 UHF TV stations launched in 1953-54 had gone bankrupt, most in their first year of operation). As the majority of established VHF TV stations were owned by affiliates (mostly existing local radio and newspaper operators), the lack of a radio network left DuMont at a disadvantage as existing [[NBC]] and [[CBS]] AM radio network affiliates usually chose to remain with NBC and CBS, the dominant networks of the era, for their primary television affiliation.

 

 

DuMont is, in more recent years, more of a footnote than anything else. The best-known series associated with the network are ''[[Captain Video]]'' and ''Cavalcade of Stars'', the latter of which had a regular skit that evolved into ''[[The Honeymooners]]''. Two of the most popular programs during the network's heyday were the [[Game Show]] ''Down You Go'' and the religious program ''Life Is Worth Living'', the latter of which won both an Emmy for host Fulton Sheen and respect from direct competitor Milton Berle.