Challenge: Surviving DuMont Television Network

[Screvier20]

How would DuMont survive and what would be effect on the future development of American television.

 

[Nick P]

Please, how about a little background here as to who DuMont were, what they did and why they are not doing TV now...?

 

[Grey Wolf]

OK never heard of them so went to look them up

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuMont_Television_Network

The DuMont Television Network, also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont, Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont[a] (pronunciation: /duːmɒnt/) was one of the world's pioneer commercial television networks, rivalling NBC for the distinction of being first overall. It began operation in the United States in 1946.[2] It was owned by DuMont Laboratories, a television equipment and set manufacturer. The network was hindered by the prohibitive cost of broadcasting, by Federal Communications Commission regulations which restricted the company's growth, and even by the company's partner, Paramount Pictures. Despite several innovations in broadcasting and the creation of one of television's biggest stars of the 1950s, the network never found itself on solid financial ground. Forced to expand on UHF channels during an era when UHF was not profitable, DuMont ceased broadcasting in 1956.

DuMont's latter-day obscurity has prompted at least one notable TV historian to refer to it as the "Forgotten Network".[3] A few popular DuMont programs, such as Cavalcade of Stars and Emmy Award winner Life Is Worth Living, appear in TV retrospectives or are mentioned briefly in books about U.S. television history, but almost all the network's programming was destroyed in the 1970s.

Best Regards
Grey Wolf

 

[athleticsfan2kx]

So If Dumont Television Network survives can we see some Daytime Game Shows including a Revival of Let's Make A Deal hosted by Monty Hall in the 1980's?, Hollywood Squares with John Davidson in 1986 and maybe High Rollers with Wink Martindale in 1987 which will end up airing on the DuMont Network?

 

[Grey Wolf]

I got a bit confused by the rest of the article, because I don't understand how you have large US networks that seem not to own their own stations? It all seems a bit muddy and messy to me, and I can't work out how its a country-wide network in this model?

Beset Rearguards
Grey Wolf

 

[Kevin R.]

I got a bit confused by the rest of the article, because I don't understand how you have large US networks that seem not to own their own stations? It all seems a bit muddy and messy to me, and I can't work out how its a country-wide network in this model?

Beset Rearguards
Grey Wolf

In America, there are two types of network TV stations: O&Os, and affiliates. O&O means "owned and operated"; that means that they are the stations which are controlled directly by the TV networks. These are typically each network's flagship stations, based in the largest cities. FCC regulations state that a network's O&Os cannot reach more than 39% of the US population, so to reach the other 61%, they sign agreements with independently-owned TV stations to act as their affiliates, carrying their programming and scheduling it at reliable times in exchange for money and promotional support. (Note: "independently owned" means not controlled by the network itself. In practice, most TV stations are owned by regional or national media companies.)

This has worked for decades, though it has produced some kinks unique to American television. It's where we get stories about TV stations refusing to air certain shows due to concerns about offensive content; the network may scold them disapprovingly and raise rates when the contract comes back up, but if it's just an affiliate rather than an O&O, they can't do anything more. That could never happen with, say, the BBC, where the network could simply purge the station's management for doing that. It was also responsible for the drama surrounding the creation of the CW network and Fox's creation of MyNetworkTV in response; the UPN affiliates that Fox owned were left out of the deal, so they threw the network together to keep the lights on at those stations. It's also why there are so many cheapo networks like America One, Retro Television Network, and so many home-shopping and religious channels; independent TV stations that can't affiliate with major networks turn to them in order to have a steady revenue flow.

 

[Dan1988]

To expand on Kevin R.'s post - it is also largely the case in Canada, to some degree and at least historically, though nowadays the trend is more towards O&O's at the expense of affiliates.