The Jackie Gleason Show is the name of a series of American network television shows that starred Jackie Gleason , which ran from 1952 to 1970, in various forms.
162-552: Gleason's first variety series, which aired on the DuMont Television Network under the title Cavalcade of Stars , first aired June 4, 1949. The show's first host was comedian Jack Carter , who was followed by Jerry Lester . Lester jumped to NBC in June 1950 to host the late-night show Broadway Open House , a precursor to "The Tonight Show", and Gleason—who had made his mark filling in for William Bendix as
324-509: A 16:9 widescreen presentation, CBS and The CW were the only remaining networks that framed their promotions and on-screen graphical elements for a 4:3 presentation, though with CBS Sports' de facto 16:9 conversion with Super Bowl 50 and their new graphical presentation designed for 16:9 framing, in practice, most CBS affiliates ask pay-TV providers to pass down a 16:9 widescreen presentation by default over their standard definition channels. This continued for CBS until September 24, 2018, when
486-533: 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
648-657: 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
810-483: 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
972-504: 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
1134-454: A collection of programs and promos 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
1296-413: A commercial broadcast network, since most primetime classical music specials were relegated to PBS and A&E by this time. The program was a concert commemorating the re-opening of Carnegie Hall after its complete renovation. A range of artists were featured, from classical conductor Leonard Bernstein to popular music singer Frank Sinatra . To compete with NBC, which produced the televised version of
1458-449: 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
1620-659: A diet and lost weight. This change proved to be somewhat of a detriment – especially since Carney had gained weight. Jokes about Kramden's weight had been a strong component of humor for the Honeymooners sketches. A skinnier Ralph did not seem as funny to viewers and the overall ratings for the program began to slip. Coupled with the fact that the CBS network was concerned with demographics and wanted to change its image with more urban-oriented shows (to attract younger, more affluent audiences). In addition, CBS wanted Gleason to do only
1782-415: 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,
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#17327761102881944-401: 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,
2106-534: A half-hour break for local news and features the game shows The Price Is Right and Let's Make a Deal , soap operas The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful , and talk show The Talk . CBS News programming includes CBS Mornings from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. weekdays and CBS Saturday Morning in the same period on Saturdays; nightly editions of CBS Evening News ;
2268-515: A half-hour version of The Jackie Gleason Show , with Buddy Hackett as a sidekick, but it was short-lived, cancelled in January 1959. In 1961, Gleason began an ill-fated stint as host of a game show called You're in the Picture , which lasted only one episode , and was so poorly received that it led to Gleason offering an on-air apology to his viewers the following week. Committed to filling
2430-694: 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
2592-588: A little-known German-American filmed production in 1965 (which was subsequently repeated three times and starred Edward Villella , Patricia McBride and Melissa Hayden ), and beginning in 1977, the Mikhail Baryshnikov staging of the ballet, starring the Russian dancer along with Gelsey Kirkland – a version that would become a television classic, and remains so today (the broadcast of this production later moved to PBS). In April 1986, CBS presented
2754-404: A mere two months later by popular demand, this time on videotape, rather than live. In later years, the program was shown as a standalone special on PBS ; the current DVD of the telecast omits the commentary by Charles Kuralt but includes additional selections not heard on the CBS telecast. In 1986, CBS telecast Carnegie Hall: The Grand Reopening in primetime, in what was then a rare move for
2916-495: 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
3078-668: 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
3240-558: A new television special. Under the agreement, CBS would videotape Presley's concerts during the summer of 1977; the special was filmed during Presley's final tour at stops in Omaha, Nebraska (on June 19) and Rapid City, South Dakota (on June 21 of that year). CBS aired the special, Elvis in Concert , on October 3, 1977, nearly two months after Presley died in his Graceland mansion on August 16. Since its inception in 1978, CBS has been
3402-698: A primary feed CBS affiliate has not yet upgraded their transmission equipment to allow content to be presented in HD. A small number of CBS stations and affiliates are also currently broadcasting at 1080p via an ATSC 3.0 multiplex station to simulcast a station's programming such as WNCN through WRDC in Durham, North Carolina , WTVF through WUXP-TV in Nashville , and KLAS-TV through KVCW in Las Vegas , Nevada . CBS began its conversion to high definition with
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#17327761102883564-451: 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
3726-461: A quota of episodes, Gleason renamed the series The Jackie Gleason Show and turned it into a short-lived talk show , featuring one-on-one informal interviews with Art Carney, Jayne Mansfield , Bobby Darin , and other friends and celebrities. It ran for eight episodes. In 1962, Gleason returned to the tried-and-true variety format with his American Scene Magazine . The official title of the show was, again, The Jackie Gleason Show . American Scene
3888-492: 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
4050-493: A single one-minute commercial. The show typically opened with a monologue from Gleason, followed by sketch comedy involving Gleason and a number of regular performers (including Art Carney ) and a musical interlude featuring the June Taylor Dancers . (Taylor later became Gleason's sister-in-law; he married her sister Marilyn in 1975.) Gleason portrayed a number of recurring characters, including: The series
4212-509: A slightly abbreviated version of Horowitz in Moscow , a live piano recital by pianist Vladimir Horowitz , which marked his return to Russia after over 60 years. The recital was televised as an episode of CBS News Sunday Morning (televised at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time in the U.S., as the recital was performed simultaneously at 4:00 p.m. in Russia). It was so successful that CBS repeated it
4374-412: 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
4536-464: A sports anthology series that fills certain weekend afternoon time slots before (or in some cases, in place of) a major sporting event. CBS' daytime schedule is the longest among the major networks at 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours. It is the home of the long-running game show The Price Is Right , which began production in 1972 and is the longest continuously running daytime game show on network television. After being hosted by Bob Barker for 35 years,
4698-511: A subchannel of a co-owned/co-managed full-power television station. CBS also maintains a sizeable number of subchannel-only affiliations, the majority of which are with stations in cities located outside of the 50 largest Nielsen-designated markets; the largest CBS subchannel affiliate by market size is KOGG in Wailuku, Hawaii , which serves as a repeater of Honolulu affiliate KGMB (the sister station of KOGG parent KHNL). Nexstar Media Group
4860-439: A syndicated Saturday morning block exclusive to ABC stations and later produced a block for CBS' sister network The CW that received its debut the following year, to launch a new Saturday morning block featuring live-action reality-based lifestyle, wildlife, and sports series. The Litton-produced CBS Dream Team block, aimed at teenagers 13 to 16 years old, began broadcasting on September 28, 2013, replacing Cookie Jar TV. The block
5022-399: 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
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5184-653: A three-year agreement with DIC Entertainment , which was acquired later that year by the Cookie Jar Group , to program the Saturday morning time slot as part of a deal that included distribution of select tape-delayed Formula One auto races. The KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS replaced Nick Jr. on CBS that September, with the inaugural lineup featuring two new first-run live-action programs, one animated series that originally aired in syndication in 2005, and three shows produced before 2006. In mid-2007, KOL,
5346-433: A thrifty sponsor (Quality Drugs, representing most of the nation's drug stores). In 1952, CBS president William S. Paley offered Gleason a considerably higher salary to move to that network. The series was retitled The Jackie Gleason Show and premiered on CBS Television on September 20, 1952. In 1953, CBS' own orchestral accordionist John Serry Sr. made a cameo appearance. While much of DuMont's programming archive
5508-524: Is also provided most weekend afternoons. Due to the unpredictable length of sporting events, CBS occasionally delays scheduled primetime programs to allow the programs to air in their entirety, a practice most commonly seen with the NFL on CBS . In addition to rights to sports events from major sports organizations such as the NFL , PGA , and NCAA , CBS broadcasts the CBS Sports Spectacular ,
5670-474: 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
5832-630: Is ridiculous!") Ralph Kramden, Reggie Van Gleason, the Poor Soul, and the rest of Gleason's comic characters were regular attractions. Frank Fontaine , as bug-eyed, grinning "Crazy" Guggenheim (evolved from his John character from The Jack Benny Program ), starred in the Joe the Bartender skits, delighting fans with his nutty speaking voice and goofy laugh, and charmed by his surprisingly mellow singing voice. June Taylor 's chorus girl routines revived for
5994-415: 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
6156-436: Is served by Boston O&O WBZ-TV and Burlington, Vermont , affiliate WCAX-TV ). CBS maintains affiliations with low-power stations (broadcasting either in analog or digital) in a few markets, such as Harrisonburg, Virginia ( WSVF-CD ), Palm Springs, California ( KPSP-CD ), and Parkersburg, West Virginia ( WIYE-LD ). In some markets, including both of those mentioned, these stations also maintain digital simulcasts on
6318-583: Is shared with its U.S. counterpart, whilst the Australian version also features numerous full seasons of local Network 10 shows, all commercial-free. It was announced in September 2020 that the service would be rebranded as Paramount+ in early 2021, and would feature content from the wider ViacomCBS library following the re-merger between CBS and Viacom. The name was also extended to international markets and services such as 10 All Access. The rebrand to Paramount+ took place on March 4, 2021. CBS' master feed
6480-703: 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,
6642-468: Is the largest operator of CBS stations by numerical total, owning 49 CBS affiliates (counting satellites); Tegna Media is the largest operator of CBS stations in terms of overall market reach, owning 15 CBS-affiliated stations (including affiliates in the larger markets in Houston , Tampa and Washington, D.C. ) that reach 8.9% of the country. CBS provides video-on-demand access for delayed viewing of
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6804-415: Is transmitted in 1080i high definition , the native resolution format for CBS Corporation's television properties. However, seven of its affiliates transmit the network's programming in 720p HD, while seven others carry the network feed in 480i standard definition either due to technical considerations for affiliates of other major networks that carry CBS programming on a digital subchannel or because
6966-503: 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
7128-670: The CBS Studio Center in Los Angeles. It is sometimes referred to as the Eye Network , after the company's trademark symbol of an eye (which has been in use since October 20, 1951), and also the Tiffany Network , which alludes to the perceived high quality of its programming during the tenure of William S. Paley (and can also refer to some of CBS's first demonstrations of color television , which were held in
7290-595: The Columbia Broadcasting System . By September 1928, Paley became the network's majority owner with 51 percent of the business. Paramount Pictures then acquired the other 49 percent of CBS in 1929, but the Great Depression eventually forced the studio to sell its shares back to the network in 1932. CBS would then remain primarily an independent company throughout the next 63 years. Under Paley's guidance, CBS would first become one of
7452-620: The Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System ( CPBS ). In early 1928, Judson and Columbia sold the network to Isaac and Leon Levy, two brothers who owned WCAU , the network's Philadelphia affiliate, as well as their partner Jerome Louchheim. They installed William S. Paley, an in-law of the Levys, as president of the network. With the Columbia record label out of ownership, Paley rebranded the network as
7614-724: 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
7776-660: 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
7938-552: The Mary Martin Broadway production of Peter Pan , CBS responded with a musical production of Cinderella , with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II . Based upon the classic Charles Perrault fairy tale , it is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein musical to have been written for television. It was originally broadcast live in color on CBS on March 31, 1957, as a vehicle for Julie Andrews , who played
8100-493: 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,
8262-483: The Pillsbury Bake-Off , an annual national cooking contest, was broadcast on CBS as a special. Hosts for the broadcast included Arthur Godfrey , Art Linkletter , Bob Barker , Gary Collins , Willard Scott (although under contract with CBS' rival NBC), and Alex Trebek . The Miss USA beauty pageant aired on CBS from 1963 to 2002, during a large portion of that period, the telecast was often emceed by
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#17327761102888424-656: 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
8586-501: 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
8748-611: The blacklisted Kelton after the earlier move to CBS ), and Joyce Randolph . Finishing 19th in the ratings, these 39 episodes were subsequently rerun constantly in syndication, often five nights a week, with the cycle repeating every two months for decades. They are probably the most familiar body of work from 1950s television with the exception of I Love Lucy starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz . The show's original variety format and title returned in September 1956 and continued until June 1957. Then, in October 1958, Gleason debuted
8910-573: 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
9072-770: The flagship property of the CBS Entertainment Group division of Paramount Global and is one of the company's three flagship subsidiaries, along with namesake Paramount Pictures and MTV . Headquartered at the CBS Building in New York City and being part of the " Big Three " television networks, CBS has major production facilities and operations at the CBS Broadcast Center and the headquarters of owner Paramount at One Astor Plaza (both also in that city) and Television City and
9234-426: The spin-off of its broadcast television, radio and select cable television and non-broadcasting assets, with the CBS network at its core. CBS Corporation was controlled by Sumner Redstone through National Amusements , which also controlled the second incarnation of Viacom until December 4, 2019, when the two separated companies agreed to re-merge to become ViacomCBS (now known as Paramount Global). Following
9396-599: 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
9558-403: The 1940s to 1951, consisted of an oval spotlight which shone on the block letters "CBS". The present-day Eye device was conceived by William Golden, based on a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign and a Shaker drawing. While the logo is commonly attributed to Golden, some design work may have been done by CBS staff designer Georg Olden , one of the first African-Americans to attract some attention in
9720-461: The 1950s— Jackie Gleason —the network never reached solid finances. Forced to expand on UHF channels when UHF tuning 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
9882-411: The 1970s, was used for the title logo). The word "SPECIAL", in all caps and repeated multiple times in multiple colors, slowly zoomed out from the frame in a spinning counterclockwise motion against a black background, and rapidly zoomed back into frame as a single word, in white, at the end; the sequence was accompanied by a jazzy though majestic up-tempo fanfare with dramatic horns and percussion (which
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#173277611028810044-490: The 1980s. The "Reach for the Stars" campaign used during the 1981–82 season features a space theme to capitalize on both CBS's stellar improvement in the ratings and the historic launch of the space shuttle Columbia . 1982's "Great Moments" juxtaposed scenes from classic CBS programs such as I Love Lucy with scenes from the network's then-current classics such as Dallas and M*A*S*H . From 1983 to 1986, CBS (by now firmly atop
10206-472: The 2010–11 season, while ABC was broadcasting its entire schedule in HD by the 2011–12 midseason). All of the network's programming has been presented in full HD since then (except for certain holiday specials produced before 2005 – such as the Rankin-Bass specials – which continue to be presented in 4:3 SD, although some have been remastered for HD broadcast). On September 1, 2016, when ABC converted to
10368-586: The Cosby Kids , Jim Henson's Muppet Babies , Garfield and Friends , and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . In 1997, CBS premiered Wheel 2000 , a children's version of the syndicated game show Wheel of Fortune which aired simultaneously on the Game Show Network . In September 1998, CBS began contracting the time out to other companies to provide programming and material for its Saturday morning schedule. The first of these outsourced blocks
10530-577: The Dome ) and Netflix . Notably, however, CBS is the only major broadcast network that does not provide recent episodes of its programming on Hulu (sister network The CW does offer its programming on the streaming service, albeit on a one-week delay after becoming available on the network's website on Hulu's free service, with users of its subscription service being granted access to newer episodes of CW series eight hours after their initial broadcast), due to concerns over cannibalizing viewership of some of
10692-485: 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
10854-671: The Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theatre), and Gleason never tired of promoting the "sun and fun capital of the world" on camera. Hordes of vacationers took Gleason's advice, boosting Florida's economy. Later specials were taped at the Olympia Theatre's Gusman Center across Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami. The shows began with the television camera in front of a boat speeding toward the shore of Miami Beach, and ended with Gleason bellowing, "Miami Beach audiences are
11016-534: The Grenadines . The network has a national reach of 95.96% of all households in the United States (or 299,861,665 Americans with at least one television set). Currently, New Jersey , New Hampshire and Delaware are the only U.S. states where CBS does not have a locally licensed affiliate (New Jersey is served by New York City O&O WCBS-TV and Philadelphia O&O KYW-TV; Delaware is served by KYW and Salisbury, Maryland , affiliate WBOC-TV ; and New Hampshire
11178-542: The Miss USA, Miss Universe and Miss Teen USA pageants and moving them to that network as part of an initial five-year contract, which began in 2003 and ended in 2015 after 12 years amid Trump's controversial remarks about Mexican immigrants during the launch of his 2016 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination . On June 1, 1977, it was announced that Elvis Presley had signed a deal with CBS to appear in
11340-532: The Nielsens and CBS renewed it for an eighth season. The following year would bring a radical change to the series: Gleason went on a stringent diet in 1969 and lost approximately 60 pounds. When the show returned in September ;1969, there was much publicity about Gleason's new slimmer look. To gracefully incorporate his weight loss into the show, it was explained that Ralph Kramden also had gone on
11502-436: The Restless became the first daytime soap opera to broadcast in HD on June 27, 2001. CBS' 14-year conversion to an entirely high-definition schedule ended in 2014, with Big Brother and Let's Make a Deal becoming the final two series to convert from 4:3 standard definition to HD (in contrast, NBC, Fox, and The CW were already airing their entire programming schedules – outside of Saturday mornings – in high definition by
11664-735: The Snowman are the only two pre-1990 animated specials remaining on CBS; the broadcast rights to the Charlie Brown specials are now held by Apple, The Grinch rights by NBC, and the rights to the Garfield specials by Boomerang . All of these animated specials, from 1973 to 1990, began with a fondly remembered seven-second animated opening sequence, in which the words "A CBS Special Presentation" were displayed in colorful lettering (the ITC Avant Garde typeface, widely used in
11826-508: The Sunday political talk show Face the Nation ; early morning news program CBS Morning News ; and the newsmagazines 60 Minutes , CBS News Sunday Morning , and 48 Hours . On weeknights, CBS airs the talk shows The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Late Late Show with James Corden (until 2023, which is now replaced by game show After Midnight ). CBS Sports programming
11988-862: The United States, some also available in Canada via pay-television providers or in border areas over-the-air. As of 2013 , CBS provides 87 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours of regularly scheduled network programming each week. The network provides 22 hours of primetime programming to affiliated stations Monday through Saturday from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and Sunday from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time (7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. on Sunday in Central/Mountain time). The network also provides daytime programming from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific weekdays (subtract 1 hour for all other time zones), including
12150-772: The World Turns , Love of Life , Search for Tomorrow , The Secret Storm , The Edge of Night , and Capitol . CBS broadcast the live-action series Captain Kangaroo on weekday mornings from 1955 to 1982, and on Saturdays until 1984. From 1971 to 1986, CBS News produced a series of one-minute segments titled In the News , which aired between other Saturday morning programs. Otherwise, CBS's children's programming has mostly focused on animated series such as reruns of Mighty Mouse , Looney Tunes , and Tom and Jerry cartoons, as well as Scooby-Doo , Fat Albert and
12312-544: The app were limited until the release of its Google Play and Windows 8 apps in October 2013, expanded the selections to include full episodes of all CBS series to which the network does not license the streaming rights to other services. On October 28, 2014, CBS launched CBS All Access , an over-the-top subscription streaming service – priced at $ 5.99 per month ($ 9.99 with the no commercials option) – which allows users to view past and present episodes of CBS shows. Announced on October 16, 2014 (one day after HBO announced
12474-518: 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
12636-587: 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
12798-426: 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
12960-509: The children's service of AOL , withdrew sponsorship from CBS' Saturday morning block, which was subsequently renamed KEWLopolis. Complementing CBS's 2007 lineup were Care Bears , Strawberry Shortcake , and Sushi Pack . On February 24, 2009, it was announced that CBS would renew its contract with Cookie Jar for another three seasons through 2012. On September 19, 2009, KEWLopolis was renamed Cookie Jar TV . On July 24, 2013, CBS agreed with Litton Entertainment , which already programmed
13122-484: The color Honeymooners episodes) in prime time on Sunday nights at 10 p.m. which replaced The Tim Conway Comedy Hour . DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also 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
13284-462: 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
13446-618: 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 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
13608-809: The early 1970s, and is occasionally broadcast on various cable networks to this day; both versions are available on DVD. CBS was also the original broadcast home for the primetime specials produced by the National Geographic Society . The Geographic series in the U.S. started on CBS in 1964, before moving to ABC in 1973 (the specials subsequently moved to PBS – under the production of Pittsburgh member station WQED – in 1975 and NBC in 1995, before returning to PBS in 2000). The specials have featured stories on many scientific figures such as Louis Leakey , Jacques Cousteau , and Jane Goodall , that not only featured their work but helped make them internationally known and accessible to millions. A majority of
13770-683: The eloquent commentaries of Bernstein. The specials were nominated for several Emmy Awards , including two wins in 1961 and later in 1966, and were among the first programs ever broadcast from the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts . Over the years, CBS has broadcast three different productions of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Nutcracker – two live telecasts of the George Balanchine New York City Ballet production in 1957 and 1958 respectively,
13932-440: 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
14094-522: 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
14256-399: 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 ,
14418-555: 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 ,
14580-623: The former Tiffany and Company Building in New York City in 1950). The network has its origins in United Independent Broadcasters, Inc. , a radio network founded in Chicago by New York City talent agent Arthur Judson in January 1927. In April of that year, the Columbia Phonograph Company, parent of Columbia Records ' record label, invested in the network, resulting in its rebranding as
14742-782: 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
14904-448: The founding of Fox in 1986. DuMont's obscurity, caused mainly by 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,
15066-441: 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 ),
15228-458: The greatest audiences in the world!" During this period, The Jackie Gleason Show earned three more Emmy nominations, for Carney for special classification in 1966 and for variety series and writing in 1967. Carney won two Emmys for his work in 1967 and 1968. The series also ranked at No. 5 in 1966-1967 and No. 9 in 1967-1968. At the end of the 1968–1969 season, The Jackie Gleason Show still garnered decent ratings, ranking at No. 25 in
15390-704: 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
15552-443: 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 ,
15714-417: The host of one of the network's game shows including Bob Barker from 1967 to 1987 (at which point Barker, an animal rights activist who eventually convinced producers of The Price Is Right to cease offering fur coats as prizes on the program, quit in a dispute over their use), succeed by Alan Thicke in 1988, Dick Clark from 1989 to 1993, and Bob Goen from 1994 to 1996. The pageant's highest viewership
15876-495: The hour-long Honeymooners and drop the variety episodes that garnered lower ratings. Gleason objected to this and, on February 16, 1970, CBS announced the cancellation of Gleason's series, during a time frame that also saw the cancellation of The Red Skelton Hour and Petticoat Junction , in the opening salvos of what would become popularly known as the rural purge . Beginning in late December 1970 CBS began airing selected reruns of The Jackie Gleason Show (featuring only
16038-509: The hour-long series The Young and the Restless , which debuted in 1973, and the half-hour series The Bold and the Beautiful , which debuted in 1987. CBS has long aired the most soap operas out of the Big Three networks, carrying 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours of soaps on its daytime lineup from 1977 to 2009, and still retains the longest daily schedule. Other than Guiding Light , notable daytime soap operas that once aired on CBS include As
16200-466: The introduction of the Eye logo, featuring special IDs of logo versions from previous CBS image campaigns being shown during the network's primetime lineup. CBS historically used a specially-commissioned variant of Didot , a close relative to Bodoni , as its corporate font until 2021. CBS has developed several notable image campaigns, and several of the network's most well-known slogans were introduced in
16362-493: The largest radio networks in the United States and eventually one of the Big Three American broadcast television networks. CBS ventured and expanded its horizons through television starting in the 1940s, spinning off its broadcast syndication division Viacom to a separate company in 1971. In 1974, CBS dropped its original full name and became known simply as CBS, Inc. The Westinghouse Electric Corporation acquired
16524-414: 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,
16686-790: The late 1960s to the early 1970s). The eye logo has served as inspiration for the logos of Associated Television (ATV) in the United Kingdom, Canal 4 in El Salvador, Televisa in Mexico, France 3 , Latina Televisión in Peru, Fuji Television in Japan, Rede Bandeirantes and TV Globo in Brazil, and Canal 10 in Uruguay. In October 2011, the network celebrated the 60th anniversary of
16848-422: The launch of its over-the-top service HBO Now ) as the first OTT offering by a USA broadcast television network, the service initially encompassed the network's existing streaming portal at CBS.com and its mobile app for smartphones and tablet computers ; CBS All Access became available on Roku on April 7, 2015, and on Chromecast on May 14, 2015. In addition to providing full-length episodes of CBS programs,
17010-596: The launch of its simulcast feed CBS HD in September 1998, at the start of the 1998–99 season . That year, the network aired the first NFL game broadcast in high-definition, with the telecast of the New York Jets – Buffalo Bills game on November 8. The network gradually converted much of its existing programming from standard definition to high definition beginning with the 2000–01 season , with select shows among that season's slate of freshmen scripted series being broadcast in HD starting with their debuts. The Young and
17172-472: 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
17334-497: The most memorable and popular of Gleason's characters was blowhard Brooklyn bus driver Ralph Kramden, featured originally in a series of Cavalcade skits known as "The Honeymooners", with Pert Kelton as his wife Alice, and Art Carney as his upstairs neighbor Ed Norton. These were so popular that in 1955 Gleason suspended the variety format and filmed The Honeymooners as a regular half-hour sitcom (television's first spin-off), co-starring Carney, Audrey Meadows (who had replaced
17496-510: 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
17658-462: The multiple-voting shares held by National Amusements) were given a 72% stake in the combined Entercom, CBS no longer owns or operates any radio stations directly; however, it still provides radio news broadcasts to its radio affiliates and the new owners of its former radio stations, and licenses the rights to use CBS trademarks under a long-term contract. The television network has over 240 owned-and-operated and affiliated television stations throughout
17820-415: The network converted its on-screen graphical elements to a 16:9 widescreen presentation for all non-news and sports programs. Litton Entertainment continues to frame the graphical elements in their programs for Dream Team within a 4:3 frame due to them being positioned for future syndicated sales, though all of its programming has been in high definition. The CBS television network's initial logo, used from
17982-514: 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
18144-411: The network in 1994, renaming its legal name to the current CBS Broadcasting Inc. two years later, and in 1997 adopted the name of the company it had acquired to become CBS Corporation . In 1999, CBS came under the control of the original incarnation of Viacom , which was formed as a spin-off of CBS in 1971. In 2005, Viacom split itself into two separate companies and re-established CBS Corporation through
18306-643: The network include Beat the Clock and To Tell the Truth . Two long-running primetime-only games were the panel shows What's My Line? and I've Got a Secret . The network is also home to The Talk , a panel talk show similar in format to ABC's The View . It debuted in October 2010. As of the show's thirteenth season, the panel features Sheryl Underwood , Amanda Kloots , Jerry O'Connell , Akbar Gbajabiamila , and Natalie Morales who serves as moderator. CBS Daytime airs two daytime soap operas each weekday:
18468-477: 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
18630-556: 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
18792-572: The network's most prominent programs; however, episode back catalogs of certain past and present CBS series are available on the service through an agreement with CBS Television Distribution. Upon the release of the app in March 2013, CBS restricted streaming of the most recent episode of any of the network's programs on its streaming app for Apple iOS devices until eight days after their initial broadcast to encourage live or same-week (via both DVR and cable on demand) viewing; programming selections on
18954-402: The network's programming through various means, including via its website at CBS.com; the network's apps for iOS , Android , and newer version Windows devices; a traditional VOD service called CBS on Demand available on most traditional cable and IPTV providers; and through content deals with Amazon Video (which holds exclusive streaming rights to the CBS drama series Extant and Under
19116-586: 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
19278-455: The next 30 years. The CBS eye has since become a widely recognized symbol. While the logo has been used in different ways, the Eye device itself has never been redesigned. As part of a then-new graphical identity created by Trollbäck + Company that was used by the network during the 2006–2007 network television season, the eye was placed in a "trademark" position on show titles, days of the week and descriptive words, an approach highly respecting
19440-428: The nucleus of the new Fox television network . Clarke Ingram , who maintained a DuMont memorial site, has suggested that Fox can be considered a revival, or at least a linear descendant, of DuMont. CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc. , commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System ), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as
19602-554: 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
19764-566: 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
19926-790: 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
20088-414: The postwar graphic design field. The Eye device made its broadcast debut on October 20, 1951. The following season, as Golden prepared a new "ident", CBS President Frank Stanton insisted on keeping the Eye device and using it as much as possible. Golden died unexpectedly in 1959, and was replaced by Lou Dorfsman , one of his top assistants, who would go on to oversee all print and on-air graphics for CBS for
20250-466: 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
20412-453: 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
20574-412: 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
20736-402: 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
20898-595: The sale, CBS and its other broadcasting and entertainment assets were reorganized into a new division, CBS Entertainment Group. CBS operated the CBS Radio network until 2017 when it sold its radio division to Entercom (now known as Audacy, Inc. since 2021). Before this, CBS Radio mainly provided news and feature content for its portfolio of owned-and-operated radio stations in large and mid-sized markets, as well as its affiliated radio stations in various other markets. While CBS Corporation common shareholders (i.e. not
21060-543: The service allows live programming streams of local CBS affiliates in 124 markets reaching 75% of the United States. CBS All Access offered the most recent episodes of the network's shows the day after their original broadcast, as well as complete back catalogs of most of its current series and a wide selection of episodes of classic series from the CBS Television Distribution and ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks program library to subscribers of
21222-564: The service. CBS All Access also carried behind-the-scenes features from CBS programs and special events. Original programs aired on CBS All Access included Star Trek: Discovery , The Good Fight , and Big Brother: Over the Top . In December 2018, the service was launched in Australia under the name 10 All Access , due to its affiliation with CBS-owned free-to-air broadcaster Network 10 . Due to local programming rights, not all content
21384-580: The show has been hosted since 2007 by actor and comedian Drew Carey . The network is also home to the current incarnation of Let's Make a Deal , hosted by singer and comedian Wayne Brady . CBS is the only commercial broadcast network that continues to broadcast daytime game shows. Notable game shows that once aired as part of the network's daytime lineup include Match Game , Tattletales , The $ 10/25,000 Pyramid , Press Your Luck , Card Sharks , Family Feud , and Wheel of Fortune . Past game shows that have had both daytime and prime time runs on
21546-428: 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
21708-610: The sole broadcaster of The Kennedy Center Honors , a two-hour performing arts tribute typically taped and edited in December for later broadcast during the holiday season. CBS has 15 owned-and-operated stations, and current and pending affiliation agreements with 228 additional television stations encompassing 50 states, the District of Columbia, two U.S. possessions (Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and Bermuda and St. Vincent and
21870-690: The specials were narrated by various actors, notably Alexander Scourby during the CBS run. The success of the specials led in part to the creation of the National Geographic Channel , a cable channel launched in January 2001 as a joint venture between the National Geographic Society and Fox Cable Networks . The specials' distinctive theme music, by Elmer Bernstein , was also adopted by the National Geographic Channel. From 1949 to 2002,
22032-631: 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
22194-507: 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
22356-635: 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 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,
22518-582: The television generation the aerial pattern kaleidoscope formations made famous on film by Busby Berkeley . During this time, Gleason's show finished #17 for the 1962–1963 season, #15 for 1963–1964, #21 in 1964–1965 and #24 in 1965–1966. In fall 1966, the show title reverted to simply The Jackie Gleason Show (dropping the American Scene format), and would remain so until its cancellation in 1970. By this point episodes included guest stars and skits. A component during this period
22680-528: 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
22842-564: The time of the deal, Nickelodeon and CBS were corporate sisters through the latter's then parent company Viacom as a result of its 2000 merger with CBS Corporation. From 2002 to 2005, live-action and animated Nickelodeon series aimed at older children also aired as part of the block under the name Nick on CBS . Following the Viacom-CBS split, the network decided to discontinue the Nickelodeon content deal. In March 2006, CBS entered into
23004-550: The title character on the first television incarnation of The Life of Riley sitcom —stepped into Cavalcade on July 15, 1950 and became an immediate sensation. The show was broadcast live in front of a theater audience, and offered the same kind of vaudevillian entertainment common to early television revues. Gleason's guests included New York-based performers of stage and screen, including Bert Wheeler , Smith and Dale , Patricia Morison , and Vivian Blaine . Production values were modest, owing to DuMont's humble facilities and
23166-422: The title role; that broadcast was seen by over 100 million people. It was subsequently remade by CBS in 1965, with Lesley Ann Warren, Stuart Damon, Ginger Rogers , and Walter Pidgeon among its stars; the remake also included the new song "Loneliness of Evening", which was originally composed in 1949 for South Pacific but was not performed in that musical. This version was rebroadcast several times on CBS into
23328-491: 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
23490-798: The value of the design. The logo is alternately known as the "Eyemark", a branding used for CBS' domestic television syndication division , under the Eyemark Entertainment name, in the mid-to-late 1990s after Westinghouse Electric bought CBS, but before the King World acquisition (which Eyemark was folded into), and subsequent merger with Viacom; Eyemark Entertainment was the result of the merger of MaXaM Entertainment (an independent television syndication firm which Westinghouse acquired shortly after its merger with CBS in 1996), Group W Productions (Westinghouse Broadcasting's own syndication division), & CBS Enterprises (CBS's syndication arm from
23652-606: 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,
23814-496: 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,
23976-601: 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 ,
24138-493: 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,
24300-727: The works of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel), beginning with How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 1966, as well as several specials based on the Garfield comic strip during the 1980s (which led to Garfield getting his Saturday-morning cartoon on the network, Garfield and Friends , which ran from 1988 to 1995). Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer , produced in stop motion by Rankin/Bass , has been another annual holiday staple of CBS; however, that special first aired on NBC in 1964. As of 2011 , Rudolph and Frosty
24462-728: Was a big hit for CBS, finishing at #8 in the Nielsen ratings for the 1953–1954 season and #2 in 1954–1955. The Jackie Gleason Show also earned Emmy nominations for best variety series in 1953, 1954 and 1955, for Gleason as best star in 1954 and 1955, for Audrey Meadows as best supporting actress in 1954 and 1957, Art Carney for best supporting actor in 1957, June Taylor for best choreography in 1956, and best writing and best engineering effects in 1955. The series won Emmys for Meadows as best supporting actress in 1955, Carney as best supporting actor in 1954 and 1955, and Taylor for choreography in 1955. Gleason never received an Emmy. By far
24624-476: Was destroyed after they ceased broadcasting, a surprising number of Cavalcade of Stars episodes survive, including several episodes at the UCLA Film and Television Archive . Additionally, at least 14 Gleason episodes survive at the Paley Center for Media . In his book The Forgotten Network , author David Weinstein mentions an unusual aspect of the DuMont network. He notes that while Drug Store Productions
24786-838: Was edited incidental music from the CBS crime drama Hawaii Five-O , titled "Call to Danger" on the Capitol Records soundtrack LP). This opening sequence appeared immediately before all CBS specials of the period (such as the Miss USA pageants and the annual presentation of the Kennedy Center Honors ), in addition to animated specials. CBS was also responsible for airing the series of Young People's Concerts , conducted by Leonard Bernstein . Telecast every few months between 1958 and 1972, first in black-and-white and then in color beginning in 1966, these programs introduced millions of children to classical music through
24948-650: 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
25110-513: Was initially taped in New York City; after two seasons, production moved to Miami Beach (1964), on Jackie's insistence. (This caused difficulties for announcer Johnny Olson , who had several other announcing jobs; Olson commuted frequently between New York City and Miami to accommodate Gleason.) Gleason would begin his monologue each week and be surprised by the flamboyant jackets worn by bandleader Sammy Spear. (Beholding Spear's animal-print blazer, Gleason quipped, "I've heard of Tiger Rag, but this
25272-501: 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
25434-557: Was recorded in the early 1980s when it regularly topped the Nielsen ratings on the week of its broadcast. Viewership dropped sharply throughout the 1990s and 2000s, from an estimated viewership of 20 million to an average of 7 million from 2000 to 2001. In 2002, Donald Trump (owner of the Miss USA pageant's governing body, the Miss Universe Organization ) brokered a new deal with NBC, giving it half-ownership of
25596-488: Was renamed CBS WKND in 2023. CBS was the original broadcast network home of the animated primetime holiday specials based on the Peanuts comic strip, beginning with A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965. Over 30 holiday Peanuts specials (each for a specific holiday such as Halloween ) were broadcast on CBS until 2000 when the broadcast rights were acquired by ABC. CBS also aired several primetime animated specials based on
25758-400: Was technically the sponsor, they in turn sold the commercial air time to various companies and products. Weinstein notes this as an early example of U.S. network television moving away from the single-sponsor system typical of the early 1950s. He quotes former DuMont executive Ted Bergmann describing the DuMont version as featuring six commercial breaks during the hour, with each break comprising
25920-468: Was the CBS Kidshow , which ran until 2000 and featured programming from Canadian studio Nelvana such as Anatole , Mythic Warriors , Rescue Heroes , and Flying Rhino Junior High . After its agreement with Nelvana ended, the network then entered into a deal with Nickelodeon to air programming from its Nick Jr. block beginning in September 2000, under the banner Nick Jr. on CBS . By
26082-495: Was the musical Honeymooners episodes, which had first been tried on Gleason's variety show during the 1956–1957 season. These were later collected as The Color Honeymooners , with Sheila MacRae and Jane Kean as Alice and Trixie, respectively. The regular cast included Art Carney; Milton Berle was a frequent guest star. The show was shot in color on videotape at the Miami Beach Auditorium (today called
26244-541: 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
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