DuMont will make TV work: A TL

[Freeman Cooper]

OK, so, I've been thinking about the post I made in this thread:

Actually, from what I'm aware of, if things had gone differently back in the 1950s, the DuMont Television Network & Mutual Broadcasting System wouldn't have merged to form the "Federal Broadcasting Company" (FBC), much to some people's belief.

If anything, since Mutual was owned/controlled by General Tire's General Teleradio subsidiary at that point, it's more likely than not that, if General Tire had known about DuMont preparing to shut down his namesake TV network, General Teleradio would have purchased the TV network & the stations that aired/carried it from DuMont and his company.

Now, I'll say I'm not completely sure whether General Teleradio would have kept the DuMont branding, or if they would have re-branded it to "Mutual Television" (utilizing the branding that WOR-TV & WOIC had used on their letterheads towards the late 1950s).

But, if anything, in the end, I highly doubt that DuMont and Mutual would have merged. There would have been no reason to.

Simply put: under General Teleradio's ownership, either the DuMont branding would have lived on as a TV broadcaster alongside Mutual as a radio broadcaster, or it would have been dropped in favor of the aforementioned Mutual Television branding.

And, I've some thoughts cross my mind:

1) After doing some research about the DuMont network, it turns out that, by the time the network would have ceased operations (in 1956), DuMont himself was no longer in control, as by August of 1955, Paramount Pictures, aided by other stockholders, took control of DuMont Laboratories (which owned & controlled the DuMont network), so that means that General Tire wouldn't have been able to buy the network & its stations, at least from DuMont himself. Now, I'm not sure if General Tire, upon finding out that DuMont Labs's new ownership was shutting down the network, would have still had the desire to purchase the network & its stations.

2a) Continuing the scenario from my post, I suppose it's possible that General Tire, upon finding out that DuMont Labs was shuttering its network, would have had two options: A) Purchase the network & its stations from DuMont Labs, or B) Maybe go a bit further than that & make the offer to actually purchase DuMont Labs from whoever owned it at that time, then for either situation, re-organize its General Teleradio media subsidiary (which, by 1956, had become RKO Teleradio Pictures after acquiring the RKO film studio from Howard Hughes), which meant that, besides operating the RKO film studio, it could create TV & radio divisions under the "DuMont Labs" (if General Tire had actually completely acquired DuMont Labs; if not, then call the TV division "DuMont Broadcasting Corporation", essentially mirroring at an earlier time what Paramount & its allies actually did to DuMont's stations in 1956) & "Mutual Broadcasting Corporation" (when John Fraim's Mutual Industries actually purchased Mutual from 3M in July 1966, Fraim's company was re-incorporated as Mutual Broadcasting Corp) brands.
2b) Now, of course, the things is, had it played out that General Tire would have actually acquired DuMont Labs from its new ownership, I suppose that GT could possibly have taken DuMont Labs's non-media properties & placed them into some newly-created division of itself. Then, when GT re-organizes itself into GenCorp in 1984, that division would have ended up alongside General Tire within GenCorp.

 

[AnonymousSauce]

OK, so, I've been thinking about the post I made in this thread:


And, I've some thoughts cross my mind:

1) After doing some research about the DuMont network, it turns out that, by the time the network would have ceased operations (in 1956), DuMont himself was no longer in control, as by August of 1955, Paramount Pictures, aided by other stockholders, took control of DuMont Laboratories (which owned & controlled the DuMont network), so that means that General Tire wouldn't have been able to buy the network & its stations, at least from DuMont himself. Now, I'm not sure if General Tire, upon finding out that DuMont Labs's new ownership was shutting down the network, would have still had the desire to purchase the network & its stations.

One of the direct effects of the original POD which IIRC was covered in either the second prologue or Chapter 1 was that the FCC found that, during the hearings to approve United Paramount Theaters' purchase of ABC, because of the questions surrounding whether UPT and Paramount were really fully separated that Paramount would be forced to sell its share of DuMont Labs. That was before the coup of 1955 so Paramount was never able to take control of DuMont away from Allen DuMont ITTL.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Chapter 3​

In this early era of television broadcasting, the types of programs broadcast on television were very fluid as audience tastes were just being established for the first time and television programs were mostly existing materials brought over from different media, such as radio, Hollywood movies, and Broadway. Radio was the dominant provider of source material for most of the 1940-50s time period, seeing as how three of the four TV networks originated as radio networks and still had their radio properties under their control contractually. DuMont differed from the other three networks in that it didn’t arise from a radio network and therefore had to rely on other sources of programming, at least until the RKO General buyout brought it under the same tent as the Mutual Broadcasting Service and gave it access to its programs. Allen DuMont got around this in the early days mostly by leaning on connections that he had on Broadway and also by pioneering in the areas of religious programming, the types of shows we today would call “reality TV”, and sports programming. DuMont aired several variety shows in the 1950s, including Ted Mack’s Original Amateur Hour, The Morey Amsterdam Show, and Cavalcade of Stars, the latter of which would contribute the talent that would be the most recognizable thing about DuMont in that era in Jackie Gleason and his Honeymooners shorts. Gleason would be signed to CBS in the summer of 1952, prior to the RKO General merger when DuMont was still cash-strapped, and launch the Honeymooners there as a spin-off sitcom in the 1955-56 season. As Gleason felt that the half-hour sitcom format was too restrictive to what he wanted to do with the Honeymooners sketches and the show consequently suffered in ratings, however, CBS cancelled the sitcom after one season. Gleason subsequently departed back to DuMont[1], and launched the Jackie Gleason Show from there, a more variety-formatted show similar to Cavalcade where he could continue the Honeymooners sketches free from the time constraints of the sitcom format. That show would be a mainstay of the DuMont schedule all the way to 1970.


Another show that would go on to define DuMont in the era and have a continued effect on the network well into the future would be the iconic children’s sci-fi/superhero adventurer Captain Video and his Video Rangers. Captain Video was a show about an interplanetary enforcer who watched over human colonies in distant solar systems in the far future (later retconned to be considered in the present of whatever the time period the story was being told[2]). The show was produced on a shoestring budget that resulted in the creative use of items the crew had lying around as props and the incorporation of material from public-domain Westerns to fill out time blocks (a move that was justified as Captain Video “checking in with his contacts back on Earth”). Despite those challenges, the show proved wildly popular with children and adults alike, spawned a movie adaptation, and went on to run in one form or another until the late 1960s, going on to influence many of the genre’s tropes in the era, such as the look of the Daleks in Doctor Who. The success of the show even compelled RKO General to purchase the comic book imprint that licensed the show for comics, Charlton Comics, in the 1960s, a move that would go on to have a lasting impact on the comic book industry as a whole starting in the 1970s “Bronze Age” of comics.


The other area that DuMont would find early and lasting success in was the arena of sports. Boxing and wrestling were mainstays of DuMont’s early years, and in 1953 the network landed a deal with the NFL to broadcast Saturday night games in the regular season. The network’s ownership of this package proved to be a boon to the network and have a subsequently enormous impact on its rise, which will be covered in future installments. The sports department also provided a proving ground for a man who would be a massive influence on the network in future years, Roone Arledge.[3]


DuMont also trailblazed in the area of how advertisers interacted with the networks and the shows they aired. In that time period, advertisers commonly sponsored a program as the sole sponsor, such as the Milton Berle Show sponsored by Buick. The networks also forced advertisers to buy tracts of markets that their ads would air in. DuMont, in an effort to set themselves apart to advertisers in ways other than ratings, allowed advertisers to buy individual spots on shows and only advertise in the markets they wanted to, which saved the advertisers money and therefore made it more appealing to advertise on DuMont. Consequently, these changes to advertising practices became industry standard.


[1]OTL, DuMont was already collapsing by the time the Honeymooners was cancelled, so the Jackie Gleason Show stayed on CBS until 1970.


[2]This never happened OTL because DuMont collapsed before it could, taking Captain Video with it. Here, with the ongoing survival of DuMont and the fact that RKO General bought Charlton Comics to keep the licensed Captain Video comics in print, Charlton integrates Captain Video into its regular superhero lineup and makes this retcon for it to make sense.


[3]Roone Arledge went on to helm ABC Sports IOTL after the DuMont collapse, innovating Wide World of Sports, Monday Night Football and several other sports programs as well as having an impact on ABC’s entertainment division. Here, he remains with DuMont and makes his contributions to its budding sports division, which will have ramifications for the North American sports world in the future...

Any chance of any of Mutual's shows becoming TV shows?

 

[Nivek]

One of the direct effects of the original POD which IIRC was covered in either the second prologue or Chapter 1 was that the FCC found that, during the hearings to approve United Paramount Theaters' purchase of ABC, because of the questions surrounding whether UPT and Paramount were really fully separated that Paramount would be forced to sell its share of DuMont Labs. That was before the coup of 1955 so Paramount was never able to take control of DuMont away from Allen DuMont ITTL.

Nice

 

[Freeman Cooper]

One of the direct effects of the original POD which IIRC was covered in either the second prologue or Chapter 1 was that the FCC found that, during the hearings to approve United Paramount Theaters' purchase of ABC, because of the questions surrounding whether UPT and Paramount were really fully separated that Paramount would be forced to sell its share of DuMont Labs. That was before the coup of 1955 so Paramount was never able to take control of DuMont away from Allen DuMont ITTL.

I'm well aware of the situation with Paramount & DuMont in your story. I've pretty much read your entire story up to now.

What I was referring to was the situation IRL with Paramount & DuMont. My thought process was that, if it would have happened that General Tire had gone after DuMont IRL before the network had been shut down, I'm not sure whether GT would have just gone after the network & its stations, or if they would have attempted to acquire DuMont Labs, the company that was operating DuMont.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Look what I found: https://fictionaltvstations.fandom.com/wiki/DuMont_Television_Network

 

[AnonymousSauce]

I'm well aware of the situation with Paramount & DuMont in your story. I've pretty much read your entire story up to now.

What I was referring to was the situation IRL with Paramount & DuMont. My thought process was that, if it would have happened that General Tire had gone after DuMont IRL before the network had been shut down, I'm not sure whether GT would have just gone after the network & its stations, or if they would have attempted to acquire DuMont Labs, the company that was operating DuMont.

Fair enough. I imagine that they would have gone for DuMont Labs for the simple reason that GT was, first and foremost, an industrial corporation (it would eventually evolve into GenCorp, one of America's largest defense contractors) and buying the parent company would allow it to enter a new industry as well as giving it a foothold in television that would be complementary to its radio assets.

 

[Freeman Cooper]

Well, here's some thoughts that crossed my mind earlier today (based on RL)...

Had GT purchased DuMont Labs before the network went under in 1956, do you think they would have kept the DuMont name for the network, or do you think it's possible they would have re-launched the network under the "Mutual Television" branding (there actually was some RL speculation of Mutual considering launching a RL TV network under that name in the late 1940s, but nothing ever actually came of it).
Also, had GT acquired DuMont Labs, do you think that they would have then re-organized RKO Teleradio Pictures (not sure if they would have re-named the company, and if so, what name they would have changed it to), creating 3 divisions, with RKO (film), DuMont (TV), & Mutual (radio)?

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

Is RKO General big enough ITTL to have purchased Desilu at anytime before Star Trek?

 

[AnonymousSauce]

Well, here's some thoughts that crossed my mind earlier today (based on RL)...

Had GT purchased DuMont Labs before the network went under in 1956, do you think they would have kept the DuMont name for the network, or do you think it's possible they would have re-launched the network under the "Mutual Television" branding (there actually was some RL speculation of Mutual considering launching a RL TV network under that name in the late 1940s, but nothing ever actually came of it).
Also, had GT acquired DuMont Labs, do you think that they would have then re-organized RKO Teleradio Pictures (not sure if they would have re-named the company, and if so, what name they would have changed it to), creating 3 divisions, with RKO (film), DuMont (TV), & Mutual (radio)?

I suspect that if they had bought DuMont just before it went under they probably would have renamed it to Mutual, but for that to have happened anyway they would have had to been able to convince Paramount to sell their share before the whole thing tanked, which they were unwilling to do IOTL.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

So with the General Tire owning both the Mutual Broadcasting System & the DuMont Television Network by 1954 and with MBS having the Shadow radio program in 1953-54 it makes sense the DuMont would air the 1954 pilot The Shadow.

The Shadow (1954)

Tom Helmore as Lamont Cranston/The Shadow

Paula Raymond as Margo Lane

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

The NTA FIlm Network arose in the late 1950s to attempt to provide programming to some of the independent stations that did not possess the advantage of being owned by a major conglomerate. It did not operate as a true network with microwave relays or coaxial connections between stations, but instead mailed programs on tape to the individual stations and requested that they be shown in pattern. It had the backing of Twentieth Century Fox, which provided movies and some shows for the network, and launched in October 1956 with over 100 affiliates, though some of those were major-network affiliates that used NTA programming to fill in off-hours. It purchased New York independent station WATV-TV 13 to be its flagship, which it subsequently renamed WNTA. The network produced a couple of memorable shows, such as How to Marry a Millionaire and Man Without a Gun, but was losing money just about immediately with there not really being enough space for a fifth network at the time, especially one that was forced to rely on UHF for expansion. By 1959[3] the network had had enough losses that it decided to sell WNTA to the fledgling National Educational Television non-commercial network, and with that it gave up the ghost.

What happened to NTA's programming?

 

[AnonymousSauce]

What happened to NTA's programming?

It faded away, basically just as OTL

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

It faded away, basically just as OTL

No chance of DuMont acquiring their TV shows?

 

[AnonymousSauce]

No chance of DuMont acquiring their TV shows?

I covered it a little in the last programming update and I will again in the next update which will be about programming in the '60s, but DuMont at this point is preoccupied with their own sources of programming, which are a mix of the shows they already had, radio content from Mutual that hasn't yet been made into TV shows, content from Britain and the Ford documentaries that they co-air with NET/PBS.

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

NTA's shows are in syndication so a deal with 20th Century could allow the show to continue.

Also any possible deals between RKO and Desilu?

radio content from Mutual that hasn't yet been made into TV shows

Like the The Shadow TV pilot I posted earlier?

Also with General Tire owning both MBS and Charlton does that mean that Charlton might do a Shadow comic?

 

[AnonymousSauce]

NTA's shows are in syndication so a deal with 20th Century could allow the show to continue.

Also any possible deals between RKO and Desilu?

Like the The Shadow TV pilot I posted earlier?

Also with General Tire owning both MBS and Charlton does that mean that Charlton might do a Shadow comic?

IIRC (I'm at work right now and my Google Fu doesn't seem to be too good atm) the FCC implemented a rule in the 60s that said that the TV networks could not own studios that came up with content for their own networks, so that would seem to preclude an RKO purchase of Desilu. The Shadow thing I could see working out, though.

EDIT: Found it

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

so that would seem to preclude an RKO purchase of Desilu.

I wasn't thinking about purchasing but maybe producing for them. They could be behind a new Captain Video show.

The Shadow thing I could see working out, though.

After doing more research the best way for Charlton to do a Shadow comics is if General Tire bought Street & Smith in 1959.

 

[Freeman Cooper]

I suspect that if they had bought DuMont just before it went under they probably would have renamed it to Mutual, but for that to have happened anyway they would have had to been able to convince Paramount to sell their share before the whole thing tanked, which they were unwilling to do IOTL.

OK, here's some things I'd like an answer for from you, based off your alternate TL...

What is your reasoning/logic that, had GT acquired DuMont Labs/DuMont Television Network in 1955 (shortly after GT acquired RKO & merge it with General Teleradio, forming RKO Teleradio Pictures), they would have renamed the TV network to "Mutual Television", rather than keeping it as "DuMont Television Network"? I mean, as you pointed out, after acquiring DuMont Labs in the process of acquiring the DuMont network, GT would have then owned the rights to the "DuMont" branding. I just pointed out the thing about the "Mutual Television" network because there was speculation IRL in the late 1940s about Mutual possibly launching a TV network, even though the speculation never actually came to fruition. I'd honestly like to know what your basis is for thinking that GT would have re-launched DuMont under a different brand after acquiring the TV network shortly before it would have went under.

And, do you think that, after acquiring DuMont Labs/DuMont Television Network, GT would have re-organized RKO Teleradio Pictures in a way that would have given it divisions, such as RKO (film), DuMont (TV), & Mutual (radio)? And, if a re-organization of RKO Teleradio Pictuers had happened, do you think GT have kept its media company named as "RKO Teleradio Pictures", or would GT have renamed it to something else (maybe "General Media", possibly?)?

 

[nick_crenshaw82]

had GT acquired DuMont Labs

Did General Tire acquire DuMont Labs in 1953 (not 1955)? I thought had to sell just the TV network before United Paramount Theaters could buy ABC?

they would have renamed the TV network to "Mutual Television",

If General Tire only bought the DuMont Television than it makes sense to rename it MBS, like CBS or PBS.

such as RKO (film), DuMont (TV), & Mutual (radio)

I imagine RKO General would remain separate from the new MBS, similar to how Disney (film studio) and ABC are separate despite being own by the same company.