Paramount Television Network

Paramount Television Network, Inc.
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Television broadcasting
Founded	1948
Founder	Paramount Pictures
Defunct	1950s
Headquarters	Los Angeles, United States
Key people	Paul Raibourn (president), Klaus Landsberg (VP and general manager of KTLA)
Products	Television network programming
Parent	Paramount Pictures

The Paramount Television Network, Inc. represented an effort by the American film company Paramount Pictures to create a television network during the late 1940s. Paramount owned key stations such as KTLA in Los Angeles and WBKB in Chicago, and held a $400,000 stake in the DuMont Television Network, which operated outlets including WABD in New York City, WTTG in Washington, D.C., and WDTV in Pittsburgh. From 1940 until 1956, Paramount and DuMont were embroiled in ongoing conflicts over contractual agreements, control issues, and competitive tensions, ultimately resulting in the dissolution of DuMont. Television historian Timothy White characterized this prolonged dispute as "one of the most unfortunate and dramatic episodes in the early history of the television industry."

Among the programs broadcast by the Paramount Television Network was the Emmy-winning children's show Time for Beany, which was produced in Hollywood and distributed through a makeshift network across the United States. By 1950, Paramount had secured affiliation deals with more than 50 stations; nevertheless, much of its programming remained confined largely to the West Coast. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) brought antitrust charges against Paramount and prevented further acquisitions of stations. Consequently, Paramount ceased its efforts to build a network and concentrated on producing content for other broadcasters. After decades of creating programming for others, Paramount returned to broadcasting in 1995 by launching the United Paramount Network (UPN) in partnership with Chris-Craft Industries, which operated until 2006. Presently, CBS Studios controls Paramount’s historic television assets along with a revived Paramount Television Studios under Viacom. These holdings, together with former WDTV (now KDKA-TV), are incorporated within Paramount Global.

Origins

William Wadsworth Hodkinson established the American film company Paramount Pictures in 1914. Two years later, it was acquired by Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, and throughout the 1920s Paramount emerged as a dominant force within Hollywood. The corporation developed or acquired numerous film production and exhibition businesses, including the extensive 2,000-screen theater chain United Paramount Theatres (UPT), newsreel distributor Paramount News, Canada’s Famous Players theater circuit, and animation outfit Famous Studios. Paramount ranked among the "big five" major studios during Hollywood’s Golden Age. During the 1940s, however, Paramount faced multiple federal antitrust lawsuits culminating in U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al. (1948), which identified monopolistic practices. This led to an FCC mandate requiring Paramount to divest its theater operations by 1949.

Interest from Paramount executives in television emerged as early as 1937. In 1938, they acquired a minority stake in DuMont Laboratories, an early innovator in television technology founded by Dr. Allen B. DuMont. However, relations between Paramount and DuMont deteriorated by 1940 after Paramount independently launched Chicago’s station WBKB and Los Angeles’s station KTLA, contrary to DuMont’s expectation that expansion would proceed through their joint venture. Through its ownership of DuMont shares and these stations, Paramount controlled full or partial stakes in four of the first nine television stations established in the United States.

The DuMont Television Network was inaugurated by DuMont Laboratories in 1946. Despite Paramount’s partial ownership interest, its stations seldom aired DuMont programming and competed directly against DuMont affiliates in markets like Los Angeles and Chicago. Analysts Auter and Boyd note that Paramount's establishment of KTLA, WBKB, and its own television network undermined DuMont’s position despite their investment.

KTLA commenced commercial broadcasts on January 22, 1947; its debut evening featured host Bob Hope alongside stars such as Kirk Douglas and Cecil B. DeMille. As the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, KTLA enjoyed an early foothold in Los Angeles’ market. Revenue from advertising supported professional-grade programming that attracted substantial audiences; by 1949 estimates indicated KTLA aired 28 out of the top 30 television shows viewed in Los Angeles.

Launch

In 1948, Paramount's television branch, Television Productions, Inc., introduced the Paramount Television Network. The network's debut was promoted through a full-page advertisement highlighting KTLA as the flagship station, with production centered at KTLA facilities. Live broadcasts were transmitted via a coaxial cable connection to San Diego's KFMB-TV, while various other stations across the country aired Paramount's programs through kinescope recordings. These recorded shows served as supplemental content for stations during non-peak hours not covered by ABC, NBC, CBS, or DuMont, or when they preferred Paramount's offerings. Additionally, WBKB-TV in Chicago intended to distribute kinescoped programming.

Paramount sought to grow its portfolio of owned-and-operated stations (O&Os) by submitting FCC applications for new outlets in San Francisco, Detroit, and Boston. Nevertheless, the FCC rejected these proposals because of a regulatory limit allowing ownership of only five stations and Paramount’s minority interest in the DuMont Television Network. Since DuMont controlled three stations and Paramount two, the FCC considered both entities as parts of a single corporate group, restricting further acquisitions. Paramount declined to divest its DuMont shares despite FCC pressure. Historian William Boddy observed that Paramount’s complicated antitrust background influenced the FCC’s stance. As a result, both networks faced expansion obstacles, while CBS, ABC, and NBC each reached the five-station ownership ceiling by the mid-1950s.

Timothy White criticized Paramount’s approach of establishing a network that directly rivaled DuMont, effectively competing against itself. This internal competition intensified through the early 1950s, undermining collaboration and limiting growth opportunities for both networks. By 1953, even public cooperation between Paramount and DuMont had ended.

Programs

Throughout its operation, the Paramount Television Network broadcast a variety of series including:

Adventures in Music – hosted by Korla Pandit, known as the "godfather of exotica", featuring performances on the Novachord and Hammond Organ
Armchair Detective – a 30-minute crime reenactment show produced at KTLA and aired on both CBS and Paramount stations
Bandstand Revue – a half-hour musical program sponsored by Ralston Purina
Dixie Showboat – weekly country and western music variety series
Frosty Frolics – an ice skating show briefly broadcast on ABC over four weeks
Harry Owens' Royal Hawaiians – Hawaiian music program aired in Los Angeles and San Francisco markets before moving to CBS
Hollywood Opportunity – talent showcase series
Hollywood Reel – Hollywood gossip show narrated by columnist Erskine Johnson
Hollywood Wrestling – one of the early professional wrestling television programs
Latin Cruise – musical series headlined by Bobby Ramos
Magazine of the Week – program targeting female audiences
Meet Me in Hollywood – street interview series filmed on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street
Movietown, RSVP – charades-based game show
Olympic Wrestling – another professional wrestling broadcast
Sandy Dreams – children’s program briefly aired on ABC affiliates
The Spade Cooley Show – variety series hosted by Spade Cooley featuring performers Dick Lane, Anita Aros, Phil Gray, and Kay Cee Jones
Time for Beany – children’s show honored with an Emmy Award in 1949 for Best Children's Program
Yer Ole Buddy – comedy series

Although press announcements suggested additional KTLA-produced shows would be distributed nationally, some likely remained exclusive to Los Angeles audiences:

Girls Only – comedy-drama starring Mary Gordon as an aging former actress caring for four young women
The Ina Ray Hutton Show – featuring bandleader Ina Ray Hutton
The Lawrence Welk Show – musical program led by Lawrence Welk, which transitioned to ABC in mid-1955
Mayfair Mystery House – drama filmed in England; only 13 out of 39 episodes were completed
Spade Cooley's Western Varieties – another series starring Spade Cooley

Staff

Paul Raibourn held the position of president at Paramount Television Productions before being named vice president of Paramount Pictures Corporation. Because Paramount maintained a minority stake in DuMont, Raibourn also assumed the role of treasurer for the DuMont Television Network, a position that generated tensions between Paramount and DuMont. Leonard Goldenson, then president of ABC, observed that Raibourn’s stringent budget restrictions on DuMont impeded its expansion, in stark contrast to ABC's strategy of investing heavily in programming, which contributed to its eventual success.

Klaus Landsberg, originally from Germany, was responsible for producing numerous series for the Paramount Television Network and also served as a vice president and general manager of KTLA. Other significant executives included George T. Shupert (program sales), Burt Balaban (programming), John Howell (sales), and Bernard Goodwin (director and vice president).

Affiliates

In the 1940s and 1950s, U.S. television networks faced a regulatory cap limiting ownership to five local VHF stations. This restriction led networks to form partnerships with local station owners through formal affiliation agreements. Paramount mandated that affiliates enter into contracts even when broadcasting just a single program. By 1950, the network was distributing five weekly series to more than 40 affiliates throughout the United States, including at least two stations in Canada.

Broadcast delivery methods differed among networks: major broadcasters favored live transmissions via microwave relay or AT&T coaxial cable despite their high expense, whereas kinescopes—film recordings of broadcasts—were sent by mail to stations unable to receive live feeds. Paramount utilized a mixed approach, maintaining live links between KTLA and KFMB-TV in San Diego while other affiliates relied on kinescopes. A unique case was The Harry Owens Show, which aired live in both Los Angeles and San Francisco by having performers travel by airplane to perform sequentially.

The following table enumerates stations that carried programs from the Paramount Television Network, including owned-and-operated KTLA and WBKB. Also listed are DuMont’s three VHF stations (WABD, WTTG, WDTV), which broadcast minimal Paramount content but were considered FCC-designated owned-and-operated stations of the same company, along with DuMont’s two short-lived UHF licenses: KCTY-TV (operational briefly) and WHK-TV (never launched). Stations that aired certain programs under ABC or CBS affiliations are not included.

Station	City	State or province	Paramount programs aired
KOAT-TV	Albuquerque	New Mexico	Hollywood Wrestling
WLEV-TV	Allentown	Pennsylvania	Hollywood Wrestling
KFDA-TV	Amarillo	Texas	Hollywood Wrestling
WSB-TV	Atlanta	Georgia	Hollywood Wrestling
WJBF	Augusta	Georgia	Hollywood Wrestling
KMMT-TV	Austin	Minnesota	Hollywood Wrestling
WBAL-TV	Baltimore	Maryland	Hollywood Wrestling (c. 1951)
WAAM-TV	Baltimore	Maryland	Hollywood Wrestling (c. 1955) Sandy Dreams Time For Beany
WAFB	Baton Rouge	Louisiana	Time For Beany
WAFM-TV	Birmingham	Alabama	Time For Beany (c. 1951)
WBRC	Birmingham	Alabama	Hollywood Reel Time For Beany (c. 1953)
WNAC-TV	Boston	Massachusetts	Armchair Detective Dixie Showboat Hollywood Reel Hollywood Wrestling Time For Beany
KGBT-TV	Brownsville	Texas	Hollywood Wrestling

End of network

In May 1951, ABC chairman Edward J. Noble and Leonard Goldenson, president of United Paramount Theatres (UPT), announced plans to merge ABC with UPT, which had recently separated from Paramount Pictures. This arrangement combined ABC and its five television stations with UPT, the owner of WBKB in Chicago, an ABC affiliate. To adhere to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) limit of five stations per owner, WBKB was required to be sold. Consequently, the FCC initiated hearings in August 1951 concerning the sale of this station. The intricate transaction affected not only Paramount but also DuMont and CBS, the latter expressing interest in acquiring WBKB. Allen DuMont petitioned the FCC to compel Paramount to divest its shares in DuMont, arguing that Paramount effectively operated two networks—a situation reminiscent of NBC’s earlier forced divestiture of one of its radio networks. Paramount denied controlling a network; however, evidence such as affiliation agreements and advertising for the Paramount Television Network (PTN) persisted through 1952.

Following an 18-month investigation, the FCC granted approval for the ABC-UPT merger but refrained from addressing Paramount’s partial ownership in DuMont; Paramount retained its stake. Hearing examiner Leo Resnick concluded that Paramount did not exert control over DuMont, yet the FCC disagreed and imposed a restriction limiting combined ownership to five stations. Commissioners recalled Paramount’s prior antitrust infringements and suspected efforts to dominate television through dual networks. This decision preserved a television landscape dominated by three major companies, thereby restricting diversity in station and network ownership.

The merger between ABC and UPT finalized in February 1953 resulted in WBKB being sold to CBS. Paramount maintained ownership of KTLA and sought permission to operate a station in Boston—a permit that never materialized. By this time, Paramount’s television division was renamed Paramount TV Productions, Inc.; it abandoned the PTN brand but continued distributing programs nationally and maintaining affiliation agreements.

With ownership of only one station, Paramount never established a fully operational network; media historians generally classify its programming as syndicated rather than network broadcasts. Although shows such as Hollywood Wrestling and Time For Beany were broadcast nationwide, most content reached only select markets. Revenue streams were substantially lower than those of the dominant networks, resulting in sponsor withdrawals and production stoppages on key series. For instance, in October 1951, American Vitamin Corporation ended its $25,000 weekly sponsorship of both The Spade Cooley Show and Frosty Frolics. By June 1953, both Time For Beany and Paramount Television Productions had ceased operations; production and distribution responsibilities were transferred to other organizations. By late 1955, what was referred to as the Paramount Network consisted solely of 15 stations airing Bandstand Revue, often described as a "sort of" network. Due to management shifts and poor ratings, Bandstand Revue was canceled in October 1956.

In the fall of 1955, industry observers expected Paramount to launch a significant television network using KTLA alongside DuMont stations as foundational affiliates; reports highlighted acquisitions of scripts and studio expansions comparable to those of ABC, CBS, and NBC. In August 1955, Paramount’s board orchestrated a takeover at DuMont Laboratories by replacing its directors and removing Dr. DuMont from his presidency; the DuMont Network ceased operations the following year. Despite these developments, no merged Paramount-DuMont network ever materialized; by that point, television networking had been abandoned as part of Paramount’s strategic focus. Some affiliates and programming migrated to the emerging NTA Film Network instead. In 1959, Paramount divested its interest in DuMont—then renamed Metropolitan Broadcasting Company—effectively concluding its initial foray into network television.

Paramount's subsequent ventures in television

Although Paramount was unsuccessful in establishing a nationwide broadcast network, it maintained ownership of KTLA and continued its television pursuits. The company divested its collection of shorts and animated cartoons through agreements with U.M. & M. TV Corporation, Associated Artists Productions, and Harvey Comics (noting that Superman cartoons had earlier been sold to National Comics). In 1957, Paramount transferred the majority of its pre-1950 sound live-action film catalog to EMKA, Ltd., a subsidiary of MCA, which later integrated into Universal Television following MCA’s acquisition of Universal Pictures in 1962. In 1964, KTLA was sold for $12 million to Golden West Broadcasters, a company owned by Gene Autry.

Following the 1967 acquisition of Desilu Productions, Paramount developed programs for the three dominant networks: CBS aired shows such as Here's Lucy, Mission: Impossible, and Mannix; ABC broadcast The Brady Bunch, The Odd Couple, and Happy Days; while NBC later featured series including Family Ties and Cheers.

In 1978, Barry Diller, then CEO, initiated plans for the Paramount Television Service, envisioned as a "fourth network" broadcasting one evening weekly with 30 "Movies of the Week" succeeding Star Trek: Phase II. However, Charles Bluhdorn of Gulf and Western terminated the initiative due to budgetary concerns. Subsequently, Paramount converted Phase II into the feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture. Diller would go on to play a key role in launching Fox in 1986 under the News Corporation umbrella.

Throughout the 1980s, Paramount broadened its portfolio of original syndicated content with successful titles such as Entertainment Tonight, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Friday the 13th: The Series, and The Arsenio Hall Show. The franchise's popularity alongside the acquisition of TVX Broadcast Group—which owned independent stations in major markets—laid groundwork for establishing a new television network.

On January 16, 1995, Paramount introduced the United Paramount Network (UPN) through a collaboration with Chris-Craft Industries; Viacom purchased a 50% share in 1996 and gained full ownership by 2000. Despite operating for eleven years, UPN failed to achieve profitability, reportedly incurring losses amounting to $800 million during its initial five years. The network ceased broadcasting in September 2006 after merging with The WB to create The CW Television Network. Currently, The CW is predominantly owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns KTLA—serving as the network’s flagship station on the West Coast. Paramount's television operations now fall under CBS Studios within Paramount Global.