Word: abc
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...they do, it will be the result of hard, uphill work. Even at the height of its success, ABC never quite overcame its image as the upstart of TV's network fraternity. CBS, with its distinguished legacy of William Paley, Edward R. Murrow and Playhouse 90, has always embodied broadcasting's old- school elite. NBC, originator of the Today and Tonight shows and numerous other firsts, is a respected, if sometimes stodgy, TV pioneer. ABC, by contrast, is the brash outsider, by turns more innovative and more shrewdly commercial than either of its rivals...
...image comes from years as TV's best-known underdog. The American Broadcasting Co. was created in 1943 when the FCC forced the National Broadcasting Co. to give up one of its two radio networks (NBC kept the so- called Red Network; its Blue Network became ABC). Ten years later, ABC merged with United Paramount Theaters, whose chief executive, Leonard Goldenson, became president of the new company and its guiding spirit...
During its infancy, ABC was clearly overmatched by its two veteran rivals, , but slowly began to make its presence felt. The network's earliest hit show was Disneyland, produced by Walt Disney Studios in 1954. Later, ABC spurred television's western craze with such popular shows as The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, Maverick and The Rifleman. The network was also home for such TV crowd pleasers of the '50s and '60s as Ozzie and Harriet, The Untouchables, Leave It to Beaver and The Fugitive, some of which are gathering a new generation of fans on daytime and late...
Playing catch-up made ABC receptive to change. It was the first network to encourage Hollywood studios to produce series, striking early deals not only with Disney but also with Warner Bros. (77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye). ABC was also a pioneer in the made-for-TV movie format. Perhaps its most striking achievements came in sports programming. Under the leadership of Producer Roone Arledge, ABC increased the scope of athletics coverage with its weekly Wide World of Sports; introduced technical innovations like the instant replay; brought pro football into prime time with Monday Night Football; and substantially raised...
...Still, ABC's financial situation was unstable (it was the target in the 1960s of attempted hostile takeovers by Norton Simon and Howard Hughes and an aborted merger with ITT), and its hold on last place in the ratings seemed depressingly unshakable. Some of the network's hit shows of the late 1960s and early '70s were often faddish entries, quick to catch on and quick to fade away: Batman, The Mod Squad, Kung Fu. ABC's ratings woes became the subject of mordant jokes. Asked how to end the Viet Nam War, industry wags would reply, "Turn it into...