DuMont Television Network

The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont /ˈduːmɒnt/) was one of America's pioneer commercial <a href="/facts/Television_network/xq32nKxz">television networks</a>, rivaling <a href="/facts/NBC/zyfTYCvW">NBC</a> and <a href="/facts/CBS/BhMsVoej">CBS</a> for the distinction of being first overall in the United States. It was owned by <a href="/facts/DuMont_Laboratories/5x00g8mr">Allen B. DuMont Laboratories</a>, a television equipment and television set manufacturer and broadcasting company. DuMont was founded in 1940 and began operation on August 15, 1946.
The network was hindered by the cost of <a href="/facts/Broadcasting/AV1f3dGy">broadcasting</a>, a freeze on new television stations in 1948 by the <a href="/facts/Federal_Communications_Commission/Ueghz8W0">Federal Communications Commission</a> (FCC), and even by the company's partner, <a href="/facts/Paramount_Pictures/F6UIvDD9">Paramount Pictures</a>. Despite its innovations in broadcasting, and launching one of television's biggest stars of the 1950s — <a href="/facts/Jackie_Gleason/86VIsUy3">Jackie Gleason</a> — the network never reached solid finances. Forced to expand on <a href="/facts/Ultra_high_frequency/S6XDUaDY">UHF</a> 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: <a href="/facts/WNYW/vWwzKgbK">WABD</a> <a href="/facts/New_York_City/YlyvFmVC">New York City -- which used its founder's initials as its call letters</a>, <a href="/facts/WTTG/C6BsU2RY">WTTG</a> <a href="/facts/Washington%2c_D.C./enXPK156">Washington, DC</a>, and <a href="/facts/KDKA-TV/BMyVM2RW">WDTV</a> <a href="/facts/Pittsburgh/42yPHyS0">Pittsburgh</a>, ultimately ending network operations on August 6, 1956, leaving three main networks other than <a href="/facts/Public_broadcasting/Ez3ayURb">public broadcasting</a> until the founding of <a href="/facts/Fox_Broadcasting_Company/yeFeCgGk">Fox</a> in 1986.
DuMont's obscurity, caused mainly by the <a href="/facts/List_of_surviving_DuMont_Television_Network_broadcasts/0wWFPM5L">destruction of its extensive program archive</a> by the 1970s, has prompted TV historian David Weinstein to refer to it as the "forgotten network." A few popular DuMont programs, such as <a href="/facts/The_Jackie_Gleason_Show/gAUeolD9">Cavalcade of Stars</a> and <a href="/facts/Emmy_Award/M6GvMDJc">Emmy Award</a> winner <a href="/facts/Life_Is_Worth_Living/q04S8T1D">Life Is Worth Living</a>, appear in television <a href="/facts/Retrospective/bvDdSlqy">retrospectives</a> or are mentioned briefly in books about American television history. In addition, a collection of programs and promos is available on the <a href="/facts/Roku/sRlmtJql">Roku</a> streaming television channel under the DuMont name.

DuMont Television Network open-in-new

DuMont Television Network