- Source: Overmyer Network
The United Network, known prior to launch as the Overmyer Network, was a short lived attempt at a fourth television network in the United States that operated through the month of May 1967. Founded by Daniel H. Overmyer, a Toledo, Ohio, warehouse chain operator and television station owner, majority control of the network was sold by Overmyer to a 14-person syndicate weeks before it launched, resulting in the name change to the United Network.
Despite lofty plans outlined by network president Oliver Treyz, United's lone offering was The Las Vegas Show, a late-night talk show hosted by comedian Bill Dana. This program was successfully cleared in a majority of the nation's television markets; many United affiliates had existing primary affiliations with a Big Three network. Significant financial losses, poor timing, and a lack of overall advertising support prompted the network to shut down after only one month of operations.
Formation
A second-generation warehouse owner, Daniel H. Overmyer had entered prominence in the field, owning and operating up to 260 buildings in 55 cities nationwide by 1965. By 1966, Overmyer successfully built and signed on WDHO-TV in Toledo, Ohio, owned the Toledo Monitor, a weekly tabloid paper, and founded Progress National Bank; he also secured construction permits for six additional ultra high frequency (UHF) stations across the country, joining existing UHF station WDHO.
The creation of the Overmyer Network was announced on July 12, 1966, with former ABC president Oliver Treyz hired as network president. In addition to Overmyer's planned UHF outlets serving as owned-and-operated stations, New York City station WPIX-TV, owned by Tribune Broadcasting, was signed up as the planned flagship. Los Angeles station KHJ-TV, owned by RKO General, was announced as the lead station for the West Coast; had KHJ-TV not signed, KBSA (channel 46), a station that had yet to sign on the air, would have been designated as West Coast flagship. The Overmyer Network, abbreviated "ON" with the slogan, "Turn ON", was regarded as the first credible attempt at forming a fourth national network to join ABC, NBC and CBS since ABC's formal reorganization in 1953.
Treyz envisioned the Overmyer Network supplying up to eight straight hours of evening programming to affiliates, including a prime time block devoted to different genres every night, two hours of newscasts supplied by United Press International (UPI), and a late-night talk show originating from Las Vegas, Nevada. Cultural and sports programming including Tales from the Great Book (an animated Bible series) and regional games of the Continental Football League were also planned, as was professional soccer. Lewron Television, a Baltimore, Maryland–based production company that provided mobile television facilities for ABC, CBS and NBC, was contracted to supply their facilities for the late-night show. By July 1966, 35 stations agreed to affiliate with the new network; this grew by October to 100 stations, 75 of which already agreed to carry the late-night show. The number of planned affiliates increased to 123 by December, including 24 of the largest 25 markets. Many of these new affiliates were existing CBS affiliates; after Overmyer Network made the late-night show a priority, CBS declined to launch a late-night show of their own.
Ownership and name change
Overmyer encountered numerous financial difficulties in late 1966, attributed largely to an overexpansion of his warehouse company. Construction of his warehouses was briefly halted after the lead contractor encountered financial distress, owing $18 million to shareholders; in response, Overmyer agreed to guarantee the contractor's $5–6 million debt. Overmyer also employed a large financial development staff for his warehouse arm that traveled across the country, resulting in substantial travel expenses and monthly airfare totaling $80,000 a month. Consequently, construction of the other UHF stations was delayed, with only the San Francisco (KEMO-TV) and Cincinnati (WSCO-TV) permits having any tangible progress to speak of. Overmyer sold off 80 percent majority control of these unfinished construction permits to American Viscose Corporation in exchange for a $3 million loan.
Overmyer announced the sale of 80 percent majority control in the network on March 5, 1967, to a 14-person syndicate led by three stockholders in the Mutual Broadcasting System: Jack McGlothlin, a Texas oil operator; Willard Garvey, a grain dealer, an oil investor and land developer; and James Nichols, a Texas advertising and public-relations executive. No money changed hands. By February 15, 1967, Overmyer encountered second thoughts over the feasibility of the network and realized the original projected April 3 launch date promised months earlier in trade advertising would not be met. Overmyer proposed to the Mutual board a merger with the Overmyer Network as a way to help finance production of the new late-night show until advertising revenue became more available. While the Mutual board rejected the idea, McGlothlin, Garvey and Nichols, were receptive and formed the syndicate. As part of the deal, the Overmyer Network was renamed the United Network and now had a launch date of May 1, 1967. The new date came after negotiations with Lewron that included a $60,000 rider inserted in their contract and the right for United to terminate with seven days' notice. Broadcasting called the transaction "a rescue mission ... [that] has saved the fourth television network from death in the womb." Overmyer also relinquished any managerial role or board seats with the network.
Launch
Rechristened the United Network, the new network signed on the air on May 1, 1967, with The Las Vegas Show on 106 stations. Hosted by comedian Bill Dana from the Hotel Hacienda, the show featured regulars Ann Elder, Pete Barbutti, Danny Meahan, Jo Anne Worley, Cully Richards and Jack Sheldon, and aspired for a younger audience than NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. The Las Vegas Show also debuted two weeks after ABC launched The Joey Bishop Show. Dana had a 13-week contract with United to host the show and was reportedly paid $8,000 per week. The primary focus on Las Vegas, coupled with changes to the network's distribution, delayed the UPI newsfeed to a September 11, 1967, launch. UPI merged their television news service with ITN earlier in the year to form UPITN, and United was to have been one of UPITN's first clients.
With Las Vegas derisively dubbed "Ollie's Follies" by industry insiders, United was described by Variety as a syndication service similar to Sports Network, but utilizing AT&T Bell System transmission lines—the main carrier for television network transmissions—to send programming on a regular schedule. United's affiliate base was regarded as "irregular" by Variety and retrospectively seen as "erratic". As the network was made up mostly of existing Big Three affiliates, The Las Vegas Show aired in tape delay in most markets; some NBC affiliates delayed the show to the late afternoon or aired it after Tonight. The show's airtime on WPIX varied during the week, which was also the case for WGN-TV in Chicago. The network also lacked clearance in some large cities, including San Francisco, which was waiting for KEMO-TV to sign on.
While initially debuting to strong ratings in New York and Los Angeles, Las Vegas experienced significant declines through the month of May 1967. By the third week, Las Vegas was ranked dead last in New York and reportedly fell to a fraction of a point nationally. Dana later said some audience surveys showed Las Vegas had an average viewership of around 2.6 million, a respectable number given the varied airtimes among the stations and competition against Tonight, Joey Bishop and The Merv Griffin Show.
Financial distress
Despite the hype, the United Network quickly started to bleed money. AT&T's transmission lines proved to be too expensive: advance fees for the lines amounted to $400,000 per month and $7 million annually (equivalent to $64 million in 2023), with United paying for all eight hours despite using only two of those allotted hours. Under existing toll tariff rules, United was prohibited from subleasing these unused hours to another program service or for educational television, which drew the ire of New York Times columnist Jack Gould. After the network launched, Overmyer sold his nominal 20 percent stake back to the syndicate for $240,000 cash and a $115,000 promissory note. Two weeks into the network's operations, several members of the syndicate declined to have any further involvement with United, further burdening the remaining stockholders. H. L. Hunt and Howard Hughes were both approached as investors, but both rejected their respective offers, and another merger proposal with Mutual Broadcasting was reportedly rejected.
United also launched at the end of the traditional television season, which was also the last quarter for traditional advertising budget cycles, limiting the ability for blue-chip companies to become clients for the network, although companies like Colgate-Palmolive, General Mills and General Foods did emerge as advertisers. During the last days of operation, network president Oliver Treyz made an on-air appeal to potential sponsors, pointing out that air time on The Las Vegas Show was a mere $6,000 a minute, barely a third of what NBC was charging for The Tonight Show. Syndicated columnist Jack O'Brian reported these $6,000 rates were reduced further by up to two-thirds. Lewron was also not paid on May 22 and May 29 and issued a telegram threatening to deny United usage of their facilities. Other columnists began to suggest United "is in financial trouble", had a "shaky" future, or was "dying", with O'Brian calling Las Vegas both "new and ailing".
Closure
United's executive board voted to cease operations on Thursday, June 1, 1967, forcing affiliates to find replacement programming that same evening, some with only a few hours notice. One station, WREC-TV in Memphis, Tennessee, which carried Las Vegas at midnight, opted to sign-off at that time. Las Vegas was cancelled after 23 episodes; production staff was notified after the previous night's taping that the show "would stop taping for awhile". Financial losses for the network's investors totaled $2.2 million (equivalent to $20.1 million in 2023) from a starting capital of $10 million. Las Vegas executive producer David Sontag said United needed up to $8 million more in order to sustain further production of the program.
A notice was sent to the network's 107 affiliate stations on June 1, 1967, which stated:
The executive committee of our board of directors, instructed me to inform you that with deep regret we are obliged to advise you that the United Network ceased its interconnected program operations as of May 31, 1967.
Please be advised that the United Network staff has done everything possible in connection without [sic] efforts to plan and launch the Las Vegas program and other United Network endeavors.
Station co-operation has been magnificent. We are indeed indebted to you for all your help. Regretfully, Oliver Treyz.
United filed for bankruptcy on June 22, 1967, having accrued a debt of $690,000. Creditors included Chase Manhattan Bank, Texas Bank and Trust, Overmyer Network and Productions, and Bill Dana. Treyz left at the end of June. Managing director James Nichols expressed hope to resume United's operations within two months, saying the network did not fold but dropped all programming while undergoing a reorganization. Nichols retained Robert Pauley, formerly of ABC Radio, to serve as United's future president. Minority shareholder Willard Garvey planned to incorporate a new company named Detinu, Inc. (United spelled backward), to "precede development of a fourth nationwide television network".
By September 1967, Nichols announced United would relaunch with seven hours of news and public affairs per week, transmitted between 2 a.m. and noon when AT&T fees were lowest. Pauley "severed ties" with United's investor team the following month and established Independent Broadcasting Co., which like United would provide news and public affairs, including content from Pathé News, to affiliates. This network also failed to materialize and Pauley was eventually hired as president of Mutual Broadcasting. Pete Barbutti told the Omaha World-Herald in a January 1968 interview any plans to revive United or Las Vegas were "quite unlikely" as ownership decided to write-off the network for tax purposes.
Lewron Television sued both the network and Overmyer for $117,000 in unpaid rental bills, half of what had been owed to them under their contract; Overmyer was included because of his past status as a minority owner. While Overmyer was initially found liable of up to $53,683 in a summary judgment, this was later reversed on appeal. The lawsuit against United was decided on May 8, 1972, with the network owing the firm $13,326.86.
Legacy
WPIX president Fred Thrower called United "a valiant attempt" and said "it's a shame it didn't work... to ask for a success in five weeks was too much. If the backers of the network didn't intend to give it sustenance until it found its place they shouldn't play in this league with peanuts." Bill Dana expressed frustration over United's management and finances, telling an Associated Press reporter, "this appears to be the definite case of 'the operation was a success, but the patient died'. I can only ascribe the failure of the enterprise to the consummate naivete on the part of the backers. The whole thing went against all principles of sound fiscal policy. Even if you open a candy store, you should have enough capitalization to last more than three or four weeks." Overmyer said after the shutdown, "I am sorry. I still think a fourth network is necessary and maybe a fifth as time goes by."
Jack Gould mused in his Times column at the end of 1967 that United's failure was "further evidence that expansion of commercial TV is little more than a pipe dream". In a February 1969 column on recent attempts at a fourth television network (including DuMont, NTA and a Pat Weaver effort), Newspaper Enterprise Association media critic Joan Crosby deemed United "the latest, and most noteworthy fiasco ... that barely lasted long enough for the first commercial". Industry spokesmen described United to Crosby as "a promotion stunt" and "a fraud". Homer Brickey of the Toledo Blade later called the network "a victim of the Overmyer cash crunch" and claimed Treyz "slid into oblivion and reportedly became a bum on the streets of New York City." Historian Hal Erickson wrote that "... the United Network came to an end—making The Las Vegas Show the first series in history to leave the air because its network was cancelled."
Affiliate stations
A two-page advertisement published on the April 3, 1967, issue of Broadcasting magazine listed all the planned affiliates for the United Network. Prior to that, the December 5, 1966, issue of Broadcasting listed planned all the affiliates for the Overmyer Network, 123 in total. In some markets, a different station was the affiliate due to the planned station not yet signing on. Overmyer's KEMO-TV (channel 20) was listed as an affiliate in both lists, but it was not on air until April 1, 1968; as a result, The Las Vegas Show did not air in San Francisco.
A blue background indicates a station only included in the April 3, 1967, list.
Some listed affiliates did not carry the show:
KRNT-TV (channel 8, CBS), Des Moines, Iowa
WWTV (channel 9, CBS), Cadillac, Michigan, and satellite WWUP in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
KTTS-TV (channel 10, CBS), Springfield, Missouri
KTXL (channel 40), Sacramento, California; signed on October 26, 1968
WBTW (channel 13, CBS), Florence, South Carolina
WISC-TV (channel 3, CBS), Madison, Wisconsin
WOAY-TV (channel 4, ABC), Oak Hill, West Virginia
WTVK (channel 26, ABC), Knoxville, Tennessee; could not use ABC network lines to receive the program once Joey Bishop was scheduled as its competition
The following stations were listed as affiliates in the December 5, 1966, list and had no market replacement:
KHSL-TV (channel 12, CBS), Chico–Redding, California
KIEM-TV (channel 3, CBS), Eureka, California
WCTV (channel 6, CBS), Tallahassee, Florida
WINK-TV (channel 11, CBS), Fort Myers, Florida
WBJA-TV (channel 34, ABC), Binghamton, New York
KOTI-TV (channel 2, ABC), Klamath Falls, Oregon
WSBA-TV (channel 43, CBS), York, Pennsylvania
WDXI-TV (channel 7, ABC and CBS), Jackson, Tennessee
WJHL-TV (channel 11, CBS), Johnson City, Tennessee
KFDA-TV (channel 10, CBS), Amarillo, Texas, and satellites KFDW-TV in Clovis, New Mexico, and KFDO-TV in Sayre, Oklahoma
Notes
References
= Bibliography
=External links
Overmyer - A Man And His Network from UHFHistory.com
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