American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company (ABC ) is a television and radio network in the United States and now belongs to the Walt Disney Company. The headquarters is located in New York City.
The company was formed in 1943 from the crushing of the National Broadcasting Company ( NBC) and carries since 1945 the name ABC. The station began in 1948 with the broadcast of his program. ABC was taken over in 1985 for a then-record sum of 3.5 billion U.S. dollars from the considerably smaller media company Capital Cities with substantial participation by Warren Buffett. The acquisition of the new company Cap Cities / ABC by the Disney corporation took place in 1996. The "flagship " of the television station ABC WABC TV in New York.
History
The privately organized radio market in the United States dominated in the 1930s, until the late 1920s resulting Networks. This supplied nationwide through telephone lines so-called affiliates - independent, but associated radio stations - the program of the network 's own radio station took over at certain times, acting as the beacon transmitter of Networks.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC ), which pursued continuously as the competent authority this development, published 1940 "Report on Chain Broadcasting ", which analyzed the operation of the transmitter chain. The report noted that the four networks NBC Red, NBC Blue, CBS and MBS dominated the radio market, and recommended to separate the two most dominant networks of the National Broadcasting Company ( NBC). In the room in particular was the " accusation " that the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) with the operation of the partially advertising-free news and cultural networks NBC Blue, only to prevent a serious competition with the successful music and entertainment networks NBC Red tries.
Since the networks were not managed in itself, however, there was no regulation option for the FCC. Instead, the FCC proposed an indirect way, and sat at the radio stations on; the new rule that no more radio stations to get a license, which is associated with a network that operates over a network was abundantly clear minted on NBC. NBC went to court and sued the illegal regulation by the FCC, but which ultimately was right on appeal.
NBC subsequently precipitated the smaller Blue Network to sell the comprehensible decision; the Red Hat Network was not only larger and very successful, but had very many affiliates with powerful " clear channel " stations that were due to the protected frequency widely receivable. The distribution of the values of NBC Red and NBC Blue took the 1942 and 1943 claim; the value of NBC Blue was finally estimated at about eight million U.S. dollars. This package features the rents of the copper cable lines and the production studios in New York, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles were; Contracts with the speakers and about 60 affiliates; the brand "Blue" including goodwill; Licenses for the three own radio station NJZ in New York, KGO in San Francisco and WENR in Chicago.
Graduates a buyer finally found the RCA with Edward Noble, owner of Life Savers candy and the Rexall drugstore chain. To allow the transmission of transmitter licenses, Noble had previously even his own New York radio station WMCA sell. Then followed more uncomfortable hearings by the FCC, then Noble initially refused airtime on unions to sell. To burst only when the trade threatened and Mark Woods - and handled and also President-designate of the new Blue Networks sales for the RCA was - Noble asked his position on reconsideration, snapped this one; the commercial came on 12 October 1943. From the NBC Blue Network so was The Blue Network, which was owned by the system created specifically for it by Noble American Broadcasting.
Already in mid-1944 called Noble Network in its American Broadcasting Company (ABC ) what triggered a series of name changes: CBS changed the call sign (call sign ) of his New York main transmitter of WABC -AM to WCBS -AM. The Discontinued Call Sign WABC took over ABC in 1953 for his New York main station WJZ and its television sister channel of the received call sign WABC - TV. The call sign WJZ took over again in 1959 Westinghouse for his newly acquired television station in Baltimore.
ABC Radio grew slowly because it is in fact an audience had to completely rebuild. Noble acquired additional radio stations including WXYZ in Detroit, which was an affiliate of the NBC Blue since 1935. WXYZ ABC became a figurehead through which the programs or their spokesman, " The Lone Ranger ", " Sergeant Preston " and " The Green Hornet " managed their national breakthrough. Another was buying Noble KECA (now KABC ) in Los Angeles., What ABC gave access to Hollywood
A specialty of ABC was the "counter programming", so sending to, for example, the lively quiz show Stop the Music! against steadier radio broadcasts on NBC and CBS. And unlike the other networks to put on pre-recorded broadcasts, rather than on live broadcasts; This was made possible advances in tape recording method that had been acquired as " spoils of war " in Germany, and which could not distinguish the listeners of live broadcasts. Many well-known artists who did not want to commit to a fixed schedule is, therefore, preferably signed a contract with ABC, including Bing Crosby. Although the phone numbers still only number 4, ABC had caught the end of the 1940s significantly to the established networks.
In 1957, ABC 's daughter ABC film, which was later sold and renamed World Vision Enterprises.
Shipments
ABC sends - as well as NBC and CBS - mainly in prime time and that from Monday to Saturday from 20:00 clock to 23:00 clock ( Eastern Time ) and on Sundays from 19:00 clock to 23:00 clock. At these times, the first broadcast of "own" programs are each September to May irradiated while in the summer mainly just repeats or reality shows are shown.