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Paramount Television Service

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Paramount Television Service
TypeUnrealizedbroadcasttelevision network
Country
United States
AvailabilityUnlaunched
FoundedApril 1978;46 years ago(1978-04)
byBarry Diller
OwnerGulf+Western
ParentParamount Pictures
Key people
Charles Bluhdorn
Barry Diller
Martin Davis
Richard Frank[1]
Michael Eisner
Jeffrey Katzenberg[2]
Mel Harris
Former names
Paramount Programming Service[3]
CallsignsPTVS

TheParamount Television Service, Inc.(orPTVSfor short and also known asParamount Programming Service[3]) was the name of a proposed but ultimately unrealized "fourth television network"[4]from the U.S.film studioParamount Pictures(then a unit ofGulf+Western,now owned byParamount Global). It was a forerunner of the laterUPN[5](the United Paramount Network), which launched17 years later.

History

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In 1974,Barry Dillerstarted his tenure as the Chairman andChief Executive OfficerofParamount PicturesCorporation. With Diller at the helm, the studio produced television programs such asLaverne & Shirley(1976),Taxi(1978), andCheers(1982). With his television background, Diller kept pitching an idea of his to the board: a fourth commercial network.[6]

Paramount Pictures purchased theHughes Television Networkincluding its satellite time in planning for PTVS[7]in 1976. They also hired Rich Frank ofKCOP-TVand a member of theOperation Prime Timesteering committee.[3]Plans relating to the proposed launch of the Paramount Television Service were first announced on June 17, 1977.[8]Set to launch in April 1978, its programming would have initially consisted of only one night a week.[6][9]Thirty "Movies of the Week"would have followedStar Trek: Phase II[10]on Saturday nights. Planned too was a series derived from Paramount's version ofThe War of The Worlds(1953) as "backup" forPhase II;a pilot presentation was completed by the film's producerGeorge Pal.PTVS was delayed until the 1978-79 season due to cautious advertisers.[11][12]

At the time,Star Trekwas being broadcast on 137 stations in the United States in syndication, and it was expected that the new television as an effort for the station could become the fourth national network in the United States;[13]Diller and his assistantMichael Eisnerhad hiredJeffrey Katzenbergto manageStar Trekinto production with atelevision filmdue to launch the new series at a cost of $3.2 million – which would have been the most expensivetelevision movieever made.[14]

Despite Barry Diller's best efforts, the Paramount board, and studio chiefCharles Bluhdorn,passed on the network, as Bluhdorn worried that PTVS would lose too much money.[15]Six months before the launch, Paramount canceled the network before PTVS was set to debut.[6]Ultimately,Star Trek: Phase IIwas transformed[16]intoStar Trek: The Motion Picture[17](1979). Diller then took his fourth network idea with him when he moved to20th Century Foxto start theFox Broadcasting Company.[6]

Meanwhile, Paramount, long successful in syndication with repeats ofStar Trek,[citation needed]with several impressively popular first-run syndicated series[18]by the turn of the 1990s, inEntertainment Tonight,Hard Copy,Webster(which moved from ABC for its last two seasons),The Arsenio Hall Show,Friday the 13th: The Series,War of the Worlds(unrelated to the 1970s attempt) andStar Trek: The Next Generation.[19]

On February 9, 2017, Viacom announced that Spike would take on the new branding of theParamount Networkin early 2018, as the company switches to a focus on six prime ViacomCBS brands with most of the company's backing and resources.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Executive Richard H Frank on heading up the new Paramount Television ServiceonYouTube
  2. ^"Two Appointed".Gadsden Times.AP. October 7, 1977.RetrievedOctober 24,2012.
  3. ^abcNadel, Gerry (May 30, 1977)."Who Owns Prime Time? The Threat of the 'Occasional' Networks".New York Magazine.New York: 34–35.RetrievedOctober 4,2009.
  4. ^Margulies, Lee (March 9, 1978)."'Fourth Network' Gains Momentum ".Los Angeles Times.p. E22. Archived fromthe originalon April 15, 2013.RetrievedMay 25,2012.Appearing at the same session with Masini and Cox Rich Frank president of Paramount Television Distribution said the studio has not given up on... of Star Trek original TV movies and occasional specials The service will be offered if sufficient advertiser interest can be lined up he said.
  5. ^Pearson, Messenger Davies, Roberta, Máire (April 18, 2014).Star Trek and American Television.Univ of California Press. p. 51.ISBN9780520276222.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^abcdLowry, Brian."After 5 years, the WB and UPN still head in different directions".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedMay 25,2012.
  7. ^Lowery, Brian."After 5 years, the WB and UPN still head in different directions".Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^Retro TV1dead link
  9. ^"'Star Trek' will be new TV Series ".The Free Lance-Star.AP. June 18, 1977. p. 13.RetrievedMay 25,2012.
  10. ^Connelly, Sherilyn (October 9, 2019).The First Star Trek Movie: Bringing the Franchise to the Big Screen, 1969-1980.McFarland. p. 97.ISBN9781476672519.
  11. ^"Snag postpones 'Star Trek'".Boca Raton News.November 11, 1977.RetrievedMay 25,2012.
  12. ^Reeves-Stevens, Judith and Garfield (March 1, 1997).Star Trek Phase II: The Lost Series.Pocket Books. pp. 21–22, 34, 49, 69.ISBN0671568396.
  13. ^Sackett, Susan (March 1978)."A Conversation with Gene Roddenberry".Starlog(12): 25–29.RetrievedDecember 12,2014.
  14. ^Masters 2000,pp. 80–81.
  15. ^Vespoli, Chris (April 7, 2010)."Dead Air: A Timeline of Failed Broadcast TV Networks".Gawker.
  16. ^Johnson, Derek (January 3, 2018).From Networks to Netflix: A Guide to Changing Channels.Routledge.ISBN9781317331667.
  17. ^"A Lok At Star Trek".TVObscurities.com.September 1, 2006.RetrievedMarch 29,2013.
  18. ^Hadley, Josh (February 12, 2018)."Death Slot: The Secret Origin of First Run Syndication".Force of Geek.
  19. ^"SALHANY, LUCY".The Museum of Broadcast Communications.RetrievedOctober 24,2012.
  20. ^Andreeva, Nellie (February 9, 2017)."Spike President On Channel's Rebranding As The Paramount Network".Deadline Hollywood.RetrievedFebruary 10,2017.
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