Paramount had long had visions of having their own network, having 2 prior cracks at the concept in the late 40s/early 50s and again in the late 70s.
The former was killed in the mid 50s and the latter was aborted before it could truly get going, with a new "Star Trek" series morphing into a movie.
After Paramount quit on the attempt at their own network in the 50s, Paramount flipped to being a major player in Television production.
This accelerated in 1967, when Gulf + Western bought Desilu from Lucille Ball and morphed it into Paramount Television:
Come 1991, Paramount began the process of launching a network with the same move Rupert Murdoch pulled prior to launching Fox in buying a set of stations as a nucleus.
For Paramount, this was the TVX Group which wasn't in New York but had major markets in Philly, Dallas, Houston and Washington DC.
1993, the year FInSyn fell, it came to the boil.
FIrstly, in January, an attempt at a Fifth Network was launched on Wednesdays & Saturdays: the Prime Time Entertainment Network.
This was a joint between Time Warner...and Chris-Craft Industries, owners of WWOR in New York and KCOP in Los Angeles.
In March, Paramount bought its first TV station outside the TVX core in Detroit's WKBD, adding another major market.
But it's in the month of September where things really pop off.
In September, Viacom announces its intention to acquire Paramount.
Shortly there after, a competing hostile takeover bid is launched by ex-Paramount head Barry Diller via QVC.
Yes, that QVC.
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The former was killed in the mid 50s and the latter was aborted before it could truly get going, with a new "Star Trek" series morphing into a movie.
This accelerated in 1967, when Gulf + Western bought Desilu from Lucille Ball and morphed it into Paramount Television:
For Paramount, this was the TVX Group which wasn't in New York but had major markets in Philly, Dallas, Houston and Washington DC.
FIrstly, in January, an attempt at a Fifth Network was launched on Wednesdays & Saturdays: the Prime Time Entertainment Network.
This was a joint between Time Warner...and Chris-Craft Industries, owners of WWOR in New York and KCOP in Los Angeles.
But it's in the month of September where things really pop off.
Shortly there after, a competing hostile takeover bid is launched by ex-Paramount head Barry Diller via QVC.
Yes, that QVC.