Type | Defunct broadcast television network |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Availability | United States (1956–1961) |
Owner | National Telefilm Associates Twentieth Century Fox |
Key people | Charles C. Barry Oliver A. Unger |
Launch date | October 1956 |
Dissolved | November 1961 |
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956 that operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several first-run television programs from major Hollywood studios. Despite attracting more than 100 affiliate stations and securing the financial support of Twentieth Century-Fox (which purchased a 50% share of NTA in November 1956), the network proved unprofitable and was discontinued by 1961. The NTA Film Network's flagship station WNTA-TV is now WNET, one of the flagship stations of the Public Broadcasting Service.
Parent company National Telefilm Associates was founded by producers Ely Landau and Oliver A. Unger [1] in 1954 when Landau's film and television production company Ely Landau, Inc. was reorganized in partnership with Unger and screenwriter/producer Harold Goldman. [2] NTA was the successor company to U.M. & M. TV Corporation, which it purchased in 1956. [3]
In October 1956, the NTA Film Network was launched with more than 100 affiliate stations. [4] It was a syndication service that distributed films and television programs to independent television stations and stations affiliated with NBC, CBS or ABC. The network's flagship station was WNTA-TV Channel 13 in New York. [5] Trade papers called the NTA Film Network a new television network. [6]
Unlike the Big Three television networks, the local stations in the NTA Film Network were not connected via coaxial cable or microwave relay. Instead, NTA Film Network programs were mailed to each station, a method used by other television syndicators in the 1950s and 1960s. However, many local stations agreed to broadcast NTA Film Network programs simultaneously. Landau's claim to network status was based on the simultaneous airing of the programs. [7]
In November 1956, Twentieth Century-Fox announced its 50% purchase of the NTA Film Network and its plans to produce original content for the network. [4] The film network grew to 128 stations. [8] In September 1957, the network purchased KMGM-TV (now KMSP-TV) in Minneapolis. [9]
The following is a list of NTA Film Network affiliate stations in November 1956. [10]
Ada, OK: KTEN | Grand Junction: KREX-TV | Oklahoma City: KGEO |
Allentown-Bethlehem, PA: WGLV | Green Bay-Marinette, WI: WBAY-TV | Peoria: WTVH |
Anchorage: KTVA | Harrisburg: WCMB-TV | Phoenix: KPHO-TV |
Amarillo, TX: KGNC-TV | Hattiesburg: WDAM-TV | Portland, ME: WCSH |
Asheville, NC: WLOS | Henderson-Las Vegas: KLRJ-TV | Portland, OR: KPTV |
Atlanta: WAGA | Houston: KTRK-TV | Providence: WJAR |
Austin, MN: KMMT | Indianapolis: WFBM-TV | Raleigh-Durham: WTVD |
Bakersfield: KERO-TV | Jackson, MS: WLBT | Richmond: WTVR-TV |
Bangor, ME: WABI-TV | Jefferson City, MO: KRCG | Roanoke, VA: WDBJ |
Birmingham, AL: WBRC | Johnstown, PA: WARD-TV | Rock Island: WHBF-TV |
Bismarck ND: KBMB-TV | Juneau: KINY-TV | Rockford, IL: WREX-TV |
Carlsbad NM: KAVE-TV | Kansas City: KMBC-TV | Salt Lake City: KSL-TV |
Cedar Rapids-Waterloo: KWWL | Kearney, NE: KHOL-TV | San Angelo, TX: KTXL-TV |
Charleston, WV: WCHS-TV | Knoxville: WBIR-TV | San Antonio: KENS-TV |
Charleston, SC: WUSN-TV | West Lafayette, IN: WFAM-TV | San Diego: XETV |
Chattanooga: WDEF-TV | Lafayette, LA: KLFY-TV | Savannah: WSAV-TV |
Chicago: WGN-TV | Lincoln: KOLN | Seattle-Tacoma: KTNT-TV |
Cincinnati: WKRC-TV | Little Rock-Pine Bluff: KATV | Sioux City: KTIV |
Cleveland: WJW-TV | Los Angeles: KTTV | South Bend-Elkhart, IN: WSJV |
Columbus, GA: WDAK-TV | Lubbock: KDUB | Spokane: KREM-TV |
Columbus, OH: WTVN-TV | Madison: WISC-TV | Springfield, MA: WHYN-TV |
Columbus, MS: WCBI-TV | Memphis: WMCT | St. Joseph, MO: KFEQ-TV |
Dallas-Ft Worth: KFJZ-TV | Miami: WGBS-TV | Sweetwater, TX: KPAR-TV |
Decatur, IL: WTVP-TV | Milwaukee: WITI | Tampa: WSUN-TV |
Decatur, AL: WMSL-TV | Minneapolis: WTCN-TV | Tucson: KVOA |
Denver: KTVR | Minot: KCJB-TV | Tulsa-Muskogee: KOTV |
Des Moines-Ames: WOI-TV | Mobile: WALA-TV | Twin Falls, ID: KLIX-TV |
Dickinson, ND: KDIX-TV | Monroe, LA: KNOE-TV | Washington: WMAL-TV |
Dothan, AL: WTVY | Montgomery: WCOV-TV | Waterloo-Ft Wayne, IN: WINT |
Duluth-Superior: KDAL-TV | Muncie: WLBC | Watertown, NY: WCNY-TV |
Eau Claire: WEAU-TV | Nashville: WSIX-TV | Wichita Falls, TX: KSYD-TV |
El Paso: KROD-TV | New Jersey-New York: WATV, later WNTA | Wichita-Hutchinson: KTVH |
Fairbanks: KTVF | Norfolk: WVEC-TV | Wilkes Barre-Scranton: WILK-TV |
Fargo-Valley City: KXJB-TV | Oak Hill, WV: WOAY-TV | York, PA: WNOW-TV |
Later affiliates included KOOK-TV in Billings, Montana (c. 1958–1959), [11] KONO-TV in San Antonio (c. 1958–1959), [12] [13] WISH-TV in Indianapolis (c. 1958–1959) [14] and KTVU in San Francisco (c. 1959–1960). [15] The network purchased KMGM-TV in Minneapolis in September 1957. [9]
The NTA Film Network aired both films and television series. Among its 1956–1957 offerings were 52 Twentieth Century-Fox films. [5] Premiere Performance, a prime-time block of Twentieth Century-Fox films, aired from 1957 to 1959. Other film blocks included TV Hour of Stars [16] and The Big Night (both 1958–1959). [17]
The network's television programs included:
Other lesser-known NTA series included:
In October 1956, the NTA Film Network also announced provisional plans to telecast live sporting and special events (using network relays) by the 1959–1960 television season. [25]
7:00 | 7:30 | 8:00 | 8:30 | 9:00 | 9:30 | 10:00 | 10:30 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
— | Man Without a Gun | This Is Alice | How to Marry a Millionaire | Premiere Performance (20th Century Fox movies) |
Up to 17 television stations followed this schedule for the 1958–1959 television season; other affiliates aired the programs out of pattern. [26]
In January 1959, Ely Landau was succeeded by Charles C. Barry, who assumed the role of president of network operations. Landau continued to chair National Telefilm Associates. [27] Despite Twentieth Century-Fox's 50% ownership, the film network never developed into a major commercial television network on a par with the "Big Three" television networks. Several modern television historians regard the NTA Film Network as a syndication service rather than a major television network. [28] [29]
By 1961, WNTA-TV was losing money, and the network's flagship station was sold to the Educational Broadcasting Corporation that November. WNTA-TV became WNDT (later WNET), flagship station of the National Educational Television network, a forerunner of PBS. [30] NTA network operations did not continue without a flagship station, although parent company National Telefilm Associates continued syndication services. Four television series ( Probe , Tintin , The Fair Adventure and A Day with Doodles) were syndicated by NTA between 1962 and 1966. [23]
Other early failed American television networks:
The year 1959 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1959.
The year 1958 in television involved some significant events. Below is a list of television-related events during 1958.
WNET, branded on-air as "Thirteen", is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group, it is a sister station to the area's secondary PBS member, Garden City, New York–licensed WLIW, and two class A stations: WMBQ-CD, and WNDT-CD. The WNET Group also operates New Jersey's PBS state network NJ PBS, and the website NJ Spotlight through an outsourcing agreement.
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National Telefilm Associates (NTA) was an audio-visual marketing company primarily concerned with the syndication of American film libraries to television, including the Republic Pictures film library. It was successful enough on cable television between 1983 and 1985 that it renamed itself Republic Pictures and undertook film production and home video sales as well.
The following is the 1958–59 network television schedule for the four major English language commercial broadcast networks in the United States. The schedule covers primetime hours from September 1958 through March 1959. The schedule is followed by a list per network of returning series, new series, and series cancelled after the 1957–58 season.
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Ely Abraham Landau was an American film producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series.
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Edythe Landau was an American film and television producer and executive, known for such films as Long Day's Journey Into Night,The Pawnbroker, King: A Filmed Record...Montgomery to Memphis, The Chosen and the fourteen movies of the American Film Theatre which she produced with her husband Ely Landau.
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