Paramount Television Service
Encyclopedia
The Paramount Television Service (or PMTS for short) was the name of a proposed but ultimately, unrealized "fourth television network
" from the major American film studio, Paramount Pictures
(then a unit of Gulf+Western
). It was a forerunner for what would become UPN
(the United Paramount Network), which launched 17 years after
plans for the Paramount Television Service ultimately did not materialize.
with the launch of the Paramount Television Network
, which never extended beyond a few stations and folded after only a few years.
In 1974, Barry Diller
started his tenure as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of Paramount Pictures
Corporation. With Diller at the helm, the studio produced hit television programs such as Laverne & Shirley
(1976
), Taxi
(1978
), and Cheers
(1982
). With his television background, Diller kept pitching an idea of his to the board: a fourth commercial network.
. Set to launch in April or May 1978
, its programming would have initially consisted of only one night a week. Thirty "Movies of the Week
" would have followed Star Trek: Phase II
on Saturday nights. The network would've technically been an ad hoc
syndicated package similar to MCA's Operation Prime Time.
, wouldn't bite. Bluhdorn worried that PMTS would lose too much money. Bluhdorn's successor, Martin Davis was also reluctant. Ultimately, Star Trek: Phase II was transformed into Star Trek: The Motion Picture
(1979
). Diller then took his fourth network idea with him when he moved to 20th Century Fox
in 1984, where the new proprietor, Rupert Murdoch
, was a more interested listener.
, and the weekly pop music program, Solid Gold. (Paramount Television didn't use its own television logo, in these cases; a different, darker logo—originally intended to be Paramount Television Service's station ident—was seen instead.)
Paramount, and its eventual parent Viacom
, didn't forget about the possibility of their own television network. Independent station
s, even more than network affiliates, were feeling the growing pressure of audience erosion to cable television
in the 1980s and 1990s, and there were unaffiliated commercial stations in most of the major markets, at least, even after the foundation of Fox
in 1986
.
Meanwhile, Paramount, long successful in syndication with repeats of Star Trek
, found itself with several impressively popular first-run syndicated series by the turn of the 1990s, in Entertainment Tonight
, The Arsenio Hall Show
, Friday the 13th: The Series
, War of the Worlds
and, perhaps most importantly of all, the two new Star Trek franchises, Star Trek: The Next Generation
and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
.
Paramount finally returned to the idea of launching a network with the creation of UPN, which launched in January 1995; as with the aborted PMTS, a new Star Trek series (Star Trek: Voyager
) was launched at the same time as the network's flagship program. UPN eventually dissolved in 2006 when it merged with The WB (a rival network established by Warner Bros.
) to form a new network, The CW. PMTS lives on through UPN and the CBS half of The CW.
Fourth television network
In American television terminology, a fourth network is a reference to a fourth broadcast television network, as opposed to the Big Three television networks that dominated US TV from the 1950s to the 1990s: ABC, CBS, and NBC....
" from the major American film studio, Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
(then a unit of Gulf+Western
Gulf+Western
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc., for a number of years known as Gulf+Western, was an American conglomerate.- History :Gulf and Western's prosaic origins date to a manufacturer named Michigan Bumper Co. founded in 1934, though Charles Bluhdorn treated his 1958 takeover of what was then Michigan...
). It was a forerunner for what would become UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
(the United Paramount Network), which launched 17 years after
1995 in television
The year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
plans for the Paramount Television Service ultimately did not materialize.
Background
PMTS was not Paramount's first attempt at launching a television network. The first attempt occurred in 19491949 in television
The year 1949 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1949.-Events:*January 3 – Colgate Theatre premieres on NBC....
with the launch of the Paramount Television Network
Paramount Television Network
The Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s...
, which never extended beyond a few stations and folded after only a few years.
In 1974, Barry Diller
Barry Diller
Barry Charles Diller is the Chairman and Senior Executive of IAC/InterActiveCorp and the media executive responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company and USA Broadcasting.-Early life:...
started his tenure as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
of Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
Corporation. With Diller at the helm, the studio produced hit television programs such as Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley
Laverne & Shirley is an American television situation comedy that ran on ABC from January 26, 1976, to May 10, 1983...
(1976
1976 in television
The year 1976 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1976.-Global television events:*The Olympics, broadcast from Montreal, Canada, draw an estimated one billion viewers worldwide....
), Taxi
Taxi (TV series)
Taxi was an American sitcom that originally aired from 1978 to 1982 on ABC and from 1982 to 1983 on NBC. The series, which won 18 Emmy Awards, including three for "Outstanding Comedy Series", focuses on the everyday lives of a handful of New York City taxi drivers and their abusive dispatcher...
(1978
1978 in television
The year 1978 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1978.For the American TV schedule, see: 1978-79 American network television schedule.-Events:...
), and Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
(1982
1982 in television
The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...
). With his television background, Diller kept pitching an idea of his to the board: a fourth commercial network.
The plan
Plans relating to the proposed launch of the Paramount Television Service were first announced on June 17, 19771977 in television
The year 1977 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1977.For the American TV schedule, see: 1977-78 American network television schedule.-Events:...
. Set to launch in April or May 1978
1978 in television
The year 1978 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1978.For the American TV schedule, see: 1978-79 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, its programming would have initially consisted of only one night a week. Thirty "Movies of the Week
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
" would have followed Star Trek: Phase II
Star Trek: Phase II
Star Trek: Phase II was a planned television series based on the characters of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which had run from 1966 to 1969. It was set to air in early 1978 on a proposed Paramount Television Service...
on Saturday nights. The network would've technically been an ad hoc
Ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning "for this". It generally signifies a solution designed for a specific problem or task, non-generalizable, and not intended to be able to be adapted to other purposes. Compare A priori....
syndicated package similar to MCA's Operation Prime Time.
The plans fizzle out
Despite Barry Diller's best efforts, the Paramount board, and studio chief Charles BluhdornCharles Bluhdorn
Charles Blühdorn was a Vienna, Austria-born American industrialist.-Biography:Per a Who's Who in Ridgefield he was considered such a "hellion" that his father sent the 11-year-old to an English boarding school for disciplining...
, wouldn't bite. Bluhdorn worried that PMTS would lose too much money. Bluhdorn's successor, Martin Davis was also reluctant. Ultimately, Star Trek: Phase II was transformed into Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picture is a 1979 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the first film based on the Star Trek television series. The film is set in the twenty-third century, when a mysterious and immensely powerful alien cloud called V'Ger approaches the Earth,...
(1979
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
). Diller then took his fourth network idea with him when he moved to 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
in 1984, where the new proprietor, Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
, was a more interested listener.
Beyond the Paramount Television Service
In the immediate years following the cancellation of the proposed network, Paramount would contribute some programs to Operation Prime Time, like the mini-series A Woman Called GoldaA Woman Called Golda
A Woman Called Golda is a 1982 made-for-television film biopic of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir.Made by Paramount Television and directed by Alan Gibson, the film stars Ingrid Bergman in the title role...
, and the weekly pop music program, Solid Gold. (Paramount Television didn't use its own television logo, in these cases; a different, darker logo—originally intended to be Paramount Television Service's station ident—was seen instead.)
Paramount, and its eventual parent Viacom
Viacom
Viacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
, didn't forget about the possibility of their own television network. Independent station
Independent station
An independent station is in the category of television terminology used to describe a television station broadcasting in the United States or Canada that is not affiliated with any television network....
s, even more than network affiliates, were feeling the growing pressure of audience erosion to cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
in the 1980s and 1990s, and there were unaffiliated commercial stations in most of the major markets, at least, even after the foundation of Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in 1986
1986 in television
The year 1986 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1986.For the American network television schedule, please see 1986-87 American network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:*September 6 –...
.
Meanwhile, Paramount, long successful in syndication with repeats of Star Trek
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
, found itself with several impressively popular first-run syndicated series by the turn of the 1990s, in Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
, The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show
The Arsenio Hall Show is an American variety/talk show that aired late weeknights in syndication from January 3, 1989 to May 27, 1994. The show was created and hosted by comedian/actor Arsenio Hall.- Background :...
, Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series
Friday the 13th: The Series is an American-Canadian horror television series that ran for three seasons, from October 3, 1987 to May 26, 1990 in first-run syndication....
, War of the Worlds
War of the Worlds (TV series)
War of the Worlds is a television program that ran for two seasons, from 1988 to 1990. The series is an extension of the original 1953 film The War of the Worlds, using the same War Machine, often incorporating aspects from the film, radio adaptation, and original novel into its mythology.Though...
and, perhaps most importantly of all, the two new Star Trek franchises, Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
.
Paramount finally returned to the idea of launching a network with the creation of UPN, which launched in January 1995; as with the aborted PMTS, a new Star Trek series (Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
) was launched at the same time as the network's flagship program. UPN eventually dissolved in 2006 when it merged with The WB (a rival network established by Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
) to form a new network, The CW. PMTS lives on through UPN and the CBS half of The CW.
See also
- List of Paramount executives
- Star Trek: The Motion Picture#Origins
- Star Trek: Phase IIStar Trek: Phase IIStar Trek: Phase II was a planned television series based on the characters of Gene Roddenberry's Star Trek, which had run from 1966 to 1969. It was set to air in early 1978 on a proposed Paramount Television Service...
- Paramount TelevisionParamount TelevisionParamount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
- CBS Paramount TelevisionCBS Paramount TelevisionCBS Television Studios is an American television production/distribution company that was formed on January 17, 2006 by CBS Corporation merging Paramount Television and CBS Productions...
- CBS Paramount Television
- Paramount Television NetworkParamount Television NetworkThe Paramount Television Network was a venture by American film corporation Paramount Pictures to organize a television network in the late 1940s...
- UPNUPNUnited Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
- The CW Television NetworkThe CW Television NetworkThe CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...