NTA Film Network


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, 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.

Origins

Parent company National Telefilm Associates was founded by producers Ely Landau and Oliver A. Unger in 1954 when Landau's film and television production company Ely Landau, Inc. was reorganized in partnership with Unger and screenwriter/producer Harold Goldman. NTA was the successor company to U.M. & M. TV Corporation, which it purchased in 1956.
In October 1956, the NTA Film Network was launched with more than 100 affiliate stations. 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. Trade papers called the NTA Film Network a new television network.
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.
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. The film network grew to 128 stations. In September 1957, the network purchased KMGM-TV in Minneapolis.

Affiliates

The following is a list of NTA Film Network affiliate stations in November 1956.
Ada, OK: KTENGrand Junction: KREX-TVOklahoma City: KGEO
Allentown-Bethlehem, PA: WGLVGreen Bay-Marinette, WI: WBAY-TVPeoria: WTVH
Anchorage: KTVAHarrisburg: WCMB-TVPhoenix: KPHO-TV
Amarillo, TX: KGNC-TVHattiesburg: WDAM-TVPortland, ME: WCSH
Asheville, NC: WLOSHenderson-Las Vegas: KLRJ-TVPortland, OR: KPTV
Atlanta: WAGAHouston: KTRK-TVProvidence: WJAR
Austin, MN: KMMTIndianapolis: WFBM-TVRaleigh-Durham: WTVD
Bakersfield: KERO-TVJackson, MS: WLBTRichmond: WTVR-TV
Bangor, ME: WABI-TVJefferson City, MO: KRCGRoanoke, VA: WDBJ
Birmingham, AL: WBRCJohnstown, PA: WARD-TVRock Island: WHBF-TV
Bismarck ND: KBMB-TVJuneau: KINY-TVRockford, IL: WREX-TV
Carlsbad NM: KAVE-TVKansas City: KMBC-TVSalt Lake City: KSL-TV
Cedar Rapids-Waterloo: KWWLKearney, NE: KHOL-TVSan Angelo, TX: KTXL-TV
Charleston, WV: WCHS-TVKnoxville: WBIR-TVSan Antonio: KENS-TV
Charleston, SC: WUSN-TVWest Lafayette, IN: WFAM-TVSan Diego: XETV
Chattanooga: WDEF-TVLafayette, LA: KLFY-TVSavannah: WSAV-TV
Chicago: WGN-TVLincoln: KOLNSeattle-Tacoma: KTNT-TV
Cincinnati: WKRC-TVLittle Rock-Pine Bluff: KATVSioux City: KTIV
Cleveland: WJW-TVLos Angeles: KTTVSouth Bend-Elkhart, IN: WSJV
Columbus, GA: WDAK-TVLubbock: KDUBSpokane: KREM-TV
Columbus, OH: WTVN-TVMadison: WISC-TVSpringfield, MA: WHYN-TV
Columbus, MS: WCBI-TVMemphis: WMCTSt. Joseph, MO: KFEQ-TV
Dallas-Ft Worth: KFJZ-TVMiami: WGBS-TVSweetwater, TX: KPAR-TV
Decatur, IL: WTVP-TVMilwaukee: WITITampa: WSUN-TV
Decatur, AL: WMSL-TVMinneapolis: WTCN-TVTucson: KVOA
Denver: KTVRMinot: KCJB-TVTulsa-Muskogee: KOTV
Des Moines-Ames: WOI-TVMobile: WALA-TVTwin Falls, ID: KLIX-TV
Dickinson, ND: KDIX-TVMonroe, LA: KNOE-TVWashington: WMAL-TV
Dothan, AL: WTVYMontgomery: WCOV-TVWaterloo-Ft Wayne, IN: WINT
Duluth-Superior: KDAL-TVMuncie: WLBCWatertown, NY: WCNY-TV
Eau Claire: WEAU-TVNashville: WSIX-TVWichita Falls, TX: KSYD-TV
El Paso: KROD-TVNew Jersey-New York: WATV, later WNTAWichita-Hutchinson: KTVH
Fairbanks: KTVFNorfolk: WVEC-TVWilkes Barre-Scranton: WILK-TV
Fargo-Valley City: KXJB-TVOak Hill, WV: WOAY-TVYork, PA: WNOW-TV

Later affiliates included KOOK-TV in Billings, Montana, KONO-TV in San Antonio, WISH-TV in Indianapolis and KTVU in San Francisco. The network purchased KMGM-TV in Minneapolis in September 1957.

Programs

The NTA Film Network aired both films and television series. Among its 1956–1957 offerings were 52 Twentieth Century-Fox films. Premiere Performance, a prime-time block of Twentieth Century-Fox films, aired from 1957 to 1959. Other film blocks included TV Hour of Stars and The Big Night.
The network's television programs included:
Other lesser-known NTA series included:
  • The Bill Corum Sports Show
  • Man's Heritage
  • The Passerby
  • Official Detective
  • Open End
  • William Tell
  • Assignment: Underwater
  • Q. T. Hush
  • The Sheriff of Cochise
  • Alex in Wonderland
  • Newsbeat
  • Juke Box Jury
  • The Best of Bishop Sheen
  • Danger Is My Business
  • Divorce Court
  • Glencannon
  • Grand Jury
  • Mantovani
  • Henry Morgan and Company
  • George Jessel's Show Business
  • The Mike Wallace Interview
  • The Third Man
  • The Oscar Levant Show
  • Confidential Portrait
  • Crime Reporter
  • Probe
In October 1956, the NTA Film Network also announced provisional plans to telecast live sporting and special events by the 1959–1960 television season.
Up to 17 television stations followed this schedule for the 1958–1959 television season; other affiliates aired the programs out of pattern.

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from:09/01/1959 till:09/01/1960 color:Oth text:Alex in Wonderland
from:09/01/1959 till:09/01/1960 color:Com text:Glencannon
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from:09/01/1960 till:09/01/1961 color:Dra text:The Third Man
from:09/01/1960 till:09/01/1961 color:Tal text:The Oscar Levant Show
from:09/09/1960 till:07/02/1961 color:Dra text:Assignment: Underwater
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from:09/01/1963 till:09/01/1964 color:Kid text:Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
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