television network 1948 present radio network 1943 2007 2015 present country united states availability national founded may 15 1943 ; 73 years ago may 15 1943 new york city new york by louis blanche and edward j. noble slogan the only place to be general promotion abc funny comedy programming promotion headquarters new york city new york united states parent disney abc television group disney media networks the walt disney company key people ben sherwood co chair disney media networks ; president disney abc television group 1 channing dungey 2 president abc entertainment group james goldston president abc news 3 launch date october 12 1943 1943 10 12 radio april 19 1948 1948 04 19 television former names nbc blue network picture format 720p hdtv some affiliates transmit abc programming in 1080i 16 9 480i sdtv 4 3 16 9 affiliates lists by state or by market official website abc.go.com replaced blue network abc s corporate headquarters are located at 77 west 66th street on the upper west side of manhattan in new york city . the american broadcasting company abc is an american commercial broadcast television network that is owned by the disney abc television group a subsidiary of the disney media networks division of the walt disney company . the network is headquartered on columbus avenue and west 66th street in manhattan new york city . there are additional major offices and production facilities elsewhere in new york city as well as in los angeles and burbank california . since 2007 when abc radio also known as cumulus media networks was sold to citadel broadcasting abc has reduced its broadcasting operations almost exclusively to television . the fifth oldest major broadcasting network in the world and the youngest of the big three television networks abc is often nicknamed as the alphabet network as its initialism also represents the first three letters of the english alphabet in order . abc originally launched on october 12 1943 as a radio network separated from and serving as the successor to the nbc blue network which had been purchased by edward j. noble . it extended its operations to television in 1948 following in the footsteps of established broadcast networks cbs and nbc . in the mid 1950s abc merged with united paramount theatres a chain of movie theaters that formerly operated as a subsidiary of paramount pictures . leonard goldenson who had been the head of upt made the new television network profitable by helping develop and greenlight many successful series . in the 1980s after purchasing an 80 % interest in cable sports channel espn the network s corporate parent american broadcasting companies inc. merged with capital cities communications owner of several print publications and television and radio stations . in 1996 most of capital cities abc s assets were purchased by the walt disney company . the television network has eight owned and operated and over 232 affiliated television stations throughout the united states and its territories . most canadians have access to at least one u.s. based abc affiliate either over the air in areas located within proximity to the canada united states border or through a cable satellite or iptv provider although most abc programs are subject to simultaneous substitution regulations imposed by the canadian radio television and telecommunications commission that allow pay television providers to replace an american station s signal with the feed of a canadian broadcaster to protect domestic programming rights and advertising revenue . abc news provides news and features content for select radio stations owned by citadel broadcasting which purchased the abc radio properties in 2007 . contents 1 history 1.1 blue network 1927 1945 1.2 entry into television 1945 1949 1.3 american broadcasting paramount theatres 1.3.1 hollywood begins to produce television series 1.3.2 first bonds with disney 1.3.3 affiliate issues 1.3.4 counterprogramming successful but criticized 1.4 transition to color 1960s 1.4.1 children s programming and the debut of abc sports 1960 1965 1.4.2 new regulations and the radio network s recovery 1966 1969 1.5 success in television 1971 1980 1.6 merger with capital cities purchase of espn and reprogramming friday nights 1981 1990 1.7 continued success and acquisition by disney 1991 2000 1.8 new century new programs ; divisional restructuring 2001 2010 1.8.1 separation of the radio network 1.8.2 entertainment reorganization and struggles with new shows 2007 2009 1.9 current state 2 programming 2.1 daytime 2.2 specials 2.3 programming library 3 stations 4 facilities and studios 5 related services 5.1 video on demand services 5.2 abc hd 6 analysis 6.1 visual identity 6.2 international development 7 movies produced by abc or its divisions 8 see also 9 references 9.1 footnotes 9.2 bibliography 10 external links history edit blue network 1927 1945 edit main article blue network in the 1930s radio in the united states was dominated by three companies the columbia broadcasting system cbs the mutual broadcasting system and the national broadcasting company nbc . the last was owned by electronics manufacturer radio corporation of america rca which owned two radio networks that each ran different varieties of programming nbc blue and nbc red . the nbc blue network was created in 1927 for the primary purpose of testing new programs on markets of lesser importance than those served by nbc red which served the major cities 4 and to test drama series . 5 in 1934 mutual filed a complaint with the federal communications commission fcc regarding its difficulties in establishing new stations in a radio market that was already being saturated by nbc and cbs . 5 in 1938 the fcc began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks 5 and published its report on the broadcasting of network radio programs in 1940 . the report recommended that rca give up control of either nbc red or nbc blue . 4 at that time the nbc red network was the principal radio network in the united states and according to the fcc rca was using nbc blue to eliminate any hint of competition . having no power over the networks themselves the fcc established a regulation forbidding licenses to be issued for radio stations if they were affiliated with a network which already owned multiple networks 4 that provided content of public interest . 5 edward noble founder of abc once mutual s appeals against the fcc were rejected rca decided to sell nbc blue in 1941 and gave the mandate to do so to mark woods . 6 rca converted the nbc blue network into an independent subsidiary formally divorcing the operations of nbc red and nbc blue on january 8 1942 5 7 with the blue network being referred to on air as either blue or blue network . 8 the newly separated nbc red and nbc blue divided their respective corporate assets . between 1942 and 1943 woods offered to sell the entire nbc blue network 9 10 a package that included leases on landlines three pending television licenses wjz tv in new york city kgo tv in san francisco and wenr tv in chicago 60 affiliates four operations facilities in new york city chicago los angeles and washington d.c. contracts with actors and the brand associated with the blue network . investment firm dillon read & co. which was later acquired by the swiss bank corporation in 1997 offered 7.5 million to purchase the network but the offer was rejected by woods and rca president david sarnoff . 9 edward john noble the owner of life savers candy drugstore chain rexall and new york city radio station wmca purchased the network for 8 million . 4 5 due to fcc ownership rules the transaction which was to include the purchase of three rca stations by noble would require him to resell his station with the fcc s approval . 9 the commission authorized the transaction on october 12 1943 . 6 11 soon afterward the blue network was purchased by the new company noble founded the american broadcasting system . 5 noble subsequently acquired the rights to the american broadcasting company name from george b. storer in 1944 ; its parent company adopted the corporate name american broadcasting companies inc. 5 9 woods retained his position as president and ceo of abc until december 1949 and was subsequently promoted to vice chairman of the board before leaving abc altogether on june 30 1951 . 12 meanwhile in august 1944 the west coast division of the blue network which owned san francisco radio station kgo bought los angeles station keca from earle c. anthony for 800 000 . 13 both stations were then managed by don searle the vice president of the blue network s west coast division . 14 entry into television 1945 1949 edit the abc radio network created its audience slowly . the network s acquisition of detroit radio station wxyz from kingtrendle broadcasting in 1946 for a little less than 3 million and which remained under abc ownership until 1984 15 allowed it to acquire several radio serials including the lone ranger sergeant preston and the green hornet which had originated on that station . 16 abc became an aggressive competitor to nbc and cbs when continuing nbc blue s traditions of public service it aired symphony performances conducted by paul whiteman 5 performances from the metropolitan opera and jazz concerts aired as part of its broadcast of the chamber music society of lower basin street announced by milton cross . 17 the network also became known for such suspenseful dramas as sherlock holmes gang busters and counterspy as well as several mid afternoon youth oriented programs . 17 however abc made a name for itself by utilizing the practice of counterprogramming with which it often placed shows of its own against the offerings of nbc and cbs adopting the use of the magnetophon tape recorder brought to the u.s. from nazi germany after its conquest to pre record its programming . 16 with the help of the magnetophon abc was able to provide its stars with greater freedom in terms of time and also attract several big names such as bing crosby 16 at a time when nbc and cbs did not allow pre taped shows . while its radio network was undergoing reconstruction abc found it difficult to avoid falling behind on the new medium of television . 18 to ensure a space in 1947 abc submitted five applications for television station licenses one for each market where it owned and operated a radio station new york city los angeles chicago san francisco and detroit . 19 these applications all requested for the stations to broadcast on vhf channel 7 as frank marx then abc s vice president of engineering thought that the low band vhf frequencies corresponding to channels 2 through 6 would be requisitioned from broadcasting use and reallocated for the u.s. army . 19 the abc television network made its debut on april 19 1948 with wfil tv in philadelphia now wpvi tv becoming its first primary affiliate . 20 the first program ever broadcast on the network was on the corner featuring satirist henry morgan . other stations carrying the initial broadcast were wmar tv in baltimore wmal tv in washington d.c. and wabd the dumont station in new york city since abc s new york station had yet to sign on . 21 the network s flagship owned and operated station wjz tv in new york city later re called wabc tv signed on the air on august 10 1948 20 with its first broadcast running for two hours that evening . 22 abc s other owned and operated stations launched over the course of the next 13 months 20 wenr tv in chicago signed on the air on september 17 23 while wxyz tv in detroit went on the air on october 9 1948 . 24 in october 1948 as a result of an influx of television station license applications that