CBS TV began life as a collection of 16 radio stations around the country. A talent agent named Arthur Judson established a company named the United Broadcasters Network in 1927. Very shortly after that, the Columbia Phonographic Manufacturing Co. invested money in the company. Disappointed with the lack of investors, the company was sold to William Paley before the year was up. Paley changed the name to the Columbia Broadcasting System and the company essentially continued exclusively in radio until the late 1930s.
The move by CBS toward this amazing new technological breakthrough called television was methodical. The early days of television history were dominated by battles over airwave licensing and manufacturing standards. As a result, CBS mostly experimented with transmission to a confined area in New York City and no more than a few hours of programming a day.
Even though black and white TV was barely on the radar of the American public, by 1946 CBS was already planning for the color TV revolution. That year it filed for approval of its color system to the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC turned the proposal down on the basis it was too early, but when CBS and RCA both submitted their own systems in 1950, CBS won. The victory was short-lived, however, as RCA appealed the decision. In 1953, the FCC overturned itself and RCA's color system came out victorious.
Once television became an established medium in the 1950s, CBS quickly jumped to the fore and established itself as the No. 1 network with the most stars and most popular programming. Among the stars who began their television careers on TV with CBS were Jack Benny, Gene Autry, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Edward R. Murrow, and the first TV superstar, Lucille Ball.
As popular as CBS was during the 1950s, it actually became even more popular during the 1960s. The backbone of the CBS prime-time lineup was a series of sitcoms based in the South or featuring southern characters. These shows tapped into the core audience members of CBS, who were older, rural and conservative. Despite the fact that most of these shows were still topping the ratings, CBS began the 1970s by canceling "The Beverly Hillbillies," "Mayberry RFD," "Petticoat Junction" and "Green Acres." Or, as "Green Acres" star Pat Buttram put it, CBS axed every show with a tree in it.
Replacing the rural-based hits of the 1960s was a series of groundbreaking and often controversial shows based in big cities. Most of these shows were also sitcoms, but nonetheless introduced dramatic plot lines. "All in the Family" routinely dealt with controversial subjects from racism to rape. "Maude's" most controversial episode dealt with the main character getting an abortion shortly before the Roe v. Wade decision made that procedure legal. Other important shows from this period are "The Bob Newhart Show," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and the most critically acclaimed show in CBS history, "M*A*S*H*."
The early 1970s proved to be the last grip that CBS held over ratings domination. For the first time ratings were devised, CBS ended a season out of first place in 1975. While the network briefly became champ again in the early 1980s, NBC's Thursday night Must-See TV lineup dominated most of that decade and with the end of the '88-'89 season, CBS had fallen into third place for the first time. Ten years later CBS regained its position as the No. 1 network with its slew of criminal investigation dramas and a strong Monday night schedule of sitcoms.