The Overmyer—later United—Network remains one of television’s most fascinating near‑misses. The photo shared by Maureen Carney captures comedian Bill Dana, famous for his José Jiménez character, hosting the network’s flagship program The Las Vegas Show. Beginning May 1, 1967, the two‑hour late‑night broadcast originated from the Hotel Hacienda and aired on 106 stations across the country.
The network itself was conceived as a true fourth competitor to ABC, CBS, and NBC, offering eight hours of daily programming with UPI supplying news. But the dream collapsed almost as quickly as it launched. Within a month, the cost of leased AT&T transmission lines—staggeringly expensive “ad hoc” network circuits—overwhelmed the operation. The ambitious venture folded abruptly and paychecks failed to arrive.
The network’s founder, self‑made millionaire Daniel H. Overmyer, had already been forced to sell a controlling interest before the launch, though he remained the largest shareholder. The new ownership renamed the venture The United Network, but even with promising early reviews for The Las Vegas Show, the financial strain proved fatal. Stations carrying the program were mostly CBS affiliates—comfortable airing it because CBS didn’t program against The Tonight Show.
Plans also existed for Continental Football League broadcasts, UPI news, and even a Bible‑themed cartoon to open the lineup. But when the investors realized the June AT&T line lease alone would cost $400,000, they chose to walk away, reportedly taking a tax write‑off instead of pushing forward.
Today, only scattered promotional photos, print ads, and a few surviving clips hint at what the United Network attempted to build. It remains a brief but intriguing chapter in broadcast history—an ambitious fourth network that flickered brightly for a moment before disappearing almost without a trace.
United Network faced another big problem if it went ahead with full-time programming. Most of the stations airing the “Las Vegas Show” were CBS affiliates (since CBS didn’t program against “Tonight” at that time). There would be no way they would leave the Eye network for something unproven on a full-time basis.
Overmyer had plans to telecast games from the Continental Football League, UPI provided news, and a Bible cartoon at the beginning. It seems the investors were willing to take a tax writeoff instead when things fell apart. Either way it wasn’t very well thought out.
I believe ATT was charging much higher rates for these special ‘ad hoc’ sorts of networks than rates the Big 3 paid. That would include occasional live programming from NET (PBS) and regional sports networks. Perhaps someone with knowledge of the actual tariffs can weigh in.
It’s too bad UniNet did such a quick foldup since the initial reviews for the “Las Vegas Show” were pretty good, and Variety reported the owners threw in the towel despite “a flurry of new advertising orders for the summer.” Also, they left their employees out in the cold, literally stranded after their credit cards were cut, some of them couldn’t even ante up bus fare to leave town. And that got even worse when the Friday paychecks didn’t arrive, including those for Bill Dana and the exec producer. BTW, the June lease for the AT&T lines would come to $400,000.
WLWI in Indianapolis played the shows Wednesday through Sunday at 1 a.m. Their primary affiliation was with ABC.
Here’s a list I found with episodes and guests. It’s as complete as I’ve ever found and matches up by date for some of the TV Guide listings I had.
http://ctva.biz/US/MusicVariety/LasVegasShow.htm
Just to mention–Lewron provided production services to Overmyer. Ultimately, they wound up suing to get paid. Now I’m wondering if the TK-41s were part of the 1966 ABC order. Here’s a link to the Overmyer v Lewron decision: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/401/689/323752/
I rememer that KHJ-TV (now KCAL) was the LA affiliate. Dana’s show looked first class. He was very good on “The Las Vegas Show”.
Check out the tiny cue cards, Bill Dana must have had very good vision.
Another wealthy man, John MacArthur, acquired one of the United Network’s mobile units, and brought it to his Colonnades Beach Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, where it was used to tape this game show on-site: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ4SA5dxOZU