The DuMont Television Network was the world's first commercial television network, beginning operation in the United States in 1946. Weinstein, David (2004). The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television, p. 16. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. ISBN 1-59213-499-8. It was owned by DuMont Laboratories, a television equipment and set manufacturer. The network was hindered by the prohibitive cost of broadcasting, by Federal Communications Commission regulations which restricted the company's growth, and even by the company's partner, Paramount Pictures. Despite several innovations in broadcasting and the creation of one of television's biggest stars of the 1950s, the network never found itself on solid financial ground. Forced to expand on UHF channels during an era when UHF was not profitable, DuMont ceased broadcasting in 1956.

DuMont's latter-day obscurity has prompted at least one notable TV historian to refer to it as the "Forgotten Network". Weinstein, D.1400/1575_ch1.pdf" target="_blank">"The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television" (PDF) Temple University Press, 2004. Retrieved on January 6, 2007. A few popular DuMont programs, such as _Cavalcade of Stars and Emmy-award winner Life is Worth Living, appear in TV retrospectives or are mentioned briefly in books about U.S. television history, but almost all the network's programming was destroyed.