 DuMont struggled to get its programs aired in many parts of the country , in part due to technical limitations of network lines maintained by the telephone company AT & T Corporation . During the 1940s and 1950s , television signals were sent between stations via coaxial cable and <unk> links which were owned by AT & T. The service provider did not have enough cable lines and <unk> circuits to provide signal relay service from all four networks to all of their affiliates at the same time , so AT & T allocated times when each network could offer live programs to their affiliates . In 1950 , AT & T allotted NBC and CBS each over 100 hours of live prime time network service , but gave ABC only 53 hours , and DuMont just 37 . AT & T also required each television network to lease both radio and television lines . DuMont was the only television network without a radio network , but was forced to pay for a service it did not use . DuMont protested AT & T 's actions with the Federal Communications Commission , and eventually received a compromise . 
