The Amalgamated Broadcasting System was a radio network established on September 25, 1933 by two men: American comedian and radio star Ed Wynn, the "Fire Chief" of the original Fire Chief Program program on NBC and CBS; and, Hungarian-born violinist Ota Gygi. September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... Ed Wynn (November 9, 1886 - June 19, 1966) was a popular United States entertainer, born Isaiah Edwin Leopold in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Texaco Star Theater, a comedy-variety show (radio, 1940-49; television, 1949-56), was one of the first hugely successful examples of U.S. television broadcasting. ... NBC, (Formerly an acronym for the National Broadcasting Company until 2004), is an American television and radio network based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... CBS (formerly an acronym for Columbia Broadcasting System, the former legal name of the network) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ...

Wynn had been concerned with two things: his own perilous-seeming future as an entertainer and the power the already-established networks had over the programming policies of their local affiliate stations. He hoped at once that ABS would serve as an alternative as well as helping him establish a more secure future for himself and his family, according to radio historian Elizabeth McLeod.

In fact, Wynn poured his entire personal savings as well as his reputation into the project, then put together an investment group and bought New York station WBNX as its planned flagship, hoping to establish a 100-station network in due course. The investment team also looked to WOL Washington, WPEN Philadelphia, WHDH Boston and WCFL Chicago among planned key affiliates. The new network went on the air with a four-hour gala from WBNX's newly-built New York studios on September 25, 1933---even as Wynn was preparing a new season of The Fire Chief Program. Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... WBNX is a WB television affiliate serving the Cleveland television market broadcasting on channel 55. ... Wol may mean one of the following: In the context of computer networks it stands for Wake-on-LAN In the Winnie the Pooh stories Wol is how Owl spells his name. ... Official language(s) None Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,824 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... WHDH-TV is the NBC affiliate in the Boston, Massachusetts television market. ... Boston is a town and small port c. ... WCFL (1000 kHz Chicago, Illinois) was a 50,000-watt AM radio station located in Chicago. ... Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... WBNX is a WB television affiliate serving the Cleveland television market broadcasting on channel 55. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ... Look up September in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Wynn, however, was also due to Hollywood to make a new film and put Gygi in charge of the network in his absence. That, McLeod wrote, proved the biggest mistake of his career, if not his life. At a press conference launching the new ABS, Gygi "managed to alienate almost the entire New York City press corps," McLeod wrote, "by announcing . . . that he was only interested in what the New York Times thought of the project and had no use for any of the other papers." That irked then-powerful New York Daily News radio critic Ben Gross, whose lead in attacking the apparent ABS attitude was picked up by his peers---and by advertisers whom Gygi reportedly alienated by positioning ABS toward treating advertising as "a necessary but distasteful evil," McLeod continued. ABS would allow no advertiser mention other than at the beginning and end of porgrams and no advertising spots during any programs. That was commercial radio's original policy until NBC and CBS abandoned it as the 1930s progressed, McLeod noted, leaving ABS stranded for attracting top quality programming without big money advertisers to sponsor it. ... The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ... Daily News Building, Raymond Hood, architect, rendering by Hugh Ferriss. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ...

That attitude plus its weak organisation in Wynn's absence killed the project. Amalgamated went out of business on October 28, 1933, only five weeks after its first broadcast. Wynn had ended his association with ABS by that time but he had also vowed to repay his investors---their loss was over $300,000, according to McLeod---and that pressure, plus the end of The Fire Chief Program and his marital trouble two years later, helped drive the comedian toward a nervous breakdown by the end of the 1930s. 1628 - The Siege of La Rochelle, which had been ongoing for 14 months, ends with Huguenot surrender 1664 - The Duke of York and Albanys Maritime Regiment of Foot later to be known as the Royal Marines is established. ... 1933 (MCMXXXIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ...

A much more successful alternative network, the Mutual Broadcasting System, was established on September 15, 1934. Mutual was inspired in large part from the ideas behind Amalgamated, and in fact had one of Amalgamated's planned key affiliates, WXYZ Detroit, as one of its charter stations. A recording of ABS's launch gala is believed to survive and circulate among history-minded old-time radio fans. The Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. ... September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... WXYZ is the ABC affiliate in Detroit, Michigan. ...

References

• Elizabeth McLeod, "Tonight The Program's Gonna Be Different: The Life and Times of Ed Wynn, the Fire Chief"

• The Museum of Broadcast Communications, The Encyclopedia of Radio