NBC Blue was known for playing the uncensored version of Fibber McGee and Molly*

As I probably mentioned before, if you have any interest in the film and television industry, KCRW's The Business is essential listening. Kim Masters was one of the key figures breaking the Me Too story and was arguably the dean of Hollywood journalists even before that.

Recently, she interviewed former FTC Commissioner Álvaro Bedoya about the potential merger of Paramount/Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery. While the Ellisons taking over Warner Bros. and particularly CNN has been treated as a done deal in the press for a while now, there are still hurdles to clear, and this interview makes a pretty good case that they are not trivial.

Listening to this got me to thinking about how much attitudes toward antitrust and media have changed over the decades, particularly during the 21st century.

The idea that studios and networks should not be allowed to gain too much power or engage in anti-competitive practices was one of, if not the major force shaping the industry in the 20th century. It effectively ended the studio system and thus had a great deal to do with the age of the Young Turk auteur directors like Scorsese and Coppola. It governed the way TV shows and movies could be sold and distributed. It was even directly responsible for the formation of ABC.

 From Wikipedia:

In the 1930s, radio in the United States was dominated by three companies: the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the Mutual Broadcasting System, and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). The last was owned by electronics manufacturer Radio Corporation of America (RCA), which owned two radio networks that each ran different varieties of programming, NBC Blue and NBC Red. The NBC Blue Network was created in 1927 for the primary purpose of testing new programs on markets of lesser importance than those served by NBC Red, which served the major cities,^[1] and to test drama series.^[2]

In 1934, Mutual filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its difficulties in establishing new stations in a radio market that was already being saturated by NBC and CBS.^[2] In 1938, the FCC began a series of investigations into the practices of radio networks^[2] and published its Report on Chain Broadcasting in 1941. This report recommended that RCA give up control of either NBC Red or NBC Blue.^[1] At that time, the NBC Red Network was the principal radio network in the United States and, according to the FCC, RCA was using NBC Blue to eliminate any hint of competition. Having no power over the networks themselves, the FCC established a regulation forbidding licenses to be issued for radio stations if they were affiliated with a network which already owned multiple networks^[1] that provided content of public interest.^[2]

Once Mutual's appeals against the FCC were rejected, RCA decided to sell NBC Blue in 1941, and gave the mandate to do so to Mark Woods.^[3] RCA converted the NBC Blue Network into an independent subsidiary, formally divorcing the operations of NBC Red and NBC Blue on January 8, 1942,^[2][4] with the Blue Network being referred to on-air as either "Blue" or "Blue Network".^[5] The newly separated NBC Red and NBC Blue divided their respective corporate assets. Between 1942 and 1943, Woods offered to sell the entire NBC Blue Network,^[6][7] a package that included leases on landlines, three pending television licenses (WJZ-TV in New York City, KGO-TV in San Francisco, and WENR-TV in Chicago), 60 affiliates, four operations facilities (in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.), contracts with actors, and the brand associated with the Blue Network. Investment firm Dillon, Read & Co. offered $7.5 million to purchase the network, but the offer was rejected by Woods and RCA president David Sarnoff.^[6]

Edward J. Noble, owner of Life Savers candy, drugstore chain Rexall, and New York City radio station WMCA, purchased the network for $8 million.^[1][2] According to FCC ownership rules, the transaction, which was to include the purchase of three RCA stations by Noble, would require him to resell WMCA with the FCC's approval.^[6] The Commission authorized the transaction on October 12, 1943.^[3][8] Soon afterward, the Blue Network was purchased by the new company Noble founded, the American Broadcasting System.^[2] Noble subsequently acquired the rights to the American Broadcasting Company name from George B. Storer in 1944. Additional broadcasting rights to the American name, including from the moribund American Network, were obtained at the cost of $10,000.^[9] The parent company adopted the corporate name American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.^[2][6] Woods retained his position as president and CEO of ABC until December 1949, and was subsequently promoted to vice chairman of the board before leaving ABC altogether on June 30, 1951.^[10]  

 You have to wonder what the regulators of mid-20th-century America would have said about Disney acquiring ABC and Fox Studios.

  

* I do not know of any inappropriate material associated with FM&M. Red Skelton was known for dress rehearsals that consisted of nothing but him telling one dirty joke after another.