From ON To UN
The network planned to offer eight hours of programming per day, seven days per week, to its affiliate stations. A daily news service, from United Press International, would provide each station with news. Cultural and sports programming, including the games of the Continental Football League, were also planned. By July 1966, 35 stations had agreed to affiliate with the new network.
Before the network even went on the air, Overmyer was forced to sell a majority share to investors, although he remained the largest shareholder. Rechristened The United Network, which used a cartoon speaking balloon with an upper-case U as the network's logo, the net hit the air on May 1, 1967 with The Las Vegas Show on 106 stations. Hosted by Bill Dana from the Hotel Hacienda in Las Vegas, the two-hour late-night show featured regulars Ann Elder, Pete Barbutti, Danny Meahan, Joanne Worley, Cully Richards and Jack Sheldon.
The network itself, except for a few independent stations in the larger markets, was mostly made up of CBS stations who aired The Las Vegas Show at 11:30 local time, tape delayed from the 11:00 start seen on United-only east coast stations. The network called WPIX in New York City and KHJ-TV in Los Angeles their flagship stations, even though neither was owned by Overmyer/United. Additionally, the WPIX broadcast was often delayed until the weekend due to their commitment to New York Yankees baseball. The network also lacked clearance in some large cities, including San Francisco (which was waiting for KEMO to be approved by the FCC) and Cleveland.
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