Dorado Broadcasting Company

The **Dorado Broadcasting Company (DBC)** is an American commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of D-AMC Television, a joint venture between AMC Networks and the Dorado Entertainment Network subsidiary of The Dorado Media Group. The network is headquartered at Dorado Plaza in Portland, Oregon, with additional offices near Los Angeles, and New York City.

Launched on January 1, 1998, as a competitor to the Big Three television networks (ABC, CBS and NBC), DBC went on to become the most successful attempt at a television network owned by a smaller media company. Originally, the network's programming lineup was intended to appeal mainly to women between the ages of 18 and 34, although starting in 2011 the network increased in programming that appeals to men. As of August 2017, DBC's audience is 50% male and 50% female.

DBC is also available in Canada on cable, satellite and IPTV providers through stations owned-and-operated by the Dorado Station Services and affiliates that are located within proximity to the Canada–United States border.

DBC is also available in Mexico through affiliates located near the Mexico–U.S. border (such as in San Diego-Tijuana, and in El Paso, Texas). In both Canada and Mexico, some DBC affiliate signals originating from the U.S. are receivable over-the-air in border areas depending on the station's signal coverage.

## History

### **1990s: Establishment of the network**

#### **Foundations**

The DBC network's foundations were laid in March 1997 through Dorado Broadcasting's $255 million purchase of a 50% interest in CFT Holdings. On January 1, 1998, the Dorado Entertainment division of the Dorado Media Group announced the formation of The DBC Television Network, with signed agreements to affiliate six of its seven television stations at the time – all of which were independent stations. The network officially debuted with a soft launch at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. Its inaugural program was a late-night talk show, What Happens at Night. After a strong start, the show quickly eroded in the ratings; it was never able to overtake NBC stalwart The Tonight Show.

On December 3, 1998, DBC announced a separate affiliation agreement with for its Portland flagship station KHIO-TV (which originally planned to remain an independent station due to concerns about handling its sports programming commitments while maintaining a network affiliation); through this deal, KHIO's feed would provide additional national distribution for DBC as a cable-only affiliate, in order to give the network time to fill gaps in markets where it was unable to find an affiliate at launch.

When the network was launched, DBC planned to run a predominate network programmed schedule over time. It was originally slated to launch with two nights of primetime programming in its first year, and two additional nights of primetime programming, a nightly half-hour in late primetime, 4½ hours of weekday daytime programming and a four-hour Saturday morning children's lineup in its second year. By the third year, a fifth night of primetime and 1½ hours of weekday programming outside of primetime would have been added, followed by an additional hour of programming in primetime and 1½ hours on weekday afternoons by the network's fourth year, and the seventh night of primetime in the fifth year of operation. However, this plan was scaled back dramatically, as DBC launched with only one night of primetime programming; and by September 1998, the network added only one additional night (Sundays), along with a three-hour Saturday morning and one-hour weekday morning children's block.

DBC's scheduling structure was similar to Fox's when it launched, as it started with one night a week of programming and then gradually added additional nights of programming over the course of several seasons: the network started with a two-hour Wednesday night lineup of sitcoms, airing from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. The limited amount of network programming in DBC's early years essentially rendered its affiliates as nominal independent stations; because of this, affiliates held the responsibility of programming primetime slots on nights that the network did not program, airing either first-run and/or off-network syndicated programs or more commonly, movies.

DBC expanded its programming to Sunday nights for the 1998–99 season, but none of the new shows managed to garner much viewing interest.

### **New century, new programs; a rise into success (2001–2010)**

DBC managed to survive other attempts to start a network because it programmed just under the number of hours defined by the FCC to legally be considered a network. Although DBC was growing rapidly as a network and had established itself as a presence, it was still not considered a major competitor to the established "Big Three" broadcast networks, ABC, CBS and NBC. From its launch, the network was beginning to offer programs intended to appeal toward a younger demographic – adults between 18 and 49 years of age – and that were edgier in content, whereas some programs that were carried by the "Big Three" networks attracted an older-skewing audience.

Until the early 2000s, when DBC expanded its programming to additional nights and outside prime time, most DBC stations were still essentially formatted as independent stations – filling their schedules with mainly first-run and acquired programming, and, during prime time, running either syndicated programs or, more commonly, movies on nights when the network did not provide programming. Few DBC stations carried local newscasts during the network's early years, unlike the owned-and-operated stations and affiliates of its established rivals. Those that did were mostly based in larger markets (including some of the network's O&Os) and retained newscasts that had aired for decades. Even then, these news operations were limited to one newscast per day, following the network's prime time lineup.

The early and mid-2000s saw the debuts of several soap opera-style prime time dramas aimed at younger audiences that became quick hits, which, in addition to *Saints, 1781*, included its adult-focused spin-off *Richman* (which initially had a mediocre rating performance, before viewership rose significantly midway through its first season following, and family drama *707*.

#### **Evolving programming**

DBC completed its prime time expansion to all seven nights on January 19, 2003, with the launch of two additional nights of programming on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. September 2003 saw the heavy promotion and debut of a short-lived western series that incorporated science-fiction elements, The Adventures of Los Santos County. However, it was the supernatural investigative drama that debuted immediately following it on Friday nights, A to Z, that would find long-lasting success, and would become DBC's first series to crack the year-end Top 20 most-watched network programs. After several other failed attempts at late-night programming following the cancellation of What Happens at Night, DBC finally found success in that time period with the debut of Up All Night on October 14, 2005; and became one of the network's most successful late-night programs.

Despite the slight downturn in the network's fortunes, there were a few bright spots during the era. *Jawbreaker*, which debuted in 2005, netted meager ratings when it debuted in a tough Thursday timeslot, but subsequently grew into one of the network's most successful shows after moving to Tuesdays in 2006, where it remained for six seasons (before moving to UDC for its seventh and final season). Also in the fall of 2006, the sitcom *Tequila, which moved f*o DBC as part of its Friday night schedule; the show continued on the network for three more seasons before ending in May 2008.

### **Current state**

The network began running into some trouble in the ratings by 2010. That year, the sixth and final season of Palomino became the drama's lowest-rated season since its debut in 2004. Ratings for the once instant-hit N.O.O.S.E. collapsed dramatically after it was moved to Fridays at the start of its fourth season in the fall of 2009; an attempt to boost ratings by moving the dramedy to Wednesdays failed, with its ultimate cancellation by the network eliciting negative reaction from the public, and particularly the show's fanbase. With the network's two former hit shows now out of the picture, the network's remaining top veteran shows all ended the 2009–10 season having recorded their lowest ratings ever.

On May 14, 2011, DBC canceled the long-running soap operas All Day and Forgive to Forget. The talk/lifestyle show that replaced Forgive to Forget, The POV, failed to generate satisfactory ratings and was in turn canceled after only seven months. The 2011–12 season saw DBC drop in the 18–49 demographic despite renewing a handful of new shows.

The 2012–13 season failed to live up to the previous year, with only one drama, *Palomino*, and one comedy, *The Families*, earning a second season renewal.

The 2013–14 season was a slight improvement for DBC with three new hits in The Good Gang, Left Out and Assurance, all of which were renewed; however, that season saw the cancellations of holdovers The Families (which languished in its new Friday time slot) and Prodigy.

The 2014–15 season saw moderate hits, and major successes, which allowed the network to have multiple shows be the centerpieces of a new Thursday drama lineup.

The 2015–16 season saw breakout hits such as *Super Fun Night, Cristela*, and *Cops: San Andreas.*

The 2016–17 season saw a successful expansion of the network's comedy line-up by an extra hour. Wednesday's comedy block introduced *Retouched*. This season also saw the cancellation of many long-running dramas. DBC also saw the success of freshman series *Infamous*. However, the previous season's breakout hit *Turpitude* saw its ratings decline during its sophomore year.

The 2017–18 season saw DBC acquire a breakout hit with *The Millionaire Murder Club*, which led to the series getting an early full-season pickup. Additionally, DBC revived former NBC series *The Sing-Off* which premiered during the mid-season. As a result, veteran dramas *Newcomer* and *The Appeal* were displaced to Friday nights, while *Mystified* was moved to Sunday nights in order to accommodate a time slot for *The Sing-Off Idol*. This season also saw multiple series as *Green Lantern*, *Bolt*, and *The Generation Gap* end their runs. DBC also revived *The Exes*, which originally ran from 2001 to 2007, for the seventh season, which saw rating success.

### **2018–present: Sale to AMC Networks; pending network closure**

On March 27, 2018, in a deal first announced October 2017, and completed July 20, 2019, AMC Networks announced its intent to acquire a majority stake in the DBC network from the Dorado Media Group for $91.3 million, following the spin-off of certain businesses. The sale did not include the ACME Television Network, the UDC network, and television stations owned by the Dorado Station Services which were to be maintained under the Dorado Entertainment Network.

It was acknowledged that the Dorado Media Group had placed a larger emphasis on its programming for its sister networks. It was also noted that DBC had been increasingly pivoting towards programs that could generate large audiences, as opposed to ones that become successful primarily through critical acclaim. With the completion of AMC's purchase the next day, the new entity, officially named D-AMC Television, formally began trading on July 19, 2019.

In July 2018, the Dorado Television CEO outlined how the network would operate following the transition with AMC Networks. The network will commission and acquire series from "independent" studios (such as Lionsgate, MGM Television, Sony Pictures Television, and Warner Bros., which do not fully own a major broadcast network), with DBC taking co-ownership stakes in the productions. It was noted that the vertical integration of the major broadcast networks (including DBC itself) with associated studios had limited opportunities for outside studios, and cited several top programs that were distributed by third-parties. There are also plans for DBC to acquire new pitches directly from their writers and offer them to outside producers. As part of the transition, DBC claimed to gradually reduce the amount of scripted programming development coming from its *Dorado Originals branch* following the network's decision to move veteran sitcoms *Cristela,* and *Super Fun Night* to sister network ACME.

On November 14, 2019, the Dorado Media Group announced possible plans to shut down DBC and merge its operations with its programming over to sister network UDC, a broadcast television network that would include series from both soon-to-be predecessor networks. Over the next few months, it was to be seen which shows from the two networks would cross over to UDC, as well as which stations aligned with DBC would become future affiliates of the network.

## Programming

The DBC television network provides 89 hours of regularly scheduled network programming each week. The network provides 22 hours of prime time programming to affiliated stations from 8:00–11:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday (all times Eastern and Pacific Time) and 7:00–11:00 p.m. on Sundays.