Editing Amalgamated Broadcasting System (section)

{{short description|Failed American radio network}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
The '''Amalgamated Broadcasting System''' ('''ABS'''), sometimes referred to as the '''Amalgamated Network'''<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Amalgamated Network Gets Started |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1933/1933-10-01-BC.pdf#num=8|magazine=Broadcasting|date=October 1, 1933|page=14}}</ref> (or simply '''Amalgamated''')<ref>{{cite web |title=Broadcasting History - Various Articles |url=https://jeff560.tripod.com/am12.html |website=jeff560.tripod.com}}</ref> was an ambitious, although unsuccessful, attempt to establish a national "third radio network"<ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcasting04unse/page/n75/mode/1up "New Third Net Embraces Old Plans"], ''Broadcasting'', February 1, 1933, page 6.</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/broadcasting04unse/page/n111/mode/1up "Third Chain Plan Stirs Wide Interest: Details Undisclosed"], ''Broadcasting'', February 15, 1933, page 6.</ref> in the United States. Its primary promoters were the company's president, American comedian [[Ed Wynn]], and its vice-president, Hungarian-born violinist Ota Gygi. The network's inaugural broadcast on September 25, 1933, was carried by a small group of stations located in the Northeast. Despite plans to eventually expand nationwide, the network never grew beyond its original group of affiliates, and ceased operations at midnight November 1, 1933, just five weeks after its debut. Its failure resulted in a major financial loss, plus significant emotional distress, for Wynn.