<P> Goldenson sought to develop the ABC television network by trying to convince local stations to agree to affiliate with the network . In doing this, he contacted local entrepreneurs who owned television stations themselves, many of whom had previously invested in Paramount cinemas and had worked with him when he undertook the responsibility of restructuring United Paramount Theatres . </P> <P> At the same time he made attempts to help grow ABC, Goldenson had been trying since mid-1953 to provide content for the network by contacting his old acquaintances in Hollywood, with whom he had worked when UPT was a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures . ABC's merger with UPT led to the creation of relationships with Hollywood's film production studios, breaking a quarantine that had existed at that time between film and television, the latter of which had previously been more connected to radio . ABC's flagship productions at the time were The Lone Ranger, based on the radio program of the same title, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, the latter of which (at 14 seasons, running from 1952 to 1966) held the record for the longest - running prime time comedy in U.S. television history, until it was surpassed by The Simpsons in 2003 . </P> <P> Goldenson's efforts paid off, and on October 27, 1954, the network launched a campaign ushering in the "New ABC", with productions from several studios, including Metro - Goldwyn - Mayer, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox . </P> <P> Warner tried with mixed success to adapt some of its most successful films as ABC television series, and showcase these adaptations as part of the wheel series Warner Bros. Presents . Airing during the 1955--56 season, it showcased television adaptations of the 1942 films Kings Row and Casablanca; Cheyenne (adapted from the 1947 film Wyoming Kid); Sugarfoot (a remake of the 1954 film The Boy from Oklahoma); and Maverick . However, the most iconic of ABC's relationships with Hollywood producers was its agreement with Walt Disney; after the start of the network's bond with the Disney studio, James Lewis Baughman, who worked as a columnist at that time, observed that "at ABC's headquarters in New York, the secretaries (were now) wearing hats with Mickey Mouse ears". </P>

The head of abc company announces that the company is going to start a weekend project