 By contrast, ABC operated like CBS and NBC even though it was only a quarter the size, forcing advertisers to purchase a large "must-buy" list of stations.ABC's fortunes were dramatically altered in February 1953, when the FCC cleared the way for UPT to buy the network.The merger provided ABC with a badly needed cash infusion, giving it the resources to mount "top shelf" programming and to provide a national television service on a scale approaching that of CBS and NBC.