 In May 1951, ABC chairman Edward J. Noble and United Paramount Theatres president Leonard Goldenson announced a proposed merger between their companies.The plan was to merge ABC and its five television stations with United Paramount Theatres, a company only recently spun off from Paramount Pictures.UPT also owned the network's Chicago station, WBKB; that station would have to be sold in order for the merged company to stay under the five-station cap.