 Meanwhile, CBS, ABC and NBC had each acquired the maximum of five stations by the mid-1950s.Author Timothy White has called Paramount's efforts to launch its own television service, which directly competed with the DuMont Television Network, an unwise decision – Paramount in effect was competing with itself.The resulting ill feelings between Paramount's and DuMont's executives continued to escalate throughout the early 1950s, and the lack of cooperation hindered both entities' network plans.