Fox initially combined former independents and UHF stations. It had large programming budgets that the original DuMont lacked. Ultimately, it was able in some markets to draw existing VHF affiliates away from established Big Three networks, outbidding CBS for National Football Conference programming in 1994 and attracting many of that network's affiliates. Various smaller networks were created with the intent to follow in its footsteps, often by affiliating with a disparate collection of formerly independent UHF stations that otherwise would have no network programming.
