The DuMont Television Network was launched in 1946 and ceased broadcasting in 1956. Allen DuMont, who created the network, preserved most of what it produced in kinescope format. By 1958, however, much of the library had been destroyed to recover the silver content of the film prints, and eventually the remaining material was simply discarded. Since then, there has been extensive research on which DuMont programs have episodes extant. For a list of program series aired on DuMont, see List of programs broadcast by the DuMont Television Network.