This was the beginning
of the great depression in the United States - a
depression which had its effect on
programming and on the various forms
of advertising, but relatively little
effect on broadcast revenues.
The 1930-35 period was also the time
of the greatest "idea" development
in the history of American radio programming-with
respect to network
programs in particular.
Broadcasting in 1935 to 1941 saw radio
revenues soaring to new
heights; and while not too many new
program forms introduced,
older forms were polished and improved.
This period included World War II. The nation had shifted, in December of
1941, from a threat-of-war situation
into actual involvement. The war
imposed as many hardships on broadcasters
as it did upon
those engaged in other occupations;
electronic concerns were shifted
to war production, with the result
that broadcasting equipment, tubes,
etc. was in short supply; costs advanced;
employees were drafted into
military service.
On the other hand, both network and
station revenues were strikingly
greater than in the prewar period;
in 1944-45, no less than 70% above
the level of revenues in 1940-41. Some
of this increase was the result
of inflation, but even so,1941 to 1945
was the big money-making time
for American radio.
1945-1952 was a highly important era
in the history of
American radio and television. It saw an enormous increase in the
total number of radio stations, the
erection of 108 TV stations-and
the beginnings, at least, of a shift
in importance from radio to
television, especially on the network
level. The transistor was
demonstrated in 1947 by Bell Labs.
Broadcasting from 1952 through the
1960's.
Earlier trends continued, but during
this decade television became the
dominant mass medium as the freeze
on licenses was lifted and a
70-channel UHF band was added. The networks reached from coast-
to-coast and in 1953 the FCC approved
the industry indorsed compatible
NTSC color television system (RCA-NBC),
reversing their 1950 decision
which had authorized a non-compatible
field-sequential system (CBS).
Radio became less secure, but grew
in the number of smaller stations
licensed.
Cable TV.
The first systems of CATV originally were designed to bring nearby
signals via a highly placed antenna
directly to the TV set wherever a
reception problem existed. Although early systems of cable radio had
existed in 1923, in the 1950's growth
of Cable TV began. Because
signals were picked up out of the air
from nearby transmitters
broadcaster saw little problems as
cable seemed to just extend their
audiences. In 1959 there were about 3,000 systems operating. In
1965, CATV spread into larger cities
and broadcasters began to worry as
these systems imported distant television
stations from other markets
which tended to fragment their once
local captive audiences. The FCC had at
first determined that it would not
(did not want to) regulate CATV but as the
broadcasters began to scream competition
the FCC took over regulation
of that industry in 1965. Through its
rules it effectively slowed Cable
development until the early 1970's.
At time of the 1920 KDKA election returns
broadcast, probably not more than
1,000,000 radio homes; by September,
1923, the number had increased to
slightly less than 2,000,000 or about
8 percent of all homes in the
U.S. By September 1926 to appropriately
5,500,000-just about 20
percent of all homes in the United
States. From 1926 through 1930,the
number of radio-equipped homes increased
from a little over 5 million
to approximately 12 million, roughly
40% of U.S. population.
In 1923 through 1926 a large proportion
of sets were home-made; many
sets were of "crystal" type. "Regular" sets had from two to five
tubes; all were battery-powered; all
used three-dial tuning; all used
earphones instead of loud-speakers. No cabinets; chassis was not
enclosed; a wet battery and two dry-cell
batteries required. Between
1926 and 1930, sets still battery-
powered, but at very end of period some
AC sets introduced, powered from regular
home electric current. They still
had three-dial tuning. During this period, loud speakers were introduced; by
September 1926, probably half or more
of all radio homes had sets with
loud-speakers. Most sets were enclosed in cabinets, but with speakers not
built-in; speakers were "extras," in
early period "morning-glory"
type, later of a "cone" type which
hung on a wall. The average set
manufactured in 1926 cost about $125.00-speakers
were extra ranging in
cost from $50.00 up to $100.00. But, with speakers, listening to
programs, rather than DXing (for distant
listening), was made
possible. By the end of the period
receiving sets were selling at an
average price of $80.00. AC power was now used for most sets-except in
rural areas where the battery was still
used but with a less elaborate
set-up.
All sets were enclosed in cabinets; all had loud speakers;
practically all used single dial tuning.
The expansion in the number of radio
homes continued throughout the
period; in September 1930, there were
approximately 12,000,000 homes
which were equipped with receiving
sets; by September 1935, even after
several years of depression, the number
of radio homes had increased
to 22,000,000, or approximately two-thirds
of all homes in the nation
as relatives gave their second sets
to family members or sold them. Sets
were improving in quality, with better
circuits than prior to 1930; the
major changes, however, was in the
increasing popularity of lower-cost
table models, as opposed to "console"
sets. Perhaps this change was
responsible for much of the increase
in total sale of sets during the
depression years-since average cost
of sets dropped from around
$120.00 in 1929 and $80.00 in 1930,
to around $40.00 in 1934 and 1935.
The proportion of AC sets continued
to increase; battery sets were by this
time powered usually by dry batteries,
but were used only on farms or
in automobiles. Auto sets had been introduced in 1930. By September 1935,
a total of 2,500,000 auto sets had
been sold to the public. The number
of radio homes continued to increase-from
approximately 22 million in
1935 to 29,500,000 by September of
1941, or roughly 87 per cent of all
homes in the United States. Use of auto sets also increased-in
1941-more than 8,000,000 cars were
radio-equipped. Table models
continued to be the most frequently-purchased
type, with prices on all
home sets sold between 1935 and 1941
averaging about $40.00. Many of
the larger sets introduced "push-button
tuning" which enabled the user
to tune in a desired station simply
by pushing a button. During the period,
portable, dry-battery-powered sets
were introduced, and became quite
popular.
Although virtually no radio receiving
sets were produced from mid-1942
to the end of the war, the number of
radio homes increased, by 1945,
to about 34,000,000-compared with a
little less than 30,000,000 in
1941.
The sets used in these additional homes were primarily "second
sets" which in 1941 had been in the
homes of parents or other
relatives. By no means all of the sets in the 34,000,000 homes were
in working condition in 1945; set repair
and tube replacements were
extremely difficult to obtain during
the war. The number of
radio-equipped automobiles in 1941
was down to 6,000,000 compared with
8,000,000 in 1942.
After electronics companies were able
to shift from war to peacetime
production, they turned to radio set
production to offset the lack of
production during the years of the
war. In 1947 alone, some
20,000,000 sets were produced, with
a retail value of nearly one
billion dollars. Many of these replaced sets used during the war;
many became "second" or "third" sets
in the same home; but naturally,
large numbers were used to equip new
homes. As of the autumn of 1952,
the number of radio homes had increased
to 46,000,000-from 95 to 97
per cent of all American homes-and
the number of radio sets in
automobiles to nearly 25,000,000. However, the auto sets, and 80 per
cent of the homes sets, were equipped
to receive AM signals only. The
number of homes with sets capable of
receiving signals of FM stations
was probably not more than from 6,000,000
to 8,000,000.
The number of TV homes increased more
slowly as few families were willing
to spend the $500 or more necessary
to buy a television set until one or
more TV stations were in operation
in their home community. In
1948-presumably at the end of the year-there
were not more than
1,000,000 TV homes; in 1949; 4,000,000;
in 1950, somewhat less than
10,500,000; and in the autumn of 1952,
somewhat more than 20,000,000
television homes-about 42 percent of all
American homes.
Television became a mass medium in
1952, when it was found in more than
50 percent of American households.
In spite of the increasingly dominant
position of television the purchase
of radio sets continued heavy,
especially of portable and the newly
introduced transistor sets.
In 1954, the first mass market transistor
"pocket" radio was
introduced selling at $49.95. AM set sales in 1952 were 10 million;
1955-15 million; 1960-16 million; 1965-20
million. Auto set sales
went from 3 million in 1952 to 10 million
by 1965 for a total of 42
million auto sets in use by 1965. Estimates
are that since 1957 or
1958, nearly 98 percent of all homes
were radio-equipped and this has
not changed to date.
The most significant development was
the resurgent growth of FM. FM
broadcast a monaural signal through
this period until stereo was approved in
1961 after a short period of experimentation. Stereo records and
phonographs for the home had been introduced
in 1958. FM in 1957
accounted for only two percent of radio
sales and increased to 15-20
percent by 1965.
The number of television homes had
increased, from 64.5 percent in 1955 to
94 percent by 1965. Color TV, introduced in 1953 and with all-color
network programming by NBC to push
the RCA color sets in 1964-65,
turned the corner in the 1965-66 season.
In 1965 some 3 million color TV sets were
in-use...
As of November 1920, there were no
more than 16 or 18 stations; in January 1922,
only 30 stations licensed; in January
1923, nearly 500 stations on the
air; by September 1923, approximately
520 stations. Prior to October
1, 1922, all stations used same channel-wavelength
of 360 meters,
equivalent to present 833 kilocycles. In October, 1922, not more than
half a dozen stations with as much
as 50-watts power; most operated on
from 10 to 15 watts power. By September 1923, probably five or six
stations used up to 500 watts power-while
power increases were common,
most stations used less than 100 watts.
Stations throughout the 20's fell into
three classes; some 15 to 20
owned by major electronics manufacturers-General
Electric,
Westinghouse, Stromberg, etc.; another
12 or 15 owned by large
newspapers, department stores, insurance
companies; remainder owned by
churches, schools, radio repairs concerns,
and amateurs who operated
stations "just for fun." Practically
all major experimentation carried
on by first type of stations-they were
the "leaders" in broadcasting.
No full-time operation by any station.
Studios invariably very
small-too small to accommodate audiences,
or even ordinary orchestras.
Studios draped with monkscloth or burlap
to prevent echo. Carbon
microphones only-poor quality response,
and pick-up limited to 12 to
18 inches.
In 1923-1926, there was no increase
in number of stations-in September 1926,
still about 530 stations on the air. But many of weaker or earlier
stations had gone off the air; and
been replaced by others. Probably
half a dozen stations had power of
5,000-watts by 1926-none as yet had
gone to 50 kw power, however, and a
majority of stations operated with
only 50 to 100 watts power. No station as yet operated for a "full"
18-hour day. In a large number of cases, from two to four stations in
same area divided time on the same
channel. In major cities, some
studios were capable of seating a studio
audience of 200 to 300
people; draped walls still used near
pick-up areas. Condenser mikes
introduced before 1926; most studios
still used old carbon mikes.
The most important improvement probably
the introduction of faders or
volume controls and of "mixing" panels-allowing
use of materials
coming from a number of different mikes
to be blended into a single
sound combination.
In 1926-Herbert Hoover, the Secretary
of Commerce, was told he had no authority
to control the power, amount of time
on the air or frequency of stations.
The passage of the Radio Act of 1927
created a 5 man Federal Radio
Commission (FRC). As of September 1930 approximately 600 stations were on
the air under licenses issued by the
Federal Radio Commission. The FRC
insisted stations install improved
equipment-which resulted in 200 to
500 pre-1927 stations being forced
off the air. FRC also required
stations to broadcast for regular periods,
not on a hit or miss basis.
Still numerous part time only stations,
but by summer 1930, most larger
stations broadcast a full evening schedule
and 2 to 4 hours daytime.
The first 50 kw station was WGY, Schenectady
in 1927. September 1930 a total
of nine 50 kw stations. Of the remainder, perhaps 100 used power
ranging from 500 watts to 5 kw, nearly
500 stations running 100 watts
or less. Large stations, as well as
networks, usually had special
"audience" studios-a "stage," which
served as the actual broadcasting
studio, and an audience "auditorium"
seating from 200 to 300-but with
double-glass separating the audience
from the entertainers. During
the period, ribbon microphones generally
replaced both carbon and
condenser types in general use around
1925 or 1926. Electronic
pick-up of phonograph records, first
introduced around 1926 or 1927,
was made standard equipment in practically
all larger stations by the
end of the period. In connection with
this new facility, at least one
concern, the World Broadcasting Company,
started a transcription
library service with both library and
33 r.p.m. turntables made
available to stations on a rental basis...
There was no great increase in number
of stations during the 1930's; in
September 1935, approximately 600 stations
were on the air, as had
been the case in 1930. However, in 1935, nine out of ten stations
were licensed for full-time operation,
and most of these full-time
stations were on the air for from 16
to 18 hours a day. General
increases in station power also marked
the period; by 1935 perhaps 30
stations were using 50-kw power. One
major change took place about the
middle of this period-the "glass window"
between entertainers and
audiences in the studio audience was
removed, beginning on networks,
and later in most stations. By 1935, practically every station had a
transcription or library service, and
turn-tables for playing of
either 33 r.p.m. transcriptions or
78 r.p.m. phonograph records. By
September, 1941, the total number of
stations in the United States had
increased to approximately 850-with
about 45 using 50-kw power, and
more than 150 having power of 5-kw or 10
kw....
During the late 1930's the inventor
of wide band Frequency Modulation, Major
Edwin Howard Armstrong, received a
permit to erect an experimental transmitter
in the 42-50 MHz band at Alpine, NJ,
from the FCC, only after threatening, in
the face of an officious FCC employee,
to take his invention to Europe.
By 1939, Armstrong's experimental station,
along with FM transmitters operated
by General Electric near Albany, NY,
the Yankee Network with out of Boston, and
station WDRC of Hartford, CT, were
on the air.
The original FM band was authorized
by the FCC in 1941 to occupy 42-50 MHz,
which otherwise would have been reserved
for television's channel one.
General Electric and Zenith took out
licenses from Armstrong to manufacture FM
receivers and soon Stromberg-Carlson
and other companies followed suit. By 1942
there were 50 FM stations the air in
the United States and 500,000 receivers in
existence. All that changed when the
FCC at the instigation of RCA/NBC and CBS
moved the FM out of the channel one
position to the current 88-108 MHz band
with the purpose of reassigning the
43-45 MHz Channel One back to TV. That,
however, never happened and instead
the old FM band was given over to emergency
services instead.
At the stroke of the pen 50 stations
were uprooted and 500,000 receivers
rendered obsolete to serve the vested
interests of television. RCA was pushing
the acceptance of a system that was
inferior in its technical specifications
for video fidelity. The NTSC system
is referred to in knowledgeable circles as
"Never The Same Color.)
When the FM band was shifted to its
current frequency spectrum the FCC also
reduced the amount of power FM stations
could operate thereby crippling their
ability to relay their signals to each
other to avoid AT&T's expensive high
fidelity land lines This also impaired
FM's ability to develop their own
independent programing to the best
of high fidelity standards. The vested AM
interests were so anti FM that they,
with few exceptions, never publicized the
fact that the audio portion of TV was
an FM carrier.
Although the FCC later corrected restrictions
on FM, to this date there is not
a full time national FM network in
the United States - unlike Canada's CBC
national stereo TV network which features
a series of 100 or higher kilowatt
transmitters located in major Canadian
cities from coast to coast broadcasting
24 hours a day.
The number of radio stations increased
by the end of 1945 to about
940-some 80 or 90 more than in 1941.
The additional stations had in
practically all cases been authorized
before the beginning of the war,
transmitters and equipment secured,
and construction started.
Increases in operating power were few
in number, due to difficulties
in securing transmitters. At the end
of 1945, there were from 45 to
50 - 50,000 watt stations, and from
160 to 175 - 5,000 watt stations.
There was an increased emphasis on
news during WWII which resulted in
the availability of special radio news
services to stations, provided
by such news-gathering agencies as
United Press and International News
Service and the Associated Press finally
began to offer its services
to radio. At least half-a-dozen companies
maintained transcription
library services for radio.
Following the close of World War II,
the Communications Commission
took two actions which had a striking
effect on the radio industry.
First, it reduced the required minimum
distance between any two
stations on the same AM frequency,
and at the same time, authorized
construction of daytime-only AM stations
on frequencies formerly
largely reserved for use of "clear-channel"
or 50,000 watt AM
stations.
Second, it opened a substantial band
of frequencies for FM
or frequency-modulation broadcasting-and
implied strongly that there
was a probability that within a few
years, all radio broadcasting
would be shifted to FM. The result
was a tremendous increase in the
number both of FM and AM stations.
AM stations increased from
approximately 940 in December of 1945
to nearly 2400 in the autumn of
1952; in addition, FM stations-of which
only half a dozen operated on
an experimental basis in 1945-increased
to approximately 650 in the
autumn of 1952. At the same time, power
increases were granted to
many AM stations-increases which had
been impossible during the freeze
on equipment during the war.
During the first few years of their
operation, many of the new FM
stations were programmed independently,
although at least 600 of the
612 on the air by 1950 were owned by
licensees of AM stations and
operated in the same markets, and even
from the same studios, as their
AM "big brothers." Within a year or
two, however, virtually all of
the FM stations which were connected
with AM's adopted the policy of
simply duplicating-simultaneously-the
programs provided by their AM
"big brothers;" their owners had not
been successful in selling enough
time on the FM stations to pay operating
costs, and duplication of
service cut costs. Over 212 FM's went
off the air in 1949.
TV stations came into existence more
slowly. At the close of World
War II, not more than six or seven
TV stations had been licensed for
commercial operation. Although many
broadcasters believed in the
future of television, the construction
of a television station cost
from $750,000 to $l,500,000-and that
was a great deal of money to
risk, when commercial television had
not yet had the opportunity to
prove itself. Furthermore, at the end
of the war fewer than 10,000 TV
receiving sets were in existence, and
until the Communications
Commission could definitely make up
its mind as to the channels to be
used for television, manufacturers
did not dare to attempt to produce
sets. However, up to October of 1948,
108 TV stations-virtually all
located in larger cities- were authorized
by the Commission. During
that month, the Commission declared
a "freeze" on the granting of
additional licenses until it had the
opportunity to consider the
requirements of color television, educational
television, and the
providing of facilities for smaller
cities. The "freeze" was not
lifted until April of 1952. In the
next few months, a number of
additional stations were authorized,
but none had as yet gone on the
air up to the end of this 1945-52 period. So, we had exactly 108 TV
stations in operation-all of them stations
occupying channels on the VHF bands,
and practically all of them located in major
cities.
The number of AM stations increased
from about 2400 in 1952 to over
4,000 by 1965. FM stations went from 612 in 1952 to 1,400 in 1965
with about 200 authorized but not on
the air. Of the total FM, all
but perhaps 40 or 50 commercial FM's
duplicated the programs of their
sister AM stations during most of this
period. Of the AM stations 95
to 100 operated with powers of 50,000
watts and close to 500 others
used power of 5,000 watts while the
remainder were lower power or
daytime only stations. There were approximately 650 to 700 stations
authorized to operate only during daytime
hours.
In spite of this increase in the number
of radio stations-or perhaps
because of it-many stations reported
losing money during this period.
Television stations. While radio was facing difficulties in the 1950's,
television was experiencing a period
of rapid development in the
number of stations, in size of audience,
and in annual network and
station revenues. In April of 1952, with the freeze ending, more than
450 new stations came on the air. In 1960 over 550 commercial
stations were operating and by 1965
over 600 stations were authorized
or operating. In 1954 there had been two Educational TV stations and by 1965
some 88 were operating. Of the total TV stations 95 were UHF in 1960
and over one-third of all stations-including
nearly all the UHF
stations and a portion of the post-freeze
VHF stations were operating
at a loss. Most of the newer stations either came into cities as the
fourth or fifth station, without network
affiliation or were located
in markets that were not as lucrative. Especially acute was the UHF
problem. The UHF stations had to compete with VHF stations which had
better coverage as the UHF stations
are more susceptible to interference
and few receiving sets had been manufactured
before 1964 with both VHF
and UHF tuning. Of the 190 UHF stations, commercial, which went on
the air between 1952 and 1964, only half
remained operating in 1965.
In the early 1920's, there were some
temporary, experimental nets attempted
but no permanent nets. The first coast-to-coast
network broadcast took
place in October 1924-a broadcast of
a political rally from Madison Square Garden.
During the seasons of 1924-25 and 1925-26,
a "pick-up" network made up of
stations from New York to Chicago-practically
all of them
electronics-manufacturing-company-owned-
carried programs three or
four evenings a week-including some
one-time sponsored programs. AT&T had a
net of 12 stations for some programs
but nets were still experimental
as we know them today.
The first permanent network, NBC-Red,
started operations in December 1926;
and in January 1927, the second RCA
network, the NBC-Blue network, put its
first programs on the air. CBS was organized later the same year;
it inaugurated service in September
1927. At the start, NBC-Red had 20
stations; NBC-Blue had only 5 stations;
CBS had 16 stations.
Prior to the spring of 1928, all network
stations were located north of the Ohio River and east of the Missouri with coast-to-coast service inaugurated by NBC-Red
in
December 1928.
Networks had become "big business"
in a very literal sense with each of the
three original networks operating on
a national coast-to-coast
basis, with from 80 to 120 affiliated
stations each. In addition, a
fourth network- Mutual-was organized
in 1934. Its first success was
the "Lone Ranger;" and originally it
consisted of only four stations, but
during 1935 from 50 to 60 additional
stations were added. However, in terms of
programs, it was not yet a serious
rival to the older networks.
There were important changes in the
broadcast advertising picture,
however. As a result of the depression,
networks "let down the bars"
with respect to form of commercials
and for the first time allowing
"direct selling" on network programs. Stations did even more; they
began making extensive use of "per
inquiry" and other "direct selling
by radio" business and they also accepted
"spot announcements" as
opposed to program advertising, especially
toward the end of 1935.
In 1931-CBS permitted "direct sell"
announcements. Of the 850 stations, at least
700 were network affiliates and network
program service had become a
prime requisite to the holding of a listening
audience.
Only one major change occurred in the
1940's in the status of networks.
As a result of the "duopoly" order
of the Federal Communications
Commission, effective in 1941 which
prohibited the ownership of more
than one network by a single network
operating company, NBC in 1941
had to sell its "Blue Network" to a
different corporation. The name of the
network was changed to the American
Broadcasting Company. A few stations
were added to affiliate lists of each
of the networks during the
period.
Throughout this period, as in the 30's preceding our entrance
into the war, NBC (formerly NBC-Red)
remained the leading network both
in program popularity and in income;
CBS was a strong second; ABC a
weak third; Mutual an even weaker fourth. The same four networks
continued to provide service to radio
stations throughout the period-
however, with an increased number of
affiliated stations.
Television networks. Television networks came into existence almost
before any TV stations had been constructed. By 1946 and 1947, three
of the existing radio network companies-CBS,
NBC, and ABC-and one new
organization, DuMont, were busily engaged
in attempting to line up
affiliates, in many cases inducing
their radio affiliates to build TV
stations so that they could be affiliated
with TV as well as radio
operations. As of 1952, practically
all TV stations (aside from fourth
stations in the eight or nine four-TV
station markets, and the fourth,
fifth, sixth and seventh stations in
New York and Los Angeles, which
had seven TV stations each) had network
affiliation contracts; many of
them, especially in markets with fewer
than three stations, with two
or more of the networks. However, in the competition for affiliates,
DuMont (a TV set manufacturer was at
a serious disadvantage, and as
a network, never became really firmly
established. It was still attempting
limited network programming in 1951-52,
but ultimately gave up the fight.
The first year of operation of TV networks
was in the season 1948-49....
By 1952, NBC and CBS were serving from
180 to 200 AM stations each;
ABC had approximately 375 affiliates;
Mutual had nearly 400. One
major shift in network status took
place shortly after the war; CBS,
which for years had run second in popularity
and in volume of business
to NBC, simply bought a number of NBC's
most popular entertainers-in
particular, comedians-and placed their
programs on the CBS schedule.
The result was that CBS replaced NBC
as the "leading" network; NBC was a
very close second; ABC still a poor
third; MBS a very weak fourth.
Also, during this period, a new coast-to-coast
radio network came into
being-the Liberty Broadcasting System,
which started by providing
recreated baseball broadcasts to some
50 stations, later expanded its
activities until it provided a few
hours-or in some cases, less than
one hour of program service daily to
perhaps 300 stations.
Unfortunately, after approximately
two years of operation, Liberty was
forced into bankruptcy in 1950-and
in 1952, stations which had network
service-roughly 1100 of them could
only receive network service from
CBS, NBC, ABC and Mutual, while some
1200 to 1300 stations, including
perhaps 500 to 600 daytime-only stations
operated as independents.
In the years of the decade after 1952,
the type of programming provided by radio
networks changed almost completely. Networks lost their once-popular
evening entertainment programs; most
had disappeared by 1955-56.
Daytime programs lasted a few years
longer and the last soap operas
went off the radio air-waves in 1960. One network innovation that proved
moderately successful was NBC's Monitor
which ceased in 1975. By
1960, networks on radio were no longer
paying their affiliates
anything for carrying their programs. They allowed the stations to
carry the program for the right to
sell commercial time within the
programs. The major emphasis was news. In 1959 the "payola"
scandal hit radio in which it was revealed
that bribes to play certain
records were paid to the disc jockeys
who had become the staple of radio.
In that same year the Quiz scandals
hit TV.
Television networks. The fourth TV network, DuMont, faded away about
1954-55 as very few cities had more
than three VHF TV stations. The
result was that NBC and CBS captured
the most desirable stations
(lower channel numbers), leaving ABC
with few primary affiliates
except in three-station markets. This put ABC at a competitive
disadvantage. In 1953, the position of ABC improved when the company
merged for a short time with United Paramount
Theaters.
Commercial operations.
The first sponsored program to be broadcast
was by the AT&T station WEAF in New
York in October 1922 (which was later
sold to RCA to become WNBC and which is
now WFAN). The telephone company, as
part of the RCA patent pool just extended
the concept of "pay phones" to "pay
radio." This was an exception; probably up
to September 1923, not more than half-a-dozen
sponsored programs had been
broadcast, by all stations combined-and
all on a "one-time" basis. Radio was
non-commercial and talent wasn't paid;
even "regular" announcers worked
without pay on most stations.
Several large city stations-principally
those owned by electronics equipment
manufacturers, by newspapers, by department
stores, or insurance companies
began selling time to advertisers by
the winter of 1925-26, but even the larger
stations had sponsors for no more than
8 to 10 programs combined with income of
not more than $300,000 to $400,000 for the year ending September 1926. There
were
some participating spot announcements in programs. But there were no
"chain breaks"; no "sell" commercials.
Then the commercial rush began. Total
revenues from sale of time to advertisers
from September 1926 to September 1930
were more than $60,000,000-with
$48,000,000 going to the networks,
but only $12,000,000 representing
local advertising. During 1930, network time sales were more than
$27,000,000.
Advertising was "institutional"- networks
permitted no "selling" commercials,
but merely courtesy announcements identifying
sponsors of programs. It sounded
much like present day PBS. Both network
and local advertising was on a
"program" basis with the sponsor supplying
the concept, talent, and paying
for the time on the station. Spot announcements
had not yet been developed
(spot announcements as "sell" announcements),
nor were advertisements
inserted at chain breaks.
In spite of the depression, advertising
revenues rose tremendously-for
1930-35, they totalled approximately
$330,000,000, with
$195,000,000 going to networks and
$135,000,000 representing
advertising placed directly with stations. In every year but one
during the period, revenues were higher
than during the preceding
season. In the last half of the decade,
advertising revenues for radio
were more than twice as great as during
the first half of the decade;
from September 1935 to August, 1942,
total revenues of networks and
stations were more than $770,000,000-with
network revenues making up
$375,000,000, or about 50 percent of
the total. However, this was the first
period in which network advertising
revenues had been less than 60%
of the total received. The difference was a direct result of
the heavily increased use of local
spot announcement advertising on
stations; in the year ending September,
1941, network revenues
totalled about $75,00,000; local advertising
about $48,000,000; and
advertising placed directly with stations
by national advertisers
totalled about $41,000,000-whereas
up to 1935, national non-network
advertising was of almost no importance.
In spite of the war, or in some degree
because of it, advertising
revenues increased tremendously during
the war period-to a total of
$310,000,000 in 1945, as compared with
$180,000,000 in 1941. Of this
1945 total, network revenues accounted
for $134,000,000; national spot
for $76,000,000 and local advertising
for $100,000,000. One factor
which had a great effect was the enactment
by Congress of a law
imposing a 90 percent tax on excess
profits, especially of war
industries. As a result, a company
whose income was subject to the tax
could in effect buy advertising at
a net cost of 10 cents on the
dollar.
Even industries engaged entirely in war production, with no
goods to sell to the consumer, advertised
heavily to retain their
competitive position when the war came
to an end, and they again would
need the good will of consumers and
they were certainly encouraged to
continue their advertising efforts
by the excess profits tax.
After the war the volume of radio advertising
continued to increase,
in spite of the emergence of television. For the calendar
year 1952, radio time sales totalled
$473,000,000, with $110,000,000
going to networks (a decrease from
the all-time radio network high of
$141,000,000 from local advertising. However, this total was split up
among more than three times the number
of stations (FM included) which
went into operation at the end of World
War II; the great majority of
the new AM stations and virtually all
of the FM stations operated at a
loss.
And as noted above, the trend toward reduced radio network
earnings was already strongly evident;
national advertisers were
shifting their expenditures from network
radio to network television.
Television revenues from the sale of
time had increased rapidly in the
hardly- more-than-four years of TV
operation from 1948. In 1949, total TV
revenues were only $27,500,000; in
1950, $91,000,000; in 1951,
$209,000,000; and for the year 1952,
$283,000,000, with $138,000,000
of the 1952 total going to networks
(a larger amount than was received
by radio networks), $80,000,000 coming
to stations from national spot
advertising, and $65,000,000 coming
to stations from national spot
advertising, and $65,000,000 representing
local advertising. Although
the increase in TV advertising was
at a sensational rate, TV networks
and stations alike operated at a heavy
loss during the early years; by
1952, probably not more than half of
all TV stations were earning a
profit.
Total industry revenues increased steadily
so that by the mid-1960's
total revenues from the sale of radio
time amounted to more than $800
million-almost doubling the 1950 figures. These growth figures,
however, concealed some internal problems
that spelled trouble for
many in radio. Radio was hurt by televisions growth as audience size
decreased. National advertisers shifted their advertising budgets to
television and as the attractive programs
disappeared from radio the
audience decreased further. Local revenues for radio looked brighter
as these advertising expenditures almost
tripled between 1948 and
1965. However, there was a marked increase
in the number of
stations which had to be financed by
these revenues, and a lack of
balance in distribution of this money
created serious financial
problems for more than half of the
radio stations on the air between
1958 and 1965.
Nearly all the TV stations that had
gone on the air before 1952
showed consistently higher earnings
than the other stations which
came on-air later as they generally
occupied the choice, large market
locations.
Before 1923, in the present-day sense,
there were no "programs"-no formal
opening or closing, no exact or even
approximate timing, no paid
talent, no regular week-after-week
scheduling. All programs were
broadcast as one-timers and the idea
of a program series hadn't yet been
developed. Materials broadcast from studios were limited to talks, light
music-usually vocals by soloist, or
at most by trio or quartette.
Practically no recorded music as direct
electronic pickup not yet developed.
There was extensive use of "remotes"
by large stations-pickups of orchestras
from hotels, dance halls; of band concerts;
or even symphony
orchestras, operas, plays from stages-all
as stunts. Occasionally
"play-by-play" broadcasts of sports
events from baseball and football
to polo or boxing. Only broadcasts at regular intervals were of weather
forecasts; news broadcasting had not
yet developed. No station was on the air
more than four or five hours a day-even
that not on a regular
schedule, starting at same time each
day or each evening. Usually, not
more than one hour a day of daytime
broadcasting by any station-and a
majority of stations weren't even on
the air regularly, every day of the
week. Programs were strictly amateur-except
for "stunt" pickups of music
groups.
Starting in 1923, there was a major
advance in the program field.
While most stations still had "formless"
programs, presented by
amateurs, as before 1923, during the
1923-26 period, larger stations
had developed definite program forms.
Programs on these stations ran
for periods of 30 to 60 minutes; had
definite openings and closings;
made extensive use of announcer-narrators;
were built around program
ideas. Program types in general use
included well-developed musical
variety shows built around specialty
orchestras; concert music, almost
identical in form to radio concert
music of today; and talks. One or
two stations experimented with broadcasting
one or two-act stage plays
from studios but without adapting the
scripts for radio. A number of
stations presented an early type of
variety show-usually for an hour
or two full hours, once a week, around
midnight-using vaudeville acts
currently in town, a studio orchestra
and depending heavily on work by a
station MC and all on an "ad lib" basis.
Between 1926-30, sponsored network
programs were at least 30 minutes
in length; half at least of all evening
sponsored programs were
full-hour broadcasts. The most popular network program forms were musical
variety-nearly always by "speciality"
orchestral groups-and concert
music.
An early type of variety program was carried on networks from
their beginnings-variety in the sense
of "using a different type of
material each week"-one week a musical
program, another week a debate,
a third week a dramatization, and so
on. Dramatic programs, using
materials adapted for radio from short
stories or sometimes original
materials, appeared as early as 1927
and dramatic forms included hour-long
"prestige" drama, 30-minute "thrillers,"
both 30-minute and 15-minute
"light" or "homey" drama, and 30-minute
informative data-mostly
historical.
At least two or three minstrel-show
types of variety programs were
carried on network schedules during
the period; around 1929, an early
form of "comedy variety" appeared,
consisting of a series of four or
five comedy "single" acts in an half-hour
period.
Very popular throughout the period,
both on networks and locally, were
"song- and-patter teams"-two person
"acts" appearing for either 15 or
30 minutes, with "patter" used extensively
between songs. Late in the
period, "patter-only" comedy acts appeared.
One of the earliest was the
Amos 'n' Andy combination, which presented
"patter" on a
five-evenings-a-week basis for a 15-minute
period. Use of a "story
line" by Amos 'n' Andy did not come
until the fall of 1930. However,
some use was made of the comedy dramatic
form during the 1929-1930
season-but no program of that type
survived beyond that season.
Networks also offered once-a-week news
broadcasts which always featured
news from Washington; quite a number
of talk programs, chiefly in the
daytime; Sunday afternoon religious
programs; several programs of
light music, and some of the more popular
of which featured organists.
Local programing was far behind that
on networks. Most important
local features were the hour-long types
of variety programs developed
before 1926, programs presenting song-and-patter
teams, programs of
light music presented by local amateur
vocalists or pianists, and, of
course, talks. A very few stations offered a limited amount of
recorded music, late in the period.
The period 1930 to 1935 saw the development
of more new program forms
than any other 5-year period in radio
history. The reason probably is the
strong competition existing between
networks and network program
sponsors-and national advertisers'
willingness to pour large sums into
network programs. Among new forms introduced
on networks, or program
forms taking new "slants" during the
period were:
Comedy variety-programs built around a "featured" comedian;
Straight variety-of vaudeville type;
Hillbilly variety-of National Barn Dance type;
Human interest programs-of "interview and advice" type;
Amateur contest variety-popularized by Major Bowes;
Public affairs forum programs-of "Town Meeting" or round-table types;
5-time-a-week 15-minute network news programs;
Dramatized news-of "March of Time" type;
Women's daytime serial drama; and
Late afternoon "kid" adventure "thriller" dramas in serial form.
In addition, the 15-minute comedy-drama
serial inaugurated by Amos
'n' Andy was much more extensively
used; numbers of prestige drama and use
of "homey" drama were similarly expanded.
The introduction of daytime serials
produced, for the first time, the
practice of 5-day-a-week daytime "across-the-board"
programming.
Prior to 1932, when daytime serials
were first scheduled, daytime
programming had been scheduled like
that in evening hours, on a
one-time-a-week basis-with 30-minute
programs much more frequently
used than programs of 15-minute length.
Local station programming was more
directly influenced by the depression.
During this period, a large proportion
of stations, to survive,
scheduled daily local programs featuring
astrologers. Many
stations-most of these not of the "top
flight" engaged
extensively in direct selling, which
in turn brought about wide-spread
use of hillbilly shows. Commercial religious programs were also
introduced on local stations during
the period. All three types
mentioned made extensive use of invitations
or appeals to listeners to send
money to the station "to keep this
show on the air" with part of the receipts
going to the program's sponsor, part
to the station to pay for the air-time.
Some development was made of local
news programs during the period, but
few stations gave more than a single
15-minute news broadcast per day,
or perhaps two or three 5-minute news
programs. Most news presented
was "lifted" from stories appearing
in local daily newspapers. The
period also saw some expansion of programs
of recorded or transcribed
music, but most of the locally presented
music was still of the "live"
type, though using professionals in
place of the amateurs of the
"twenties."
Some new program forms were developed
during the last half of the
decade, though the number of new forms
was considerably less than in
the early half of the "thirties." New forms appearing on networks
included:
News commentary programs-important because of the threat of war;
Quiz programs with audience participants-introduced in 1936;
Panel quiz programs-with "experts" serving on the panel;
"Crime-does-not-pay" "thriller" dramatic programs;
Telephone give-away programs-first used in 1939, and only one program of
the type appearing in the period; and
Comedy participation programs-of the "Truth or Consequences" type.
Networks greatly increased their offerings
of news programs during the at the
end of the decade although few of the
programs had sponsors. Most of the successful
individual programs of 1935, and practically
all of the "name" radio
personalities of 1935, were still on
the air and still successful during
the winter of 1940-41.
Local programming showed more change. News programs were greatly
increased; by the summer of 1941 nearly
every station had at least
four or five local news programs a
day. Astrologers had disappeared as a
result of government pressure; "live"
programs of light music, and
"live" hillbilly programs were much
less widely used than in
1935-their places being taken by an
expansion in the use of platter
music.
Most stations also scheduled at least one "man-on- the-street"
remote interview program a day.
In the 1940's programs, both on networks
and locally originated, naturally
reflected the war. Throughout the entire war period, there was strong
emphasis on news and human interest
programs used men or women in armed
services as participants. With many sponsors having nothing to sell
to consumers, there was a greater use
of institutional commercial
announcements than in either the pre-war
or the post-war periods.
As might be expected, when the war
ended and TV began to
grow, the types of programs provided
by radio were greatly affected by
the new economic conditions.
Radio network programming. Several changes occurred in the
programming provided by radio networks. Evening variety programs
decreased; evening musical programs
decreased even more significantly,
as did evening quiz and audience participation
programs. News
programs and evening talk programs
held at about the same level. Use
of evening dramatic programs increased
strongly over 1944-45; in
1951-52, networks offered 47 hours
a week of dramatic programs during
evening hours and on Sundays, compared
with about 31 hours per week in
1951-52-and no less than 25 hours each
week consisted of "thriller"
drama programs.
During the daytime, there was a striking
increase in low-cost
variety and in quiz and audience participation-combined.
These types
accounted for 59 hours of daytime programming
each week,
compared with 23 hours in 1944- 45. Daytime serials decreased
slightly, to 44 hours per week; other
daytime dramatic programs to 14
hours per week, as compared with 24
hours in 1944-45. During the
period, incidentally, the daytime adventure
serial for children had
been almost completely replaced by
30-minute adventure drama, each
program in a series built around a
single "hero," but with each
30-minute episode a compete story.
Note that after the war, magnetic recorders
were introduced and
networks for the first time permitted
the use of recorded material and
even music-as in 1951-52, networks
scheduled 1 1/2 hours of
platter music programs at night, and
an additional 7 1/2 hours each
week during daytime hours. But the really important change was in the
sponsorship of network programs. Whereas in 1944-45, at least 90 per
cent of all radio network programs
were sponsored, by 1951-52 not more
than 45 to 50 percent of all evening
network hours and a still smaller
proportion of daytime hours had national
sponsors. Possibly 8 to 10
percent of all network programs were
"co-ops"-that is, fed to
affiliated stations for local sponsorship;
at least 40 percent were
broadcast on a sustaining (free) basis.
New radio network program types.
Platter music-(47048) Martin Block Show, Paul Whiteman Record Program.
Television quiz-(48-49) Stop the Music
Low-key detective programs-(49-50) Dragnet
Local radio programs. Local programming was strongly influenced by
three factors. First, the tremendous increase in the number of new
stations coming on the air after the
war left more than 1200 stations
(as of 1952) without network service. Second, the drastic decrease in
the quantity of sponsored network programming
left stations that were
affiliated with networks with far more
hours of program time to fill locally.
And third, increased competition among
stations, and the much
reduced per-station revenues, forced
stations to look for low-cost
program forms. The lowest-cost form available was that of platter
programs; as a result, aside from the
retention of news broadcasts and
of a few talk programs, virtually all
local programming was of the
platter music type-at least by 1951-52.
One additional comment concerning local
radio is in order. The great
success of the network telephone quiz
show, "Stop the Music" in
1948-49, resulted in rash of local
telephone quiz programs, just as
the success of the network- originated
"Major Bowes Amateur Hour" in
1935 produced a flood of locally produced
amateur contest programs.
Most of the local telephone quiz shows
had disappeared before 1951-52.
Network programming. No new network program forms appeared during the
war period. However, there were some changes in the amount of use of
certain program forms. News an commentary programs were, of course,
extremely popular during the early
stages of the war-particular
emphasis was placed on commentary,
and probably fewer than half of all
news programs were "straight news,"
rather than commentary. The total
number of news programs-or at least,
of hours per week devoted to news
broadcasts during evening and Sunday
hours- on networks was nearly
twice as great as 1944-1945 as in 1940-41-21
hours a week, compared
with a little more than 11 hours a
week. However, by the season of
1943-44, a certain amount of war-weariness,
and an evident desire for
escape, produced increased listenership
to escape-type programs-comedy
variety, comedy drama, and "thriller"
drama; and all programs in these
classifications had higher ratings
than in the prewar period, and the
amount of time given to these three
forms increased in proportion.
During the winter of 1944-45, networks
scheduled 8 hours of comedy
variety programs, 8 hours of comedy
drama programs, and 14 hours of
"thriller" drama each week-the corresponding number of hours for
three types in 1940-41 were 4 1/2 and
8 respectively. Another form
showing increased use during the war
period was informative drama;
there were no evening programs of this
type on networks in 1940-41,
but nearly 5 hours of such programs
per week in 1944-45. Total time
devoted to all evening variety forms
(including comedy) in 1944-45 was
approximately 18 hours per week-virtually
the same as in 1940-1941; to
musical programs, 34 hours per week
(compared with 32 hours in
1940-41); to all types of dramatic
programs in 1944-45, roughly 32
hours per week (24+ hours in 1940-
41). There was a decrease in the
use of both audience participation
programs and talks other than news;
in 1944-45, quiz and human interest
programs totalled only slightly
over 19 hours per week, as compared
with 15 hours in 1940-41, and in
the final year of the war, talk programs
other than news used only 14
evening hours each week, compared with
15 hours in 1940-41.
Probably two facts are entitled to
special mention. War industries
buying evening network time were interested
in "prestige"
programs, since with no products to
sell the ratings were on secondary importance.
However, with the excess profits tax
you could put on classy programs and
have famous people to lunch with and
impress your friends at your parties.
So, more symphony orchestras were presented
on a sponsored basis than at
any other time in network history;
similarly, many war industries presented
informative dramatic programs-in some
cases, virtually
documentaries, dealing with the contribution
of various military
services to the "war effort." The other relates to a decrease in quiz
and other types of human interest programs-a
decrease which took place, to
some degree because of government request
to keep unscripted, unknown people
off the air, since at the same time,
daytime use of such
programs had increased substantially,
and virtually all types of
audience-participation made use of
men from the armed services.
This leads us logically to daytime
network programming. Here, as
during evening hours, the time devoted
to news programs increased 13
hours a week in 1944-45, as compared
with 5 hours in 1940-41. There
was a similar increase in daytime use
of non-thriller and non-serial
daytime dramatic forms; in 1944-45
these programs totalled 14 hours a
week (more than 4 hours of which was
used for informative drama) as
compared with only 1 hour each week
in 1940-41. A similar increase
was evident in daytime quiz and human
interest programs-the latter in
particular, from only 1 hour a week
in 1940-41 to 11 hours a week in
1944-45. Daytime network use of variety programs (12 hours a week)
and of daytime musical programs (18
hours per week) remained virtually
unchanged from the 1940-41 level. But major reductions were
registered in non-news talk programs-13
hours per week in 1944-45,
compared with 23 hours in 1940-41-and
especially in time devoted to
daytime serial drama-49 hours each
week in 1944- 1945, compared with
no less than 75 hours in 1940-41. Daytime serials and daytime
informative programs had undoubtedly
passed their peak of popularity,
and were on the decline.
Local programming. Aside from greater emphasis on materials related
to the war, there was little change
in local programming during the
period.
Some stations-by no means the majority-added commentators to
their news staffs, and attempted to
rival the networks in providing
news commentary programs. Many stations arranged for the presentation
of recorded interviews with men in
military service who came from
communities served by stations. Possibly from one-third to one-half
of all stations made use of some sort
of local human interest
programs-interviews, in some cases
quiz, in others, audience
participation. These were virtually the only changes made in the
line-up of locally produced programs
during the war period.
Television programs. When television first got under way in a serious
manner, in 1948, revenues were low,
production costs high. So a
primary consideration was the discovery
of low-cost programs.
Networks and stations alike experimented
with the use of platter
music-direct disc-jockey programs chiefly,
but in some instances,
pantomime by "live" entertainers or
audience participation through
dancing to music played on records. Programs of live "light" music
were widely used. Old motion picture films-Westerns in
particular-were projected on TV screens. And pickups of sports, in
particular, wrestling and roller derbies
came into prominence. In the
field of children's programs, puppet
shows were presented by
practically all stations, as well as
on networks.
Network TV programs. Program forms used on networks were almost
without exception those previously
existing on network radio-in fact,
many programs were moved bodily from
radio to TV, or were retained on
radio, with their counterparts broadcast
on TV networks. During the
first year or two of network TV operation,
a very high proportion of
evening time was used for broadcasts
of sports events but two variety
programs stood out: the Milton Berle program, 60 minutes in length
and with a production budget of $8,000
a week, and the Ed Sullivan
Show, of equal length and costing only
$5,000 a week. Success of
these programs in particular brought
a great expansion in vaudeville
variety programs; in 1950-51, no less
than 29 evening variety programs
were carried on TV networks. Unfortunately, the supply of available
"acts" ran out; in 1951-52, the number
of variety programs was cut
almost in half. "Thriller" drama programs caught on quickly; although
in 1948-49 only two were included in
network schedules, there were 15
on the air in 1949-50, 22 in 1951,
and 33 in 1951-52. Daytime network
programs followed the pattern set by
radio; in 1951-52, about 60
percent of all daytime programming
consisted of low-cost variety
programs. During evening hours, in 1951-52, 36 hours a week were
devoted to dramatic programs-more than
one-third of the 30- minute
variety on film; 15 hours to variety;
10 hours to music; 14 hours to
quiz and audience participation; 12
hours to news, forum and
informative talks, and 15 hours to
children's programs, sports
broadcasts and miscellaneous forms. In other words, distribution of
program types in 1951-52 greatly resembled
the distribution used on
radio networks a few years earlier,
and had already taken on most of
the forms in use today.
New TV network program types:
Ad lib courtroom dramas or reenactments-(48-49) The Black Robe
Children's puppet programs-(48-49) Kukla, Fran & Ollie;
Howdy Doody;
Televised sports events-(48-49) Boxing, wrestling, roller derby, etc.
Western-silent-films with narrator-(48-49) Hitching Post
Theatrical feature films-(50-51) Hollywood Premier Theatre
Actuality demonstration-(50-51) Zoo Parade
Pantomime-to-records-(51-52) Paul Dixon
Local TV programs. During the years preceding 1950, most TV stations
limited their broadcasting operations
to evening hours; those which
were on the air during the daytime
normally went on the air around
noon, or later. As noted earlier, most stations experimented with
various types of platter music-with
little success, incidentally;
daytime programs invariably included
some sort of cooking-and-recipe
program broadcast daily, and most stations
presented an hour or more a
day of audience-participation programs,
either during daytime hours or
at night. Of course, practically all stations presented at least one
local news broadcast every day; and
nearly all had weather programs
and sports news broadcasts. But in addition, most stations-at least
by the end of the period-were making
extensive use of syndicated
filmed programs. A number of syndicated filmed-for-television
series-mostly Westerns-were available,
and during 1950, a fairly large
number of theatrical feature films
were released for syndication so by
the winter of 1951-52, probably 300
or more such features had been
released and were being included in station
schedules.
Network radio programming was on its
way out. By 1960, almost the only
conventional programs remaining were
ABC's Breakfast Club, the Arthur
Godfrey show on CBS and the news programs
on the hour-five minutes in
length.
The Breakfast Club went off the air in 1968 and Arthur Godfrey's
show bit the dust in 1972.
Local radio programming. In the early 50's independent radio stations, or
those who only used their network for
on-the-hour news briefs, ran what
was termed "block programming." This
usually consisted of lively "wake up music"
in the AM, or country & western
for the early-rising farmers and rural
folks. Then mid-morning "pop" music
or women's features.
Around noon a news show and an hour
of male oriented programming might be run.
The latest hits for teens came on around
3 P.M. when school let out.
Then, a block of dinner music around
5 or 6 P.M.
Depending on how late the station was
on, big band or jazz or R&B might fill
the evening. On weekends especially,
there were some stations that used transcribed
drama and comedy shows (the Ziv Co.
produced a lot of these) or appeals to
the teenage audience with music and
request shows. Of course church services ran on Sunday.
Ad Hoc independent networks fed baseball
from time to time. Occasionally a "local live"
show might be done from the local studio,
a local band, church group etc.
As radio networks programmed less and
less, most stations had
the block format before going to "top
forty" or "let's sound the same
all day" type formats.
Also D.J's in those days pulled their
own music and made up their own shows.
As the music lists or "must play" lists
were just beginning in the 1950's
stations began to switch to just one
type of music as the increasing number
of stations going on the air found
that playing records was the lowest cost
programming they could afford. By the late 1950's, probably some 80 to 90
percent of all radio stations were
filling most of their program time with
recorded music. Most stations played
nothing but currently popular music-
the Top-40 records of the week; others
made heavy use of standards
which had been popular in earlier years;
still others featured country and western music.
Some large-market stations used highly
paid "personalities" as disc jockeys and included almost
as much "chatter" as actual music in
each program; others permitted only a limited amount of talk.
Many of the Top-40 stations tried to
be different and attract listener attention by using a variety
of "gimmicks;" special sounds effects,
singing station I. D. jingles, giveaways, "record hops", and contests.
After 1957 or 1958 the trend away from
the dominance of Top-40 became
evident. Specialization became more
sought after as the elusive radio
audience was wooed. "Good music," "Country
and Western Pop,"
"Negro-appeal," "All- request," "Sports,"
and in April of 1965, a NYC
station became "all news." Still others developed into "all-talk" and
some stations experimented with bringing
back old radio drama.
Finally, specialization reached what
seemed an all-time high when in
December of 1965, an "All-classified
ad" station was authorized for
San Francisco. It died shortly thereafter. The early 1960's for
local radio programming was a period
of development and
experimentation.
Television Network programming. No entirely new program forms
appeared on television during this
period, although some modifications
that had not previously appeared on
network radio. One was the
talk-variety form, which combined rather
lengthy interviews or talk
features with variety materials; it
was introduced in 1952 and was
first used on NBC's Today and Tonight
shows. Others were live-actually
broadcasts and filmed documentaries
carried on a series basis; NBC's
Sunday afternoon Wide, Wide World program,
introduced in 1955, and the
CBS Twentieth Century, which appeared
in 1957 were the earliest of
these types. In addition, the "adult western" (a western with more
characterization and human problems
than adventure) was first
introduced in 1955.
As might be expected, many important
changes took place in the use of
programs of different types on network
schedules. Nondramatic
children's programs, sports broadcasts,
and sponsored talk programs
disappeared entirely from the evening
schedules; anthology drama was
largely replaced by dramatic programs
that used the same leading
characters. Crime-detective and adult westerns reached a high point
around 1960; and then reduced greatly
in number. Major gains after
1960 were registered by general drama,
variety programs, talk-
variety-and motion picture feature
films. Time devoted to news
increased, with two of the networks
expanding their early evening news
to 30 minutes. Quiz shows, panel shows,
and audience-participation
programs showed a consistent drop in
evening use in 1955, although
they continued as popular features
for daytime audiences.
There was a trend to longer program
forms as there was a decline in
sponsorship of programs by a single
advertiser as had happened in
network radio. A second major trend after 1952 was the increasing use
of programs produced on film, as compared
with live presentations.
The introduction of the black and white
video tape recorder by Ampex
(Bing Crosby Enterprises) in 1956,
and the color VTR in 1957 had its
greatest initial effect upon news programming.
Four other features of network programming
were the rise and fall of
the "big- money" quiz programs between
1955 and 1958. A second
feature was the increased use of special
programs from 1954 on. After
1957 most networks dropped this form
except for NBC which found it
needed such material to compete with
an up and coming ABC.
Documentary programs grew after the
quiz scandals, but since 1962 the
trend has been not to schedule them
on a regular basis. There was a
tremendous increase in the broadcasting
of sports events on Saturday
and Sunday afternoons. Boxing and wrestling dropped out of sight but
major league baseball, football, and
basketball, along with bowling,
golf, and racing increased dramatically.
Local television programming. The types of programming on individual
stations reflect the changes in availability
of network and syndicated
material. In the early 1950's, the networks offered their affiliates
a responsibly full schedule of night
prime-time shows, but little
daytime material. By the middle 1960's, however, network offerings
had increased during daytime; on weekdays
during 1962063, NBC was
doing 13 hours of sponsored daytime
programs a day total; CBS 12 and
ABC 9 hours. The syndicated programs increased in the 1950's and
showed a decrease in the 1960's. In 1953 stains were on the air for
an average of 80 hours a week, and
49 percent of this time was filled
by the network. In 1965, total hours were averaging 119 and the
percentage of network filled time had
jumped to 64. Syndicated and
feature film programs remained constant
at 16 percent. More than 21
percent of programming of network affiliates
was live in 1953. Local
television was varied and vital in
1965-66 while a large number of
stations still had to face the expensive
transition from black and
white equipment to color equipment
as the sale of color sets increased
and networks went to all color.
The University of Memphis
Memphis,
Tennessee 38152
Marvin R. Bensman, J.D., Ph.D.
Founder and Director
Guglielmo Marconi was born at Bologna, Italy, on April 25, 1874, the second son of Giuseppe Marconi, an Italian
country gentleman, and Annie Jameson, daughter of Andrew Jameson of Daphne Castle in the County Wexford, Ireland. He was educated
privately at Bologna, Florence and Leghorn. Even as a boy he took a keen interest in physical and electrical science and studied
the works of Maxwell, Hertz, Righi, Lodge and others. In 1895 he began laboratory experiments at his father's country estate
at Pontecchio where he succeeded in sending wireless signals over a distance of one and a half miles.
