Fibber McGee & Molly, Phil Harris & Alice Faye and Penny Singleton & Arthur Lake in Blondie all heard differently on the West Coast.
THE LATE SHIFT
Fibber McGee & Molly heard at dinnertime? Phil Harris & Alice Faye getting laughs in the afternoon? Blondie broadcast an hour later than usual? What’s this all about?
Welcome to Network Radio on the West Coast.
All broadcast times listed in Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 are Eastern - and if you live in the Central time zone, you‘re accustomed to simply subtracting an hour. It’s been that way since the birth of Network Radio and remains to this day in all radio and television.
But it was different - much different - in the Pacific time zone before network rules and recording techniques allowed an entire day’s program fare to be recorded and time-shifted which aligned East and West Coast program schedules.
The combination of live network broadcasts and time-shifted feeds to the West Coast during the 1930's and '40's produced program schedules that would confuse any visiting listener from the East or Midwest.
The Nielsen Company ratings from 1947-48 display both the East and West Coast feeds of all network programs. Combined with the Los Angeles Times radio program logs from the season, (see www.JJonz.us/RadioLogs/ ), the picture becomes clearer.
For example, Fred Allen wasn’t heard on NBC’s Pacific Network stations at his familiar time of 8:30 on Sunday. Instead, Allen’s show was broadcast at 5:30 on Sunday afternoon. His 8:30 timeslot was taken on NBC‘s western leg by the long running Standard Oil Symphony Hour.
Lux Radio Theater wasn’t on CBS West in its long held timeslot of 9:00 to 10:00 on Monday. It was broadcast live from 6:00 to 7:00. At 9:00 listeners heard the second CBS feeds of the half hour Inner Sanctum followed by the multiple run 15 minute programs, Bob Crosby’s Club 15 and Edward R. Murrow news and comment.
Here’s the networks’ formula that kept their engineers in New York working the late shift well past midnight.
As a general rule - with the exception of Sunday - programs broadcast before 9:00 p.m. on the East Coast were fed a second time to West Coast affiliates after 11:00 p.m. New York time. And programs broadcast after 9:00 p.m. on the East Coast were carried live by network affiliates in Pacific time zone.
Below are the Top 50 programs of the 1947-48 season. Listeners from coast to coast heard 24 of the 50 programs simultaneously. These programs included 13 of the season’s Top 20.
Meanwhile, 26 of the Top 50 programs were time-shifted with second feeds to the West Coast.
Of these 26, only eleven - in bold - were heard on both coasts at identical clock times. The remaining 15 were scheduled at different times than in the East and two of them, The Big Story and The FBI In Peace & War, were broadcast on different nights. Lastly, The Lone Ranger was not fed to the West Coast for Friday night broadcast.
Program Net Eastern Feed Western Feed West Coast
& Bdcst Time (Eastern Time) Bdcst Time
Lux Radio Theater CBS Mon, 9:00-10:00 None Mon, 6:00-7:00
Fibber McGee & Molly NBC Tue, 9:30-10:00 None Tue, 6:30-7:00
Amos & Andy NBC Tue, 9:00-9:30 None Tue, 6:00-6:30
Edgar Bergen & C McCarthy NBC Sun, 8:00-8:30 None Sun, 5:00-5:30
Bob Hope Show NBC Tue, 10:00-10:30 None Tue, 7:00-7:30
Fred Allen Show NBC Sun, 8:30-9:00 None Sun, 5:30-6:00
Truth Or Consequences NBC Sat, 8:30-9:00 Sat, 11:30-12:00 Sat, 8:30-9:00
My Friend Irma CBS Mon,10:00-10:30 None Mon, 7:00-7:30
Phil Harris & Alice Faye NBC Sun,7:30-8:00 None Sun, 4:30-5:00
Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts CBS Mon, 8:30-8:55 Mon, 11:30-11:55 Mon, 8:30-8:55
Jack Benny Program NBC Sun, 7:00-7:30 None Sun, 4:00-4:30 *
Mr District Attorney NBC Wed, 9:30-10:00 Thu, 12:30-1:00 am Wed, 9:30-10:00
Red Skelton Show NBC Tue, 10:30-11:00 None Tue, 7:30-8:00
The Life of Riley NBC Sat, 8:00-8:30 Sat, 11:00-11:30 Sat, 8:00-8:30
Duffy’s Tavern NBC Wed, 9:00-9:30 None Wed, 6:00-6:30
Your Hit Parade NBC Sat, 9:00-9:30 Sat, 12:00-12:30 am Sat, 9:00-9:30
Big Town CBS Tue, 8:00-8:30 Wed, 12:00-12:30 am Tue, 9:00-9:30
The Great Gildersleeve NBC Wed, 8:30-9:00 Wed, 11:30-12:00 Wed, 8:30-9:00
A Date With Judy NBC Tue, 8:30-9:00 None Tue, 5:30-6:00
Kraft Music Hall NBC Thu, 9:00-9:30 None Thu, 6:00-6:30
Screen Guild Players CBS Mon, 10:30-11:00 None Mon, 7:30-8:00
Inner Sanctum CBS Mon, 8:00-8:30 Tue,12:00-12:30 am Mon, 9:00-9:30
The Aldrich Family NBC Thu, 8:00-8:30 Thu, 11:30-12:00 am Thu, 8:30-9:00
Blondie CBS Sun, 7:30-8:00 Sun, 11:30-12:00 am Sun, 8:30-9:00
Burns & Allen NBC Thu, 8:30-9:00 Fri, 12:00-12:30 am Thu, 9:00-9:30
This Is Your FBI ABC Fri, 8:30-9:00 Fri, 11:30-12:00 Fri, 8:30-9:00
Adventures of Sam Spade CBS Sun, 8:00-8:30 Mon, 12:00-12:30 am Sun, 9:00-9:30
Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks CBS Fri, 8:00-8:30 Sat, 12:00-12:30 am Fri, 9:00-9:30
Judy Canova Show NBC Sat, 9:30-10:00 None Sat, 6:30-7:00
Walter Winchell News/Cmmnt ABC Sun, 9:00-9:15 None Sun, 6:00-6:15
Manhattan Merry Go Round NBC Sun, 9:00-9:30 None Sun, 6:00-6:30
Mr & Mrs North CBS Tue, 8:30-8:55 Tue, 11:30-11:55 Tue, 8:30-8:55
Mr Keen Tracer Lost Persons CBS Thu, 8:30-8:55 Thu, 11:30-11:55 Thu, 8:30-8:55
People Are Funny NBC Fri, 9:00-9:30 None Fri, 6:00-6:30
The Lone Ranger ABC MWF, 7:30-8:00 M,W, 10:00-10:30 M,W, 7:00-7:30
The Big Story NBC Wed, 10:00-10:30 Tue, 12:30-1:00 am Mon, 9:30-10:00
Break The Bank ABC Fri, 9:00-9:30 Sat, 12:00-12:30 am Fri, 9:00-9:30
A Day In The Life of Dennis Day NBC Wed, 8:00-8:30 Thu, 12:00-12:30 am Wed, 9:00-9:30
Waltz Time NBC Fri,9:30-10:00 None Fri, 6:30-7:00
Take It Or Leave It NBC Sun, 10:00-10:30 None Sun, 7:00-8:00
Kay Kyser College Mus Knowdg NBC Sat,10:00-10:30 None Sat, 7:00-7:30
The Fat Man ABC Fri, 8:00-8:30 Fri, 11:00-11:30 Fri, 8:00-8:30
The FBI In Peace & War CBS Thu,8:00-8:30 Fri, 12:00-12:30 am Fri, 6:30-7:00
Casey, Crime Photographer CBS Thu, 9:30-10:00 None Thu, 6:30-7:00
Meet Corliss Archer CBS Sun, 9:00-9:30 Mon,12:30-1:00 am Sun, 9:30-10:00
Milton Berle Show NBC Tue, 8:00-8:30 Tue, 11:30-12:00 Tue, 8:30-9:00
Dick Haymes Show CBS Thu, 9:00-9:30 None Thu, 6:00-6:30
Theater Guild On The Air ABC Sun, 9:30-10:30 None Sun, 6:30-7:30
The Man Called X CBS Sun, 8:30-8:55 Sun, 11:00-11:25 Sun, 8:00-8:25
Suspense CBS Thu, 8:00-8:30 Fri, 12:00-12:30 am Thu, 9:00-9:30
It’s well known that NBC and CBS banned the recording of programs during the 1930's and '40's which led to many colorful stories about programs having been performed twice, once for the East Coast and a second time - three hours later - for the West Coast.
The Blue Network, later ABC, relaxed the ban in 1939 and Mutual never observed it. The two networks also spent considerable sums recording and feeding their programs for delayed broadcast in the summer of 1946 to avoid the widespread confusion resulting from Daylight Saving Time which was then a state and local option.
NBC finally dropped its ban against transcribed programs in the fall of 1948 which eliminated the need for two live broadcasts of shows - but performers were still paid an additional fee when a second broadcast on the West Coast was required. CBS followed suite shortly thereafter.
* Jack Benny was heard twice every Sunday in Los Angeles for 17 years. (See Benny's Double Plays on this site.)
Copyright © 2015 Jim Ramsburg, Estero FL Email: tojimramsburg@gmail.com
Welcome to Network Radio on the West Coast.
All broadcast times listed in Network Radio Ratings, 1932-1953 are Eastern - and if you live in the Central time zone, you‘re accustomed to simply subtracting an hour. It’s been that way since the birth of Network Radio and remains to this day in all radio and television.
But it was different - much different - in the Pacific time zone before network rules and recording techniques allowed an entire day’s program fare to be recorded and time-shifted which aligned East and West Coast program schedules.
The combination of live network broadcasts and time-shifted feeds to the West Coast during the 1930's and '40's produced program schedules that would confuse any visiting listener from the East or Midwest.
The Nielsen Company ratings from 1947-48 display both the East and West Coast feeds of all network programs. Combined with the Los Angeles Times radio program logs from the season, (see www.JJonz.us/RadioLogs/ ), the picture becomes clearer.
For example, Fred Allen wasn’t heard on NBC’s Pacific Network stations at his familiar time of 8:30 on Sunday. Instead, Allen’s show was broadcast at 5:30 on Sunday afternoon. His 8:30 timeslot was taken on NBC‘s western leg by the long running Standard Oil Symphony Hour.
Lux Radio Theater wasn’t on CBS West in its long held timeslot of 9:00 to 10:00 on Monday. It was broadcast live from 6:00 to 7:00. At 9:00 listeners heard the second CBS feeds of the half hour Inner Sanctum followed by the multiple run 15 minute programs, Bob Crosby’s Club 15 and Edward R. Murrow news and comment.
Here’s the networks’ formula that kept their engineers in New York working the late shift well past midnight.
As a general rule - with the exception of Sunday - programs broadcast before 9:00 p.m. on the East Coast were fed a second time to West Coast affiliates after 11:00 p.m. New York time. And programs broadcast after 9:00 p.m. on the East Coast were carried live by network affiliates in Pacific time zone.
Below are the Top 50 programs of the 1947-48 season. Listeners from coast to coast heard 24 of the 50 programs simultaneously. These programs included 13 of the season’s Top 20.
Meanwhile, 26 of the Top 50 programs were time-shifted with second feeds to the West Coast.
Of these 26, only eleven - in bold - were heard on both coasts at identical clock times. The remaining 15 were scheduled at different times than in the East and two of them, The Big Story and The FBI In Peace & War, were broadcast on different nights. Lastly, The Lone Ranger was not fed to the West Coast for Friday night broadcast.
Program Net Eastern Feed Western Feed West Coast
& Bdcst Time (Eastern Time) Bdcst Time
Lux Radio Theater CBS Mon, 9:00-10:00 None Mon, 6:00-7:00
Fibber McGee & Molly NBC Tue, 9:30-10:00 None Tue, 6:30-7:00
Amos & Andy NBC Tue, 9:00-9:30 None Tue, 6:00-6:30
Edgar Bergen & C McCarthy NBC Sun, 8:00-8:30 None Sun, 5:00-5:30
Bob Hope Show NBC Tue, 10:00-10:30 None Tue, 7:00-7:30
Fred Allen Show NBC Sun, 8:30-9:00 None Sun, 5:30-6:00
Truth Or Consequences NBC Sat, 8:30-9:00 Sat, 11:30-12:00 Sat, 8:30-9:00
My Friend Irma CBS Mon,10:00-10:30 None Mon, 7:00-7:30
Phil Harris & Alice Faye NBC Sun,7:30-8:00 None Sun, 4:30-5:00
Arthur Godfrey Talent Scouts CBS Mon, 8:30-8:55 Mon, 11:30-11:55 Mon, 8:30-8:55
Jack Benny Program NBC Sun, 7:00-7:30 None Sun, 4:00-4:30 *
Mr District Attorney NBC Wed, 9:30-10:00 Thu, 12:30-1:00 am Wed, 9:30-10:00
Red Skelton Show NBC Tue, 10:30-11:00 None Tue, 7:30-8:00
The Life of Riley NBC Sat, 8:00-8:30 Sat, 11:00-11:30 Sat, 8:00-8:30
Duffy’s Tavern NBC Wed, 9:00-9:30 None Wed, 6:00-6:30
Your Hit Parade NBC Sat, 9:00-9:30 Sat, 12:00-12:30 am Sat, 9:00-9:30
Big Town CBS Tue, 8:00-8:30 Wed, 12:00-12:30 am Tue, 9:00-9:30
The Great Gildersleeve NBC Wed, 8:30-9:00 Wed, 11:30-12:00 Wed, 8:30-9:00
A Date With Judy NBC Tue, 8:30-9:00 None Tue, 5:30-6:00
Kraft Music Hall NBC Thu, 9:00-9:30 None Thu, 6:00-6:30
Screen Guild Players CBS Mon, 10:30-11:00 None Mon, 7:30-8:00
Inner Sanctum CBS Mon, 8:00-8:30 Tue,12:00-12:30 am Mon, 9:00-9:30
The Aldrich Family NBC Thu, 8:00-8:30 Thu, 11:30-12:00 am Thu, 8:30-9:00
Blondie CBS Sun, 7:30-8:00 Sun, 11:30-12:00 am Sun, 8:30-9:00
Burns & Allen NBC Thu, 8:30-9:00 Fri, 12:00-12:30 am Thu, 9:00-9:30
This Is Your FBI ABC Fri, 8:30-9:00 Fri, 11:30-12:00 Fri, 8:30-9:00
Adventures of Sam Spade CBS Sun, 8:00-8:30 Mon, 12:00-12:30 am Sun, 9:00-9:30
Fanny Brice as Baby Snooks CBS Fri, 8:00-8:30 Sat, 12:00-12:30 am Fri, 9:00-9:30
Judy Canova Show NBC Sat, 9:30-10:00 None Sat, 6:30-7:00
Walter Winchell News/Cmmnt ABC Sun, 9:00-9:15 None Sun, 6:00-6:15
Manhattan Merry Go Round NBC Sun, 9:00-9:30 None Sun, 6:00-6:30
Mr & Mrs North CBS Tue, 8:30-8:55 Tue, 11:30-11:55 Tue, 8:30-8:55
Mr Keen Tracer Lost Persons CBS Thu, 8:30-8:55 Thu, 11:30-11:55 Thu, 8:30-8:55
People Are Funny NBC Fri, 9:00-9:30 None Fri, 6:00-6:30
The Lone Ranger ABC MWF, 7:30-8:00 M,W, 10:00-10:30 M,W, 7:00-7:30
The Big Story NBC Wed, 10:00-10:30 Tue, 12:30-1:00 am Mon, 9:30-10:00
Break The Bank ABC Fri, 9:00-9:30 Sat, 12:00-12:30 am Fri, 9:00-9:30
A Day In The Life of Dennis Day NBC Wed, 8:00-8:30 Thu, 12:00-12:30 am Wed, 9:00-9:30
Waltz Time NBC Fri,9:30-10:00 None Fri, 6:30-7:00
Take It Or Leave It NBC Sun, 10:00-10:30 None Sun, 7:00-8:00
Kay Kyser College Mus Knowdg NBC Sat,10:00-10:30 None Sat, 7:00-7:30
The Fat Man ABC Fri, 8:00-8:30 Fri, 11:00-11:30 Fri, 8:00-8:30
The FBI In Peace & War CBS Thu,8:00-8:30 Fri, 12:00-12:30 am Fri, 6:30-7:00
Casey, Crime Photographer CBS Thu, 9:30-10:00 None Thu, 6:30-7:00
Meet Corliss Archer CBS Sun, 9:00-9:30 Mon,12:30-1:00 am Sun, 9:30-10:00
Milton Berle Show NBC Tue, 8:00-8:30 Tue, 11:30-12:00 Tue, 8:30-9:00
Dick Haymes Show CBS Thu, 9:00-9:30 None Thu, 6:00-6:30
Theater Guild On The Air ABC Sun, 9:30-10:30 None Sun, 6:30-7:30
The Man Called X CBS Sun, 8:30-8:55 Sun, 11:00-11:25 Sun, 8:00-8:25
Suspense CBS Thu, 8:00-8:30 Fri, 12:00-12:30 am Thu, 9:00-9:30
It’s well known that NBC and CBS banned the recording of programs during the 1930's and '40's which led to many colorful stories about programs having been performed twice, once for the East Coast and a second time - three hours later - for the West Coast.
The Blue Network, later ABC, relaxed the ban in 1939 and Mutual never observed it. The two networks also spent considerable sums recording and feeding their programs for delayed broadcast in the summer of 1946 to avoid the widespread confusion resulting from Daylight Saving Time which was then a state and local option.
NBC finally dropped its ban against transcribed programs in the fall of 1948 which eliminated the need for two live broadcasts of shows - but performers were still paid an additional fee when a second broadcast on the West Coast was required. CBS followed suite shortly thereafter.
* Jack Benny was heard twice every Sunday in Los Angeles for 17 years. (See Benny's Double Plays on this site.)
Copyright © 2015 Jim Ramsburg, Estero FL Email: tojimramsburg@gmail.com
