The biggest news story since Pearl Harbor broke in
mid-August, 1945, and NBC had it first. Neutral
Switzerland brokered the surrender negotiations
between the Allies and Japan, so all communications
between the combatants went through Geneva. Once
again - as he was in Munich at the war’s start -
NBC’s Max Jordan was on the spot at its
finish ... NBC interrupted soap opera
Stella Dallas at 4:18 p.m. on August
14th for Jordan’s report that the Japanese message
accepting surrender terms had been received in
Geneva. Jordan’s scoop was an exclusive for two
hours and forty-five minutes until United Press
cleared its bulletin that World War II was over.
Ironically, the outstanding war reporter became a
man of peace. Max Jordan retired from NBC in
1947 at the age of 52. A PhD in religious
philosophy, he become a Benedictine priest - a
position in which he served for the remaining 31
years of his life.
The networks were sold-out as the nation
transitioned to peacetime. A record 232 sponsored
programs were rated in the season’s prime time
Hooperatings - the all-time high between 6:00 and
11:00 p.m. In the five years since the
beginning of World War II, total annual radio
revenues had doubled and the networks were
approaching the $200 Million mark in sales. Industry
trade journal Broadcasting reported that
the four networks received 60% of their 1945
revenue from advertising foods, beverages, soaps,
patent medicines and toiletries ...The total number
of network affiliated stations jumped 25.9% - a
record high. Ninety-five percent of America’s
commercial AM radio stations were linked to one of
the four networks. Mutual remained the largest
network by adding by 139 new outlets in 1945 for a
total of 384 affiliates, followed by ABC’s 195
stations, NBC’s 150 and CBS’s 145.
CBS boss Bill Paley, returned from two years
of Army service and found that NBC had
registered over twice the number of programs in the
annual Top 50 than CBS for two consecutive seasons.
Worse yet, CBS billings were on the verge of
dropping over $5.0 Million behind NBC. Paley
was determined to end the losing situation, telling
the press that CBS would counter NBC’s powerful
comedy shows - eleven of the season’s Top 15
programs - by concentrating on, “...
News, drama, public service programming and music.”
He had yet to discover some clever tax manipulation
which led to talent raids on NBC and made CBS the
most popular network by the end of the decade.
Jack Benny’s
ratings had slowly slipped 35% since 1941.
Nevertheless, Benny’s Sunday show had never fallen
below a 20 rating and he wanted to keep it that way.
To reverse the trend, Benny pulled a switch in
character on his November 25th program: The world’s
cheapest man announced that he would remove $10,000
from his vault and award U.S. Savings Bonds to
listeners who best completed the statement, “I
can’t stand Jack Benny because...”
in 50 words or less. The six week contest drew over
275,000 entries vying for the $2,500 top prize.
More importantly, the stunt got heavy publicity and
helped reverse Benny’s slide in popularity.
After four seasons on CBS, Fred Allen
returned from a year’s sabbatical to a prime spot on
the NBC schedule. Standard Brands signed Allen
for its half hour immediately following Edgar
Bergen & Charlie McCarthy. His 21.1 season
average was his highest rating in eleven years and
the first of three consecutive seasons in the Annual
Top Ten. Along for the comedian’s high ratings
ride were his wife, Portland Hoffa, and his
most memorable
Allen’s Alley cast - Minerva Pious
in her twelfth season with Allen as
Mrs. Pansy Neusbaum, Peter Donald
as Irishman
Ajax Cassidy, Parker Fennelly
as New Englander
Titus Moody and Kenny Delmar as
Senator Beauregard Claghorn.
Colgate
rescued
Penny
Singleton
and
Arthur
Lake's
Blondie
after the sitcom’s disastrous 1944-45 season
opposite
Edgar Bergen. All it took was moving the series back half an hour to 7:30
p.m. on the CBS Sunday schedule. Against NBC’s
Fitch Bandwagon, Blondie’s
ratings increased 20% and the show scored the first
of three consecutive Top 50 seasons, all of them as
one of Sunday’s Top Ten programs.
Marlin Hurt
created a character that outlived him.
After a strong introductory 18 months as
Fibber McGee & Molly’s housekeeper,
Hurt’s black, falsetto voiced Beulah was
considered prime spinoff material. FM&M writer Phil Lewis was
charged with creating the series scheduled for a
fall debut. Unfortunately, The Marlin Hurt
& Beulah Show was doomed from the start.
Sponsor Tums scheduled Beulah on CBS
Sundays at 8:00 p.m. directly opposite Edgar
Bergen & Charlie McCarthy on NBC. Sunday’s
Number One program trampled Beulah’s
ratings by a three to one margin. But Hurt’s happy
housekeeper left the air suddenly in March for a
reason far more compelling than low ratings. Marlin
Hurt dropped dead of a heart attack at the age of
41.
Red Skelton
returned from military duty and was back on NBC in
December. His 18 month absence from radio cost 20%
of his audience, but his 23.1 rating remained the
season’s third best behind his Tuesday teammates,
Bob Hope,
(27.7), and Jim & Marian Jordan's Fibber
McGee & Molly, (27.1) …
NBC’s Tuesday comedy lineup got still another lift when Lever
Brothers moved the resurgent Amos & Andy
from Friday into the 9:00 p.m. Tuesday timeslot
before Fibber McGee & Molly. Freeman
Gosden & Charles Correll’s familiar characters
gave NBC two solid hours of Tuesday dominance on
their climb back to popularity. Amos & Andy
would be among the annual Top Ten by the
following season.
True to Bill Paley’s prediction, CBS was
building audience with drama - he just didn’t say
what kind of drama. He certainly didn’t mean
Shakespeare. Thursday’s CBS inroads were led by
Suspense and The FBI In Peace & War,
both newcomers to the seasons’ list of Top 50
programs. Both stayed there for eight years. CBS
would continue to develop its relatively inexpensive
studio dramas opposite NBC’s aging variety shows and
claim most of Thursday’s Top Ten programs in just
two years.
NBC’s
greatest concern on Thursday was Bing Crosby’s
walkout from Kraft Music Hall at 9:00.
Crosby, 1945's Oscar winning actor for Going My
Way, quit Music Hall in a dispute over
his demand to pre-record his shows. Neither the
sponsor nor NBC would allow it, so the star simply
didn’t report for work in October. Kraft sued Crosby
for breach of contract and turned to Frank Morgan
who was without a Thursday night radio job for
the first time seven years. While the Crosby-Kraft
battle dragged on in the courts, Morgan kept
Music Hall open through January with guest
stars and Eddie Duchin’s orchestra. The
show’s ratings drifted down from the 20's into the
mid-teens.
The all-time high Hooperating for a commercial
broadcast was set on Wednesday, June 19, 1946, when
Joe Louis and Billy Conn fought for
the Heavyweight Championship in Yankee Stadium. It
was a rematch of their fierce 1941 bout won by Louis
in 13 rounds. The second fight had been delayed for
five years by the fighters’ service in World War II.
It was the first championship bout ever televised -
but television was still a few years away from
nationwide network coverage ... Most of America -
registering a whopping 67.2 Hooperating and a 93.8
share of audience - was tuned to ABC’s hookup of 224
stations for Don Dunphy’s piercing machine
gun call of the fight and commentary by Bill
Corum as Louis knocked out Conn in the eighth
round.
NBC again monopolized the 1945-46 ratings winning 33
spots in the Annual Top 50 rankings, including 16 of
the Top 20. CBS hung back with 16 of the Top
50 and the newly christened ABC, (fka Blue),
was reduced to one Top 50 entry.
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