TRENDS AND ISSUES IN COMMERCIAL PRIME TIME TEIEVISION--AN ANALYSIS OF NETWORK PROGRAMMING, 1966-1976 Dissertation for the Degree of Ph. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY LAWRENCE D.THOMPSON 1977 \1! MN“ I ' ”77.4211! 334 7260 Michigan State University fit. {4‘ This is to certify that the thesis entitled Trends and Issues In Commercial Prime Time Television: An Analysis of Network Programming, 1966-1976 presented by Lawrence D. Thompson has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D Mass Media degree in Date July 7, 1977 0-7639 ABSTRACT TRENDS AND ISSUES IN COMMERCIAL PRIME TIME TELEVISION--AN ANALYSIS OF NETWORK PROGRAMMING, 1966-1976 BY Lawrence D. Thompson Recent Federal Communications Commission decisions on such issues as the "Rerun Inquiry" and "Family Viewing Hour" have once again accentuated the lack of comprehensive research into prime time broadcast television programming. Over the thirty-year history of network prime time tele- vision no study has been conducted that examines the overall trends in prime time programming. Likewise, the flow of programming information about network prime time television is insufficient, given the significant position it occupies in home and family. It is apparent that the lack of information is partly due to the lack of serious programming research and analysis of past prime time programming trends and decision making. This condition coupled with the intriguing nature of the television experience provides the two essential factors for this particular research. But the lack of a full study of television programming is the primary stimulus for this study. It is believed that there is a need for a basic Lawrence D. Thompson knowledge of television programming. This research offers some insights into the practices of prime time programming on the U.S. commercial television networks. This study is essentially descriptive and is con- cerned with the trends in prime time programming on ABC, CBS and NBC from September 1966 through September 1976. In addition, the development and definition of a method for classification for all prime time programs is advanced. This descriptive method, based on past programming studies, classifies all prime time programs into eight major groups by the overall theme of the program and various sub- groups by the roles portrayed by the principal characters. After placement of all programs within a specific group, the ten year period of programming is analyzed in sum and by individual networks for each program category. In addition to typology, analysis is made on the total number of repeat and original episodes per program. From September 1966 to September 1976, 522 different programs have appeared in prime time on the three commercial television broadcast networks--l94 on ABC, 165 on CBS and 163 on NBC. Drama has occupied the largest portion of prime time programming during the time frame of the study. The last ten years has shown an increase in the total number of dramas. However, while the total have increased, the types of dramas have changed radically. The western, Lawrence D. Thompson medical and science fiction drama have rapidly decreased, replaced by crime and family dramas. The networks have had distinct programming philos- ophies during the past ten years concerning prime time pro- gramming. CBS has programmed a majority of situation comedies, most dealing with adult themes, and has emphasized the comedy or family drama. ABC, on the other hand, has increased its total number of situation comedies but has concentrated on the young adult and teen audience. Movies and action/adventure dramas have been the dominant part of ABC's schedule since 1966. Finally, NBC, while seldom using the situation comedy, has stressed crime and action/ adventure drama, many in anthology form. The findings of the study suggest that the networks will continue, at least for the foreseeable future, to con- centrate on nonviolent types of programming such as situ- ation comedies and family dramas. In addition, science fiction, adventure and western drama appear to be increas— ing. TRENDS AND ISSUES IN COMMERCIAL PRIME TIME TELEVISION--AN ANALYSIS OF NETWORK PROGRAMMING, 1966-1976 BY Lawrence D. Thompson A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Communication Arts and Sciences — Mass Media 1977 Gzoe‘37’i'7 DEDICATION To Linda, Dorothea, Phil and Sue ii AC KNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the members of my guidance committee, Professors Thomas Muth, Arthur Weld, Maurice Cullen and Russell Nye for their assistance in the preparation of this dissertation. Dr. Thomas Muth, my chairman and dissertation advisor, must be singled out for special thanks for giving me a great amount of his time and patience throughout my doctoral program. I would like to also express my thanks to Dr. Robert Schlater, Chairman of the Department of Telecommunication and Dr. Thomas Baldwin, Chairman of the Mass Media Ph.D. Program, for their assistance and support in many ways in the past four years. My wife Linda deserves my special gratitude for her patience and understanding throughout, and my mother for her moral support along the way. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LIST OF FIGURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . GLOSSARY CHAPTER I. II. III. INTRODUCTION 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 0 THE PRIME TIME TELEVISION PROGRAMMING PROCESS AND INDUSTRY . . . . . . . . . . . The Development of Broadcast Television Role of Advertisers . . . . . . . . . . The Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Local Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . FCC Regulation of th Networks . . . . . Network Impact on Programming . . . . . Television Program Production Industry Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Program Production and Selection Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Revenues and Expenses of Series Programs REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE . . . . . . . TV Ratings Research . . . . . . . . . . Television Social Effects Research . . . Television Program Regulation Research . Trade Press Criticism of Programming . . Programming Studies Dealing With Prime Time Television . . . . . . . . . . . Tucker Anthony Report . . . . . . . Television Show Preference: A Choice Model . . . . . . . . . . . The Rise and Fall of Program Types . Studies on Prime Time Television Funded by Government Agencies . . Research In Progress and Conclusions iv Page vii viii ix 11 ll l3 l4 17 20 21 24 27 35 39 39 4O 41 41 46 46 50 52 54 64 CHAPTER IV. METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION TV Guide . . . . . . . Use of Newspaper TV Listings As A Program Source . . . Other Programming Data Sources . . . . . A Method for Determining Prime Time Program Types . . . Eight Major Program Types V. TRENDS IN PRIME TIME PROGRAMMING, 1966-76 . Prime Time Television Program Types and Trends . . . . . . . News/Documentary . Panel/Quiz Shows . Variety . . . . . Films . . . . . . Sports . . . . . . Animation . . . . Situation Comedies Drama . . . . . . Western Drama . Medical Drama . Science Fiction Drama . . . . Crime Drama . . Family Drama . Legal Drama . . Adventure Drama Anthology Drama War Drama . . . Serial Drama . Burlesque Drama Supernatural Network PhiloSOphies of Programming . . VI. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH . . . . FOOTNOTES Prime Time Programming Trends . . . . . Program Production Process . . . . . . . Program Decision Making Audience Studies . . . Effects of Society and Government . . . Success In Prime Time Television . . . . Page 69 71 76 78 80 83 97 103 105 111 114 118 121 123 125 132 134 137 138 140 143 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 160 160 162 163 164 165 166 173 Page APPENDICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 APPENDIX A. Prime Time Programs on ABC Television Network 0 O O O O O O O O I O O O C O O O O 0 l7 8 B. Prime Time Programs on CBS Television Network 0 O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 183 C. Prime Time Programs on NBC Television Network 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 187 BIBLIWRAPHY O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 191 vi LIST OF TABLES Sample Network-Program Supplier Production Fee Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TVQ Ratings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Examples of Entries on Data Sheet For Programs 0 O O O O O O O O O O 0 O O O 0 Sample Program Typologies . . . . . . . . . Trend Setters for Each Program Type In Prime Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Combined Network Program Type Totals . . . ABC Television Network Program Type Totals CBS Television Network Program Type Totals NBC Television Network Program Type Totals Total Prime Time Programs by Program Duration, 1960-1977 . . . . . . . . . . . Prime Time Television Program Renewals . . Prime Time Television Program Renewals (Three Network Totals) . . . . . . . . . vii Page 29 53 73 82 100 104 106 107 108 152 169 170 LIST OF F IGURES Figure Page 4.1. Example of Data Collection Sheet . . . . . . . 75 6.1. Prime Time Television Chronology, 1954-1976 . . 168 viii GLOSSARY General Definitions Broadcasting - the dissemination of radio and tele- vision communicatians intended to be received by the public, directly or by the intermediary of relay stations. Common Carrier - any person engaged as a common carrier for hire, in interstate or foreign communication by wire or radio or in interstate or foreign radio transmission of energy, except where reference is made to common carriers not subject to the Communications Act of 1934; but a person engaged in radio broadcasting shall not; insofar as such person is engaged, be deemed a common carrier. Television Broadcast Station - a station licensed as a television broadcast station by the Federal Communi— cations Commission. Commercial Broadcast Television - television service supported by the sale of advertising, and broadcast to the general public. Network - one of the three (ABC, CBS and NBC) major commerciaI teIevision networks. Television - a system in which an optical image is translated into electrical signals for transmission by radio or over wires or by microwave, after which the signals are translated back to light rays to form a reproduction of the original image on the receiver screen. Prime Time - the hours from 6 P.M. to 11 P.M. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones of the United States, and the hours from 5 P.M. to 10 P.M. in the Central and Mountain time zones of the United States in which the three major television networks feed programs to their affiliated stations. Fringe Hours - the hours from 11 P.M. to 2 A.M. and 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones of the United States, and the hours from 10 P.M. to l A.M. and 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. in the Central and Mountain time zones of the United States. ix Program Definitions Program - a program is an identifiable unit of broadcast program material, logged as such, which is not an announcement (commercial, PSA, etc.). Programming - the selection and placement of pro- grams within a broadcast schedule with special consideration given to the effect of each program in terms of a broad- caster's overall objectives. Block Programming - a group of programs designed to appeal to a similar type of audience and scheduled one after another (Bionic Woman, Baretta, Charlie's Angels). Network Exhibition - the initial and repeat exhibi- tions of a television program on the ABC, CBS or NBC tele- vision networks during the term of any agreement between ABC, CBS or NBC and an independent program supplier for such exhibition of such program. Stripping - broadcasting of a series two or more times a week at the same hour. Episode - one program in a series. Program Types Network Program - furnished to the station by one of the three major television networks. Delayed broadcasts of programs originated by the networks are classified as network programs. Network Regularly Scheduled Series — a program regularly scheduled for at least three weeks in the same time period and on the same day of the week. First-Run Syndicated Program - a program sold for broadcast on individual commercial television stations and not previously carried on one of the three major television networks. Off-Network Syndicated Program - a program sold for broadcast on individual television stations which was previously carried on one of the three major television networks. Independent Program - a program offered for network exhibition other than from ABC, CBS or NBC, a person con- trolling ABC, CBS or NBC, or a person in which ABC, CBS or NBC or a person controlling ABC, CBS or NBC has an owner- ship interest. Network-Produced Program - a program produced and financed solely by a network or a wholly owned subsidiary of a network. Subsidiary Rights and Interests in Network Programs Syndication Right - the right to act as a syndi- cating agent, that is, as agent in distributing the program to stations for nonnetwork exhibition in the U.S. or abroad. Syndication Interest or Syndication Profit Share - a right to share in the receipts from syndication (after deduction of the syndicator's distribution fee and expenses and recoupment of production overages). Stations Affiliate - a television station which possesses a contractual right of first refusal (sometimes called right of first call) with one or more of the major television networks. Single Affiliate - an affiliate which possesses a contractual right of first refusal with only one of the three major networks. Multiple Affiliate - an affiliate which possesses a contractual right of first refusal with more than one of the three major networks. Independent Station - a station having no contractual right of first refusal with any of the three major networks. xi CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This research focuses on the types, characteristics and patterns of national prime time commercial television broadcast programming* on the three major U.S. commercial television networks from September 1966 to September 1976. The study will concentrate principally on an analysis of all network prime time programming during that period, but will also analyze network prime time program decision- making for the ten year period. In addition, regulatory factors which might have influenced the decision-making process will be discussed. There is a long-standing disagreement as to whether television programming fulfills the needs, tastes and desires of a free society. Some claim that television broadcasting is serving the public interest well and that competition and self-regulation can be relied upon to pro- vide variety and quality in television program fare. Others maintain that U.S. citizens are ill-served by TV *For purposes of this research, television pro- gramming consists of prime time television broadcast pro- gramming on the three major commercial U.S. television networks. broadcasting and that adequate service can be achieved only through firmer governmental direction. Regardless of the point of View, television broad- casting has become such an important influence on the way Americans spend their time and money, and form their opin- ions, that it is often taken for granted. The public has accepted the fact that some seventy million homes, or 98 percent of the nation's total, have one or more television receivers. People are not startled by the fact that adver- tisers spend over $4 billion annually on television and that another $4 billion worth of television sets are pur- chased each year. Television is important to our economy in terms of the revenues it earns and the jobs it provides (directly or indirectly) throughout the country. Although television broadcasting is not a labor-intensive industry, employing only approximately 250,000 people, it enables employment of thousands of other people in related areas. For example, television broadcasting has created jobs in advertising, music, merchandising, talent development, program pro- duction, etc. But probably the greatest contribution to our way of life cannot be stated in numbers of jobs and balance sheet figures. As perhaps the greatest medium developed thus far, television broadcasting has given almost our entire population a new awareness of the arts, public affairs and human nature. Television is more than just a means of holding the attention of millions of viewers. It places them in daily contact with personalities, events, ideas and performances that would formerly have been restricted to large metro- politan areas such as New York City or Los Angeles. The average American viewer may watch many important events as they occur, including national political conventions, sport- ing events and news programs. Moreover, the viewer can see special forms of programming unique and suitable only to broadcast TV, such as ABC's presentatibn of "Roots" or fre- quent episodes of "Hallmark Hall of Fame," "Bell System Family Theatre," and "ABC Theatre." For the most part, however, the average viewer is the recipient of a great deal of entertainment from tele- vision. The American public receives more hours of enter- tainment programming from television than all other types of traditional entertainment (books, films, theatre, etc.) combined, averaging more than seventy hours every week in prime time on a network level. Thus, it is not surprising that the majority of broadcast prime time television has come to be occupied by dramatic, adventure or comedy shows designed to appeal to broad cross-sections of the population on a week-in, week-out basis. Over the short thirty year life of television, a major problem has surfaced. Most serious television program commentary* concerns the audience rather than the subjects of the medium. A primary concern has been with audience response as influenced by television. Most available research indicates that the influence of the audience is, at most, indirect. Highly organized networks face a dis- organized audience, which is sold to advertisers at varying rates per thousand viewers. Despite frequent arguments that programming is "what it is because the audience wants it so," producers of programs have little knowledge of the audience for whom they are designing shows. Using ratings, they supposedly know the size and demographic composition of the audience, but even this information is not always exact. (Ratings literature will be discussed further in Chapter 3.) While audience studies present an extensive body of research literature, there are few careful descriptions of television programming content. Similarly, there are several political, economic and regulatory histories of broadcasting, but no histories of television programming. (Erik Barnouw in his trilogy on broadcast history (A Tower In Babel, The Golden Web and The Image Empire) comes the closest in presenting any formal presentation on television network prime time programming. Even this, at best, is sketchy.) Recently, a number of books with a "nostalgic" *Commentary in television program research refers to the critical consideration and judgment of television pro- grams in the form of comment, review, article, etc. theme have been published concerning a single program or program type. However, no single work has been published detailing the programming efforts of the television industry. Without such descriptions and histories, there is little continuity and context of development in television program— ming and little awareness of differences in program type, writing or production. Although definite change takes place from season to season in television programming, mul- tiple years must be examined to establish specific trends in programming. Most viewers know television exclusively in terms of programs, stars, newscasters and commercials. The fuller dimensions and implications of television are virtually beyond the public at large. Fan magazines about television perpetuate the myth that television is only glamour, success and sensation. TV Guide, the magazine with the world's largest circulation, occasionally publishes an article that sheds some light on a deeper aspect of the medium. No pub- lications designed for the general public, however, deal with television as a coherent institution; nor do they penetrate into the more profound questions about its place in society. For most people in society, television is only what they see on the TV screen. Most have no concept of what a television network is, or for that matter, even where the networks are located. It is probable that most do not care. What concerns them most is what they see on television, not how it got there. There are some scholars who write probing and seri- ous books that examine implications of television (violence, social effects, economics, production) but these are normally read almost exclusively by other scholars, students and critics--a tiny minority. A few lively, informative trade books (and articles) about the broadcasting business (not television programming per se) come along sporadically, but these too, are generally read by people who have already acquired a serious interest in the medium. In no case has there been a major work concerned with the content of prime time television. This point will be examined in greater detail in discussions of relevant literature in the next chapter. Professional television criticism in the United States underscores the lack of research into television program content and trends. Generally, it is felt that television criticism in this country has fallen far short of its potential. Television criticism is offered in daily or weekly form in publications ranging from TV Guide to the local newspaper and from Newsweek and Time to Sr. Scholastic. By its very nature, television prOgramming provides barriers to the conscientious television critic. Faced with the problem of commenting on over seventy shows a week in prime time, the critic is often forced to isolate a single episode or series to review. This provides the reader with a sketchy, single, point-in-time description of television. It is, therefore, easy to see how the general public reacts only to television that "was on last night" or "is on tonight." Conversely, it is hard to understand why scholars, critics and other researchers dealing with the television medium have let themselves fall into the same pattern. Granted, television programming is dynamic and what is viewed this week may not be on the networks' schedules the next. Therefore, it is difficult for the critic to portray television as anything but a series of single events. This task frequently leaves the average critic (researcher and writer) with developing a formulistic approach to television criticism or relying on the reams of press information pro- vided by the networks and production companies. What has not been accomplished is the formation of a "critical climate" regarding television programming in this country.* Criticism of other art forms such as films, plays, music, etc., is regarded in a much different light than television criticism. Television appears to be readily available to pull off the shelf to ridicule when the critics are short of material. There are a few television critics and researchers who have attempted to comment on television as a "whole" and provide insights into the medium. Among the few are Lawrence Laurent, Jack Gould, Gaye Tuckman, Les Brown, *Horace Newcomb refers to "critical climate" only in the context of television criticism. However, it seems apparent that the argument can also be made for inclusion of television programming research. Horace Newcomb, Robert Lewis Shayon and John Crosby. It is these precious few who are attempting to establish a "critical climate" for television and bring television criticism and research to the level of other art form research and commentary. Unfortunately, these researchers are too few. For every one listed above, there are hundreds who confine them- selves to reporting only on the day-to-day events of tele- vision. Along with the infrequent book that deals in part with broadcast programming and the day-to-day criticism of the medium, numerous short studies of various aspects of the medium have also appeared. These range from a small number of studies dealing with artistic aspects of the medium to the volumes of research dealing with social effects of the medium. Contained in these research studies are frequent mentions of television programming in the form of analysis of specific programs, types or characters. However, few studies deal expressly with programming itself. The sum of all this is to affirm that at the present time, the flow of information about network prime time tele- vision programming is insufficient, given the significant position it occupies in home and family. It is also apparent that the lack of information is partly due to the lack of serious programming research and analysis of past prime time programming trends and decision-making. This condition coupled with the intriguing nature of the television experience provides the two essential factors for this particular research. But the lack of a full study of television programming is the primary stimulus for this study. It is believed that there is a need for a basic knowledge of television programming and it is hoped that this research will offer some insights into the prac- tices of prime time programming on the U.S. commercial television networks. Chapter II will provide an overview of the network- affiliate relationship. In addition, the program pro— duction and distributiOn process will be detailed and dis— cussed. It is assumed that those interested in this type of research will include academic researchers as well as laypersons whose major interest is what they see on tele— vision. In that regard, this discussion will provide the readers with background sufficient to follow the discussion on programming that follows. Chapter III will detail the relevant literature in the prime time programming area. Discussions will center on literature dealing with ratings, television criticism, trade journals as well as government and academic studies of prime time programming. Chapter IV will advance methods for analysis of prime time programs and trends. Definitions will be provided for program types as well as a method for inserting programs within each classification. 10 Chapter V will provide analysis of prime time pro- gramming from September 1966 to September 1976. Current, as well as past trends and decision-making will be outlined and analyzed. Finally, Chapter VI will provide recommen— dations concerning further research to be conducted in the prime time programming area. CHAPTER II THE PRIME TIME TELEVISION PROGRAMMING PROCESS AND INDUSTRY To understand the programming structure of the network-affiliated station television industry, it is para- mount to understand the underlying program production industry and how policies of the FCC may directly or indi- rectly alter the network-affiliate relationship. In the course of such exposition, it may also be instructive to detail the various paths which programs may take to finally appear on the networks' schedules.1 The Development of Broadcast Television Before World War I, Americans led an existence which by today's standards was somewhat grim. Pay was low and hours were long. If people lived in large cities, they might have filled leisure hours by reading newspapers or books borrowed from public libraries. If they lived in small towns, they were forced to generate almost all enter— tainment in their own homes and communities. A decade later the typical American had improved his economic status to a point where he could afford the time and money necessary to attend films in one of 19,000 11 12 theaters in the United States. During the same period, radio had begun to be a vital force and was well on its way to becoming the favorite entertainment medium of the thirties. Daily newspapers and national magazines also developed rapidly during the first forty years of this cen- tury and, together with radio and films, continued to domi- nate the increasing leisure time of the typical American until the late 1940s. Except for scattered broadcasts, television was largely an obscure dream until June 1941 when the FCC granted its first commercial television license to station WNBT in New York City. By May 1942, ten commercial TV stations were in operation. The television boom might have begun at that time, if World War II had not intervened. Scientific research during World War II contributed significantly to the technology of television, but as late as 1947 many people still considered it to be little more than a technical curiosity. For example, on January 1, 1947, there were only an estimated 16,000 television homes in the United States as compared with an average weekly theater audience of ninety million persons. Few people realized in the late 19403 that television was soon to become a spectacular growth industry, due largely to advertisers who found that television provided an excellent selling medium for mass merchandising. 13 Role of Advertisers Advertising provides the life blood of television in the United States. The cost of transmitting virtually all programs to date has been underwritten by American busi- ness through its expenditures for advertising. As tele- vision audiences grow, advertisers have been willing to devote a greater part of their expenditures to television in preference to other media. This trend was more pronounced during the late 19405 and early 19505 than today, probably because the percentage increase in the television audience has tended to be smaller in each succeeding year. In the past, advertisers selected, produced and sponsored television programs. The 1958 quiz scandals reversed this trend. A number of sponsored "big money" quiz shows were providing contestants answers to questions. The networks pleaded ignorance of the situation, blamed the problem on the sponsors and producers of the programs and announced that they would take charge of all programs they put on the air. It became impossible for a sponsor to buy a show from a producer. Instead, an advertiser had to pick a pro- gram from a group of shows offered by a network. These programs were owned by the networks or production companies. Before long, networks owned, at least in part, nearly every show they telecast. As prices rose, fewer and fewer adver- tisers could afford to sponsor entire programs. They found it more expedient and profitable to spread commercials 14 among a number of programs and thus reach more viewers. Instead of sponsoring entire programs, most network adver- tisers now buy one minute or thirty second spot commercials in various programs. Television has become a seller's market. Available time (six minutes per hour is alloted for network commer- cials in prime time) sells at an average rate of $150,000 a minute2 but is so scarce that a number of advertising agencies are speaking seriously about trying to form a fourth network. Some national commercials are placed directly on local stations, and, of course, the local stations sell commercial time to local advertisers. Preliminary Tele- vision Bureau of Advertising estimates show that network income from advertising for 1976 will be up 23.1 percent from 1975 to $2.9 million. Moreover, TVB estimates ABC took in $953,981,700 (up 33.1 percent), while CBS boasted a 19.8 percent increase to $1,045,550,700 and NBC was up 17.8 percent to $991,748,300. National commercials placed on local stations were up 37 percent to $2.2 billion and local advertising was up 27 percent to $1.7 billion.3 The Networks A television network consists of a number of geo- graphically distinct television stations which are generally separately owned and operated and are interconnected by common carrier coaxial cables or microwave relays so as to 15 be capable of the simultaneous broadcast of television pro- grams. A network can be as few as two stations or as many as two hundred domestic and foreign outlets; it can be a temporary "one-shot" special association (sporting event) or a permanent one consisting of long-term affiliation con- tracts (ABC, CBS and NBC). As indicated, however, television transmission on a network level is generally accomplished by hundreds of stations scattered throughout the country. This decentral- ization of transmission might have extended to program pro- duction except for the tremendous creative and financial demands when programs must be shown continuously throughout the day, seven days a week. If each station provided all of its own entertain- ment programs, the industry would have to originate well over 30,000 half-hour shows every day of the week to main- tain present schedules. Thus, it is not surprising that stations have sought ways to share program costs or to keep them at a minimum. Networking becomes profitable for two major reasons. First, the method of disseminating television programs means that one person's consumption during a time period does not lessen the consumption of another person during that same time period. Second, when two or more stations form a network, they need produce only one program and can share the cost. 16 The three national major commercial television net- works in operation today evolved from radio networks estab- 1ished in the 19203. Even prior to World War II, these companies extended millions of dollars on television trans- mission and receiving equipment research. They continued to invest heavily through the 19408 even though their tele- vision operations consistently showed losses. However, their investments paid off handsomely. In fact, network television now dwarfs network radio and has since the 19508. Directly or indirectly (through parent and subsidi- ary companies) networks reach into almost every corner of the industry. Through owned and affiliated stations, they transmit programs into millions of homes and sell hundreds of millions of dollars worth of advertising. They are active in the development of equipment. They produce a substantial number of live and recorded programs with their own funds and facilities. They invest directly in non— network production companies and assist other producers by finding buyers, renting facilities and advancing capital. The networks are the single most important force in television broadcasting today. With their ownership of the most lucrative television stations, they can exert significant influence and control over the syndication business. Because of the natural scarcity of television stations, widespread economies of scale and past artificial restraints on competition, the networks have evolved into a very profitable Operation. 17 Local Stations There are approximately 722 commercial television broadcast stations in the United States today.4 Each station has a free government license* to operate in a certain portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The FCC has followed a policy of decentralizing the ownership and physical location of stations as far as economically feas— ible. These two technological and regulatory factors have been largely responsible for the develOpment of a basic broadcasting pattern in which the 722 stations transmit over limited areas. Prior to 1952 all allocated TV channels were located in the very high frequency (VHF) range of the broadcast spectrum. However, immediately after World War II, the FCC began to doubt that the best development of television would be possible if channels were limited to the VHF spectrum. Consequently, in 1948 the Commission began an investigation of station allocation practices and issued a freeze order providing that no new station applications would be granted during the investigation. At the outset of the freeze, it was believed that the investigation would last about ninety days. However, the problem proved to be so complex that it was not until April 1952 that the freeze was lifted. As a result of the *According to FCC regulations, a small fee has been charged to cover administrative costs of issuing a license. 18 study, the Commission provided for 1,875 commercial assign- ments of which about 70 percent were in the ultrahigh fre- quency (UHF) portion of the broadcast spectrum. Contrary to early expectations, UHF did not sub- stantially expand broadcast coverage. Many frequencies were not applied for and there was a great turnover in those licenses that were utilized. The main problem was that set manufacturers were not required to equip TV sets with receiving apparatus for UHF and separate tuners were expen- sive to buy and install. Even if the public bought the tuners, they had difficulties tuning in the stations because of lower power and interference problems. No "click type" tuners were available at that time. Because of the inherent problems with UHF, the 1262 All Channel Receiving Bill was passed making it mandatory that all sets manufactured after January 1963 be equipped to receive UHF as well as VHF signals and include a "click type" tuner.5 VHF stations still account for a majority of stations in operation (514 VHF and 208 UHF) and apparently account for an even greater part of those being profitably operated.6 As the limitations of UHF broadcasting still persist to some extent, the FCC has renewed its study of allocation practices, but apparently has not yet found a satisfactory solution to the problem. Considering the small number of available VHF chan— nels, the growth in stations and their ability to transmit 19 programs has been remarkable. These stations, in turn, reach sparsely populated areas through boosters, trans- laters and satellites which rebroadcast part or all of the programs transmitted by their mother stations. These stations, located in the largest 100 markets, are more valuable because each dollar spent on programming can attract a greater number of viewers and hence lowers the advertiser's cost-per-thousand. Because of the UHF handicap in reception, possessing a VHF station (all other things considered equal) will generally mean larger profits. And because VHF stations are more profitable, they generally attract the second most coveted prize (the first being a license): network affiliation. Each network has approximately two hundred affili- ated stations.7 A network will contractually affiliate or franchise with a local station for a period of two years agreeing to provide the local station with a schedule of television shows. An affiliate may or may not broadcast a given program: if the station does air the program and if the sponsor has paid for the station, then the network "compensates" the affiliate. The compensation usually amounts to 30 percent of its standard station rate--the value of its time, that is, the net contribution of the station to the total advertising package. These station rates and the percentages remitted to the stations are often bargaining issues in the affiliation renewal process but for the most part reflect 20 the size of the market and other important demographic factors. Local stations accept this apparently low rate for four major reasons: (1) local advertising rates are lower than the network rate, (2) there is very little expense incurred in accepting network programs, (3) a network may offer a noncleared show to a competitor in the same market, and (4) the quality of the network programs is continuous and superior to that which could be produced at most net- work affiliate stations outside of the largest market stations. FCC Regulation of the Networks Considering the importance of networks to the tele- vision industry, it is surprising that they are not directly regulated by the FCC. Nevertheless, the Commission has played a significant role in shaping network operations. For example, the American Broadcasting Company emerged as an independently owned radio network because the FCC forbade any of its licensed stations to sign an affiliation contract with any company owning two or more radio networks serving the same area. The ruling (National Broadcasting Co., Inc., et al. v. U.S., 319 U.S. 190 (1943)) ultimately appealed to the Supreme Court, forced the Radio Corporation of America to divest itself of its Blue Network in October 1943. This key Supreme Court decision upheld the 21 Commission's authority to issue regulations pertaining to business arrangements between networks and their affiliates. This kind of regulation has also affected the way networks have invested directly in television stations. Once FCC regulation prohibits the common ownership of more than five VHF stations and two UHF stations. The networks have complied with this ruling but have nevertheless been able to maintain a substantial interest in direct trans- mission since their owned and operated stations are ordi- narily located in large metrOpolitan areas. Another example of indirect FCC regulation of the networks is the adoption of the Prime Time Access Rule in 8 1970. Although the FCC contends that the rule was adopted for the benefit of the local station, the rule had the effect of eliminating one half-hour of network prime time each evening and returning control of that time to the local stations. The rule has had little effect on network revenues. Because networks use the local stations to dissemi— nate programming, they have paid close attention to the rules and regulations promulgated at that level, especially where such rules and regulations might affect network affiliate relations. Network Impact on Programming The networks' capacity to sell advertising is depen- dent upon the ability of any particular program to secure 22 high ratings and this, in turn, is influenced by their ability to spread heavy production costs over a great number of viewers. By increasing production expenditures, the net- works are able to improve programming by the use of the services of top-level writers, directors, performers and other talented personnel. At first, the networks created a large volume of programming with their own production personnel and facil— ities, much like network radio of the 19405 and 19505. In addition to direct production, the networks also generated and encouraged programs created by nonnetwork production companies. For example, they frequently invested in various ways in small production organizations to obtain the ser- vices of particularly desirable actors or other artists. From the beginning of network television in 1947, all shows were produced live. Because the majority of stations were not interconnected during this time, the cost of live shows could not be shared by the maximum number of outlets. In addition, the costs of highly successful pro- grams could not be prorated in the way recorded programs can over first-run and subsequent rerun audiences as they are today. Time differences between east and west coasts made it difficult to direct simultaneous broadcasts to audiences of comparable size and composition throughout the country. These problems of time zone differences, sharing program costs, and reruns were first solved by the use of 23 "kinesc0pe5." Kinescope recordings are simply filmed copies of programs as they appear over a monitor receiver in a studio. They are usually lower in quality than live pro- grams but were widely used in the decade immediately follow- ing World War II. By mid-1951, CBS and NBC were each reported to be shipping upwards of 1,000 kinescopes a week to their affiliates. By 1948, a few producers of theatrical films began to release their older films to television. Theatrical films continued to trickle slowly into television until late 1955 when the RKO library of pre-l948 pictures was purchased by General Teleradio and released to television. Within two years, all the major domestic film pro— ducers had released large libraries of pre-l948 productions. On television, such productions usually require, with inter- mittent advertising, three half-hour time periods for a complete showing. By the late 19405, a few filmed programs were being especially created for television and its half-hour tele- casting schedules. However, the early filmed shows were considered relatively expensive and not particularly attractive. Nevertheless, by the early 19505 a number of individuals and companies had become interested in film and formed the nucleus for the present group of producers who supply the majority of night-time programming to the national networks. 24 Television Program Production Industry Development The television program production industry, in its origin, growth, and present structure, reflects the influ- ences of its forebears--radio broadcasting and theatrical movies. Sales and promotional techniques and certain pro- gram characteristics were inherited from radio broadcasting. Production methods and accounting controls, however, came largely from the motion picture industry. The influence of radio in shaping television film production is easily recognizable. Weekly shows linked together by common theme (principal characters, theme music, types of stories, etc.) were a trademark of radio. Also, the tailoring of dramatic action to fit the requirements of intermittent commercials was carried over from radio. Pro- duction methods utilized in producing motion pictures were appropriate for filmed (and later taped) television series. Film became the dominant vehicle for television program production in the 19505 because no technically ade- quate substitute was available. Most broadcast historians consider "Cisco Kid" as the first filmed program series for television, leased to stations in 1949. A few other such shows appeared later that year and in 1950, but filmed pro- grams did not become a continuing factor until 1951. In that year, CBS cooperated with Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in producing "I Love Lucy" and Jack Webb succeeded in placing "Dragnet" on the NBC prime time schedule. Both 25 series achieved immediate popularity. The successes of these series and others such as "Ozzie and Harriet," "Burns and Allen" and "Father Knows Best" encouraged others to enter the field. A few of the early successful producers quite naturally continued to create new and additional series. They borrowed money, sought studio facilities and began building general production organizations. As it became evident that filmed series were going to play an important part in the deve10pment of prime time programming, the net- works began to expand their own film departments. Then in the mid-19505 major theatrical studios began engaging directly in television series production. Some of these early theatrical producers now account for a substantial part of television network schedules (Universal, MGM, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, etc.). In summary, the television program production industry is now composed of four prin- cipal types of companies: 1. Large television film/tape production companies such as Lorimar, Mary Tyler Moore, Aaron-Spelling and Quinn Martin devote their major efforts to the creation of filmed/taped series or made—for— television movies. They maintain either leased or owned studios, which are used for their own series as well as those of small independent producers. 2. Although they still concentrate largely on pro— duction of motion pictures for exhibition in 26 theatres, theatrical motion picture companies pro- duce a substantial number of television programs. For example, Universal has had the most hours of series programs on the network schedules for the last three years.9 Other examples include Para— mount, Screen Gems, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. 3. The ABC, CBS and NBC television networks engage in the production of some shows and lease studio facilities to programs that are being produced for insertion in their network prime time lineups. Examples of network-produced shows include, "Gun- smoke" and "Hawaii—Five-O" (CBS) and "Little House on the Prairie" (NBC). 4. A number of small corporations, partnerships, joint ventures and independent production companies pro- duce one or two series at a time. They normally rent studio space from large production companies or from the networks. Typically, a small program production unit will become successful and move up the ladder. These companies usually supply a majority of special programming and summer replace- ment shows, but also are successful in placing a number of shows in network prime time. No two series was ever produced under identical circumstances. There are, for example, many variations in the ways they are conceived, financed, photographed and 27 owned. Rather than discussing all the possible variations, it may be more helpful to provide a general overview of the program production and selection process as it exists today. The Program Production and Selection Process In July 1976, before NBC finalized its fall schedule, it considered six hundred program ideas, had scripts pre- pared for one hundred and fifty and financed thirty-six pilots.lo The figures were comparable at the other two networks. Eventually, thirteen new shows were placed on NBC's schedule, either as fall starts or second season replacements. In 1973, the networks spent a combined total of $1,076 million on technical and programming expenses. Of that total, $624.4 million, of 58 percent, was amorti- zation* of the costs of programming supplied by outside sources. Network revenues over the last five years have grown at a 5.5 percent compound rate while expenses have risen at a compound rate of 3.7 percent.11 The program selection and production process is a lengthy procedure and can begin as early as March or April with a story idea or concept and end the following April with a series purchase. Typically, a story idea will cost between $2,000 and 3,000 with the network picking up the *Depreciation is concerned with the spreading of the cost of physical assets, amortization deals with assets of an intangible nature. 28 tab in many cases. If the story idea is accepted, it pro- gresses to the development stage where a script for a pilot is prepared. The cost for this stage is generally $10,000 to $30,000 with the network funding most of this expense.12 If the script development results are accepted, but before funding of a pilot, the network and program supplier sign a "pilot and series" contract which stipulates not only what share of the costs the network will pay for the pilot but also gives the network the option at a set fee for each year of the series up through the fifth year or longer. Table 2.1 represents two sample network production fee schedules with program suppliers for prime time pro- grams. In the past there was normally a price escalation of about 5 to 8 percent per year built into the options. The 8 percent figure was for shows with star talent such as the "Jackie Gleason Show" and "Red Skelton Show," etc. The 5 percent was usually a normal figure for all others. However, recently the percentage raise has given way to an exact dollar figure. There is usually another price esca- lation clause built into the contracts which covers increased "industry costs," such as union wage settlements (for example, the recent 15 percent pay hike granted the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.). However, lately the producers have been subjected to a "flat rate" for the first year, in which, they are unable to pass these added costs on to the networks. 29 Table 2. 1 Sample Network-Program Supplier Production Fee Schedules New Program % Increase Repeat Program % Increase lst 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th lst 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th MGM Contract with CBS for "Medical Center" for October 1968a year $172,500 - $15,000 - year $179,475 4 $15,500 3.33 year $186,764 4 $16,000 3.22 year $194,381 4 $16,500 3.13 year $202,341 4 $17,000 3.03 year $210,659 4 $17,500 2.94 Universal-TV Contract with CBS for "Kojak," August 25, 1972b year $200,000 - $20,000 - year $207,000 3.5 $20,500 2.50 year $213,500 2.14 $21,000 2.44 year $220,000 3.04 $21,500 2.38 year $226,500 2.95 $22,000 2.33 year $233,000 2.87 $22,500 2.27 aSOURCE: U.S. vs. CBS, ABC and NBC, Exhibit 6. b . . SOURCE: U.S. VS. CBS, ABC and NBC, Exhlblt 7. 30 This has had the effect of locking the producer into a set price even before the pilot is shown or the series accepted. There are exceptions to this rule. Shows that are accepted without a pilot such as "Rhoda" or "Phyllis" do not go through this type of negotiation. Eventually, however, the same fixed-length, fixed-fee contracts must be signed. However, during the last two years (1975-76) minor changes have been taking place. The program supplier has been successful in getting higher production budgets approved by the networks as well as increased fees for repeat pro- grams. But more importantly, program suppliers have been successful in negotiating some Open-ended provisions for the ability of a show to prove successful. For example, the producers of "Laverne and Shirley" accepted a five year contract with ABC much like the con- tracts shows in the example. However, they were successful in negotiating an addendum to that contract which stipulated that if the show became a ratings success, the contract could be renegotiated. If a program is highly successful, it commands a larger price for commercial spots and the increased revenue will go not only to the program supplier but also to the networks. It is not just a coincidence that the networks have chosen a five or six year contract plan. If the program is successful enough to run its full five or six year term 31 and is renewed by the networks, a new contract must be negotiated. This is when the program suppliers reap their rewards and the networks have to make concessions. Generally, those who renegotiate contracts not only get large increases in their fees but they are also success- ful in forcing the network into concessions such as buying old episodes for daytime stripping. Such is the case with "Happy Days" and "Sanford and Son" which have both been able to negotiate new contracts with the networks that not only list new episodes of the programs but also list prices for old episodes which are used for daytime stripping. This provides the production company with increased payments for new episodes and money for their older episodes which goes to pay off any production deficits or is simply profit. However, program suppliers are not satisfied. The consensus among Hollywood television production companies is that any increase in licensing fees granted by the networks is less than adequate, and is offset by increasing payrolls and inflations. For example, Ron Beckam, vice president in charge of business affairs at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., estimates that a typical one hour series episode costs around $250,000 to produce.13 He goes on to explain how even a 10 percent increase in fees by the networks would be inadequate. "The IATSE pay increases are 'going to cost us around an additional $17,500 per episode. Add in another $5,000 per episode in pay increases to 32 other personnel and continuing rampant inflation, and we're back where we started."14 The networks have long contended that producers own the negatives of the shows they produce and can, therefore, use them as they wish after the show has been cancelled. The networks feel that the program producers should be willing to shoulder some of the increased production expenses involved in producing series. However, production companies disagree, noting that only the most successful and long-lasting series make money in syndication once their initial run is completed. The chances of remaining on the network schedules long enough to reap these rewards and renegotiate the con- tract to get a fee increase are slim to none. Of the 459 shows that premiered in prime time during the last ten years,* 60 percent were cancelled after only one season, 17 percent lasted two seasons, 14.5 percent remained on the air for three or four seasons, and only 9.5 percent were still on after five years. It seems clear that the networks have chosen the five year length of their contracts and fee structures with care and have taken advantage of the facts that less than 10 percent of the programs will ever last the life of the original contract and program suppliers are forced to use *See Appendices A, B and C for a complete list of all programs premiering between 1966 and 1976. 33 the networks' methods because of the small number of program outlets. Beckam once again disagrees, alleging that deficit financing, in which a series is produced at a cost exceeding the networks' allocation of funds for it, is a thing of the past. Beckam goes on to say that at Fox they are now pro- ducing for what they get from the networks. He contends that Fox is no longer going "to subsidize the networks and is gradually closing the gap in deficit program financing."15 At this point, one might well ask why the program supplier accepts this deal when there are three buyers bid— ding for his product. While there are theoretically three buyers, in reality, there is often only one buyer. For example, the producer may be trying to sell a half-hour situation comedy. One or two of the networks might already have enough situation comedies and would not be in the market for a new one. Or, the format of the proposed series might be too similar to a show that is already running on that network which would reduce its interest in that product. Thus, the three buyers might easily be reduced to two or even one. In addition, since all three networks follow this pilot and series process, there is no alternative. Moreover, there may be a multitude of producers who have a similar proposal up for selection. At least forty major firms plus many smaller companies have a stake in supplying TV programs. For the 1974-75 prime time season, there were forty-two different suppliers of pilots, offering 34 16 Thus, the competition for from one to sixteen ideas each. series programming is quite intense. Assuming that a pilot and series contract is successfully negotiated, the producer will then make his pilot. Today, most situation comedy pilots are half-hour shows costing from $150,000 to $300,000. Drama pilots are usually shot as 90- or 120—minute movies- of—the-week costing $500,000 to $700,000. Generally, the network fee will cover 80 percent or less of this cost.17 Program production companies have been able to reduce their risks on new shows by getting an advance com- mitment for a movie, featuring stars of a possible series, to premiere on television. In other words, they sell the sample. To illustrate, Filmways sold the pilot film of "Big Hawaii" (a series to premiere on NBC in September 1977). The two hour made-for-television movie was called "Danger In Paradise" and starred the same actors and used the same locations that would be used on the series. Similarly, MCA sold "Kingston: Confidential" (featuring Raymond Burr of "Perry Mason" and "Ironside" fame) as a two hour movie. It was a second season entry on NBC this past (76-77) season.18 After completion of a pilot, it is tested through on air exhibition as a single special segment or a movie- of-the-week, through theater testing or private, in-house network screenings to see if the "hoped-for" effect is achieved. The network programmers then add their own "feel" to the process. The decision is then made as to which new 35 shows to pick up as well as which old shows merit pink slips. Once a new fall show is selected, the network will normally purchase eleven to fifteen episodes with an option for the remainder of the season. If the initial ratings are disappointing, the network must react quickly since cancellation notices must be sent out by mid-November. If a new show is cancelled during this period, the network normally pays a "short rate" of $50,000 to $200,000. This is to help make up some of the deficits incurred by the program supplier during this short production run on items such as sets, costumes, etc. A returning show is normally bought for a full season of 22-24 episodes with up to one rerun per episode and, therefore, is not subject to a short rate settlement.19 Revenues and Expenses of Series Programs The costs of producing television series vary sub- stantially from program to program and from supplier to supplier depending upon the format, the status of the per- formers and the technique used to record the program. In general, a one hour program may cost $250,000 to $300,000 to produce with a half-hour show coming in at between $125,000 to $150,000. At current network license fees, deficit financing on long-form programming may run as much as $70,000 per episode. Typically, short-form programming, which is 36 primarily situation comedies, is brought in fairly close to the license fee without much deficit financing necessary. Typically, program production costs are broken down into three major categories: (1) "above-the-line," (2) "below-the-line," and (3) overhead.20 The "above-the-line"* costs are established prior to shooting and include the costs of the story and its writing, the producer and director and their staffs, as well as the talent and supplemental labor expenses. The major variable in this category is the talent cost. Talent costs of $20,000 per episode for stars do not seem unusual in today's marketplace. In general, "above-the-line" costs will run 35 to 40 percent of the total expense of producing a program. The "below-the-line" costs are those associated with the actual production of the show and include the pro- duction staff, camera crew, set crew and expenses, wardrobe, makeup, etc. Two major factors which cause higher "below- the-line" costs are filming on location and "period" shows. The remaining costs are basically administrative overhead and facilities, such as studio rental. The inde- pendents, such as Mary Tyler Moore and Quinn Martin, rent studios from a network, a private studio or from one of the majors. The majors will usually utilize their own facilities. *The above- and below—the-line terms were developed when craft unions divided unions into technical peOple (below-the-line) and creative people (above-the-line). 37 In recent years, many of the majors have set up their studios as separate profit centers and will actually charge each of their productions a set fee. A prime time program supplier derives revenues for his product from three different sources: 1. The network licensing fee, which is paid by one of the three major networks; 2. Foreign syndication fees, which are paid when the program is made available in foreign markets, usually prior to its domestic syndication sale and sometimes concurrent with its network carriage; and 3. Domestic syndication fees, which are sales of the series to individual stations once the series has left network television, assuming that there are enough episodes of the product to make it worth- while. It is apparent that few, if any, of the program suppliers break even with the license fees they receive from the networks. Many of the suppliers are still losing money even when the revenues for foreign syndication are included. Current industry gossip indicates that some pro- grams are costing up to $70,000 more per episode to produce than they are generating from network fees. If it were not for the lucrative domestic syndication profits, the industry would have a hard time surviving.21 38 Costs have been increasing and during the last two years have skyrocketed. This can be explained in two ways. First, network profits have been increasing rapidly while program suppliers are having difficulties meeting expenses and have begun to put pressure on the networks to "share the wealth." Second, talent and production costs have accelerated. Television talent demand more and more money per episode and union contracts have also increased espe- cially with the signing of the Screen Actor's Guild con- tracts in 1974. Therefore, the networks are beginning to increase their fees paid to program suppliers for prime time pro- gramming. There are indications that deficit financing will continue in the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, net— works have been forced to grant some increases in program fees rather than face the possibility that the number of suppliers will shrink and eventually reach a bargaining power equal to that of the networks. CHAPTER III REVIEW OF RELEVANT LITERATURE Before discussing the pertinent academic studies concerned with prime time television programming, it is necessary to examine certain ancillary research areas. TV Ratings Research Most current television ratings research has often been referred to as a "body count" by those who favor other types of programming research. Ratings data have become more sophisticated in the last ten years,* providing not only information on how many people tune to a particular program, but also a multitude of characteristics regarding those viewers. These demographics include such items as age, education and income of viewer, etc. Primarily, the demographic information is used to sell audiences to advertisers. Ratings data, however, have some serious drawbacks according to those interested in programming research more than just numbers and audience information. Ratings alone *The ten year period referred to in this chapter coincides with the time frame for the research. It is felt that reference to items having some influence on programming would be best discussed in the same time parameters. 39 40 do not characterize television programming trends in either program types or programming theories. Ratings do not reflect whether viewers like or dislike, or for that matter, even watch a show. Ratings simply show how many sets are on and what station has been selected. Ratings are instant and fade quickly and do not provide any ongoing look at television programming. Once a season has ended, ratings data are quickly forgotten in the haste of preparing for a new season. Although ratings data would probably benefit any ongoing study of television programming, it is difficult to obtain. Ratings data from such companies as A. C. Nielsen and Arbi- tron are sold as a service to networks, production com- panies, local stations, etc. for use in programming deci- sions. Because the market for this type of information is small, the cost is necessarily high. Moreover, when ratings data are provided to academic researchers, it is usually out of date. To obtain ratings data to conduct a long—term study of programming would be virtually impossible without cooperation of the ratings companies. Television Social Effects Research Another related area that has dealt with programming studies is the field of social effects of television. In the last ten years, there have been many studies conducted concerned with violence on television, the portrayal of minorities in prime time television, the effects of 41 television on children, as well as a few studies concerned with single programs or program types in prime time tele- vision. This type of study, however, does not provide much insight into the overall character of television programming or lead to any interpretation of programming trends. Rather, the scope of the studies is concerned only periph- erally with programming. The studies appear to use pro- gramming content merely to formulate dependent variables such as violence indexes, etc. Television Program Regulation Research There has been a growing body of research dealing with broadcast program regulation. While this type of research has involved many areas of broadcasting, it has only incidentally touched on programming content. Many articles dealing with broadcast programming are concerned with the ability of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to regulate programming.22 This type of research has provided many insights into the programming production process, network-affiliate relations and how programming is viewed by the Commission. However, little is actually said about the program content. Trade Press Criticism of Programming Another type of literature dealing with television programming is the trade press. Page after page of infor- mation on programming has been printed in such publications 42 as TV Guide, Broadcasting, Television Magazine, Sponsor, TV Index, Hollywood Reporter, etc., as well as hundreds of fan magazines and publications. Seldom has any one of these publications concerned itself with a serious discussion about television programming. In too few instances, an article has appeared concerning some past programming trend or series, but most of the time the article has been written in a "nostalgic" theme and not to provide any perception of television programming trends. Conversely, one trade magazine must be singled out for its achievements in the publishing of relevant articles concerning television programming. Television Magazine, which published from 1958-68, has been the only periodical in the thirty year history of television broadcasting to be constantly concerned with the programming process. Most articles in the publication, although necessarily written about people within the industry, provided fresh and dif- ferent approaches to various aspects of the television programming industry. However, most of the articles dealt with network television programming from 1960-68. Since that time, no other publication has continued to print that type of article on a continuing basis. There have been an increasing number of books deal- ing with television programming in the last few years. Although there is only one book, edited by Gaye Tuckman,23 that deals exclusively with programming on television, 43 there are sections of a number of others that concern the subject. Among the books published that discuss programming on television are two that deal with the economic aspects 24 of television. The Noll/Peck/McGowan book provides insights into the program production industry, including 25 The structure FCC policies toward television regulation. of the television industry is detailed along with a description of the program production process. However, the book is general in nature and can be considered no more than an overall view of the industry and its makeup. 26 provides a more Conversely, Owen/Beebe/Manning detailed description of the programming process. The book provides a detailed structured analysis of the program supply industry including the syndication market. Not only is the economics of program supply discussed, but also the book itemizes various options for the local station and program producers concerning the foreign and domestic syndication markets.27 In addition, the book develops a model for program choice.28 Information is provided on how program supply and network programming theories affect viewer preference and viewing patterns. Finally, the book looks at the behavior of networks and methods of improving diversity of program choice in television. Although Owen/Beebe/Manning furnishes new approaches to understanding the television programming process, it 44 offers few concrete examples of the process. Rather, the book utilizes abstract examples in its discussions. The model presented attempts to predict viewer preference but deals mainly with variables other than programming content variables. The model attempts to determine who controls the decisions regarding what programs to produce and what factors influence that choice. The model approaches the question from an abstract and theoretical point of view and does not attempt to analyze programming trends nor make any predictions about future trends in prime time. The data base for the model is general market and economic data. Although it provides a multitude of information concerning the program decision-making aspects of television, the model does little to foster an understanding of any coherent overall view of television programming. Rather, it is a static, single point-of-view study of the economics of television programming. As noted earlier, only one book has been published that deals exclusively with TV programming. The book, edited by Gaye Tuckman, offers a series of in-depth arti- cles on the power and profits of TV programming. The book contains articles written by authors concerned with an overall view of television. Included in the book are 2 . 9 Wthh concerns a articles such as Molotch and Lester's methodology for analyzing plot structures in prime time programming. 45 In addition, Tuckman's hypothesis on programming trends--how they develop and permeate the networks' schedule--is discussed.30 This article is general in nature and does not cite any specific program examples, but it is an attempt to look at thirty years of prime time television and provide some comment about what has occurred. Moreover, the book addresses such topics as mass society and mass culture and how they are affected by television. Other articles deal with children's tele- 31 32 The dominant theme vision and trends in network news. of the book is its attempt to look at the content of tele- vision programming to provide some understanding of the pro- duction process and trend development. It is unfortunate that the book does not go one step further and discuss examples of trends in programming. Although this type of research can only be considered a first step in analysis of programming and trends in prime time television, it does provide general guidelines for further research. One such conclusion reached by Tuckman is that a body of knowledge dealing with the content of television programming must be developed. It can only be after this knowledge has been gathered that serious con- sideration can be given to developing testable hypotheses as to the prediction of trends in programming. She calls for all those interested in broadcaSt program research to 46 concentrate on the content of television programs, leaving the audience research to others. Programming Studies Dealing With Prime Time Television There have only been six research studies conducted in the last ten years that deal principally with prime time television content. Three were conducted in conjunction with some part of the federal government, either by pro- ducing a report for a government body or receiving funds to conduct the research. A fourth study was prepared for clients of a member company of the New York Stock Exchange. The last two are considered academic research, since they were published in academic journals. One was prepared under a grant from the American Association of Advertising Agencies and the other under a grant from the Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago and the Ford Foundation. A Summary of the six studies is provided below. Tucker Anthony Report In January 1975 the Tucker Anthony and R. L. Day Company, a member company of the New York Stock Exchange, released a thirty-five page report prepared by Dennis B. McAlpine.33* Tucker Anthony became interested in the television broadcast industry when a number of its clients *Although the report was largely written by Mr. McAlpine, the study was commissioned by Tucker Anthony and hereinafter will be referred to as the Tucker Anthony Report. 47 obtained financial interest in companies related to either the television networks or the program production industry. Therefore, Tucker Anthony commissioned the study to give its clients a better understanding of how the program pro- duction industry operates. Although the report does not deal with programming explicitly, it is a detailed analysis of the program pro- duction industry, from an economic description of the marketplace and program selection process to the costs of series programming. Also included is a summary and con- clusion section with recommendations concerning future trends in the program production business. The recommendations are primarily based on providing present and potential customers of Tucker Anthony with the knowledge that will enable them to enter into investments in the program production industry. For example, the report examines the number of programs accepted by the networks from each production company (Universal, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, etc.) and gives recommendations as to which company is the better investment and appears to have the edge in having programs accepted by the three television networks. Conversely, the report also looks at the record of the three television networks and estimates which is the best investment for an advertiser or someone interested in investing in program production. Note that the report is dated and was written during the period in which ABC was moving out of its third place in the ratings race and, 48 therefore, does not give that network much chance for investment possibilities. It is interesting, however, that in the last para- graph of the Tucker Anthony report recommendations, some insights are offered into the possibility of ABC being successful in a potential move toward number one network. Tucker Anthony concluded that ABC had made a number of management changes designed to improve its prospects and although it might have a difficult time changing the position of the network, the trends would indicate that the potential for change existed. Although the report lacks bibliographical and foot- note citations, it is apparent that Tucker Anthony was able to secure financial information from various program pro- duction companies that heretofore had not been published. The only cited source is FCC Annual Rgports that are avail- able to all members of the public. It is also apparent that most of the financial information was provided by the production companies in confidence, because the report does not provide financial information on any individual company. This descriptive report details information on such tepics as: (1) network growth in revenue and expenses, (2) program longevity, (3) suppliers of movies for tele- vision, (4) ratings distribution of films shown on tele- vision, (5) rerun statistics and trends, (6) television revenues of major production studios, as well as data on 49 program suppliers by the number of programs and hours of programming furnished to the networks. The report is important in the study of prime time television programming trends because it provides a break- down for certain types of programming with indications as to why they have been successful. The conclusions are not based on empirical study, but rather on a tabulation of the successes of certain program types (and production com- panies). Tucker Anthony's measure of success is the ability of a program to be renewed. (Although it is apparent that renewability is not the sole measure of success, it cer- tainly cannot be excluded as one measure of the ability of a program to be successful.) Tucker Anthony made only one recommendation to its clients concerning prime time programming. It concluded that movies, while proving to be a valuable programming tool in the past, particularly for ABC, lacks continuity in holding an audience. Eventual increased costs and scarcity of product will result in a diminished use of film and, therefore, would be a poor investment. The report includes both made-for-television and theatrical movies in this recommendation. The report goes further recommending that its clients invest in short and long form series pro- gramming (half-hour and sixty minute series programming). The report does little overall analysis of tele- vision programming trends. What little program trend analysis is provided concerns economic trends and is the 50 basis for recommendations on which program types are the best investment or offer the best chance of returning investment.* Television Show Preference: A Choice Model Predicting individual choice of a program is criti- cal to advertisers and network program executives. It is obvious that demographics and personality variables (TVQ ratings, etc.) by themselves are not very effective pre- dictors of individual choice. As an alternative choice, 34 article attempts to show that individual choice Lehmann's among similar alternatives (such as television shows) appear to be governed by specific attributes relevant to those alternatives. The article provides a model for indi- vidual choice and compares its effectiveness with predictions based on demographics. The study utilizes multidimensional scaling as the methodology for predicting viewer preference. The basic weakness of the study is that, although it is a marketing research study, it fails to incorporate television pro- gramming in a dynamic situation. The model does not incor- porate television programming in a dynamic situation. The model does not incorporate the fact that networks compete *For a complete understanding of programming trends in prime time television, it is apparent that the economic data must be combined with an analysis of trends in order to provide a complete view of what has happened in prime time. 51 for viewers and at a minimum there are always three program choices and the viewer is rarely able to make a preference without considering at least two other alternatives. In addition, the model utilizes a limited number of dimensions (action, suspense, humor, personal involvement, well produced and directed and tOpical or educational value) and only twenty television programs as its sample. It seems obvious that television has an almost limitless number of dimensions and no attempt was made by the author (other than 3 priori reasons) to defend his reasons for choosing the six variables. In addition, the author attempts to generalize about viewer preference in prime time from a small sample which includes a number of shows that were not even in prime time ("CBS News," "NBC News," etc.). The study is one of two empirical studies that have been published in the last fifteen years that deal with prime time television programming (aside from studies deal- ing with demographics and ratings). Although the final conclusions indicate that the model is probably not the best way to approach the problem of viewer choice, it is the first empirical attempt at solving the viewer prefer- ence problem. For this reason, the study is valuable in the study of prime time television programming and of why people watch prime time shows. 52 The Rise and Fall of Program Types The second empirical study was conducted by William D. Wells of the University of Chicago and deals with trends in program types.35 The basic premise of the research is that television programming "copycats" from year to year and that no program is ever really new. Wells' research question is "Do program groups defined this way (two programs are similar if viewers who like one also tend to like the other) remain the same from year to year, with new programs replacing the ones that are lost, or do prefer- ence patterns change in such a way as to signify the dis- appearance of certain program types and the first appearance of others?"36 The data for the research came from TVQ, a syndi- cated rating service. The TVQ data, sold by Marketing Evaluations, Inc., are rankings of performers and programs on the basis of their "likeability." Based on mail ques- tionnaires the TVQ report gives two scores for a program or performer--the percent of public familiarity (FAM) and the percent of likeability (Q). Specifically, the data from March 1962, 1964, 1966 and 1968 consists of responses from 750 families to mail questionnaires. The families were asked to rate programs on a five point rating scale from "one of my favorites" to "have never seen" (see Table 3.1). 53 Table 3.1 TVQ Ratings 1 2 3 4 5 6 One Of My Very . Have Never Favorites Good GOOd Fair Poor Seen The following "scores" are computed on the basis of responses: Scale Ratings: The proportion of respondents who say a program is "one of my favorites," percent who say it is "very good," etc. FEuniliarity: The proportion of respondents with any opinion about a program provide a measure of familiarity or awareness. Faxrczrites: The proportion of respondents saying the program is "one of my favorites." inn; £5core: A qualitative measurement of the degree of enthusiasm for a program. This score is determined by finding the percent of those familiar with a program who have described it as "one of my favorites." Thus: Percent saying TVQ _ "one of my favorites" Score Familiarity The results of the study indicates that only three Program types were present in all four years sampled-- westerns, news and adult situation comedies. In addition, traces of three other factors were present--variety, police- war and kids-animal shows. However, it is not apparent what each category includes because no definitions were provided. The research suffers other serious flaws. First, Wells does not take into account .the flexibility of prime 1: - 111-re te levision. Therefore, his sample (taken in March) 54 does not account for programs that began any particular season. Many programs that were cancelled (they could be programs that had previously been renewed or brand-new pro- grams) were not taken into account when structuring specific trends. The only reason for using March, according to Wells, was because it was "late in the program season." It is not recognizable why March was utilized or why being late in the program season would have any major effect on the study. Second, Wells does not fully discuss the relation- ship of those programs picked as favorites in his study with those deemed most-viewed by A. C. Nielson and Company. He never discusses how his model of viewer preference differs from the actual choice of programs that were watched during those particular times. Finally, Wells does nothing to explain why certain types of programs disappear or reappear in the four sample years. He brushes the problem aside by simply stating that viewers watch wild or new program types for brief periods, but go back to conventional types when the novelty wears off. Studies on Prime Time Television Funded by Government Agencies There have been three major studies funded in whole or in part by different branches of the federal government to study various aspects of prime time television program- ming. 55 A. The Spindletop Studies Spindletop Research Inc. was one of eight research firms under special contract to the President's Task Force on Telecommunications in 1968. It conducted the only study that dealt with prime time television programming. The President's Task Force on Telecommunications, organized in August 1967, was comprised of subcabinet mem- bers representing virtually all federal government depart- ments with an interest in communications. Eugene V. Rostow, under secretary of state for political affairs, was chair- man; James D. O'Connell, director of the Office of Tele- communications Management and telecommunications advisor to the President, was vice chairman. Executive director of the task force, with a permanent staff of seven profes- sionals, was Alan R. Novak, a lawyer and special assistant to Mr. Rostow. Director of research was Lee Johnson, an economist formerly with the Rand Corporation. Following several months of organization and formu- lation of approaches, the staff let eight research contracts at an overall cost estimated to be nearly $500,000. The money was from various government departments and agencies that were represented on the task force. The task force was charged with submitting its report to the President by August 1968. At that time Spindletop consisted of seventy-five professionals in economics, mathematics, engineering and physics. It was an independent, unaffiliated organization 56 and was nonprofit. Between 1963 and 1968, Spindletop com- pleted between fifteen and twenty projects in the broadcast and communications field. Among them was a study of pay cable television for Time, Inc., a study of the Ford Foundation's plan for a domestic satellite system for TV and various market studies for single stations. This was the first study undertaken by Spindletop concerned with programming content or trends. The organizational structure of the group apparently influenced the final report. The report failed to provide any insights into future programming trends, apparently because the group lacked personnel with knowledge of tele- vision and the programming process. Instead, the report concerned itself principally with possible barriers to entry into the programming industry. Ironically, a major portion of the report dealt with new ways in which programs could be distributed to other than mass audiences. Among the methods advanced to solve this problem were cable television and the system of pay TV. The report superficially deals with prime time pro- gramming on the network level. The most beneficial part of the report in trying to understand more about the program- ming process was Spindletop's discussion about the dis- tribution of prime time programs, including the relation- ship between production companies and the networks. In this discussion, programming was considered in total and no specific examples were provided. 57 B. The Supply of Prime Time Programming Another study dealing almost exclusively with the program supply industry was Willard G. Manning's report37 prepared under a National Science Foundation Grant in September 1973. In the introduction to the report, Manning lists as a justification for the study, the "existence of no recent study of the program supply industry."38 His major objective was to gather information on the nature and structure of the industry. Manning admits that his study was not meant to be exhaustive. Rather, another objective was to gather existing public information and use that information to paint a "broad brush picture of the industry, its firms and its markets." Again, one of the few major research studies conducted on prime time television fails to undertake any indepth study of the programming content, rather, limiting its parameters to the programming industry. Manning's report contains sections on a description of the supply of programming to the networks as well as an analysis of the syndication markets for programs. Manning uses the combined data from these sections to discuss com- petition in the program supply industry. Finally, Manning deals with how the program supply industry for prime time television might be used to supply programming for the cable television industry. A major weakness of the Manning study is that it fails to offer any new research in the program production 58 industry. The study utilizes data from several trade journals including Television Magazine, Broadcasting and Variety. Much of the editorializing in the report is Manning's own interpretation of this material. The only "hard" data referred to in his report are the Arthur D. Little Co. study (see page 59, below) and the Office of Telecommunication's study of reruns in prime time.39 In addition, Manning includes citations from a report con- ducted by Herman Land Associates for the National Associ- ation of Broadcasters.40 Manning includes an interesting warning in his introduction. He concludes that since the data used were presented by those having vested interests in those support— ing the research, it should be treated cautiously. Appar- ently, Manning chose to include the OTP report in that reference also. He continues by encouraging those who intend to use the data he reports to go back to the origi- nal documents, read the footnotes, and evaluate the data's applicability. Because most of Manning's data come from previously conducted studies, his interpretation offers little new analysis of the prime time programming process. What new ground is covered concerns the economics of program supply. Manning uses unpublished economic data, especially in the areas of program budgets and costs of preparing a prime time program for network release. This information provides some interesting analysis on a limited number of single 59 episodes from various series as well as the costs involved with these single episodes. Manning does not go further in an attempt to provide any overall View of the programming industry. Rather, he chooses to keep his analysis on a select, limited per-program level. C. The Arthur D. Little Report on Television Programs, Pro- duction, Procurement, Dis- tribution and Scheduling Perhaps the foremost research study on prime time programming was conducted by the Arthur D. Little Company 41 42 in 1966 with a follow-up report in 1968. The first report was prepared following issuance of a Notice of 43 Proposed Rule Making by the FCC in March 1965 proposing to adopt a rule limiting the amount of network programming produced by networks or obtained by networks from acquiring financial or proprietary rights or interests in programs produced for network television (except programs produced by the networks) and would prohibit networks from engaging in domestic syndication, and with the exception of network produced programs, from engaging in foreign syndication of programs. After issuance of the notice, counsel for the three networks retained the Little Company to gather and analyze data relevant to the rule proposed by the Commission. The gathering and analysis of the data for the first report, together with the preparation of the report itself, took almost one year. The report was completed in February 1966. 60 Most of the data contained in the first report covered the period 1957-64, the same period covered by the tables appended to the Commission's notice. The principal subjects of the first report were the existing economic conditions in the market for program production and procurement for network television, the varying arrangements for network program production, pro- curement and sponsorship, and the likely consequences of adoption of the rule proposed by the FCC. The first report presented and analyzed data relating to the availability of nonnetwork programming, including first-run and off-network syndication programs, and the activity of producers and distributors in the syndication market. On September 20, 1968, the FCC entered a further order seeking comments relating to a rule proposed by Westinghouse Broadcasting Company in their comments regard- ing the original proposed rule making which would, in gen- eral, prohibit television stations in the top fifty markets from broadcasting more than three hours of network program- ming each day during the time period from 7 to 11 P.M. The Little Company was retained by CBS and NBC to assemble and present data pertaining to the rule proposed by Westing- house and to supplement data previously presented in its first report. Although ABC did not retain Little, it did provide many tables of data for the report. 61 The second report consisted of two parts: one, the updating of a number of tables appearing in the first report and the other, the assembly and presentation of new data primarily related to the Westinghouse proposal. The reports utilized the following sources: 1. An analysis of the American Research Bureau's Sweep Surveys for 1958 and 1968; 2. A survey by Arthur D. Little Co. on television stations' purchases of syndicated programming broad- cast in 1968; 3. A study by the Broadcast Information Bureau; 4. The FCC, TV Broadcast Financial Data for 1957, 1958-67; 5. The Television Factbook 1958, 1965 and 1968 with Weekly TV Addenda, January 6, 1969; 6. Nielsen Marketing Service Multi-Network TV Ratings, November 1962-68 and April 1963-1968; 7. American Research Bureau's data on weekly television station circulation; and 8. The three commercial broadcast television networks. The 242-page second report utilized ninety-eight tables and fourteen figures, providing the most compre- hensive analysis of network prime time television program- ming practices to this time. The tables from the first report which have been updated or supplemented are primarily concerned with four areas: sponsorship patterns, network participation in syndication rights and interests, network 62 syndication activity and availability of syndicated programs. Attached as appendices for cross-reference purposes are lists comparing the tables in the two reports, showing which of the tables from the first report have been updated or supplemented. The data in the second report primarily per- tinent to the Westinghouse proposal, cover several areas, including: 1. The availability of first-run syndicated programs and the markets in which these programs were broad- cast; Competition among producers and distributors of syndicated programs; Prices paid by stations for syndicated programs; Station revenue from the sale of station time and the broadcast of network programs; The number of affiliated and independent television stations; The audiences of independent and UHF television stations; The amount of programming offered by the television networks and cleared by affiliates; The amounts of network and nonnetwork programming (first-run syndicated, off-network, feature film and local) broadcast by stations; and The extent to which affiliated stations' 1968 schedules would require changes to comply with a 63 three-hour limitation such as in the Westinghouse proposal. This report typifies the type of research conducted during the last ten years regarding prime time programming. The stress has been on the economics of program production and how the network-affiliate relationship is affected. Thus far, program variables have usually been limited to cost and revenue figures. The Little Report provides a multitude of cost variable analysis, including: (1) cost per episode of new and returning programming, (2) cost per minute for advertising, (3) costs for new program develop- ment, and (4) costs for pilots, as well as the number of pilots accepted by the networks and which company produced them. Included in the revenue analysis are such breakdowns as: (1) the range of total revenue to networks per half hour, (2) network syndication rights, (3) comparison of fees charged by network companies and nonnetwork distributors, and (4) network net gain from syndication and merchandising rights and interests. The Little Report not only covers the complex economic relationships encountered in the network program- ming process, but also, for the first time, provides some analysis of trends in particular program types. Although most of the comments deal with the quantity of selected program types from year to year, it is the first attempt to examine trends in programming. 64 However, the Little Report's analysis of trends in programming is weakened by its lack of definition of program categories. In every attempt to analyze trends, the report utilizes large program categories and often includes more than one type of program within a category. For example, the analysis on trends is based on the following six unde- fined categories: (1) talk-variety, (2) talk, (3) adventure, mystery and comedy, (4) sports, (5) audience participation and games, (6) other entertainment, and (7) other. It is obvious that group three contains a majority of the pro- gramming in prime time. Therefore, any analysis is inconse- quential in explaining trends in prime time programming. Research In Progress and Conclusions At present, there are two actions underway that could possibly lead to more information about the programs in prime time television. On December 10, 1974, the Justice Department filed complaints against ABC, CBS and NBC under 44 The Justice Section 4 of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Department alleged that the networks in combinationwith their owned and operated stations, have entered into con- tracts in unreasonable restraint of trade and commerce in television entertainment program exhibition on network television. Although the specific alleged offenses are not directly applicable to a discussion of trends in prime time television, they concern program supply and the influence 65 of it on network television. In that regard, many comments were received by the Justice Department for and against the position of the networks. These included comments from such diverse groups as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Metropolitan Opera, Nicholas Johnson for Access, AT&T, the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate, as well as the net- works. On November 16, 1976, NBC signed a consent decree,45 agreeing to change a number of practices concerning the pro- curement, distribution and licensing of entertainment pro- gramming. ABC and CBS declined to sign similar decrees and litigation on these cases continues. The litigation provides another opportunity for increased data on prime time programming. Although the NBC procedure failed to uncover any new study on prime time pro- gramming, the chances appear better in the other two cases. Since NBC lost the case and ABC and CBS do not wish to adhere to the same provisions agreed to by NBC, it is apparent that the two networks will take a different approach when arguing their cases. In that regard, an attempt could be made to further explain past programming practices. In a related matter, the FCC launched an inquiry on January 18, 1977 into the three television networks for possible inequities in their relationships with affiliates and program suppliers. The probe does not include any Justice Department areas, including whether the networks 66 should be required to divest their owned and operated stations. The inquiry addresses many questions raised by Westinghouse Broadcasting (when it petitioned the investi- gation) and others included in NBC's consent decree. Com- ments on the inquiry were due at the FCC by May 30, 1977. Among the issues are: l. The adequacy of current regulations prohibiting net- works from acquiring distribution rights or profit shares in outside programs, and from engaging in syndication; Whether unlimited network production capability gives networks an anticompetitive advantage or limits the supply of independent programs; Possible effects of regulations in the area of net- work schedules, the quality and type of programming, prices paid for network exhibition rights, and the cost and supply of syndicated programs available. Exclusive exhibition rights for program pilots, the extent to which networks eventually use programs that were initially rejected, and the amount of elapsed time between initial rejection and eventual acceptance of this programming; The need for restrictions on acquiring rights to reruns at the same time as first—run rights, the effects of such restrictions on cost of repeats, network use of repeats during daytime and fringe, 67 investment Opportunities in new first-run network and syndication programming, and the demand for new and repeated syndicated material. It is possible that new prime time program studies will be submitted to the FCC during the formal comment part of the proceedings. However, at this time none has been published. I It is apparent from examination of the preceding research studies dealing with prime time programming, that there does not exist a complete basic study of prime time programming. The lack of any basic knowledge of the past programming trends, hampers researchers interested in devel- oping methods for determining viewer preference or trends in future programming. It is also obvious that no method now exists for examination of prime time television programming. Even basic information on program category definitions has not been published. Various research articles allude to program categories but never actually define them. It is hoped that the present research will not only present a concise method for analyzing prime time program- ming, but also provide working definitions for all program categories in prime time series. The research will also provide a general background of material on the last ten years of prime time programming, including program types and trends. There will also be attempts to include some economic analysis, provided in 68 past research studies, to foster a better understanding of prime time programming trends. A complete discussion of methodology and definitions follows in Chapter IV. CHAPTER IV METHODOLOGY AND DATA COLLECTION This study of prime time commercial network tele- vision programming covers the ten year period from September 1966 to September 1976. That period was selected for several reasons. First, in September 1966, the three com- mercial television broadcasting networks began full color programming in prime time. In order to avoid the necessity of comparing "black and white" (monochrome) programs with those produced in color, it was decided to use September 1966 as the origin of the study. Although the seasons prior to 1966-67 utilized many color programs, the schedules were not completely in color. A second reason is that during this period there have been a minimum of new rules and regulations promul- gated by the FCC concerning network prime time programming. The only major rule, the Prime Time Access Rule46 was enacted in 1970. The major effect of this rule was to preempt one half-hour of network prime time programming on the three commercial television networks. Recently, the adoption of the Family Viewing Hour by the networks (although not an official rule) has had some direct effect 69 70 on program content. This will be discussed further in Chapter V. Other than these two cases, there have been no other major rules or rule making procedures that have drastically affected the program product of prime time television. A third consideration is the historical aspect. It was felt that it would be easier to collect data on pro- gramming for the last ten years than for the first ten years from 1947-57. It was also believed that it would be easier to determine the regulatory pressures on television during the last ten years because of the familiarity and abundance of material on this subject. A final consideration was the data collection itself. Due to the complications involved in gathering programming material and the lack of any formal method for collection, it was decided to concentrate on a recent period where programming material would be readily avail- able. The primary purpose of this research is to provide a valid body of research knowledge about prime time tele- vision programming as a base for further research in the area. A second purpose is to identify a complete description for all prime time television programs appearing on the three commercial TV broadcasting networks from September 1966 through September 1976. These network programs include all shows that began a particular season, all second season as well as summer replacement programs. 71 In order to conduct a complete analysis Of all prime time programming for 1966-76, all 2,500 days Of prime time programming were examined. The programming data were extracted from the following. TV Guide The primary source for the programming data was selected metropolitan editions of TV Guide. Although there are over 150 different editions (markets) published by TV Guide, the study utilizes only editions from the New York City and Detroit metropolitan market areas. The major reason for selecting New York and Detroit was the avail- ability Of TV Guides for those markets. A second major consideration was that both are top- 10 television markets and include network owned and operated stations* and have all three major commercial television broadcast networks represented. A final reason for selecting comparable markets with owned and operated stations was that most owned and Operated stations, as well as those affiliated in the tOp-lO markets, normally clear (agree to televise) all network programming. This results in a savings Of research time by not having to check programs that were not cleared for one reason or another. *Detroit, the seventh largest TV market in the U.S., has only one network owned and Operated station, WXYZ (ABC). 72 TV Guide market editions usually carry the follow— ing information about any single episode Of a prime time series: (1) date, (2) time, (3) title Of episode (if avail- able at press time), (4) a synopsis Of the plot, (5) starring actors/actresses, (6) guest stars, and (7) a notation as tO whether the episode was an original or a repeat. For purposes of the study, the following information was recorded for each prime time program for each week Of a season: (1) a brief story line capsulizing the plot, (2) the major guest stars, (3) whether the program was an original or a repeat, (4) the length Of the program, and (5) whether the program was a regular or special extended episode. In addition, if the episode was preempted, the title and synopsis Of the program that replaced the series episode was recorded. (See Table 4.1 for examples Of the program listings.) This information permitted the tabulation Of the total number Of originals and repeat episodes, where repeats occurred during the original season and when the actual repeat season began. The information on story lines and guest stars was used not only to place the program within a specific type Of programming, but also to determine if a particular episode was a repeat or an original and provide clues as to the content Of the show. This is the basic program information recorded for all episodes for all series appearing in prime time during the parameters of the study. In addition, other information was recorded. Along with the detailed description of the 73 Table 4.1 Examples Of Entries on Data Sheet for Programs The Carol Burnett Show 11/3/73 - Steve Lawrence, Paul Sands - a tribute to Irving Berlin, 60 min. 11/10/73 - Preempted. Perry Como Special, 60 min., original. **************** 5/4/74 - Repeat, OAD (original air date) 11/3/73. **************** 5/18/74 - Preempted. Repeat. Perry Como Special, OAD 11/10/73. Kojak 9/15/74 - Two syndicate hoods are fighting over territorial rights (M. Constantine), 2 hr. special (Preempts Bronk). **************** 3/16/75 - Repeat, OAD 9/15/74, 2 hr. special (Preempts Bronk). The FBI 2/23/69 - "The Catalyst" - a commercial airliner is hijacked (A. Rey and A. Hill), 60 min. **************** 8/3/69 - Repeat, OAD 2/23/69. **************** 8/4/70 - Repeat, OAD 2/23/69 (repeat episode from different year). 74 program information Obtained from TV Guide, a master data sheet for each series was also compiled (see Figure 4.1). This sheet listed various programming variables that were later used to analyze the programs and their possible position within a trend or trends. Included on this sheet were production crew variables including: (1) producer, (2) executive producer, (3) creator Of the series, (4) musical director, (5) originator Of the theme music, (6) director Of photography, and (7) set and art director. Another section Of the data sheet listed infor- mation on the gggt, including names, ages, occupations and ethnicity of characters. Also the changes in characters from season to season were noted. Finally, the actors and actresses who portrayed the characters were listed. A final set Of variables pertained to the E29! itself. For example, data was recorded on: (1) the network televising the show, (2) the production company producing the show, (3) the program type and duration, (4) the day and time location, (5) the day production began and finished, (6) the number of original and repeat episodes, and (7) the production configuration (film, live, tape or a combination). In addition, any changes in the above variables from season to season (as well as within any given season) were noted. This type Of information was used to analyze when networks made decisions and how many decisions were made over a single season as well as the entire ten years Of the study. TITLE OF SHOW: NETWORK: PRODUCTION HOUSE IN ASSOC. WITH PRODUCERS: IN CNG. PROD: EXECUTIVE PRODS: CREATED BY: DEV. FOR TV BY: THEME BY: MUSIC BY: DIR. OF PHOTOG.: CHOREOGRAPHER: COSTUMES: ART DIRECTOR: SET DIRECTOR: WRITERS: DIRECTORS: Example 75 YEAR: SEASON: PROGRAM TYPE: PROGRAM DURATION: DAY LOCATION: TIME LOCATION: PROD. CONFIG.: LIVE TAPE FILM PRODUCTION AT: DATE BEGAN PRODUCTION: DATE ENDED PRODUCTION: NUMBER YEARS IN PRODUCTION: NUMBER ORIGINAL EPISODES: NUMBER OF REPEAT EPISODES: COST 0? ORIGINAL EPISODE: PILOT: YEARS IN TOP 10 PROGRAMS: TYPE OF COLOR: STARRING: *anew Figure 4.1 of Data Collection Sheet 76 After tracing all series programming for a given season, it became apparent that using TV Guide as the sole source Of information had major deficiencies. Due to the inherent problem Of having to publish its issues from ten to fourteen days before the programs were actually shown, the networks had plenty Of time to switch programs and, therefore, not correspond to the listing in TV Guide. Over the ten year study, thirty cases Of this nature were dis- covered. Some clues to the discrepancies were provided by TV Guide. In many instances it would provide a notice at the end Of a program listing--"(Postponed from a previous date)." This indicated that a network had preempted the listed episode and inserted another episode from the series or had chosen to broadcast a "special." Even if TV Guide did not publish a notice, it was readily apparent that something out Of the ordinary had taken place when the same listing was repeated the following week or two or three weeks after it had originally appeared. The result was to cast doubt as to what episode was really shown on the date in question. Therefore, a new method had to be developed to solve these thirty problems and arrive at the exact program for each date. Use Of Newspaper TV Listings As A Program Source Where programs were preempted, where no listings were available, or where there were conflicting entries, an 77 examination was made of various newspaper TV listings from across the four U.S. continental time zones. The newspapers utilized were the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Examiner, Milwaukee Journal, Lansing (Michigan) State Journal, Detroit News, New York Times, Boston Globe and the Washington Post. The newspapers were selected due to their geographic location in markets where all three commercial television networks were represented. If a program was preempted, the other markets were checked by using the TV listings in the various newspapers. In this fashion, it could be determined whether a program was pre- empted locally or nationally. A second reason for using these newspapers was that they were available on microfilm, listed chronologically, and therefore, easy tO check for any specific date. An example of the process is consideration Of the TV Guide program listings for November 6, 1972, shown as regular network programs for the 10 to 11 P.M. time slot on all three networks. However, after the program infor- mation was released to TV Guide, a political program (talk) was selected for airing during that time slot on all three networks. The hour-long program was a talk by Richard M. Nixon. After examination Of the preceding week's TV Guide, it was apparent that the programs listed for that time period were not carried by the networks. It was necessary to consult the various newspapers (which actually receive program information from the 78 networks as well as United Press International and Associ- ated Press news wires) tO determine which programs had been substituted. After checking the sample Of newspapers, it was apparent that the Nixon speech had preempted the regu- larly scheduled shows. It was then necessary to correct the program data sheets Of the three programs affected. In this manner, twenty—five problems concerning preemptions were checked and corrected. However, in the remainder Of the cases it was necessary to consult further programming sources . Other Programming Data Sources If a program was not carried by a network but was included in TV Guide editions, or it was not possible to ascertain which program took its place by consulting the various newspapers, it became necessary tO examine three other programming information sources for clarification. Rather than concentrate on one source, it was deemed appropriate to solicit information from three sources in order to better estimate programs in the various time slots. Therefore, identical letters of inquiry were sent to the commercial television network involved and the program production company that produced the show. In addition, a check was made Of the Series, Serials and and Packages TV/Film Tape Sourcebook published by Broadcast Information Bureau, Inc. In this manner, if one or even two of the sources failed to provide the needed information, 79 it was probable that the information could be obtained from the third. As it turned out, there were always two answers to every query about any particular programming problem. Through this method it was possible to solve all thirty preemption problems over the entire ten year study. TO further validate the information, a sample Of ten production companies was selected. The programming information gathered on programs that had been produced by these companies was forwarded to them for validation. In all cases, the production companies agreed with the data and in many cases they added particular facts that were not available from the other sources. For example, Mary Tyler Moore Enterprises listed all directors and writers for all its program series in prime time and Aaron/Spelling listed episode titles for all its programs. Over and above this information, many program production companies provided scripts for various shows as well as biographies on cast and crew members. Having received no conflicting information from any production company, it was concluded that the information was valid and reliable. Upon completion Of the program information file, the task became selection of a method to interpret the various program data and classify the program types. 80 A Method for Determining Prime Time Program Types For purposes Of analysis, it was necessary to separate programs into a classification by type. In review- ing the relevant literature on television prime time pro- gramming, it became evident that there has been no agree- ment on definitions Of program types in prime time tele- vision. Many different typologies have been utilized to describe categories Of prime time (as well as nonprime time) programming. However, all have one major imperfection; no single classification system was common tO all categories. The categories appear to have developed by mutual consent over the thirty year history Of television broadcasting. It has become commonplace to discuss types Of television programming syntatically without actually defining them. For example, terms such as "variety," "situation comedies," "dramas," and "crime shows" are used by almost every trade journal and magazine, as well as numerous research articles. These actually are used as program categories in broadcast parlance. Apparently, researchers have come tO the con- clusion that there is sufficient common usage Of particular types of programming and it has not been necessary to further examine the definitions in program research. Conversely, this research attempts to rigorously define broadcast tele- vision categories. 81 In reviewing the literature, three major classifi- cation systems were found. All have been utilized as sources by many other researchers and writers in the field. Perhaps the most popular list Of program types was developed by Summers and Summers in their bOOk on Broadcasting and the 47 Public in 1966. (See Table 4.2 for a list Of all program types for each Of the three sources.) The Summers' typology listed sixteen separate categories for television program- ming after 6 P.M. and nine individual types for daytime, Monday through Friday. In 1967, another classification code was advanced in an article entitled "Television Theories, Facts and 48 Policies." The derivation of the system was based on Gary Steiner's The People Look At Television (1963),49 the typology used by A. C. Nielsen and CO. and the very detailed program classification devised by the National Association Of Educational Broadcasters in the mid-19505. Additional information on the categories was also suggested by the programming departments of the three commercial broadcast television networks. The third major typology was derived by Dr. William D. Wells of the University Of Chicago in 1969.50 Although his study utilizes only selected program types, it was necessary for him to develop a system Of program classification. Unfortunately, none Of the three typologies provide any help in developing classification types for prime time programs other than general titles. Rather, they simply 82 Table 4.2 Sample Program Typologies Summers and Summers Levin Variety Entertainment Talk Adventure/Mystery/Police Musical Variety, Light Music Comedy Anthology Drama Variety Other General Drama Westerns Crime/Detective/Mystery Drama Action/Adventure Drama Adult Western Drama Situation Comedies Theatrical Feature Films Quiz/Panel/Game Shows News Broadcasts Talks/Forum Discussions Documentary/Informative Drama Play-by-Play Sports Children's Programs/Cartoons Wells Westerns News Adult Situation Comedies Variety Police/War/Action Kids and Animals Teenage Situation Comedies Panels Supernatural Cartoons Handsome Heroes Drama Movies Science Fiction Doctors Feature Films Light Drama Heavy Drama Light Music Heavy Music Sports Events Specials Type I Information News/Weather/Sports Travel Light Talk/Variety Information Heavy Talk/Special Talks Type II Information Discussion/Debates/Interviews Documentary/News Specials Religious Political/Editorials 83 allude to the program types that had been developed and leave it to the readers to interpret their choices on an 3 priori basis. Therefore, it was decided that before any rigid analysis Of programming trends in prime time could be undertaken, it would be necessary to develop a typology for use in placing programs within a given category. In developmental stages, definitions (and typologies) are necessarily arbitrary. That arbitrariness is guided by the purpose and perspective Of the author. As part of the arbitrariness Of the development Of this typology, it is assumed that the reader has some knowledge of prime time television programming concepts. What follows is the development and definition Of a typology for classification for all prime time programming. Using the various previously-designed program types as a starting point, eight major categories Of prime time tele- vision programs were developed: (1) News/Documentaries, (2) Quiz/Game shows, (3) Variety, (4) Situation Comedies, (5) Films, (6) Sports, (7) Animation, and (8) Drama. It is assumed that all prime time television programs will fit into one of the eight program types and that the categories are mutually exclusive. Eight Major Program Types Each Of the eight program types will be discussed below and definitions provided for not only the overall program types but subtypes within each category. As has 84 been indicated, the first major step in typing a prime time program is to place the program into one of the eight major categories. The sole determinant of which category the program belongs to is based on the major dominant theme Of the show. These themes will become evident as the pro- gram categories are defined. After placing a program into one Of the eight major categories, the subgroups are deter- mined principally from the roles portrayed by the starring character(s). A. Variety A prime time variety show is defined as any program appearing in prime time on one Of the three major commercial television broadcasting networks* that is made up of differ- ent kinds Of acts, as comic skits, songs, dances, and so forth. In other words, a collection Of various musical, comedy and/or discussion segments within an overall program theme. This overall theme can be classified as either musical, comedy or talk/miscellaneous variety. 1. Musical Variety.--In order tO be classified as a musical variety program, the stars must be known pri- marily as musical performers. For example, "The Captain *For all other program types listed below, it will be assumed that they must appear in prime time television on one Of the three major commercial television broadcast networks. It is also concluded that there are programs out- side prime time that will necessarily fit the various pro- gram definitions. 85 and Tennille Show," "The Julie Andrews Show," or "The Andy Williams Show." 2. Comedy Variety.—-TO be typed as a comedy variety, the program's stars must be primarily known as comedians or comediennes. Examples Of this type Of show are the "Flip Wilson Show," "The Red Skelton Show," "The Jackie Gleason Show" and "Laugh In." 3. Talk/Miscellaneous Variety.—-The final classi- fication Of variety shows is the talk/miscellaneous variety show. In this category, the program's theme must be incor- porated into a typical talk show format. The host/hostesses Of the talk/miscellaneous variety show must not only intro- duce the guests, but also participate in discussions. "The Dick Cavett Show" and "It Was A Very GOOd Year" are examples Of this type Of program. Any variety program that does not fit into comedy or musical variety is also placed in the talk variety classification. A pertinent example is "The Ed Sullivan Show." Although the program is Obviously a variety show, it is impossible to determine if it is more appropriately musical or comedy variety. Therefore, it will be considered as a combination and be placed in the miscellaneous variety type. 86 B. Films As far as can be determined, there are only two types of films included in this category--made-for- television movies and theatrical films released to tele- vision. In the late 19505 and early 19605, the theatrical film was the sole type Of film shown on network prime time television. In the early 19605 the networks began to experiment with made-for-television movies. This type Of film is now considered one of the cornerstones Of program- ming any film time slot. For purposes of analysis, no dis- tinction will be made between theatrical and made-for— television films. C. Play-By-Play Sports All regularly scheduled sporting events, whether live or taped, shown in prime time are included in this category. With the exception of sporting events in the early days Of television ("ABC's Friday Night Fights"), there have been few regularly scheduled play-by-play sport- ing events in prime time. Recent examples are "ABC Monday Night Football," "ABC Monday Night Baseball" and "NBC Monday Night Baseball." Although there have been an increasing number Of special sports programs in prime time, such as "The World Series" and NFL football games, etc., they do not classify as regularly scheduled play-by-play network series. 87 D. Animation/Cartoon Although not as prevalent in the past ten years, the animation/cartoon type was a major programming took in the 19605. TO be classified as a cartoon or animation, a pro- gram must be a motion picture made by photographing a series Of drawings, each showing a stage of movement slightly changed from the one before, so that the figures in them seem to move when the drawings are projected in rapid succession. An animated cartoon is an animated series of drawings caricaturing or symbolizing, Often satirically, some event, situation, or person usually Of topical interest. There have been many examples of this type Of programming over the years, including "Alvin," "Bugs Bunny Hour," "The Flint- stones," "The Jetsons," and more recently, "Huddles." E. News/Documentary/ Information TO fit into this classification, a program's overall theme must be to provide its viewers with new information (whether it is a discussion Of events or straight news) about recent happenings, personalities, etc. This new information may take the form Of a regularly scheduled news show, a series Of documentaries exploring certain aspects Of different themes ("Sixty Minutes" or "Bell Tele- phone Hour") or a regularly scheduled forum or discussion show ("Good Company"). The forum program can be separated from the talk variety format by the background Of the host/ hostess. In the talk variety format, the stars usually 88 have a show business background while the stars Of the forum program usually have broadcast news experience. F. Game/Quiz/Audience Participation TO be typed as a game or quiz program, a show must have as the basic premise a group Of contestants competing by either answering questions or taking part in some con- test Of skill in return for monetary or merchandise awards. The show may take the form Of one or more contestants com- peting against or with a group (sometimes celebrities); one or more contestants competing amongst themselves in a particular knowledge or skill area; contestants competing against a time limitation or other mechanical apparatus; or any number Of a dozen other game show formats. The basic premise is that there is some form of competition for some form Of remuneration, either in cash or merchandise. Examples Of this type of show are: (1) "The Newlywed Game," (2) "Let's Make A Deal," (3) "I've Got A Secret," (4) What's My Line," (5) "Dreamhouse," (6) "Password," and (7) "The Dating Game." G. Situation Comedies The second largest category is situation comedies. Typically, situation comedies are thirty minutes in length with a more or less humorous treatment Of characters and situations, usually with a happy or nontragic ending. For purposes Of overall analysis, situation comedies will not 89 be subdivided. However, tO enable understanding Of this particular program type, situation comedies have been broken down into three subdivisions--serious, burlesque and fantasy thematic comedies. 1. Serious Situation Comedies.--These situation comedies must have as a premise pragmatic "real life" circumstances possible in daily life. This applies despite the type Of humor employed; subtle, slapstick, etc. Examples Of serious situation comedies are "Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Julia," "Welcome Back Kotter," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and "All In The Family." Regardless of the characters Of the show, the situation has to be a real life one . 2. Burlesque Situation COmedies.—-Burlesque com- edies are a takeoff, parody or satire Of some situation. While there are few burlesque comedies, examples are "Hogan's Heroes" (spoofing the war) and "Get Smart" (satirizing the government spy business). 3. Fantasy Thematic Situation Comedies.--These situation comedies reflect situations that are not possible in real life. Examples are "Girl With Something Extra" (a girl with ESP powers), "Mr. Terrific" (supernatural powers), "I Dream Of Jeannie" (about a genie) and "Bewitched" (about a witch). 90 H. Drama The final major classification is the television drama. TO classify as a drama program, a television show must tell a story, usually Of human conflict, by means Of dialogue and action, to be performed by actors/actresses. Because this is the largest single category Of programs in prime time, it is necessary tO provide a further breakdown Of drama types. It has been concluded that there are twelve minor divisions of the drama: (1) western, (2) medical, (3) crime, (4) science fiction, (5) legal, (6) family, (7) supernatural, (8) anthology, (9) action/adventure, (10) war, (11) serial, and (12) burlesque. Each subcategory Of the drama will be discussed. 1. Western Drama.-—TO classify as a western, a prime time series must have as its central characters western, U.S. frontier figures or a western setting (one related to the American West), especially during the latter half of the nineteenth century. In this category, the central characters may be cops (marshall, texas ranger, etc.) but would not be identified in that particular program classification. (See crime category, below.) This leaves all programs with western settings in this class regardless if the program is action/adventure ("Wagon Train"), crime oriented ("Wyatt Earp" or "Heck Ramsey") or family oriented ("The Monroes"). 91 In addition, this category also includes other types Of shows principally detailing different periods Of American history, such as early American history ("Daniel Boone"), the Civil War ("Young Rebels"), the 19205 ("The Bearcats"), as well as other period settings ("Anna and the King"). Finally, this category includes all programs having a rural American theme whether past or present ("Nakia" and "Cade's Country"). 2. Medical Drama.--These are prime time series where central characters are principally members of the medical (or related) professions. Examples Of medical dramas include doctor programs in hospitals or in rural areas ("Ben Casey," "Marcus Welby, M.D.," "Doc Elliott" and "Medical Center"), those preparing for the medical profession ("The Interns") and related medical professions ("The Psychiatrist"). Although ambulance/rescue type shows are closely related to medical dramas, they have been included in action/adventure dramas. 3. Crime Drama.--Perhaps the largest single cate- gory in recent years is the crime/police/detective drama. To be classified as a crime drama, the central characters must be employed as policemen ("Adam 12," "The Blue Knight," and "Joe Forrester"), detectives ("Ironside," "Starsky and Hutch," and "Columbo"), private detectives ("Cannon," "Mannix" and "Matt Helm"), undercover cops or informants ("Serpico" and "Toma"), special investigators for city, 92 state or federal governments ("O'Hara, U.S. Theasury," "The F.B.I.," "Hawaii-Five-O," and "Dan August") even if that agency is fictitious. Although the various crime categories appear to be different, the essential elements Of the crime show are relatively stable. Therefore, these categories were not separated for analysis, but considered as one category. The labels "policemen," "detective" etc. are merely illustrative and do not portend to be a complete list Of crime show classifications. 4. Science Fiction Drama.--A program shown in prime time that classifies as a science fiction show must incorporate fiction Of a highly imaginative or fantastic kind, typically involving some actual or projected scien- tific phenomenon, or highly advanced technology or scien- tific phenomenon. Science fiction on television usually deals with space, travels in space, settings in the future or visits to the past. Examples Of various science fiction shows are: "Star Trek," "Journey to the Unknown," "Time Tunnel," "Planet Of the Apes," "Voyage tO the Bottom Of the Sea," "The Six Million Dollar Man," "Bionic Woman," "Lost In Space," and "The Invisible Man." 5. Legal Drama.--Legal dramas center on characters which are either members Of the legal profession (lawyers, judges, D.A.s, etc.) or members Of city, state or federal governments (mayors, government Officials, etc.). The typical prime time legal series concerns lawyers such as 93 "Perry Mason," "Owen Marshall, Counselor At Law," and the "Lawyers" segment Of "The Bold Ones." Although not a large category, the government Official subcategory Of legal dramas is represented by shows dealing with federal Officials ("The Senator" segment Of "The Bold Ones") and city governments ("The Man and the City"). 6. Family Drama.--A family drama is typically general in nature having no particular overriding theme except its ability to appeal to all segments of the family unit, especially children. However, family drama also includes action and adventure and Often has high elements of drama included in plot structures. This rapidly growing programming type involves many different types Of programs, including such diverse themes as "Walt Disney's Wonderful World Of Color," "The Waltons," "Off TO See The Wizard," "Swiss Family Robinson," "Lassie," "Apple's Way," "Sons and Daughters," "Beacon Hill," "Three for the Road," and the "Adventures of Huck Finn." 7. Supernatural Drama.--TO qualify as a super- natural drama, a program must have a plot which centers on a subject not explainable by the known forces or laws Of nature, or involving or attributed to ghosts, spirits or the occult. In addition, the plot could involve existence or occurrences outside the normal experience or knowledge Of man. Common themes in prime time programming include terror from everyday Objects ("Night Gallery"), ghosts 94 ("Ghost Story" and "Circle Of Fear"), werewolfs and frankenstein—type monsters ("Kolchak, the Night Stalker"), and the occult ("Sixth Sense," "Strange Report," and "Escape"). 8. Anthology Drama.--An anthology is a series Of dramas (or comedies) that has no common theme or central characters other than a master of ceremonies or host/ hostesses. The program must have a central executive pro- ducer or producer. Examples Of television anthologies are "GE Theatre," "Bob Hope Presents," "The Chrysler Theatre," and "ABC Stage 67." A distinction must be made between an anthology with no central theme and one having a definite recurring theme. An example is NBC's production Of "Police Story." While this programming unit is definitely an anthology, it does not fit the definition set forth. The problem occurs with the recurring theme Of police activities. Although very few characters reappear in subsequent episodes, many minor characters are utilized more than once. Although "Police Story" is an anthology, it is concluded that it rightly belongs in the crime drama category. Other examples Of anthologies with recurring themes are "Doctor's Hospital" and "Medical Story." The dominant factor in placing an anthology is the overall theme (or lack Of theme) in the program. 95 9. Action/Adventure Drama.--While most prime time programs have elements of action and adventure within them, this category is reserved for those programs whose main theme is action oriented--the encountering Of danger or an exciting or unusual experience involving dangerous elements. Traditionally, the major element Of action/adventure shows is the rescue type programs ("Emergency," "Firehouse," "Sierra"), those dealing with exciting places such as "San Francisco International Airport," "Born Free," and "Bracken's World," and jungle shows ("Daktari" and "Tarzan"). Adventure shows deal with the main character's pur- suit Of adventure, whether it is Of his own choosing or not. Examples are the "Immortal" (running from a man who wishes tO imprison him), "Run For Your Life" (a man trying to squeeze years Of living into one), "The Fugitive" (his pur- suit Of his wife's killer) and "Then Came Bronson" (the search for new meaning in a man's life). 10. War Drama.--This rather limited category is simply programs that deal with war, whether in the past, present or future, regardless Of geographic location. The program content can deal with armed forces units ("Combat"), specialized units ("Rat Patrol"), air-oriented units ("Twelve O'Clock High"), or intelligence or underground activity ("Garrison's Gorillas" and "The ZOO Gang"). 11. Serial Drama.--Serial drama must have a con- tinuing plot from episode to episode. Not only must the 96 characters continue from episode to episode, but the story line developed in any particular episode must provide a lead to the following one. The serial can be presented in chapter form ("The Survivors" and "Rich Man, Poor Man") or in continuing form, such as "Peyton Place." 12. Burlesque Drama.--The final category Of tele- vision drama is the burlesque drama. TO be classified as a burlesque, the drama program must be a takeoff, parody or satire with an overall dramatic rather than comic theme. While there are few programs that classify as burlesque, examples are "Man From U.N.C.L.E.," "Batman," and "Girl From U.N.C.L.E." CHAPTER V TRENDS IN PRIME TIME PROGRAMMING, 1966-76 There have been approximately 1,750 prime time series presented on the three commercial broadcast tele- 7.51 The two major methods Of vision networks since 194 discussing prime time programming are by individual program and program type. Throughout the last thirty years of prime time television, most critics and researchers have chosen to utilize the individual prime time program (or episode Of a program) as the basic research unit. Almost everything in print about television has a single program (or episode) as the focal point. Conversely, little discussion takes place concern- ing program types. Any discourse on prime time program types is, in reality, a discussion Of programming trends. In general, a trend is the general tendency Of something tO prevail or a vogue or current style. In television, a trend is described as a tendency Of a particular program type to prevail. In order to develop a trend in prime time programming, it is necessary to have a "trend setter," a program considered the first of its kind, something new and different, a short commodity in prime time television. 97 98 Generally, most Observers Of television programming agree that there is really "nothing new on television any more."52 In reality, network programming changes little from season to season, a fact that leads most critics, and even many industry veterans, tO assert that "it is the same Old stuff."53 But viewed in terms Of decades, there has been considerable change in programming trends. Perhaps television has been rightly accused of not being original. In analyzing the early years Of television programming on the networks in prime time, it is apparent that many Of the programs had origins in other media (radio, books, theater and films). Many successful radio shows ("Green Hornet," "Gunsmoke," "Lux Radio Theatre," "Jack Benny," "Perry Mason," etc.) were adapted for use in epi- sodic television. Likewise, books, plays and films were also converted for use on television. Because Of this, television has always been accused Of copying. Although many shows were adaptations from other media, many were successful. They began tO be imitated, if not in content, in form. In a television trend, there is the original; if the public loves it (or at least watches it), the imitations begin. TO other American businesses it would be called a fad, in television it is called a trend. Generating a television trend is difficult. Sus- taining a trend is even harder. Forecasting it is close to impossible. Forecasting a trend is the most complicated, 99 the most difficult assignment any program executive can have. The challenge Of predicting what television programs become popular for 30, 40 or 50 million people is virtu- 54 If it were possible, the networks would ally impossible. probably split the audience equally and have approximately the same program mix. Since this has not occurred, it can be assumed that prediction Of popularity Of programs and program types has not been completely successful. In the thirty year history of prime time television, it has been estimated that prime time television has gone through ten or twelve major program cycles Of one kind or another and that none Of them have been predictable.55 These cycles are difficult to isolate without a complete examination of all prime time program data. However, it can be assumed that the eight major program types (as well as the subgroups) have their roots in the late 19405 and early 19505. Although many program ideas originated in other media, this research considers any program on tele- vision as new. Therefore, every television program type has an initial program as an origin. Assigning any one program as the progenitor Of each type is a hazardous job--but Table 5.1 attempts it. These are the originals for television, the trend setters. These programs are considered "the first Of their type" on television and from these thirty-nine programs, the trend in each program category was established. One aspect is clear in analyzing television programming trends: 100 Table 5.1 Trend Setters for Each Program Type in Prime Time NEWS/DOCUMENTARY PANEL/QUIZ VARIETY FILMS SITUATION COMEDIES SERIOUS FANTASY BURLESQUE SPORTS ANIMATION DRAMA WESTERN MEDICAL SCIENCE FICTION SUPERNATURAL CRIME FAMILY LEGAL ADVENTURE ANTHOLOGY 30—minute 60-minute 90-minute WAR SERIAL BURLESQUE Meet the Press See It Now What's My Line Pantomine Quiz Twenty Questions Beat the Clock Ed Sullivan Arthur Godfrey Texaco Star Theatre Admiral Radio Review Famous Film Festival The Goldbergs Life of Riley Morey Amsterdam Show Topper Phil Silvers Show Cavalcade of Sports The Flintstones Gunsmoke Cheyenne Wyatt Earp Medic Voyage to the Bottom Of the Sea Lights Out Suspense Men Against Crime Disneyland Lassie Rin Tin Tin Perry Mason 77-Sunset Strip Ford Theatre Kraft TV Theatre Philco Playhouse Playhouse 90 0.8.8. One Man's Family Man From U.N.C.L.E. 1949 1951 1950 1950 1950 1950 1948 1948 1948 1948 1956 1949 1949 1948 1953 1955 1947 1960 1955 1955 1955 1954 1964 1949 1949 1949 1954 1954 1954 1957 1958 1948 1948 1948 1956 1957 1949 1964 NBC CBS CBS CBS ABC CBS CBS CBS NBC NBC CBS ABC CBS CBS CBS ABC CBS ABC ABC CBS CBS CBS CBS NBC NBC NBC CBS NBC NBC 101 no type is permanently dead. Any program type can be repeated, but it depends on such variables as time (19405, 19505, etc.), audience desires, talent available, etc. In addition, the essential elements Of a particular program type might continue in a different form. For example, a "good guy-bad guy" relationship can be established in many program types, depending on what is pOpular at the time. Therefore, a western may have a chance today but a few years ago it would not because there were tOO many Of them. There are only a few basic types Of television pro- grams. As one type increases, is successful, and fades, others replace it and continue through a series of cycles. A pertinent example is crime shows. In the 19505 the three television networks programmed many crime shows, including "Naked City," "Brenner," "87th Precinct," etc. In the early 19605 the program type almost disappeared. However, begin- ning in 1963, crime shows once again began to dominate the networks' schedules culminating in 1973-74 with an all-time high Of twenty-eight crime shows. Currently, crime shows are decreasing. The networks' published schedules for the 1977-78 season list only eleven crime shows--three on ABC, five on CBS and three on NBC. The death Of a trend appears to be a combination of audience rejection, weak material and economics. Perhaps the major reason for a decrease in popularity is the failure to sustain good writing and story ideas. The good television writers' services are in demand almost constantly. The 102 shows are all written at the same time Of year, all stop at the same time. The specialists in a certain program type are far rarer than the people who need them. When talent is not available, the result is poorer programs. Given saturation and less-than interesting imitations, the trend wanes. Perhaps the biggest reason for increases and decreases in any program type is imitation.56 Everyone is guilty Of imitation on television. The program production companies "imitate a successful program type because they want to make a quick sale. The networks and the adver- tisers encourage the imitations because they are afraid to take a chance on something that has not been done before."57 The real success in development of a trend is if the program is first--the first serial, the first fantasy, etc. Something new and different encourages the audience to watch. Television thrives on the support of the audience. Program producers strive to find pilots that are different and therefore, appeal to the audience. Even as programmers try to find something fresh and different, imitations are Often successful in prime time. "Bonanza" did not come along until many years and many westerns had broken the television trail behind "Gunsmoke." Still, it was successful. "Ben Casey" and "Dr. Kildare" came on television long after "Medic" first tried it in 1954, and with better ratings. Programs Often survive a 103 trend. The latest in programming is often a revival or duplication Of earlier successes. Prime Time Television Program Types and Trends From September 1966 tO September 1976, 522 different programs have appeared in prime time on the three commercial television broadcast networks-—l94 on ABC, 165 on CBS and 163 on NBC. Appendices A, B and C list all 522 programs by network and include the following information: (1) pro- gram type, (2) date production began, (3) date production ended, (4) number Of original and repeat episodes, (5) number Of years on the network, and (6) production configuration. This information provides the basic data for the following analyses. Analysis Of the programming data is broken down into the following sections. First, the programs are classified into various program types for each year by the method outlined in Chapter IV. This provides the overall infor- mation necessary to discuss program trends in prime time from 1966-76. Second, the total number Of repeat and original episodes were tabulated, indicating how networks have used various programs and program types in program decision making. Before any discussion of network program decision making, it is necessary to examine the overall distribution of program types for the last ten years. 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ABC, on the other hand, has renewed the most second season programs (48.8 percent) but is last in first season and barely second in summer shows. Finally, NBC has appeared to have the least problem in summer by renewing 30 percent of its shows. However, the first season is 10 percent lower than CBS, while the second season renewals are 17.5 percent behind NBC, which trails ABC by 5.3 per- cent. CBS and NBC are almost equal (NBC ABC has programmed the most new programs (175) while 143 and CBS = 141). CBS has renewed the most returning programs (pro- grams that were on the networks' returning 163 of 216 programs (75.5 percent). schedules the season before), NBC, while 171 having a smaller number of returning programs, has renewed 72.3 percent of them. ABC has been the least successful in renewing returning programs (64.9 percent). Table 6.2 shows that, overall, CBS renews the most programs (59.4 percent), followed by NBC with 53.8 percent and ABC with 48.6 percent. For the three networks com- bined for all programs, the renewals average 54 percent. These figures provide some idea of what programs have been successful in being renewed. However, they do not indicate why the programs were renewed or why they were not cancelled. But plainly they are basic to a study of the reasons for renewal, and are presented here as an indi- cation of the kind of information scholars must accumulate if further study is to be accomplished. There has been no research in the area of program success in prime time television (outside of in-house net- work studies which are not available). The only data in the area are concerned with ratings and demographics. One major theory is that networks judge programs solely on ratings data. While there is no quantitative research dealing with this hypothesis, it is supported by the actions of the networks during the last ten years. The season-end overall ratings by the A. C. Nielsen Company indicate that generally most programs failing to obtain a thirty share have been cancelled. There are exceptions to this rule, which indicate that the networks are using more than ratings to determine the renewability of programs. 172 Empirical studies must be undertaken to isolate the variables concerned with program success in terms of renew- ability. When that is accomplished, the next logical step would be to predict success of prime time programs based on those variables. It is, however, extremely difficult to isolate all the programming variables necessary to make such predictions. One major obstacle is the dynamic television programming process that is constantly changing and adapting to new programming pressures. Another is the networks' pro- tection of their program selection process and renewal selection methods. It is hoped that the present study has laid the groundwork for exploration of the prime time programming process. This study was conducted as a beginning contri- bution toward resolving the aforementioned research problems. FOOTNOTES 1Except as noted, the material for this chapter was obtained from the following sources: Erik Barnouw, The Image Empire: A History of Broadcasting in the-United States (New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), vol. 3; Erik Barnouw, Tube of Plenty: The Evolution of American Television (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975); Sydney W. Head, Broadcasting in America, 3d ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976); Warde B. Ogden, The Television Business: Accounting Problems of a Growth Industry (New York: Ronald Press Company, 1961); and William L. O'Neill, Coming Apart: An Information History of America in the 19603 (New York: Quadrangle/New York Times Book Co., 1971). 2Bill Greeley, "Big Ad Buck: Right On (TV) Schedule," Variety, May 11, 1977, p. 463. 3Larry Michie, "TV Web Ad Coin Hits Record $3- Bil," Variety, January 19, 1976, p. 1. 4"Summary of Broadcasting," Broadcasting, June 6, 1977, p. 63. 5Lawrence D. Longley, "The FCC and the All Channel Receiver Bill," Journal of Broadcasting XIII (Summer 1969): 293-294. 6Federal Communications Commission Annual Reports, 40th Annual Report, Fiscal Year 1974 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975), pp. 119-125. 71bid. 8Report and Order. Prime Time Access Rule, p. 1945. 9"Prime Time Production Costs," Broadcasting, Annual Report--April or May of Each Year. 173 174 10Armon Glenn, "Kojak Hits Pay Dirt," Barron's, October 11, 1976, p. 5. 11Dennis B. McAlpine, The Television Programming Industr (New York: Tucker Anthony and R. L. Day Company, 1975), p. 3. lzIbid. l3Roger Cels, "TV Producers Term 10% License Hike Too Small," Hollywood Reporter, February 13, 1976, p. 24. 14Ibid. lsIbid. 16Glenn, "Kojak Hits Pay Dirt," p. 18. l7McAlpine, The Television Programming Industry, p. 7. l 8 u ' ' ' u Glenn, Kojak Hits Pay Dirt, p. 5. 19McAlpine, The Television Programming Industpy, p. 3. 20Ibid. 21 "Increased Program Costs," Hollywood Reporter, December 3, 1976, p. 1. 22These articles include: Ashbrook Bryant, "His- torical and Social Aspects of Concentration of Program Control in Television," Law and Contemporary Problems (1970), pp. 610-635; Robert Crandall, "The Economics of Television-Network Program Ownership," Journal of Law and Economics (1971), pp. 385-412; Albert H. Kramer, “An Argument for Maintaining the Current FCC Controls," George Washington Law Review 42 (October 1973), pp. 93-114; and Walter H. Sweeney, "Regulation of Television Program Con- tent by the Federal Communications Commission," Universipy of Richmond Law Review 8 (1974), pp. 233-245. 175 23Gaye Tuchman, The TV Establishment: Programming for Power and Profit, ed. Edwin M. Schur (New Jersey: PrentiEé-Hall Inc., 1974). 24Roger G. Noll, Merton J. Peck and John J. McGowan, Economic Aspects of Television Regulation (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institute, 1973). 251bid., pp. 97-128. 26Bruce M. Owen, Jack H. Beebe and Willard G. Manning Jr., Television Economics (Lexington, Mass.: D. C. Heath and Company, 1974). 27Ibid., pp. 31-37. 28Ibid., p. 55. 29 Tuchman, The TV Establishment, p. 55. 30Ibid., pp. 35-39. 31Ibid., p. 103. 321bid., p. 44. 33McAlpine, The Television Programming Industry. 34Donald R. Lehmann, "Television Show Preference, Application of a Choice Model," Journal of Marketing Research 8 (February l97l):47-55. 35William D. Wells, "The Rise and Fall of Tele- vision Program Types," Journal of Advertising Research 9 (1969):21-27. 36Ibid., p. 21. 37Willard G. Manning Jr., "The Supply of Prime Time Entertainment Television Programs," a report prepared under NSF Grant GS-33832, September 1973. 38Ibid., p. 1. 176 39Analysis of the Causes and Effects of Increases in Same-Year Rerun Programming and Related Issuesin_Prime- Time TeleviSiOn’TSubmitted with cover letter to the Federal Communications Commission by Clay T. Whitehead, Director of OTP), March 21, 1973. oHerman W. Land Associates, Inc., Television and the Wired City (Washington, D.C.: National Association of Broadcasters, 1968. 41Arthur D. Little, Inc., Television Program Pro- duction, Procurement and Syndication data relating to Proposals for Rule Making in Fedéral Communications Com- mission Docket No. 12782, March 22, 1965. 42Arthur D. Little, Inc., Television Program Pro- duction, Procurement, Distribution and Scheduling, data relating to Proposals for Rule Making in Federal Communi- cations Commission Docket No. 12782, including Data Supple- mental to the 1966 Arthur D. Little, Inc. Study, Television Prpgram Production, Procurement and Syndication. 43Notice of Proposed Rule Making. Rules and Regulations with Re3pect to Competition and Responsibility in NetworkiTélevision BroadCasting, Federal Communications Commission Docket No. 12782, March 22, 1965 (see also 30 F. R. 4065). 4415 U.S.C. Sec. 4, c. 647, 26 Stat. 209, July 2, 1890, as amended. 45United States v. National Broadcasting Co., Inc.,6 Written Comments on Proposed Consent Judgment and Responses, Federal Register 42 (May 16, 1977, pp. 24711-24994, 24995-9 25312. 46Report and Order. Prime Time Access Rule in Docket No. 23782, 18 RR 2d 1825, 1970, pp. 1945-6. 47Robert F. Summers and Harrison B. Summers, Broadcasting and the Public (Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1966), p. 83. 48Harvey J. Levin, "Program Duplication, Diversity, and Effective Viewer Choices: Some Empirical Findings," American Economic Review 61 (May l97l):83. 177 49Gary A. Steiner, The People Look At Television: A Study of Audience Attitudes (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1963), PP. 115-161. 50Wells, "Rise and Fall of Television Program Types," pp. 22-24. 51Deborah Haber, "Viewer's Choice: Top 359 Programs From TV's 18 Seasons," Television Magazine, February 1965, pp. 12-14. (Also see Appendices A, B and C.) 52Alfred J. Jaffe, "Network TV: Confident of Growth, But New Profit Areas Are Scarce," Television/Radio Age, February 18, 1974, p. 102. 53Ibid. 54Deborah Haber, "The Ins and Outs of TV's Trends," Television Magazine, March 1965, p. 39. SSIbid. 56Ibid. 57Ibid. APPENDICES APPENDIX A PRIME TIME PROGRAMS ON ABC TELEVISION NETWORK TITLE OF PROGRMM TYPE BEGAN ENDED # OF # 0F # OF PROD ORIG RPTS YEARS CONF ABC Comedy Hour V:C 01/12/72 04/05/72 13 6 l T ABC Fri. Night Mbvie MC 09/12/75 34 22 1* F ABC Mbn. Night Baseball S 04/12/76 15 0 1* L ABC Mbn. Night Football S 09/21/70 78 0 6* L ABC Mbn. Night Mbvie MI 01/19/70 87 95 7* F ABC Mbvie of the Weekend .M 09/18/71 08/12/72 24 23 1 F ABC Sat. Suspense Mbvie MI 09/29/73 ~05/29/76 33 51 3 F ABC Stage 67 D:A 09/14/66 05/10/67 26 4 1 F,T ABC Sun. Night Mbvie M 09/14/62 256 213 14* F ABC Tues. Mbvie of the Week 1M 09/23/69 05/13/74 153 134 6 F ABC Wed. MOvie M 01/11/67 01/14/70 69 73 4 F ABC wed. Mbvie of the Week IM 09/13/72 05/14/74 80 66 3 F Almost Anything Goes V:C 07/31/75 05/09/76 19 0 2 T Adams Rib S:S 09/14/73 12/28/73 13 1 1 F Alias Smith and Jones D:W 01/21/71 01/13/73 48 4O 3 F Animal World D:V 04/30/70 09/17/70 20 1 1 F Assignment Vienna (Men) D:C 09/28/72 02/17/73 8 8 1 F A Touch of Grace S:S 01/20/73 04/21/73 13 7 1 T Avengers, The D:C 03/28/66 04/21/69 57 49 4 F Barbary Coast D:W 09/08/75 01/09/76 13 0 1 F Barefoot In The Park S:S 09/24/70 01/14/71 12 3 1 F Baretta D:C 01/17/75 35 32 2* F Barney Mfiller S:S 01/23/75 35 33 2* T Batman S:B 01/13/66 03/30/67 86 44 3 F Bert De'Angelo D:C 02/21/76 07/10/76 13 0 1 F Bewitched S:F 09/10/64 03/25/72 179 114 8 F Big Valley D:W 09/16/65 05/19/69 82 40 4 F Bionic WOman D:X 01/14/76 14 13 1* F Bob,Carol,Ted and Alice S:S 09/26/73 11/07/73 7 0 1 F Brady Bunch, The S:S 09/26/69 03/08/74 116 111 5 F Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour V:C 06/30/73 09/01/73 10 0 1 T Caribe D:C 02/17/74 05/12/74 13 13 1 F Chopper One D:C 01/17/74 04/18/74 13 11 1 T Combat D:W 10/02/67 03/14/67 25 22 5 F Corner Bar S:S 06/21/72 09/07/73 13 0 2 T Courtship of Eddie's Father S:S 09/17/72 03/01/72 73 66 3 F Cowboy In Africa D:W 09/11/67 04/01/68 26 22 1 F TYPE CODE: NzD-News/Documentary, PzQ-Panel/Quiz, V:C-Comedy Variety, VEMLMnsic Variety, VzT-Talk Variety, F-Film, S:S-Sitcom Serious, S:F- Sitcom Fantasy, SzB-Sitcom Burlesque, S—Sports, A—Animation, D:W-Drama Western, DiM-Drama Medical, D:X—Drama Science Fiction, D:S-Drama Super- natural, D:C-Drama Crime, D:F-Drama Family, DzL-Drama Legal, D:V-Drama Adventure, D:A-Drama Anthology, D:W-Drama War, DzE-Drama Serial, DzB- Drama Burlesque 178 Cowboys, The Custer Dan August Dating Game Delphi Bureau (Men) Dick Cavett Show Dick Clark Presents the Rock and Roll Years Doc Elliott Donny and Marie Don Rickles Show Dreamhouse Engelbert Humperdinck Family F.B.I., The Felony Squad Firehouse Flying Nun F-Troop Garrison's Gorillas Fugitive, The Generation Gap Get Christie Love Getting Together Ghost and.Mbs. Muir Good Company Good Heavens Green Hornet Griff Guns of Will Sonnett Happy Days Harry 0 Hawk Here Comes The Brides Here We Go Again Hondo Hot 1 Baltimore Hollywood Palace Immortal, The Invaders, The Iron Horse It Takes A Thief It Was A Very Good Year Jigsaw (The Men) Jimmy Durante Presents the Lennon Sisters Jim Stafford Show Johnny Cash Show Johnny Cash Presents the Everly Brothers John Davidson Show Journey to the Unknown Judd For The Defense Eniah>§5>:<:§:01:5Unsscacnonést463hdE5cncncag3‘<=s'n*a:=s=s UU<3<€ <1<3<1 U<1UUUU.<:.U.JUmpgtyCegPPEDZSDEDPWUPCpC/JUUUFJ<:'EJ<.:<3.U.< fivrgUUU Bméz :%s 179 02/06/74 09/06/67 09/23/70 10/06/66 10/05/72 05/26/69 11/28/73 10/10/73 01/16/76 09/27/68 03/27/68 01/21/70 03/09/76 09/19/65 09/12/66 01/17/74 09/07/67 09/14/65 09/05/67 09/17/63 02/07/69 09/11/74 09/18/71 09/21/68 09/09/67 02/29/76 09/09/66 09/29/73 09/08/67 01/15/74 09/12/74 09/08/66 09/25/68 01/20/73 09/08/67 01/24/74 09/10/64 09/24/70 01/10/67 09/12/66 01/09/68 05/10/71 09/21/72 09/26/69 07/30/74 06/07/69 07/08/70 05/30/69 09/26/68 09/08/67 05/08/74 12/27/67 04/07/71 01/17/70 04/17/73 09/19/69 01/09/74 05/01/74 01/31/69 09/19/68 05/27/70 04/28/74 01/31/69 04/18/74 04/03/70 04/06/67 03/12/68 04/11/67 05/23/69 04/04/75 01/08/72 03/13/70 12/21/67 06/26/76 03/31/67 01/05/74 03/27/69 03/18/76 12/29/66 04/03/70 04/21/73 12/29/67 05/02/74 02/07/70 01/14/71 03/26/68 01/06/68 03/23/70 08/23/71 03/03/73 04/04/70 09/03/74 04/07/71 09/16/70 09/05/69 01/30/69 03/21/69 12 16 26 166 50 14 14 17 22 18 207 73 13 82 31 26 28 15 22 14 50 16 12 28 12 50 63 44 17 52 13 17 13 102 15 43 47 66 16 24 58 10 13 16 50 FJFJ$~FJFJFJ +a*n+a*n*n'n F‘FJODAJRJFJxlkJF‘F‘RDFJRJMJRJFJFJFJF4RJFJFJFJD~FJAJVJFJV)(>F‘FJFJFJFJFJF‘ vara'n'n*a'nvara*a*n*n*a~n*n'n'n*avnvn*n*n*n+a*nrnrnrqra*a*a*nrara.anatnva \g+4+4 eahara RJF’F’F’ *a'arara Julie Andrews Hour Just For Laughs Karen Keep On Truckin Ken Barry Show King Family Kodiak Kolchak, Night Stalker Kung Fu Land of the Giants Laverne and Shirley Lawrence Welk Let's Make A Deal Longstreet Love American Style Love On A Rooftop National Reruns Love Thy Neighbor Make Room For Grandaddy Malibu U Man and the City an In A Suitcase Man Who Never Was, The Marcus Welby, M.D. Marty Feldman's Comedy Machine tht Helm Matt Lincoln The Men Nfilton Berle Show Mobile One Mod Squad Monroes, The Most Deadly Game, The Nb. Deeds Goes To Town Nmsic Scene Nakia Nanny and the Professor New Land, The Newlywed Game New Temperatures Rising New People, The N.F.L. Action N.Y.P.D. Odd Couple, The Off To See The Wizard On The Rocks Operation Entertainment Outcasts, The Owen Marshall, Counselor At Law Paper Moon Paris 7000 180 ViM 09/13/72 03/31/73 24 4 1 V:C 08/08/74 08/29/74 4 o 1 5:5 01/30/74 05/08/74 13 5 1 st 07/12/74 08/02/74 4 o 1 veMi 07/15/72 08/12/72 5 o 1 VtM 01/23/65 06/11/69 13 13 3 D:C 09/13/74 10/11/74 5 o 1 D:S 09/13/74 03/28/75 20 2o 1 D:W 10/14/72 04/26/74 62 46 3 D:X 09/22/68 03/22/70 51 43 2 8:8 01/20/76 15 13 1 V:MI 07/02/55 09/04/71 215 38 6 PzQ 05/21/67 08/30/71 143 o 4 D:C 09/16/71 03/02/72 23 23 1 s:s 09/29/69 01/11/74 111 89 5 8:8 09/06/66 04/06/67 30 18 1 05/12/71 09/08/71 0 16 3:3 06/15/73 09/05/73 12 o 1 8:3 09/23/70 03/25/71 24 23 1 ViM 07/21/67 09/01/67 7 o 1 D:L 09/15/71 01/05/72 15 1 1 D:C 05/03/68 08/30/68 17 4 1 D:X 09/07/66 01/04/67 18 o 1 DiM 09/23/69 03/09/76 169 145 7 D:C 06/07/72 08/21/72 18 o 1 D:C 09/20/75 01/03/76 13 o 1 D:L 09/24/70 01/14/71 16 o 1 (See Delphi Bureau, Assignment Vienna and J1 V:C 09/09/66 01/06/67 17 o 1 Drv 09/12/75 12/29/75 13 o 1 D:C 09/24/68 02/29/73 124 117 5 D:W 09/07/66 03/15/67 26 2o 1 D:C 10/10/70 01/16/71 12 1 1 3:3 09/26/69 01/16/70 16 o 1 ViM 09/22/69 o1/12/7o 17 o 1 D:C 09/21/74 12/28/74 13 o 1 3:3 01/21/70 12/27/71 54 38 3 D:W 09/14/74 10/10/74 6 o 1 PzQ 01/07/67 08/23/71 231 0 5 8:3 09/25/73 08/29/74 12 2 1 D:V 09/22/69 01/12/70 17 o 1 3 05/12/71 09/08/71 18 o 1 D:C 09/05/67 04/01/69 49 47 2 3:5 09/24/70 03/07/75 111 100 5 D:F 09/08/67 o2/23/68 25 24 1 s:s 09/11/75 03/29/76 24 1o 1 ViM 01/05/68 01/31/69 31 o 2 D:W' 09/23/68 05/05/69 26 2o 1 D:L 09/16/71 04/06/74 67 66 3 3:8 09/12/74 12/19/74 13 2 1 D:C 01/22/70 03/26/70 10 10 1 'n'n'n'nvava'n'n'a'a'nvava'n1a1a *nrars'a'n'n*a'n'nra'n'a'nvarn*n*n*n*nvnan*nrnva 'n*n*n*a*n*nra *a*n*n 0-3 saw) *3 Partridge Family Pat Paulsen Show Paul Lynde Show Pearl Bailey Show Peyton Place Picadilly Palace Pruitts of S. Hampton Persuaders, The Rango Rat Patrol Reel Game, The Rich Man, Poor Man Rookies, The Room 222 Rounders, The Sat. Night Live with Howard Cosell Second Hundred Years Shane Shirley's World Silent Force Six Million Dollar Man Sixth Sense Smith Family Smothers Brothers Summer Show Sonny Comedy Revue Starsky and Hutch Strauss Family, The Streets of San Francisco Summer Focus Super , The Survivors, The S.W.A.T. Swiss Family Robinson Tammy Grimes Show Temperatures Rising Texas Wheelers That Girl That's Life That's My Mama Thicker Than Water This Is Tom Jones Time Tunnel TOMA Turn On Twelve O'Clock High Ugliest Girl In Town Viva Valdez Val Doonican Show Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea Welcome Back Kotter giq1C1C1W1C701C103<1C1<101<103 EEU)C)FJ€DEEOJC)O)§:F1§:UJC303 OJUUUSDUCD< CDCDNOCDS'TJV—J kaJe=FJOszhJ+J£~ * AJAJMJF‘FJF‘F‘F‘ * F‘F‘FJVJFJF4FJOJFJAJF’vIF‘F‘F‘F‘ADFJFJFJD~F‘FJF’F‘ FJ$~ *n*n'n'n1a'n'n*n*nra*n1a'n14's *fl'fl’fi'fi*fl*fl*flt4 HHfiWD—JWWHHHHWHWWW’HWHHWH’TJHPEI 0—3'11 What's Happening What's It All About World When Things Were Rotten Young Lawyers Young Rebels C7C101<1 =5r+o>E: 182 08/05/76 02/06/69 09/10/75 09/23/70 09/20/70 05/01/69 13/03/75 03/24/71 01/03/71 13 13 24 15 O OO\(\)O FJFJF'F‘ Pi "IZI’TJHH APPENDIX B PRIME TIME PROGRAMS ON CBS TELEVISION NETWORK TITLE OF PROGRAM TYPE BEGAN ENDED # OF # OF # OF PROD ORIG RPTS YEARS CONF All In The Family S:S 01/12/71 133 146 6* T Andy Griffith Show S:S 10/03/60 04/01/68 30 21 8 F Animal World D:V 05/08/69 08/29/71 25 5 2 F Anna and the King D:W 09/17/72 12/31/72 13 O 1 F Apple's Way D:F 02/10/74 01/12/75 28 16 2 F Arnie S:S 09/19/70 03/11/72 48 49 2 F Away We Go ViM 06/03/67 09/02/67 14 O l T Barnaby Jones D:C 01/28/73 85 74 4* F Beacon Hill D:F 08/25/75 11/04/75 12 O 1 T Bearcats, The D:W 09/16/71 12/30/71 13 0 1 F Beverly Hillbillies S:S 09/26/62 03/23/71 137 110 9 F Big Eddie S:S 08/23/75 11/07/75 12 O 1 T Blondie S:S 09/26/68 01/09/69 13 O 1 F Blue Knight, The D:C 12/17/76 13 13 2* F Bob Newhart Show S:S 09/16/72 96 111 4* F Bobby Gentry's Happiness Hour ViM 06/05/74 06/26/74 4 O 1 T Bridget Loves Bernie S:S 09/16/72 03/03/73 24 27 1 F Bronk D:C 09/21/75 03/28/76 25 12 1 F Cade's County D:W 09/19/71 04/09/72 24 19 1 F Calucci's Department S:S 09/14/73 11/30/73 13 2 l T Candid Camera P:Q 10/02/60 04/23/67 30 18 7 T Cannon D:C 09/14/71 03/03/76 121 121 5 F Carol Burnett Show V:C 09/11/67 250 85 10* T CBS Comedy Playhouse S:S 08/01/71 09/05/71 0 5 1 F CBS Fri. Night Mbvies ‘M 09/16/66 254 227 10* F CBS Newcomers S:S 07/12/71 09/06/71 8 O 1 F CBS News Hour N:D 09/10/60 09/07/71 172 7 11 T,F CBS Sun. Night Mbvies 3M 06/13/71 05/28/72 22 33 2 F CBS Thurs. Night Mbvies MI 09/09/65 11/20/76 228 212 11 F CBS Tues. Night Movies MI 06/30/70 03/26/74 33 28 3 F Cher VflM 02/16/75 01/11/76 29 6 2 T Chicago Teddy Bears S:S 09/17/71 12/17/71 13 O 1 F Cimmaron Strip D:W 09/07/67 03/07/68 23 26 1 F National Reruns 07/20/71 09/07/71 0 8 Coliseum V:M 01/26/67 04/27/67 13 5 l T Comedy Special V:C 03/14/75 05/23/75 9 O l T Comedy Tonight V:C 07/05/70 08/23/70 8 o 1 T Coronet Blue D:C 05/29/67 09/04/67 12 O 1 F Daktari D:V 01/11/66 Ol/15/69 69 45 4 F Danny Kaye Show D:C 09/10/63 04/12/67 30 8 4 T David Steinberg Show V:C 07/19/72 08/16/72 5 O 1 T TYPE CODE: N:D—News/Documentary, PzQ-Panel/Quiz, V:C-Comedy Variety, VdMéMnsic Variety, VzT-Talk Variety, F-Film, S:S—Sitcom Serious, S:F- Sitcom Fantasy, SzB—Sitcom Burlesque, S—Sports, A-Animation, D:W-Drama Western, DiMeDrama Medical, sz-Drama Science Fiction, D:S-Drama Super- natural, D:C-Drama Crime, D:F-Drama Family, DzL-Drama Legal, D:V-Drama Adventure, DzA-Drama Anthology, D:W-Drama War, DzE—Drama Serial, D:B- Drama Burlesque. 133 Diahann Carroll Show Dick Cavett Show Dinah and Her New Best Friends Dirty Sally Doc Dom DeLuise Show Don Rickles Show Dorris Day Show Dundee and Culhane Easy Does It Ed Sullivan Show Family Affair Friends and Lovers Funny Face Garry Moore Show Gentle Ben Get Smart Gilligan's Island Glenn Campbell Goodtime Gomer Pyle, U.SgM.C. Good Guys Good Morning World Good Times Governor and J.J. National Reruns Green Acres Gunsmoke Happy Days Hawaii FivesO Hawkins (Tues. Movie) Headmaster He and She National Reruns Hee Haw Here's Lucy Hogan's Heroes Hudson Brothers Show Ice Palace Interns, The It's About Time Ivan The Terrible I've Got A Secret Jackie Gleason Show Jackson Five Jean Arthur Show Jeffersons Jericho Jerry Reed Show Jim Nabor Show Jimmie Rogers Show Joe and Sons Laéé CDCDCDCDCD§:=so> on02020203s:co~qchc3cncntn;%E:=EanSESEbEBéé CDCDUUkJeJggeJFJoueJoxnaeae4k4e40\oxua HHHHWHWHHHHHWWWHWWH Joey and Dad John Byner Hour Johnny Cash Show Jonathan Winters Show Kate NbShane Kelly Montieth Khan Kojak Lancer National Reruns Lassie Late Summer, Early Fall Bert Convey Show Leslie Uggams Show Liberace Show, The Lost In Space Lucy Show, The Manhattan Transfer Manhunter, The Mannix Mary Tyler Mbore Show M.A.S.H. Maude Mayberry, RFD Me and the Chimp Medical Center Melba Moore/Clifton Davis Show Nfission Impossible Moses, the Lawgiver Nb. Terrific NW'Three Sons New Andy Griffith Show New Bill Cosby Show New CBS Tues. Night Movie U ~11 New Dick Van Dyke Show S: New Perry Mason Show O'Hara, U.S. Treasury One Day At A Time Our Place Password Phyllis Petticoat Junction Pistols and Petticoats Planet of the Apes Popi Premiere National Reruns Prisoner, The National Reruns Queen and I, The Red Skelton Show gUUc>c>r*c:§:C>E: . cachcnchQCchtg«scary-<‘§‘< a: g:0201030101C363E:Cn> 185 07/06/75 O8/11/72 08/29/76 12/27/68 09/10/75 06/16/76 02/07/75 lO/24/73 09/24/68 05/27/71 09/14/53 08/25/76 09/28/69 07/08/69 09/16/65 10/01/62 08/10/75 09/11/74 09/16/67 09/19/70 09/17/72 09/12/72 09/23/68 01/13/72 09/24/69 06/07/72 09/17/66 06/21/75 01/09/67 09/29/60 01/08/71 09/11/72 ith Hawkins 09/18/71 09/16/73 09/17/71 12/02/75 06/02/67 09/10/61 09/08/75 09/24/63 09/17/66 09/13/74 01/20/76 06/29/68 05/24/71 06/01/68 o5/29/69 01/23/69 09/22/53 07/27/75 08/29/72 09/19/76 05/07/69 11/12/75 07/07/76 02/28/75 05/19/70 09/09/71 04/13/69 09/15/76 12/14/69 09/16/69 03/06/68 03/11/68 08/31/75 03/05/75 04/13/75 O3/29/71 O4/27/72 03/15/76 07/05/72 03/30/73 08/02/75 05/08/67 04/13/72 03/12/71 03/05/72 and Shaft 03/11/74 01/27/74 03/10/72 09/03/67 05/22/67 04/04/70 03/11/67 12/20/74 08/24/76 09/09/68 07/05/71 09/21/68 09/11/69 05/01/69 04/07/70 4 O 4 O 4 0 43 2 9 O 4 O 4 0 7O 65 51 27 O 16 58 39 4 0 10 O 10 O 54 43 48 42 4 O 22 6 195 184 144 163 95 102 95 95 78 71 13 3 169 162 5 O 171 167 6 O l7 16 164 127 10 10 22 6 (See CBS Tues. 71 73 13 3 22 24 l5 15 10 O 6 O 24 22 114 81 26 23 13 2 10 O 7 O O 7 17 O O 16 13 O 112 38 16\£+414+416|4|4|4 1 \JeJuab~b~O\oakJFJO\CJFJFJFJ 01 x x * rerezorare-qre Movi * rererere-q+;<>reueretexn [—1 H \JFJ WWWH’UHHHH 1:; 'n'n'nra'n'n'ntara*n'ntarara .41a'n*n*n+araFaeauawaunm wiwvm'n'n*n+a tn ~arn Rhoda Roll Out Run, Buddy, Run Sandy Duncan Show Sara Shaft Showtime Six Wives of Henry VII Sixty MHnutes Smothers Brothers Comedy Hmm,flm Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Sons and Daughters Spotlight on the Stars Steve Allen Show Storefront Lawyers/Men At Law Switch Three For The Road Tim Conway Comedy Hour Tim Conway Show, The Tony Orlando and Dawn To Rome With Love To Tell The Truth Vacation Playhouse Waltons, The What's NU'Iine Where's Huddles Wild, Wild West National Reruns We'll Get By Your Hit Parade National Reruns - Bugs Bunny Show Dan August Dan August Honeymooners, The Lucy/Dezi Comedy Hour My World and Welcome To It Tarzan 186 S:S O9/O9/74 48 44 S:S 10/05/73 01/04/74 12 O S:S 09/12/66 Ol/O2/67 l6 0 S:S 09/17/72 12/31/72 13 O D:W O2/13/76 05/07/76 12 7 D:C 10/09/73 O2/19/74 7 8 VzMI O6/11/68 09/10/68 12 l D:E 08/01/71 O9/O5/71 6 O N:D 09/24/68 102 0 V:C 02/05/67 04/27/69 72 22 VzMI 08/01/71 79 61 D:F 09/11/74 11/06/74 9 O VzMI 07/04/67 O8/29/67 9 O V:T 06/14/67 O8/16/67 8 O D:L 09/16/70 O4/13/71 23 2O D:C O9/O9/75 23 19 D:F 09/14/75 11/30/75 12 O V:C 09/20/70 12/13/70 13 O S:S 01/30/70 06/12/70 13 O VtM 07/03/74 45 3O S:S 09/28/69 02/24/71 48 42 P:Q 09/10/56 05/22/67 20 O S:S 06/15/64 08/29/67 9 O D:F 09/14/72 96 104 PzQ 09/14/50 09/03/67 47 O A O7/Ol/7O 09/02/70 10 O D:W 09/17/65 04/04/69 80 69 07/06/70 09/07/70 0 10 S:S 03/14/75 05/30/75 13 O VzMI 08/02/74 08/30/74 5 0 Series Not Previously Show On CBS A 04/27/76 06/01/76 0 5 D:C 05/23/73 10/17/73 0 21 D:C 04/23/75 06/25/75 0 8 V:C 01/03/71 05/09/71 0 15 S:S 06/08/67 08/31/67 0 13 S:S 06/08/72 09/07/72 0 14 D:V 06/04/69 09/10/69 0 l5 * -£}4}4}4}4l414t4(v \A) FJFJFJOI * P’P‘F‘F‘F‘ * 1" INVOONN * * 17 rfira+a*n*nrn*n*n+a H *n*nra*n*nrarnva~nra*nra'n ra*nrara Hit-3 APPENDIX C PRIME TIME PROGRAMS ON NBC TELEVISION NETWORK TITLE OF PROGRAM TYPE BEGAN ENDED # OF # OF # OF PROD ' ORIG RPTS YEARS CONF Accidental Family S:S 05/15/67 Ol/O5/68 16 O 1 F Adam 12 D:C O9/2l/68 O4/Ol/75 171 150 7 F America N:D 01/04/73 O5/15/73 13 O 1 F Amy Prentiss (Sun Mys) D:C 12/01/74 02/02/75 3 3 1 F Andy Williams V:M 09/14/62 03/12/67 26 7 5 T Andy Williams ViM 09/20/69 04/17/71 50 25 2 T Archer D:C 01/30/75 03/13/75 6 O 1 F Banacek (Wed MWs Mbvie) D:C 09/13/72 03/12/74 16 15 2 F Banyon D:C 09/15/72 01/12/73 15 O 1 F Beautiful Phyllis Diller Show, The V:C 09/15/68 12/22/68 13 O l T Bill Cosby Show S:S 09/14/69 03/21/71 52 45 2 F Bobbie Daron Show V:M 07/27/72 O4/27/73 20 O 2 T Bob Hope Show D:A O9/14/63 05/17/67 25 10 4 T Bob Crane Show S:S 03/06/75 06/12/75 14 1 1 F Bold Ones (See Doctors, Lawyers, Protectors, Senators) Bonanza D:W 09/12/59 01/16/73 196 108 14 F National Reruns O5/O2/72 08/29/72 15 Born Free D:V 09/09/74 12/30/74 13 O 1 F Bracken's World D:V 09/19/69 12/25/70 41 2O 2 F Captain Nice S:F Ol/O9/67 05/01/67 l5 l3 1 F Champions, The D:C 06/10/68 09/08/68 10 O 1 F Chase D:C 09/11/73 04/10/74 22 19 1 F Chico and the Man S:S O9/13/74 45 38 2 T Chronology N:D O9/22/71 07/28/72 10 O 1 T City of Angels D:C O2/O3/76 O5/18/76 13 8 1 F Columbo (Wed/Sun Mys) D:C O9/15/7l 35 37 5 F Comin At Ya - Ben VareenV :Mi 08/07/75 08/28/75 4 O l T Cool Nhllion (Wed Mys) D. C 10/25/72 l2/20/72 4 4 1 F Cop and the Kid, The S:S l2/04/75 03/04/76 9 O 1 T D. A. The D:C 09/17/71 01/07/72 15 o 1 F Daniel Boone D:W 09/24/64 05/07/70 106 71 F Danny Thomas Hour D:A 09/11/67 03/11/68 22 10 1 F Dean Martin Show V:M 09/13/65 04/05/74 228 82 9 T Dean Martin's Comedy World V:C O6/O6/74 08/15/74 9 O 1 T,F Debbie Reynolds Show S:S 09/16/69 04/14/70 26 17 1 F Diana S:S 09/10/73 Ol/O7/74 15 O 1 F Doctors (Bold Ones) DiM 09/14/69 05/04/73 44 39 4 F Doctor's Hospital D:M 09/10/75 01/14/76 14 1 1 F Don Knotts Show V:C 09/15/70 04/13/71 24 11 l T Dragnet D:C 01/12/67 04/16/70 98 77 4 F Dumplings, The S:S 01/28/76 03/31/76 9 o 1 T TYPE CODE: N:D-News/Documentary, PzQ-Panel/Quiz, V:C-Comedy Variety, V:NFNMsic variety, V:T-Talk Variety, F-Film, S:S-Sitcom Serious, S:F- Sitcom Fantasy, SzB-Sitcom Burlesque, S-Sports, A-Animation, D:W-Drama Western, DiMEDrama Medical, D:X—Drama Science Fiction, D:S-Drama Super- natural, D:C—Drama Crime, D:F-Drama Family, D:L-Drama Legal, D:V-Drama Adventure, D:A-Drama Anthology, D:W-Drama War, D:E-Drama Serial, D:B- Drama Burlesque. 187 Ellery Queen Emergency Escape Family Holvak, The Faraday and Co. Mys Movie) Fay First Tuesday Flipper Flip Wilson Show Four In One From a Bird's Eye View Funny Side Get Smart Ghost and Mrs. Muir Ghost Story/Circle of Fear Girl From U.N.C.L.E. Girl With Something Extra Gladys Knight and Pips Golddiggers, The Good Life, The Grady Hec Ramsey (Wed and Sun Mys Movie) Helen Readdy Show Hero, The High Chaparell Hey Landlord Hollywood Squares Invisible Man, The I Dream of Jeannie Ironside I Spy Jerry Lewis Show Jigsaw John Jimmy Stewart Show Joe Forrester John Davidson Show Julia Kraft Musica Hall Lawyers (Bold Ones) Laredo Let's Make A Deal Little House On The Prairie Little People/Brian Keith Show Lotsa Luck Love Story Lucas Tanner (Wed. UUUU (See San Francisco International Airport, MbCloud, Night Gallery and the Psychiatrist) UU mm D n>23<3:s'n:é z:<:E>c><:oaoa>c><:§:t*<:ES