Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

•4 DECEMBER 12, 1960 tive" situations and therefore eligible to affiliate with CTN. One of them, Toronto's CFTO-TV, has already told BBG it is opposed to joining large private network (Vol. 16:49). Others are described as "reluctant." Caldwell told BBG that CTN could start operating next September, providing 10 hours of programming weekly over existing microwave facihties until Trans-Canada Telephone System installs new routes especially for the network. The 8 "competitive" cities which network is designed to serve are scattered coast to coast: Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Edmonton. CBC doesn't intend to get into competitive-programming dogfight with new network. Pres. Alphonse Ouimet said in Toronto. He vowed CBC won't follow U.S. pattern "wherein Western is matched by Western and stations battle over decimal points in audience ratings." New stations & CTN were warned, however, that they will find CBC-TV's "commercial activities conducted with vigor & competence." New-station grants & other actions by BBG are reported on p. 12. Networks More about NEW OPTION-TIME PATTERNS: Most of CBS-TV’s strongest audience attractions fit cozily inside the trimmed-back option-time pattern which goes into effect Jan. 1. As announced by the network Dec. 6 to its affiliates (see p. 2), the changes shape up as follows: Nighttime: For stations in the Eastern and Pacific time zones, Mon.-Fri. network option time will begin at 8:30 p.m. & end at 11. Stations in the Central Time zone will use 7:30-10 p.m.; Mountain Time will use 6:30-9 p.m. On weekends, Eastern outlets will have a Sat.-Sun. network option pattern that moves a half-hour earlier, 8-10:30 p.m., with corresponding half-hour moves for other zones. Is the schedule seriously affected? Not really. Currently, CBS slots CBS-TV News from 7:15 to 7 :30 p.m. in station time, receives good clearances. On other nights, some programs are threatened (theoretically) with local pre-emption for syndicated shows, features, etc. Among them: To Tell the Truth and Pete and Gladys, Mon. 7:308 p.m. and 8-8:30 p.m.; Father Knows Best (reruns), Tue. 8-8:30 p.m.; Aquanauts, Wed. 7:30-8:30 p.m.; The Ann Sothem Show and Angel, Thu. 7:30-8 p.m. and 8-8:30 p.m. (eff. Dec. 15, replacing The Witness which moves inside network option to a 9-10 p.m. berth) ; Rawhide, Fri. 7:308:30 p.m. Nearly all fall into 2 distinct categories: (1) Shows that are rating so well, the network isn’t worried about clearance, or (2) Shows that aren’t doing terribly well (like Aquanauts) and which the network has been thinking of junking at the end of the season anyway. On weekends, the Sat. -night Perry Mason (7:30-8:30 p.m.) is doubly protected by its strong ratings and the fact that its second half (8-8:30 p.m.) is within network option time. On Sun., the before-8 p.m. lineup includes a solid block of network shows that bridge the gap between 5 p.m., when network option ends, and 8 p.m., when it begins again. These include Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour, GE College Bowl, Face The Nation, 20th Century, Lassie and Dennis The Menace. The last-named 3, at any rate, have achieved ratings that will make stations think twice about dropping them; the earlier 3 have faithful (& vocal) audiences and considerable prestige. .Morning, afternoon: In the CBS morning lineup. Eastern & Mountain stations will have 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. as network-option time. For Central & Pacific stations, it’s 9 :30 a.m. to noon. Same times apply weekdays & weekends. There’s actually very little commercial network fare outside these brackets. There’s a 10-min. news segment at 8 a.m. and Captain Kangaroo at 8 : 15-9 a.m. Both have won good clearances in station time. Local shows follow, and only reruns of December Bride, a network participation carrier in the 10-10 :30 a.m. slot, is then left in station time. CBS’s biggest morning draws, which begin with Video Village (10:30-11 a.m.) and run through Guiding Light (12:45-1 p.m.) are inside network time. On weekend mornings, programming is either aimed at moppet viewers with fairly regular sponsorship (Sat.) or is prestige-type fare that isn’t a major source of network revenue (Sun.). Much the same is true of the afternoon scheduling, which operates at 2:30-5 p.m. Mon.-Sun. for Eastern stations, 1:30-4 p.m. for Central, Mountain and Pacific outlets. Again, the big sponsored network lineup, starting on weekdays with Art LinklettePs House Party (2:30-3 p.m.) and continuing through Edge of Night (4:30-5 p.m.), is within network time. Weekends are filled at these times with kid shows & sports, both relatively safe from pre-emption. Summed up: There may, of course, be some CBS shuffles to move shows from outside the network-option corral to the relative safety of network-controlled periods, with weaker shows swapped into the new station-option slots. Nobody at CBS last week, however, would make specific predictions, and the general impression was that the schedule would be left pretty much alone. NBC hasn’t announced its revised option-time plans, but will probably follow a pattern much like CBS’s, although adjusted to fit its own program strengths. • ♦ » ABC’s option pattern, announced a few days after that of CBS, is much like it — with some interesting variations. For the Eastern & Pacific zones, evening network-option time spans 8:30-11 p.m. every night of the week (CBS’s is 8-10:30 p.m. on weekends, 8:30-11 p.m. other nights). Central & Mountain zone stations will use a 7:30-10 p.m. pattern for the same programming. The morning network-option schedule on ABC is also like CBS’s — 10:30 a.m.-l p.m. for Eastern, Central and Pacific outlets. For Mountain outlets, it’s 9:30 a.m.-noon. In the afternoons, the schedule is 2-4:30 p.m. for Eastern, Central and Pacific outlets, 1-3:30 for Mountain zone stations, Mon.-Fri. On weekend afternoons in Eastern, Central and Pacific zones, it’s 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m. (an hour later then CBS’s schedule), 2:30-5 p.m. for Mountain stations. . ■ ABC-TV scored another foreign network sale last week. Goodyear (through Kudner) signed a 52-week contract with the Central American TV Network, which ABC represents and in which it has an interest. On Nov. 1, Nestle made a similar deal with CATVN (Vol. 16:45 p9). Goodyear will sponsor a Spanish-dubbed, weekly half-hour show. The Man & the Challenge, after Jan. 1.