Starter of this subject: JB
Last post in this subject: 3/22/2003
Messages in this subject: 7
| JB | 3/22/2003 7 replies |
| I listen to OTR shows regularly and am often struck by how some contain commercials worked into their formats, while others have none at all. The Sherlock Holmeses are among the most irritating in this regard, with Nigel Bruce and Harry Bartell extolling the virtues of Petrie wines at the beginning of every episode. Is there a reason why some shows were (or seem to be) commercial-free, while others are loaded with them? Were the networks able (or willing) to carry a show without any commercials? |
| Ted Davenport | 3/29/2003 5 replies |
| Some shows were syndicated. BOX 13, for example. They were sold to individual stations and the stations sold commercial time to local sponsors. As to why some network shows had more commercials than others, that was left up to the sponsors. The way I understand it, the sponsors bought the shows. Most shows were sponsored by one company so it was up to the sponsor what shows were aired. Today there are many different commercials for each show and the network decides if a show remains or is cancelled. It was much different in OTR. When LUM & ABNER went on the network, they didn't do an audition for the network - they did an audition for Quaker Oats who bought the show. That's why it really wasn't THE JACK BENNY SHOW. It was actually THE JELLO PROGRAM starring Jack Benny. Ted Davenport |
| Eric Cooper | 3/30/2003 3 replies |
| In answer to the part about why some OTR recordngs that you hear have no commercials . It was (A)- the program was "sustaining", tha is there were NO sponsors and the network paid the cost of talent etc and gave away the time slot for free, or (B) many commercials were cut by early OTR distributors in the 1970s for various reasons and these recordings are the only ones still circulating for particular episodes of series. In addition, many shows were aired on stations owned by the US military (The US Armed Forces Radio Service). These stations carried a special recorded version of popular American programs without the commercials. |
| Ted Davenport | 3/31/2003 2 replies |
| In all fairness, this was not just dealers but collectors in general. When the I LOVE A MYSTERY shows were put on tape, the collector that did them cut out all the openings and closings so it sounded like one 3 hour show instead of the 15 minute serial that it was. It's really no different than recording a TV show now and cutting the commercials out. I am sure, at the time, the collector thought that it would be more enjoyable to listen to that way. |
| Alain | 8/9/2004 1 replies |
|
Probably like most otr fans, I believe that ads are an integral part of the otr experience...
However, when i listen to several episodes of a particular show in a row- even if not necessarily in one sitting/car ride etc...(which is my usual pattern), i am often bored by hearing the same ads/product being repeated... I have never seen any vendor selling this feature (tho like the ILAM example and others above i have run across it).... I bet i'm not the only one who would like to hear some of my more frequently listened to shows with an "ads out" option. Alain. |
| ed kienzler | 8/10/2004 0 replies |
| the ads in any radio show are there for historical purpose only as many of the products they advertise may not be made anymore- I find them a very needed part of the radio show if they are not taken out due to the fact that they may be played on commercial radio stations. A satellite radio announcer recently blasted an Abbott and Costello episode he played (1947 was the year he gave for the show) for the fact that Camel sent millions of cigs overseas during WW2 as a moral booster saying that no wonder so many soldiers died- how many soldiers shot Camels out of a tank-huh? I am not bored by the amount of commercials in a show as I think we need to remember them as much as we remember the shows...ed kienzler Springfield Illinois (and the commercials did not cause me to smoke-which I do not!!!) |
| JB | 3/31/2003 0 replies |
| Thanks to both of you guys for your responses. I remember when television shows were carried by one or two sponsors. Many of the best of the (so-called) golden age of television shows were presented by a single sponsor (The U.S. Steel Hour, The Philco Playhouse, The Alcoa Hour, etc.). There was definitely an upside to this policy, as sponsors wanted to be associated with a "quality" product. I've often wondered why this came to an end some time in the sixties. One of the last single sponsor shows I remember was Bob Hope's Chrysler Theatre, which went off the air in 1967. |
| sam kramer | 11/20/2003 0 replies |
| re: commercials-- actually, i was hoping to find a recording that has only commercials, since for whatever reason the commercials are what i remember; especially the little tunes like "see the u.s.a. in your chevrolet...", "won't you come with me lucille in my merry oldsmobile..", "i go for a man who wears an adams hat...", "melrose five, five three hundred, melrose five,..."; and "duz does everything!". </ |