Daytime lineup programming shuffles

[Paul Raven]

NBC -TV's hot breath brings CBS -T\/ moves

CBS -TV last week announced major daytime schedule adjustments for next season in a move that it said it was taking to bolster its ebbing dominance of the daytime ratings. Fred Silverman, vice president for daytime programing, said NBC -TV's serial block from 2 to 3:30 p.m. "has substantially increased its audience" and "represents competition to us." A .4 rating difference separated the two networks in the Nielsen Television Index for the 10 a.m. -to -5 p.m. block in the period ended May 19.

Effective Sept. 9, CBS -TV will have a three -and -a -half hour block of serial - drama programing Monday through Friday. Search for Tomorrow and The Guiding Light have been expanded to 30 minutes each, and The Secret Storm has been moved to an earlier time, joining other serials in the block (As the World Turns. Love is a Many Splendored Thing). In addition, The Lucy Show, reruns of the nighttime show, will replace Candid Camera, Art Link letter's House Party will be shown at a later time, and To Tell the Truth will be taken off.

The Monday- Friday daytime schedule (all times are EDT) :

Morning: CBS Morning News With Joseph Benti at 7:05 -7:30 (7:30 -7:55 in some areas);

Captain Kangaroo (8 -9);

local programming (9 -10);

The Lucy Show (10- 10:30);

The Beverly Hillbillies (10:30 -11) ;

Andy of Mayberry (11- 11:30);

Dick Van Dyke Daytime Show (11:30- noon).

Afternoon:

Love of Life (noon12:25);

News (12:25 -12:30);

Search for Tomorrow (12:30 -1);

local programming (1- 1:30);

As the World Turns (1:30 -2);

Love is a Many Splendored Thing (2 -2:30)

The Guiding Light (new time 2:30 -3);

The Secret Storm (new time) (3- 3:30);

The Edge of Night (3:30 -4)

and Art Linkletter's House Party (new time) (4- 4:30).

[danfling]

CBS orgially considered expanding both Search for Tomorrow and As the World Turns to 45 minute in length, which would have also eliminated the 12 noon timeslot (Central Standard Time) that most CBS affiliate fill with news. It was later decided to move Search for Tomorrow and to expand As the World Turns to a full hour.

Also, no one here has mentioned the period that NBC aired Somerset twice a day (one episode per day) - in its normal time and opposite All My Children.

I am not sure, but husband and wife Jack Stauffer (Chuck #1 on All My Children) and Renee Jarrett (Ginger #2 on Somerset) may have been on those competing show.

[Max]

I do not know many of the details regarding how the timeslots were affected (though I would like to know), but there was so much instability in CBS's soap lineup from 1972-82. Only two shows--GL and ATWT--were on that network both of these years (following SFT's March 1982 departure). The other six soaps--SFT, LOL, EON, TSS, LIAMST, and WTHI--did not make it. These massive changes stand in sharp contrast to the fact that only one soap change took place from 1982-2009.

[sungrey]

The move of Somerset to either 1pm or 4pm actually helped the show in a lot of markets, from what I understand. The 1pm slot translated to noon in the central time zone, and it was decent counter-programming for those channels that had news.

The problem was many affiliates, like the NBC station in Grand Rapids, did not take Somerset in either time slot.

[EricMontreal22]

I'm not sure where to post this... In the 1970s--what aired between AMC and OLTL. I know OLTL was initially at 3:30 (with Dark Shadows at 4) and AMC was at 1, and then later OLTL in 1976 was moved to 2:30-3:15 followed by the 45 min GH--and finally when it moved to an hour it moved to the 2pm (EST) timeslot we all know. So what werethe various shows in between? (I think GH was at 3 or earlier before the 45 minute switch when they used OLTL's slightly higher ratings hoping they would bleed into GH's before GH took off.)

[EricMontreal22]

Most people seem to place the blame on Somerset after Slesar (I believe) left, since the show was slightly climbing as a mystery serial--but after him the show lacked a tone or direction.

[robbwolff]

I'm not sure if it was nationwide, but for a brief time here in New Jersey, Ryan's Hope aired at 2:00 p.m.

[EricMontreal22]

Interesting, I always thought it aired before AMC (12:30 EST) until 1984 when it switched places with Loving.

[Paul Raven]

ABC schedule

1.30

Lets Make a Deal until 75

Rhyme and Reason 75/76

Family Feud 76/77

2.00

Newlywed Game until 74

$10,000/$20,000 Pyramid until 78

[EricMontreal22]

Ah, I forgot about game shows--interesting that they'd break up the soap lineup like that. Thanks PR!

[Paul Raven]

Back then the networks tried to counter program.

Remember AMC started with the soap block of Best of Everything and A World Apart.They competed with WTHI and SFT and gameshows.

NBC had success in the 2.00 - 3.30 slot with soaps and then CBS countered by moving their soaps into direct competition.

But it wasn't until the late 60's that a soap went head to head with another.