Television and Sports (1946-1950)

Television and Sports (1946-1950)

• CBS acquired major league baseball network broadcast rights on December 13, 1988, for $1.08 billion over four years
• ESPN paid $400 million in early 1989 for the cable rights to air major league baseball
• From 1991-94 NBC was contracted to pay the National Football League (NFL) $188 million annually for national broadcast rights
• CBS had to pay 267million/yearforfootballtelecastsandABChadtopaytheNFL267 million/year for football telecasts and ABC had to pay the NFL 267million/yearforfootballtelecastsandABChadtopaytheNFL249 million/year to air Monday Night Football
• Broadcast network income accounted for almost 60% of the professional football revenue in the early 1990s
• Broadcast network income accounted for almost 30% of the revenue for both professional basketball and baseball revenue

High Programming Fees

• CBS spent $243 million on the rights to broadcast the 1992 Winter Olympics
• NBC spent $401 million on the Summer Games
• Sporting events such as the Indianapolis 500, Kentucky Derby, Rose Bowl, and Masters golf tournament cost broadcast and cable networks millions in rights fees

Television as the Dominant Partner

• Networks made organized sport dependent on television revenue
• Multi-million dollar player contracts rely on television
• Advertisers for prime-time programs want large audiences that appeal to a broad audience
• Daytime aims at women, weekends attract men, resulting in more televised sports

Television's Infancy

• Groundwork for television programming was not established during its first five years
• The television industry had no experience to go off, and ratings/audience demographics were not yet established
• Sports attracted audiences when programmers needed an audience
• Televised sports attracted people to taverns and restaurants, then finally into their homes
• From 1946-1950 sports dominated television broadcasting and filled in prime-time schedules

Early Television

• RCA experimented with TV in the 1920s, but an economic transmission system was slow to evolve
• NBC televised events from the 1939 New York World's Fair, organized by RCA President David Sarnoff and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
• A mobile production unit televised NYC events, with sports being prominent
• A Columbia-Princeton baseball game was the first sports telecast

Early Sports Telecasts

• Early sports telecasts were not always aesthetically pleasing
• A later telecast from Ebbets Field (doubleheader between the Reds and Dodgers) was improved with a second camera
• 1939: CBS transmits sports, including boxing; Lou Nova vs Max Baer at Yankee Stadium

Network Growth

• Early 1940s: Both NBC and CBS broadcast a limited schedule of programs in New York City
• TV development halted because technical expertise and raw materials were diverted to the war effort during WWII
• Broadcasters/advertisers prioritized television after the war
• TV sets cost as much as a new car
• 1946: NBC became the 1st network to have regular TV programming. DuMont also followed
• 1943: ABC was created when the government forced NBC to spin off its "blue" radio network; ABC lacked a New York station

Color Television

• CBS wanted its experimental color system to become the industry standard
• The FCC chose NBC's color system
• CBS lost time as the FCC decided on a color system and were late to regular network programming
• ABC had money issues

Programming

• Broadcasters did not know which shows would succeed and fail
• Networks aired a variety of programs because television needed programming and lots of it
• Network schedules reflected uncertainty and program scarcity; variety programs such as Your Show of Shows and Texaco Star Theater, crime dramas such as Man Against Crime, a long list of anthologies such as Goodyear Television Playhouse and Kraft Television Theater, and quiz shows such as Majority Rules and Think Fast aired
• Advertisers bought blocks of network time, leading to programs such as Chevrolet Tele-Theater, In the Kelvinator Kitchen, and Mohawk [Carpet] Showroom

Sports Programming

• Networks regarded sports as essential for prime-time programming in their early years
• Early TV replicated radio which had long used sports
• J. Fred MacDonald highlights early radio/TV used "excitement of sport contests" to attract males
• For advertisers targeting male consumers (tires, cigarettes, and beer), sports programs made sense
• Red Smith said telecasts of baseball had been taken over by John Barleycorn and Lady Nicotine
• Sports were a cheap, easily acquired form of programming; Infant networks in NYC all based had access to the city's local teams/events
• Arenas in NYC provided boxing and wrestling
• Networks believed that sports programming sold TV sets
• According to long-time NBC director Harry Coyle in 1988 that television got off the ground because of sports
• The heavyweight fights/the Army-Navy football game spurred Television set sales

1946 Networks

• Only NBC and DuMont had regular schedules in 1946, TV Programming was sparse
• 8,000 TV sets concentrated in New York City
• Sport (boxing) represented a significant part of the network schedules

1946 Sports Schedule

• In 1946, DuMont and NBC aired just nine hours and 30 minutes of prime-time programming per week
• Sports programs (mostly boxing) made up nearly 40% of programming, three hours and 45 minutes
• The Gillette Cavalcade of Sports represented primetime Sport
• The Gillette CAVALCADE was ideal considering the constraints of the medium’s technical development: Bulky broadcasting equipment, need for lots of light, picture clarity etc
• The CAVALCADE solved these issues by televising boxing matches in a small indoor area
• In addition, boxing was cheaper than studio programs (around $2,500 per program) and allowed Gillette to advertise since events provided opportunity
• Many taverns had TV, which gave Gillette's target audience a place without the distractions of wives/children

Gillette

• The show did not leave the air until 1964, after having presented over 600 nights of boxing, the Orange Bowl and the World Series, so Gillette was pleased with Cavalcade
• A 1946 NBC telecast of the Joe Louis-Billy Conn heavyweight fight led the Washington Post to declare television would look good for 1000 years run
• The Louis-Conn bout got advertising praise from the Leo Burnett advertising agency stating that the fight was "another achievement by the industry to bring forcibly to the attention of the public the practical value of television."
• Significant endorsement since advertisers/agencies were largely unconvinced of television's future
• NBC also aired a fifteen-minute fight film filler alongside Hour Glass

1947 Television

• By 1947, about 14,000 television sets were in use
• NBC and DuMont were the only networks
• prim-etime programming expanded to 14 hours and 25 minutes per week; Sports was 25%
• Critics noted the growing popularity of Gillette's Cavalcade
• Gillette realized that televised sport was a good vehicle for selling razors to a male audience, they signed a contract with Madison Square Garden in 1944
• Gillette's partnership with televised sport proved beneficial to all; increased their share of the shaving products market from 16% in the 1930s to more than 60%
• Gillette gave networks programming and income
• Gillette's Cavalcade was cancelled on NBC in 1959, Gillette put its advertising budget on ABC

Gillette on ABC

• ABC found itself with $8 million to spend after having acquired the Gillette advertising dollars
• ABC quickly acquired NCAA football rights and established own sports programming, and also constructed network for sports programmings
• In 1947, Gillette's Cavalcade remained, and relied heavily on boxing and remained only prime-time sport program, replacing the first 15 minutes with Esso Reporter and Friday Cavalcade expanding 30 minutes
• Friday Cavalcade became hit with audiences
• Boxing rose to expensive price when the Garden demanded $200,000 for weekly fights
• Sports promoters soon knew television was valuable

Boxing on TV

• Television made viewers stay home in front of TV
• Live attendance at boxing events plummeted; small boxing clubs also hard-hit
• DuMont's contract to cover boxing/wrestling at NYC's Jamaica Arena saw a considerable increase
• Brawlers were more popular with TV audience than finesse fighters; thus, promoters wanted sluggers as boxing product
• Television forever changed sport

1947 Networks

• in 1947, sport held sway in its relationship with television
• Television executives believed sport would increase sales of TV's
• CBS president Frank Stanton underscored importance of sports announcement made with Ford Motors
• Ford series would enable the network to develop sports and to develop overall programming

1948 Television

• 1948: Television set sales surged from 14,000 to 172,000
• Many new stations were popping up, whether via cable or through syndication
• CBS and ABC aired prime-time network schedules, where Sport factor was significant
• Addition of CBS and ABC increased the weekly programming, of which TV sports took up nearly 1/3
• In spite of Boxing TV popularity, Basketball dominated the network, in part, because there were shaky leagues and blacks could not compete

Basketball

• The basketball games were aired by all the networks except DuMont; it was mostly aired on Saturdays
• Television and the media quickly learned that Basketball was not popular and left for better alternatives

Wrestling

• ABC and DuMont Wrestling
• ABC because it had not yet developed programming
• DuMont because wrestling was inexpensive and easy to make in light of the available technology
• Many began programs which came from NYC
• It was the most avid show due to having female viewers (90%) and attracted retail advertising
• Sport for much of what women were responsible for spending average household budget

Wrestlers

• Wrestling had its heroes and villains
• Television helped to perpetuate carnival atmosphere
• The announcers cast away any reporting from being objective
• All of these cheaply-produced shows were mainly to fill air time on networks

Radio Shift

• Prime-time was shifted from 1949 to 83-88 hours
• Sports comprised of being one of the lower points compared TV shows
• Sports were starting to no longer be advertised on, while things like The Hooper Ratings and Texaco Star Theatre were getting high
• With CBS etc seeing this, television and ads had more burdens than ever before
• More realized it wasn't about the sets but the star power from some shows

Ron Powers

• During this era, Ron Powers had expressed concern that shows such as televised prime time were only appealing more to men; the shows were also having limited times and that snobbery plays big role
• From 1949 on, wrestling programming was lower/most supplied by ill-fated Dumont network
• Sportsman's Quiz was another, showing viewership
• CBS with new show: week in sports

Early TV Summarized (1949)

• DuMont produced half-hour program that showed both sports, interviews, and demonstrations
• ABC had more time and wanted to show the best of the games
• While roller derby was in fact catching on, it did not compare to rest of the sports (also low budget)

Networks Rise to Power

• Networks grew up to get bigger and more time on schedule
• ABC/CBS/NBC offered prime-time schedules 7 days a week/DuMont being 4 hours
• There were now over 7.5 millions sets
• TV were said shows were more popular than Lux Radio; TV viewers had now rose
• Women and children had more to say on what was watched
• 109 hours were accounted for the prime time of the shows
• Wrestling/Boxing fans had different outlooks as people's preferences differed and shows changed
• Mini cameras/ instant replays were all the talk
• Pro football had not reached prime time
• TV also has an impact on economy/participants
• Programming all seen as "Innocence"