November 23, 2015

What's on TV? Tuesday, November 25, 1958

This is, if I'm not mistaken, our first look at the Nebraska/Iowa/South Dakota area, which means we'd better do a good job on it. I've mentioned in the past that one of my few fond memories of doing time in The World's Worst Town™ was the KELOland station we used to receive from South Dakota. It wasn't KELO, Channel 11 - I think it was either KDLO or KPLO, I can't remember which - but as the CBS affiliate, it was one of the few traces of the outside world to penetrate that little hole. Anyway, on with the show.


KMTV, Channel 3 (Omaha) (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
Continental Classroom (Ballistics)

07:00a
Today

09:00a
Dough Re Mi

09:30a
Treasure Hunt

10:00a
The Price is Right

10:30a
Concentration

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:20p
Garden Fence

12:30p
Conversation

12:40p
Cartoons

01:00p
Truth or Consequences (color)

01:30p
Haggis Baggis (color)

02:00p
Today Is Ours

02:30p
From These Roots

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:30p
County Fair

04:00p
Gunfire Movie – “Lawless Clan”

05:00p
Cartoons (color)

05:30p
Woody Woodpecker

Evening


06:00p
Popeye (color)

06:10p
News (local)

06:15p
The Huntley-Brinkley Report

06:30p
Dragnet

07:00p
Shirley Temple’s Storybook (special)

08:00p
George Burns

08:30p
Bob Cummings

09:00p
The Californians

09:30p
New York Confidential

10:00p
News (local)

10:30p
Jack Paar

12:00a
News (local)

The 6:10pm local news is anchored by none other than Floyd Kalber, in his first television newscasting assignment. We've seen Kalber's name many times over the years, doing the five-minute daytime news updates for NBC. Kalber first came to the attention of the network after covering the notorious Starkweather-Fugate killing spree. He worked for NBC's O&O in Chicago, then moved to the big network, where his nickname was The Big Tuna. I always liked his professionalism and gravitas - there aren't many like him anymore.


KTIV, Channel 4 (Sioux City) (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
Continental Classroom (Ballistics)

07:00a
Today

09:00a
Dough Re Mi

09:30a
Treasure Hunt

10:00a
The Price is Right

10:30a
Concentration

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
Cartoons

12:30p
News, Markets

01:00p
Truth or Consequences (color)

01:30p
Haggis Baggis (color)

02:00p
Today Is Ours

02:30p
From These Roots

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:30p
County Fair

04:00p
TV Hour of Stars

05:00p
Cartoons

05:30p
Adventure Time

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:15p
The Huntley-Brinkley Report

06:30p
Dragnet

07:00p
Shirley Temple’s Storybook (special)

08:00p
George Burns

08:30p
Bob Cummings

09:00p
Maverick

10:00p
News (local)

10:30p
Jack Paar

It's always a little surprising to see the old, black-and-white version of Dragnet in first-run, but this is indeed the final season of the original show, which will be revived in 1967. Maverick, the 9:00pm show, comes over from ABC; we'll see a number of cross-pollination like this over the course of the day - they represent a good indication of the kind of shows that are popular in Middle America.


KHAS, Channel 5 (Hastings) (NBC)

Morning


06:30a
Continental Classroom (Ballistics)

07:00a
Today

09:00a
Dough Re Mi

09:30a
Treasure Hunt

10:00a
The Price is Right

10:30a
Concentration

11:00a
Tic Tac Dough

11:30a
It Could Be You

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:30p
Today with Fran

01:00p
Truth or Consequences (color)

01:30p
Haggis Baggis (color)

02:00p
Today Is Ours

02:30p
From These Roots

03:00p
Queen for a Day

03:30p
County Fair

04:00p
Parson’s Answer

04:15p
Cartoons

04:30p
Movie (Western)

05:30p
Sports (local)

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:15p
The Huntley-Brinkley Report

06:30p
Dragnet

07:00p
Shirley Temple’s Storybook (special)

08:00p
George Burns

08:30p
Bob Cummings

09:00p
The Californians

09:30p
Sea Hunt

10:00p
News (local)

10:30p
Jack Paar

The George Burns Show represents the first and only season of the series minus Gracie Allen. Until George developed the shtick that carried him through to his 100th birthday, he was unable to recreate the magic of that team; his other series, Wendy and Me, with Connie Stevens, was a pale imitation.  


WOW, Channel 6 (Omaha) (CBS)

Morning


07:30a
Comedy Classics

07:50a
News and Weather (local)

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:45a
CBS Morning News (Richard Hottelet)

08:55a
Take Five

09:00a
Romper Room

09:30a
Play Your Hunch

10:00a
Arthur Godfrey

10:30a
Top Dollar

11:00a
Love of Life

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:00p
Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)

01:30p
House Party

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
The Verdict Is Yours

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:00p
Take Five

04:05p
Don Amache

04:35p
Susie

05:10p
Santa Claus

05:25p
Take Five

05:30p
Our Miss Brooks

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:15p
Douglas Edwards With the News

06:30p
Mr. District Attorney

07:00p
Silent Service

07:30p
To Tell the Truth (guest Jackie Cooper)

08:00p
Arthur Godfrey

08:30p
Red Skelton (guest William Frawley)

09:00p
Garry Moore (guests Johnnie Ray, Maureen O’Hara, Denise Lor)

10:00p
News (local)

10:25p
Feature

10:30p
Movie – “Texas”

12:15a
News (local)

Kids getting calls from Santa Claus at 5:10pm - a charming relic of local television in the '50s and '60s. Does any station do this kind of thing today? Mr. District Attorney and Silent Service are syndicated substitutions for CBS' regular programming, Stars in Action and Keep Talking.


KETV, Channel 7 (Omaha) (ABC)

Morning


09:00a
Film Feature

09:30a
Life with Elizabeth

10:00a
TV Hour of Stars

11:00a
Day in Court

11:30a
Peter Lind Hayes

Afternoon


12:30p
Mother’s Day

01:00p
Liberace

01:30p
Movie – “The Daring Young Man”

03:00p
Beat the Clock

03:30p
Who Do You Trust?

04:00p
American Bandstand (guests Patti and Marge)

05:00p
Cartoon Circus

05:30p
Adventure Time

Evening


06:00p
Mackenzie’s Raiders

06:30p
Sugarfoot

07:30p
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

08:00p
The Rifleman

08:30p
The Naked City

09:00p
Flight

09:30p
News (local)

09:35p
Movie – “Glamour Boy”

11:20p
Movie – “The Falcon’s Adventures”

KETV begs off from ABC's schedule at 9:00pm, Flight, a syndicated program, is a kind of Air Force version of The Big Picture. It's followed by a local movie; the pair probably give KETV more ad revenue than Confession and John Daly and the News.


KVTV, Channel 9 (Sioux City) (CBS)

Morning


07:30a
Cartoons

07:55a
News and Weather (local)

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:45a
CBS Morning News (Richard Hottelet)

09:00a
For Love or Money

09:30a
Play Your Hunch

10:00a
Arthur Godfrey

10:30a
Top Dollar

11:00a
Love of Life

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
News (local)

12:15p
Siouxland Farmer

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:00p
Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)

01:30p
House Party

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
The Verdict Is Yours

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
Let’s Go Christmas Shopping

04:15p
Looney Tunes

04:30p
Kids’ Korner

04:45p
Popeye

05:15p
Woody Woodpecker

05:45p
Douglas Edwards With the News

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:30p
Sugarfoot

07:30p
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

08:00p
The Rifleman

08:30p
Red Skelton (guest William Frawley)

09:00p
Garry Moore (guests Johnnie Ray, Maureen O’Hara, Denise Lor)

10:00p
Highway Patrol

10:30p
News, Sports, Weather (local)

10:50p
Movie – “Slave Ship”

12:15a
News (local)

Here's a real network programming substitution - Sugarfoot, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, and The Rifleman are all ABC series, Western-themed shows that probably appeal to South Dakotans. I would have though Arthur Godfrey's evening show would fall in that category as well; I may have missed him, but I didn't see him airing on any other evening.


KOLN, Channel 10 (Lincoln) (CBS)

Morning


07:00a
Morning Show

08:00a
Captain Kangaroo

08:45a
CBS Morning News (Richard Hottelet)

09:00a
For Love or Money

09:30a
Play Your Hunch

10:00a
Arthur Godfrey

10:30a
Creative Cookery

11:00a
Love of Life

11:30a
Peter Lind Hayes

Afternoon


12:30p
News, Markets

01:00p
Liberace

01:30p
House Party

02:00p
Chance for Romance

02:30p
The Verdict Is Yours

03:00p
By and Ramona

03:30p
TV Hour of Stars

04:30p
Roy Rogers

05:00p
Captain X

05:30p
Adventure Time

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:15p
Douglas Edwards With the News

06:30p
Sugarfoot

07:30p
To Tell the Truth (guest Jackie Cooper)

08:00p
Arthur Godfrey

08:30p
Red Skelton (guest William Frawley)

09:00p
Garry Moore (guests Johnnie Ray, Maureen O’Hara, Denise Lor)

10:00p
News (local)

10:35p
Football Predictions

10:50p
Man Without a Gun

11:20p
Damon Runyon Theater

KOLN keeps the Middle American fare with Arthur Godfrey, Red Skelton and Garry Moore, but they too go with Sugarfoot at 6:30. Apparently nobody shows Stars in Action and Keep Talking.


KELO, Channel 11 (Sioux Falls) (CBS)

Morning


06:30a
Continental Classroom (Ballistics)

07:00a
Test Pattern

07:55a
News and Weather (local)

08:00a
Today

09:00a
For Love or Money

09:30a
Play Your Hunch

10:00a
Arthur Godfrey

10:30a
Top Dollar

11:00a
Love of Life

11:30a
As the World Turns

Afternoon


12:00p
Report to Midwest Farmers

12:15p
News, Markets (local)

12:50p
Farm Home Roundup

01:00p
Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)

01:30p
House Party

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
The Verdict Is Yours

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:00p
Search For Tomorrow

04:15p
Design for Living

04:30p
Captain 11

05:00p
Sky King

05:30p
Captain 11

05:45p
Douglas Edwards With the News

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:30p
Treasure Chest

06:45p
Farm Newsreel

07:00p
Zorro

07:30p
Yancy Derringer

08:00p
Highway Patrol

08:30p
San Francisco Beat

09:00p
Garry Moore (guests Johnnie Ray, Maureen O’Hara, Denise Lor)

10:00p
News (local)

10:30p
Colt .45

11:00p
Command Performance

11:30p
Files of Jeffrey Jones

What's interesting is that KELO shows even less of the regular schedule than the other affiliates. Yancy Derringer comes over from the Thursday night lineup (when KELO carries the ABC rural comedy The Real McCoys), while Zorro comes from ABC, San Francisco Beat is the syndicated version of CBS' The Lineup, and Highway Patrol is the long-running syndicated hit.


KUON, Channel 12 (Lincoln) (Educ.)

Morning


09:00a
Algebra I

09:30a
Physics

10:00a
Brookfield Zoo

10:30a
Chemistry

11:00a
Algebra II

Afternoon


01:00p
American Literature

05:30p
Sing Hi-Sing Lo

05:45p
The Friendly Giant

Evening


06:30p
Chemistry

07:00p
Let’s Visit School

07:30p
Ten For Survival

08:00p
Language and Linguistics

08:30p
Issues

09:00p
Briefing Session

KUON is, as the call letters might suggest, operated by the University of Nebraska. 


KHOL, Channel 13 (Holdrege) (CBS)

Morning


09:00a
For Love or Money

09:30a
Play Your Hunch

10:00a
Arthur Godfrey

10:30a
Top Dollar

11:00a
Love of Life

11:30a
Search for Tomorrow

11:45a
The Guiding Light

Afternoon


12:00p
CBS News (Walter Cronkite)

12:05p
Kahle’s Kitchen

12:30p
As the World Turns

01:00p
Jimmy Dean (guest Anita Bryant)

01:30p
House Party

02:00p
The Big Payoff

02:30p
The Verdict Is Yours

03:00p
The Brighter Day

03:15p
The Secret Storm

03:30p
The Edge of Night

04:00p
American Bandstand (guests Patti and Marge)

05:00p
Jeff’s Collie

05:30p
Cartoons

05:50p
Markets

Evening


06:00p
News (local)

06:15p
Douglas Edwards With the News

06:30p
Name That Tune

07:00p
Badge 714

07:30p
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp

08:00p
Arthur Godfrey

08:30p
Union Pacific

09:00p
Garry Moore (guests Johnnie Ray, Maureen O’Hara, Denise Lor)

10:00p
News (local)

10:30p
Movie – “Rings on Her Fingers”

Another CBS affiliate that passes on much of the network's lineup! Unsurprisingly they carry Garry Moore and Arthur Godfrey; everybody loves them! But Badge 714 is, as we all know, the syndicated version of Dragnet, and Union Pacific is a syndicated feature. TV  

2 comments:

  1. In 1958, certain areas ("markets", as they were starting to be known) weren't thought to be large enough to sustain more than a couple of commercial stations.
    Thus, "secondary affiliations", where a station already affiliated with NBC or CBS would sign a deal with ABC to get certain of their shows.
    Walt Disney, American Bandstand, and the Warner Bros. westerns were the major beneficiaries of this practice (as witness their presence on a couple of CBS stations above).
    As the '50s became the '60s, ABC's salesmen used these shows as a "foot in the door" to sell their other shows in the smaller markets.
    I've told you in the past about the situation in Rockford, IL, northwest of Chicago, where a mostly CBS station gradually morphed into an ABC station over a decade's time.
    It wasn't until the FCC ended a UHF-station freeze in the mid-'60s that ABC was able to even approach parity with the bigger nets, and that took another decade in itself.
    But that's another story ...

    - About Flight:
    This wasn't a Big Picture-type documentary.
    In the late '50s there was a mini-trend for anthology series with military background.
    These included the above noted Silent Service (submarines), Navy Log (sea service both in and out of war), West Point, Men of Annapolis (from the eponymous military academies), The Blue Angels (the USAF's precision flight team), and several others I can't call to mind just now.
    Flight was one of these type shows , about life in the Air Force. The host was a semi-retired general whose name I can't recall.
    My father, a veteran of AAF service in WWII in England, watched most of these shows, which were mainly syndicated; not surprisingly, Flight was his favorite. To this day, I still remember its anthem theme (I can whistle it on demand ...).

    I threw this together kind of rapidly; I may be back later with more ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There was never a UHF-station freeze in the 1960s or any other time of which I am aware. UHF had a hard-enough time getting & keeping stations on the air prior to the mid-60s w/o the hindrance of a freeze. The FCC even increased the number of stations that it allowed the networks to own & operate from 5 to 7, as long as no more than 5 were on VHF. CBS & NBC both started 2 affiliates on UHF as a result, but even network ownership couldn't save them. The UHF stations couldn't compete with VHF stations in the same market. UHF could & did succeed in 10 different all-UHF markets across the US from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA to Bakersfield, CA.

      What happened in the mid-60s that finally helped UHF was the All-Channel Receiver Act from around 1962 that made it law for all tv receivers built & sold in the US to include UHF tuners starting on May 1, 1964. At least 1 market had 1 UHF network affiliate against 2 VHF network affiliates back as long ago as 1953 (Knoxville, TN), and other markets started adding the 3rd network affiliate around 1961 (Louisville, KY). As the All-Channel law took effect, over time more UHF stations came along such as independents in places like Chicago & Boston, but sometimes these stations didn't succeed too well until the 70s. Nashville had an indie station on UHF that failed in an initial run (1968-71) and then came back & succeeded from 1976 & forward. Now with digital tv, UHF doesn't even matter anymore.

      Delete

Thanks for writing! Drive safely!