Evening star., 1951-11-26
| On the Air
Had
Its Reasons
For That Cut
BY Harry Macarthur

sNsSSsNsA"@h
The "Kukla. Fran and Ollie"
followers may not have accom-
plished what they set out to &C
complish when they launched a
wave Of protest over the cutting
of their favorite TV program to
is minutes, but they did get one
thing done. They got NBC-TV on
the record with a formal, if be-
lated, explanation. 1t goes like
this:
LAS one of the brightest stars in
the NBC diadem, 'Kukla, Fran
and Ollie had to be preserved for
the largest possible network. The
l5-minute version is the solution.
We look to a tremendous new up
surge of enthusiasm for the show
even surprising its glowing past
history.
"The change was a development
which had been discussed for
some time. Sponsors Of three of
the half-hour shows dropped their
sponsorship. We were unable to
sell these periods quickly, which
meant that they would be broad
cast temporarily sustaining to our
stations. The stations in turn are
under strong pressure to put on
various shows in the half hours
sponsored by important companies
which have been doing business
with the stations for many years.
and in many cases local COM
panies which wish to present pro-
grams Of high local interest. Some
OF these stations indicated that
they would be forced to drop the
show to make room for their GUS
toners rather than carry it sus-
tanning, even temporarily.
Since 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie
started there has been a tremen-
dous increase in competition in
the medium. Networks and inde-
pendent stations now offer pro-
grams in the competition for au-
olence, and the sad fact is that
competition always follows the
leader.
1T is a question Of making the
form Of the show fit the Changing
characteristics of the medium as
1t grows"
There still is some room for
argument here. of course. Max
ing the form of the show fit
the medium" is another portion
OF TVS dubious legacy from radio
Fit it into a prefabricated time
segment. or don't do 1t. It's as
conducive to creativity as would
be a comparable rule in the
theater banning all plays except
those which could be performed
between exactly 8:41 pm. and
1883 pm, with two nine-minute
intermissions.
Still. NBC-TV could have kept
some tempers and postage bills
down If it had explained things
a week or two ago.
y
Promising - The replacement
for the latter half Of "Kukla, Fran
and Ollie" will be q program
featuring Bob Elliott and Ray
Goulding. who are reported to
have panicked the natives of
Boston via the radio. We had q |
boy on TV during the summer who
was supposed to have panicked
the natives Of Philadelphia. too.
but don't let this influence you.
Messrs. Elliott and Goulding are
preceded by good reports. They
came to the NBC radio network
four and a half months ago and
Variety called them the brightest
young comics to hit the webs in
some time" And the Atlantic
has indicated that they
constitute very nearly a one
program justification of radio"
X *
Pigskin Parade-After Wash
ington's "blackout" Saturday in
college football on TV. NBC-TV
is following up next Saturday with
a double order. The Army-Navy
classic will be telecast via the net
work (WNBW), starting at 1918
pm, and the Notre Dame-South-
ern California game will follow.
Between there'1l be an "All Amer
ican Preview," conducted by Her
man Hickman, the noted televi-
sion authority on literature and
the arts. /
There will be three more grid