Evening star., 1951-11-25
On the Air


That and certain disbelief. tes-
|tifying to a tender lack of audi
|ence cynicism about the attitude
of broadcasters toward the public
air, which they sometimes use
with cynicism.
The Society Of Loyal Support
|ers of "Kukla. Fran and Ollie
has risen up in sudden alarm,
looking for a proper direction to
throw its weight. The nightly
session with the Kuklapolitans,
Ia delight judged by many to be
the only regular program yet de-
vised which justifies televisions {
existence. is being cut to IS min
|utes at Z o'clock starting tomor-
row night.
The boys around NBC-TV may
have thought that a program
change of this nature was their
own business. but they are likely
to find that bisecting 'Kukla,
Fran and Ollie" is considered a
personal affront in some quar-
ters. --ss
The "K., F. and O." followers
are loyal group. The trouble
lis. apparently. that their loyalty
lis out of proportion to their num-
bers. 1t might seem to those
whose only connection with tele-
vision is on the receiving end, that
this active loyalty might bear
some weight. Broadcasters and
sponsors are still slaves to the
ratings. though. and as long as
the merit of a program is judged
by the numerical size of its audi
ence, the lowest common denomi-
nator is in command.
The militant minority suffers
the fate of all minorities.
Hollywood. Unwittinely,
Assisted in the Deed @
One of the ironies of the "Kukla,
Fran and Ollie" situation is that
Hollywood may have had some
thing to do with it, unwittingly.
Unwittingly or no, it is a blow
against television If Hollywood
ever struck one.
NBC is not explaining why it is
making this move beyond the
quoted statement that it is re-
placing the last half of TX. F. and
o." with program with better
audience appeal" which has
caused a certain amount of sar-
|donic laughter. 1t seems safe to
assume. though, that the program
ratings either have prompted NBC
to cut the show or have scared
sponsors off. which in turn has
prompted the NBC surgery. (Or
in the Kuklapolitan word, butch
|ery)
The "Kukla, Fran and Ollie
audience. according to the Ameri-
can Research Bureau. is a fairly
well ll-defined one. It consists OF
children under the age of S, some
as young as or 2 years old. who
just like puppets. and of adults
who relish the wonderfully adult
Ihumor INDUCED in by Fran Alli-
son, Burr Tillstrom and his little
people"
Nationally. according to the
ARB figures, ''Kukla" shades the
competition. Captain Video," just
IA bit. but it is seen in 49 cities
against only "a for Captain vi
|deo." In Washington. admittedly
mot a typical audience. the two
shows are in direct competition
and run about neck-and-neck.
New York is where the villainy
may have been perpetrated-and
where Hollywood may have en-
tered the picture. New York has
about 20 per cent of the Nations
TV receivers against. for in
stance, 81 per cent in Washing
toni. The New York ratings-and
broadcasters and sponsors know
this-can affect a national rat
ing by four or five points. In New
York, the local CBS-TV station
has scheduled Hollywood movies,
apparently a block Of fairly good
ones that are new to television,
in this early evening hour. It's
giving both "Kukla" and Captain
Vidoe" a hard time in the ratings.
Whether the protests Of the
Kuklapolitan set will bear any
weight or not remains to be seen,
but lot of people seem bent
upon letting NBC know where
they stand.
X X