Evening star., 1952-02-18
On the Air
| Red SkeIton
AT Last Tops
The Ratings
By Horry Macarthur

taken during two weeks, SO the
"Star Theater" figure is COM
Iposite of one week when Berle was
on and one when Price was on.
That this battle, chiefly of inter.
est to the advertising agencies in.
volved and the more rabid sup
porters of either Shelton or Berle
is a neck-and-neck affair is indi.
Gated by the estimates of number
of homes reached by the programs
Nielsen says Shelton goes into T.
745, 900 homes and Star Theater'
into 100000. The ARB says it.!
the other way around. with "Stal
Theaater" being seen on 1900, ,00(
TV sets and Shelton on 100000
Shelton rates the top spot or
both lists because his program ha:
only 54 outlets against Berle'S 81
and the ratings are based on per.
centage of available TV home!
reached.
Others in the top 10 on the Mel
sen list are, in order, Arthur God
frey's Talent Scouts" "Star The
ater," "I Love Lucy" Arthur God,
frey and His Friends" Comedy
Hour" your Show of Shows
(participating) Groucho Marx
you Bet Your Life" your Shov
of Shows" sponsored portion.
and "Fireside Theater."
BY the ARB listing of the most
watched programs, Shelton is fol-
lowed by Talent Scouts" "Stal
ITheater," your Show of Shows.
It Love Lucy" my Friend Irma.'
Blue Ribbon Bouts" Comedy
Hour" "Cavalcade of Sports" ano
."Television Theater."
Shelton is the head man in
Washington, too, if you'd like tc
know how your neighbors spend
their television time. Other shows
on the list of local favorites COM
piled by ARB are "Star Theater.' .
Talent Scouts "Fireside Thea
ter" You Bet Your Life" Amos
n Andy" your Sow of Shows,
I"I Love Lucy" Godfrey and
Friends" and Blue Ribbon Bouts.
Influence - Another group oi
figures has just turned up tt
offer food, not precisely fol
thought. but at least for idle
speculation. These are contained
in a pair of lists provided by The
Pulse incorporated. another con-
Germ which reduces program
trends and audience reactions tt
the numerical.
One is a listing of television pro.
gram types by the amount o1
time devoted to each, from day.
time variety. with 100 quarter
hours, down to sports news, with
two quarter-hours. The other pur.
ports to measure the popularit,
of these various program type.
by average ratings.
There is a great deal of tall
about the networks being slave
to the ratings, but this may no
be true at all. Put these tw'
Pulse lists side by side and i
begins to appear that the net
works program what they darl
we'll please, without paying mucl
attention to expressions of pub
lie preference in the ratings O
popularity.
Boxing, for instance, is the mos
popular type of TV program OF
that Pulse list. On the other lis
it ranks 21st, the networks givin,
it a total of eight quarter-hour
a week. Comes right ahead O
miscellaneous, with five quarter
hours; music. with four, Unite,
Nations programs, with four, an.
sports news, with two.
Other program types, in tn
order Of popularity, and the mum
ber of quarter-hours the TV net
works weekly devote to them
are: Comedy variety, So; West
erns, 10; comedy situation. "a
drama and mysteries, 90; talen
shows, IT; musical variety, Al
basketball, 8: kid shows, SO, an,
wrestling, Is.
i X X \
Missing-There is no intent G
being unfair to him here, but Mil
ton Berle can hardly be settin
this down as his most gloriou
television season. He will not b
waiting expectantly and hope
fully, as many in television will
for the announcements of tn
Emmy" awards of the Academ
OF Television Arts and Science,
to be made at the groups fourt
annual dinner tonight in Los An
geles.
Mr.. Berle's name is anon
those missing from the nomina
tions, made by vote of some Is
newspaper and trade press T.
critics throughout the countr,
Winners are chosen by the entir
I ATAS membership.
I Sid Caesar and Imogene Coo
stand a better chance than any
body of adding to their honors a
least one of the ATAS award,
which probably come as close a
any to a TV counterpart of tn
Motion Picture Academy award
He has been nominated in tn
best actor, she in the best actres
and both in the best comedian q
comedienne categories and "You
Show of Shows" is in the run
ming for the best variety sho,
i title.
This corners guess (not prefer
ence, mind you) is that academ
favorites will be "Celanese The
ater," best dramatic show: Re