ABC Split question

When ABC split into 4 networks in 1968 Paul Harvey and "Breakfast Club" went to the Entertainment net, while Howard Cosell went to the Contemporary net, but which ABC pre-split broadcasts went to the Information net? And did the FM net pick up any existing ABC shows?

Somewhere in my archive, I have a four-color one-sheet that ABC put out, showing what went where. This is from my memory. By 1968, most of the older traditional radio network shows had gone away. In fact IIRC Breakfast Club was the last of the long form shows, and it was gone in a couple years. The core of ABC Radio at that time was the top of the hour newscast, and that's what went to Information. The FM Network was a new creation, and the only regular "show" it had was a one-minute newscast, with no sounder or actualities, at 15 past the hour.

This was the start of "demographic" networks, aiming programming to certain audiences and formats. One concern was the FCC rule that only allowed one network per owner. In fact the ABC network was formed when the FCC required NBC to divest the Blue Network. ABC's four networks were technically just one network. They all used the same network line. The two NBC Networks actually used separate network lines. A few years later, other networks, like Mutual, added other networks, like Mutual Black.

Alex Drier News/Commentary and Tom Harmon Sports still existed at the time of the split, and they went to ABC/I. I'm not sure how long they lasted, many another couple of years.

ABC/I sort of got the old hourly newscast (which was at :55 prior to the split) but initially, it was nine minutes long most if not all hours. Most stations dumped out at :05 after. After a few years, it was reduced to 5 minutes except they did continue with a few longer newscasts... 15 minutes at 8am, 10 minutes at 6pm, 10 or 15 minutes at 10pm. Again, few stations ran the whole longer casts.

Paul Harvey was only sort of on ABC/E... he did replace the ABC/E newscasts at 8:30 and 12:30, but he usually continued on the old affiliate prior to the split, regardless of what new net they had. And if a new ABC/E affiliate came along, they had to do without network news at 8:30 and 12:30.

I don't think ABC-FM had any programming other than the news at :15.

jh said:

ABC/I sort of got the old hourly newscast (which was at :55 prior to the split) but initially, it was nine minutes long most if not all hours.

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Some of this is covered in Rick Sklar's book Rockin' America. The contemporary stations like WABC wanted news "five minutes sooner," so it was available at :55 before the split. But it was converted to the Contemporary network, and WABC carried that newscast. Stations wanting more news got Information.

Seems to me that Howard Cosell's Speaking of Sports was also on the network before and after the split. I think it went to Contemporary.

I thought that before the split, ABC Radio fed it's hourly newscasts twice, at :55 past and again on the hour.

You can check the American Radio History website for the ABC ads touting their new network setup. I also saved that stuff, but every once in awhile I would "clean house" and that stuff went. Thank goodness for David Gleason!

FM had five minute newscasts at a quarter-past the hour. At 6 pm, New York time, The Information Network took up the entire half-hour with the newscast, commentary and sports programs.

The Breakfast Club ran from 10:06 am to 10:29, and 10:35 to 10:59, pre-empting the FM and Contemporary Networks. I recall seeing a feed of Paul Harvey's fifteen minute cast at 8:36 or so.

Also, the Contemporary Network ran a one minute "teaser" at :50:30 complete with audio sounder. Then the regular newscast was fed from :54:30 to :59:30.

Methinks I'll go find that Broadcasting magazine right now and save it for posterity.

I just found the Broadcasting Magazine issues I wanted about the ABC Radio Networks.

Schedules are in the 1967-11-20 (November 20) pages 11-16. The FM network was only schduled to air from 11 am to 11 pm with nothing in the 6 pm hour as it was being used by the Information network.

1967-12-18 had a four page spread about the network(s) with color reproductions of the four logos.

Note: The odd times I mentioned earlier was from material sent to me by ABC which detailed all of the program being fed on the Telco line.

The coverage of the Robert Kennedy assassination is in the 1968-06-17 issue, page 28- .

I found my multi-color pie chart from ABC that shows the six demographic networks circa 1982:

00: Information
27: Entertainment News Update
30: Entertainment Radio News
38: FM Radio News
42: Rock Radio News
45: Direction Radio New
52: Customcast
56: Contemporary Radio News

On the back of the card are the times for the various "Newscalls" and "Sportscalls" which were audio feeds for affiliates.

From 1957 through 1967, ABC fed news at :55

Did ABC have hourly casts in the 50's and early 60's. I know that they still had old time radio programming in the 50's?

And of course the "Live And Lively" ABN experiment of 1957-8

I wonder how often they could program a regular newscast in those days?

Joe

TheBigA commented: said:

In fact IIRC Breakfast Club was the last of the long form shows, and it was gone in a couple years.

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"Breakfast Club" came to an end in December of 1968, after host Don McNeill announced his retirement.

The final broadcast was on December 27th, 1968. Although "Breakfast Club" was usually 50 minutes in length, supposedly the final show was only 25 minutes long because part of it's timeslot was pre-empted for live coverage of the splashdown of Apollo 8, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon.

I suspect that if McNeill had decided not to retire at the end of 1968 that "Breakfast Club" would have continued until he did step down.

Joseph_Gallant said:

I suspect that if McNeill had decided not to retire at the end of 1968 that "Breakfast Club" would have continued until he did step down.

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Maybe, but he would not have been heard in NYC. The benefit of the 1968 split was moving Breakfast Club to the Entertainment Network, and WABC New York was a Contemporary affiliate. Thus, it no longer aired on ABC's biggest radio station. Much to the delight of WABC PD Rick Sklar.

It was also shortened because the only room for it on the new network system was between 10:05 and 10:30.

Joseph_Gallant said:

TheBigA commented: said:

In fact IIRC Breakfast Club was the last of the long form shows, and it was gone in a couple years.

Click to expand...

"Breakfast Club" came to an end in December of 1968, after host Don McNeill announced his retirement.

The final broadcast was on December 27th, 1968. Although "Breakfast Club" was usually 50 minutes in length, supposedly the final show was only 25 minutes long because part of it's timeslot was pre-empted for live coverage of the splashdown of Apollo 8, the first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon.

I suspect that if McNeill had decided not to retire at the end of 1968 that "Breakfast Club" would have continued until he did step down.

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I have a copy of the last show somewhere, and McNeill's show (It was called "The Don McNeill Show" by then but was always at least informally known as "The Breakfast Club") was about 50 minutes. I guess he did the entire show dispite its being preempted partially on the east coast, for the west coast time delay. I don't remember him referring to the spaceshot on the show (though it has been a while since I've listened to it).

Joe

jh said:

Alex Drier News/Commentary and Tom Harmon Sports still existed at the time of the split, and they went to ABC/I. I'm not sure how long they lasted, many another couple of years.

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They were on at least into 1976. WTAQ LaGrange/Chicago picked them up after WLS was allowed to drop them. IIRC, that Drier/Harmon news block was the last "long-form" programming on ABC radio, other than the occasional news special.

Nobody mentioned the veteran news commentator Edward P. Morgan, an ABC fixture going back to the mid-'50s who had a five-minute commentary on the Information network well into the '70s. I don't know what time ABC fed it down the line; in Philadelphia I think WRCP-FM ran it at 10 PM, preempting the 15-minute World Wrapup newscast. Howard K. Smith also had a commentary spot on Information, and if memory serves a young Geraldo Rivera briefly had a five-minute show in a morning time slot on the FM network around '74 or '75, notable mostly for being the first ABC program to use the title Good Morning America (with Arlo Guthrie's version of "City of New Orleans" serving as theme music).

Good questions. I only followed their network schedules for a few years then started following something else, unfortunately, I forgot what that was. ;-(

Edward P. Morgan stopped doing the 7pm newscast in the summer of 1966. ABC replaced it with a similar length newscast with Mort Crimm, later a TV news broadcaster in Louisville, Philadelphia and Detroit. The move occurred because Morgan was concentrating more on TV (and became co-anchor of the evening news with Howard K. Smith) and/or because the program's sponsor, the AFL-CIO ("13 and a half million Americans bring you Edward P. Morgan and the news"), withdrew its sponsorship. In any case, the Crimm newscast did not survive the four network split.

Prior to Morgan, the 7pm expanded news had been done by Taylor Grant, who also became a local news broadcaster in Philly and the voice of TV Guide commercials.

The Entertainment and FM networks did not have newscasts in the 10am Eastern hour to allow for the Don McNeil feed (although most stations carrying the show were Entertainment affiliates any way).

Originally, ABC produced distinct newscasts (and content) for each network. Now, everybody gets the same news and only the spots are targeted, Shame because demographically targeted news makes a lot of sense.

Uh, that was the Contemporary and FM networks that didn't have a newscast in the ten a.m. hour. Entertainment Network News was on the half-hour. ;-)

I thought the "Club" ran in the 9 o'clock hour in the east.

Joe

Mike said:

Uh, that was the Contemporary and FM networks that didn't have a newscast in the ten a.m. hour. Entertainment Network News was on the half-hour. ;-)

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Except during that hour they got Don McNeil.

The Breakfast Club was originally fed at 9am in the East. As more and more affiliates wanted to continue their morning shows into the 9am hour, the show was pushed back.