Programs airing on multiple networks simultaneously

[Stanislav]

Strange as it may seem, with the competition between networks, I have read over the years of a handful of incidents where a program was broadcast on more than one network simultaneously. I'm not talking about news events (like, say, a Presidential inauguration or speech), but actual scheduled special programming that aired on multiple networks at the same time. (Also not referring to U.S.-based shows that might occasionally have been scheduled at the same clock time in the U.S. and in Canada.)

The only two that come to my recollection are the first Super Bowl (which was carried by both NBC and CBS, though I'm not sure if they used separate announcers or cameras) and the well-known special "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue," which was shown on all the broadcast networks and a handful of cable channels at the same time. My addled middle-aged brain tells me that I have read of a few other such cases over the years, but I'm damned if I can recall what they were. You students and aficionados of broadcast history, come to my rescue.

(TRIVIA NOTE: What was significant about the use of the characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue?" Answer: it was the first time those classic Looney Tunes characters were voiced by someone other than Mel Blanc, who had died shortly before the special was produced. Bonus points if you can tell me who did the voices without looking it up on IMDB or another web source...)

 

[anotherguyTN]

There was an earlier thread in the National TV forum about TBS and TNT both showing The Wizard of Oz at the same time recently and other times where something similar has happened as well:

http://www.radio-info.com/smf/index.php/topic,85199.0.html

Of course these are sister networks so that can be done with no problem.

I also happened to think that the movie Men of Honor was on both FX and the CW 100+ network at the same time on a recent Sunday afternoon.

 

[Tim-In-Houston]

If I recall, the big 3 (maybe Fox included) ran a long-form PSA on gun violence (or drugs or HIV or something) at some point in the early-90s. That's about all i can remember, though.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

What I feel is the best example of this would be "The Ford 50th Anniversary Show" telecasted on both NBC and CBS on June 15, 1953 for two hours in primetime. It paid tribute to the Ford Motor Company's 50 years in business. Stars from both networks appeared either live or on film. The segment of that program that is usually shown in TV history highlights is Mary Martin and Ethel Merman together singing songs.

With regards to Super Bowl I between the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs on January 15, 1967, the event was actually named "The AFL-NFL World Championship Game". It did air on two networks but with different announcers, commercials, etc. It seemed fitting since NBC had the American Football League (AFL) games on their network and CBS had the National Football League (NFL) games. NBC had announcers Curt Gowdy doing the play-by-play and Paul Christman doing the color commentary. They were the Number #1 team for the pro games on their network. CBS used Ray Scott, the Green Bay TV announcer, for first-half play-by-play with Frank Gifford doing the color commentary. In the second half, Jack Whitaker of CBS did the play-by-play with Gifford continuing as the color commentator.

 

[bpatrick]

I can think of only two regular series, both from the
early days. "Admiral Broadway Revue," the forerunner
of "Your Show Of Shows" with Sid Caesar, aired on NBC
and DuMont simultaneously in 1949. Five years later, Ralph
Bellamy's "Man Against Crime" aired simultaneously on the same two
networks (after a five-year run on CBS).

 

[KeithE4]

(TRIVIA NOTE: What was significant about the use of the characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue?" Answer: it was the first time those classic Looney Tunes characters were voiced by someone other than Mel Blanc, who had died shortly before the special was produced. Bonus points if you can tell me who did the voices without looking it up on IMDB or another web source...)

IIRC, after Blanc died, his son Noel did the voices for a couple of years but didn't want to make a career of it.

 

[azumanga]

I read that in 1972, the Democratic Party ran a special telethon on all three networks, in support of raising enough money to satisfy a $1 million debt.

 

[Stanislav]

(TRIVIA NOTE: What was significant about the use of the characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue?" Answer: it was the first time those classic Looney Tunes characters were voiced by someone other than Mel Blanc, who had died shortly before the special was produced. Bonus points if you can tell me who did the voices without looking it up on IMDB or another web source...)

IIRC, after Blanc died, his son Noel did the voices for a couple of years but didn't want to make a career of it.

Actually, Noel has not done the voices for anything TV or theatrical, though he has done some peripheral things (children's recordings, etc.). The man who first took over Bugs and Daffy's voices (in "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue") was Jeff Bergman. Since then, he has been joined by at least a dozen different voice artists who at one time or another have done some of the Looney Tunes characters, including Joe Alaskey, Billy West, Eric Goldberg, Bob Bergen, Jim Cummings, and others. (Bugs himself has been voiced by 3 or 4 different folks now.) It is perhaps a tribute to Mel Blanc's talent that no one man can possibly reproduce even a portion of his characters, at least not with consistency.

 

[therealjm12]

I think The Lone Ranger may have been on two networks at one time in the 50's. ABC & CBS?

 

[Corky Marlowe]

I read that in 1972, the Democratic Party ran a special telethon on all three networks, in support of raising enough money to satisfy a $1 million debt.
I remember that...It was subtitled "Answer, America". BTW, doesn't a million dollar debt seem almost quaint now? More recently, didn't the 9/11 Concert For Heroes and the Katrina relief benefit air on several networks? And wasn't "Live Earth" on all the NBC/Universal nets?

 

[tlyle]

How about the "911 Victim Fund Raiser" back in September 2001? Didn't it air on several broadcast and cable networks?

Live Aid is another one that aired on a couple of networks.

 

[Ultimajock]

I think The Lone Ranger may have been on two networks at one time in the 50's. ABC & CBS?

...actually, I'm pretty sure the show's reruns appeared on CBS on Saturday mornings some time after ABC cancelled the prime-time run...

 

[bpatrick]

I think The Lone Ranger may have been on two networks at one time in the 50's. ABC & CBS?

Starting in 1953 ABC had new episodes on Thursday nights while CBS
showed reruns on Saturday afternoons. I can think of a couple other
examples along those lines: in the early '60s new episodes of The Danny
Thomas Show aired on CBS Monday nights, while NBC showed reruns
(mostly the earlier ones, when the show was called Make Room For
Daddy) in daytime; in 1991 NBC reran Full House in the mornings while
ABC had new episodes in primetime.

 

[Newname]

And wasn't "Live Earth" on all the NBC/Universal nets?

Yes, but I think each one carried the concerts in a different form, so there was no real 'simulcast'. I only watched the Sundance Channel's coverage, which jumped among each concert site, with no commentary.

 

[bpatrick]

Do shows that aired on both TV and radio count?
If so, then Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour ran
in both media from 1948 to 1952. On television,
he was seen on DuMont Sundays at 7 from January
1948-September 1949, then on NBC Tuesdays at 10
from October 1949-September 1952. The radio version,
meanwhile, ran on ABC Wednesdays at 8 in the 1948-49
season, then Thursdays at 9 from 1949-52.

And in the 1948-49 season Milton Berle was seen on
NBC Tuesdays at 8, and heard on ABC Wednesdays
at 9.

Likewise, the Friday-night Gillette-sponsored fights
were seen on NBC, with Jimmy Powers doing play-by-
play; and heard on ABC, with Don Dunphy at the mike
(Dunphy took over on television when ABC got the whole
package in 1960).

 

[fortmill]

I know the Rose Bowl Parade is shown on NBC (?) and maybe another national network, or is it on Tribune stations? Plus, the last few years it has been on HGTV, commercial free!

 

[anotherguyTN]

For several years the Rose Bowl Parade has been carried by alll the big 4 networks and also some cable networks including HGTV. However each broadcast was from different locations and/or with different announcers.

The same would apply for Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York. NBC and CBS have both carried it over the last few years from different locations. NBC's coverage was from in front of Macy's as always, and CBS's coverage was from Times Square.

 

[Ultimajock]

..."Kraft Television Theatre" ran on both NBC and ABC (different productions on consecutive nights) for a while in '54...

 

[FreddyE1977]

(TRIVIA NOTE: What was significant about the use of the characters Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck in "Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue?" Answer: it was the first time those classic Looney Tunes characters were voiced by someone other than Mel Blanc, who had died shortly before the special was produced. Bonus points if you can tell me who did the voices without looking it up on IMDB or another web source...)

IIRC, after Blanc died, his son Noel did the voices for a couple of years but didn't want to make a career of it.

After Noel Blanc, Jeff Bergman from Pittsburgh started doing all of them. The guy was a couple of years ahead of me at the University of Pittsburgh. Heard a bunch of stuff he had recorded for the student radio station. The guy is totally amazing!