When Did Networks Go Around The Clock?

[joeybabe25]

When did the four major radio networks go around the clock with news on the top of the hour? I have heard it was the 70's before, for example, NBC went 24 hours. Also I understand a couple of the last TOH casts on NBC came out of Cleveland.

Can anyone shed some light on these questions?

I worked at an ABC FM Network station in 1976, and remember that they fed music down the line overnight, but I don't remember any programming (all four ABC webs came down the same pipe back then).

Joe

 

[Mike_Rafone]

I worked at a CBS station in 1966; their last network newscast on Saturday night was at 10:00 PM (and it was sustained). Didn't work Sunday night, but suspect it was the same. I think M-F they had an 11:00 "roundup" that ran 10 minutes.

WSB in Atlanta at the same time was NBC and their last network news was midnight. There was at one time an overnight show of live band remotes hosted by Bert Parks in the early '60's.

CBS announced days before D-Day they would be operating the "full network" until 3:05 AM Eastner to provide access if there wre breaking news. Before that I think they closed at midnight eastern.

 

[jovialjay]

When did the four major radio networks go around the clock with news on the top of the hour?

I worked at an ABC FM Network station in 1976, and remember that they fed music down the line overnight.

I can't say for sure, but I remember the first daily (6AM M/F TOH) news from ABC in the late 60s and early-mid 70s used the Information sounder and the verbiage "It's 6 o'clock in New York, 3 o'clock in Los Angeles and this is the first edition of network news from ABC Radio. I'm Bob Walker in New York and at this hour..."

Many nights, the later hour Information newscasts were done by Merrill Muller from Los Angeles.

 

[joeybabe25]

Does anyone remember NBC TOH casts out of Cleveland?

Joe

 

[oldiesfan6479]

...before, for example, NBC went 24 hours. Also I understand a couple of the last TOH casts
on NBC came out of Cleveland.

I recall hearing (late 1960s? early 1970s?) the last several NBC TOH 'casts for the night--
up until 11PM or 12 AM PT--originating from KNBR.

"...Robert Lasich, NBC News, San Francisco."

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

With the time difference, it's likely that the networks fed programs on the West Coast until 12 Midnight or 1 A.M. PDT/PST, but that such programs (including in later years, hourly newscasts) may not have been heard East of the Rockies.

 

[joeybabe25]

If the networks were going to feed the west coast until, say, 12 or 1 am then why not have the east coast carry the program?

Would this perhaps be a question of regional sponsorships? And other than TOH newscasts, what other kind of programming would be networked at that late hour (other than sports) on a regular basis?

Joe

 

[cyberdad]

I worked at a CBS affiliate in the 1970s, and I remember the 24 hr TOH newscasts being launched around 1973 or '74 with a brief on-air ad campaign promoting the fact. A moot point for us, since the station signed off at midnight!

 

[FredLeonard]

I worked for an NBC affiliate back then. The last network news was at midnight (Eastern). Early in the evening during the closed circuit billboard announcement, NBC would say who would be reading each newscast throughout the evening, always ending with "Robert Lasich, pronounced like AS ITCH."

I suspect the Pacific Network may have gotten later newscasts, not fed to the East. I also wondered if the New York and Washington newsrooms shut down late in the evening, which is why news on the hour came from San Francisco. (It should be noted, NBC never had a radio O&O in Los Angeles).

 

[Kurt Toy]

According to the authors of "Radio In The Television Age'', a book definitely in need of an update, CBS started 24-hour broadcasts in 1973, NBC and Mutual in 1974, and ABC in 1976.

 

[FredLeonard]

According to the authors of "Radio In The Television Age'', a book definitely in need of an update, CBS started 24-hour broadcasts in 1973, NBC and Mutual in 1974, and ABC in 1976.

I would have assumed that radio networks did not run all night in order to save AT&T line charges and would have started going 24/7 when they had leased satellite channels. But 73-76 sounds a bit early for satellite delivery replacing land lines.

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

I believe Mutual was first to go to satellite delivery, around 1978 (but not all MBS stations got network programs from the satellite at first).

So in the 1970's, the networks did begin feeding newscasts 'round the clock via landlines.

 

[TheBigA]

I would have assumed that radio networks did not run all night in order to save AT&T line charges

Nope. The AT&T lines were full time. They paid the same regardless. As someone earlier said, ABC fed music. Some of the other nets fed TV audio or tone or clock pulse. In 1975, Mutual began syndicating the Herb Jepko talk show between midnight and 6AM.

Midnight to 6AM was unrated, so there was no factual way to price the spots. They added overnight newscasts mainly due to affiliate demand. Most of the national radio newsrooms had minimal overnight staffing anyway.

 

[cyberdad]

As someone earlier said, ABC fed music. Some of the other nets fed TV audio or tone or clock pulse.

My memory is that the CBS network line was mostly silent. Occasional tones, alerts, etc. A few times a day at :15 and/or :45, they fed news stories from correspondents or sound bytes that they had decided not to include in the TOH newscasts. Leftovers that we could use if we needed filler in our local newscasts.

 

[FredLeonard]

I would have assumed that radio networks did not run all night in order to save AT&T line charges

Nope. The AT&T lines were full time. They paid the same regardless. As someone earlier said, ABC fed music. Some of the other nets fed TV audio or tone or clock pulse. In 1975, Mutual began syndicating the Herb Jepko talk show between midnight and 6AM.

Midnight to 6AM was unrated, so there was no factual way to price the spots. They added overnight newscasts mainly due to affiliate demand. Most of the national radio newsrooms had minimal overnight staffing anyway.

I know TV network lines were not full time. CBS and ABC lines went dead at 11pm. NBC had the advantage of keeping their lines open until 1am for the Tonight. This allowed them to feed late-breaking stories to affiliates after 11pm for them to include in their local news. ABC also began doing this in the mid 60s when they had late night programs (Les Crane, Joey Bishop, Dick Cavett).

Maybe the line was still open for radio but I don't recall NBC ever using for Hotline alerts or bulletins after the midnight News on the Hour from San Francisco. The fact that San Francisco fed the network in the late evening suggests that at some point NBC switched the net for West Coast origination, and New York could not feed until AT&T switched back.

I was working for an ABC Information all news affiliate in the late 60s and they were feeding all four network newscasts from LA in the evening.

 

[TheBigA]

Maybe the line was still open for radio but I don't recall NBC ever using for Hotline alerts or bulletins after the midnight News on the Hour from San Francisco. ]

Probably because no one was there. That doesn't mean the lines weren't open full time. Like anything, you shut the service down, and it could lead to a problem turning it back on.

 

[joeybabe25]

I worked at an ABC FM affiliate in 1976 and there were no newscasts after, probably midnight. The net fed music down the line to keep it hot. All 4 ABC networks came down the same pipe. I would think it wouldn't have been too difficult for the other webs to do the same.

Most affiliates were on all night, and it was handy to make sure you still had a network connection. The few times I worked overnight at this station, I would sometimes listen to the net feed instead of songs I'd heard far too many times.

Joe

 

[frnkp2000]

Early to mid 80's here, at an ABC-D affiliate during the conversion from landline to satellite. We kept the line as a backup until ABC finally cut it for good. (Anyone remember the exact date? I recall a memo posted on the sat receiver with a date and time of 12:01 am.) I can remember working overnights and keeping the feed potted up and loud in the production studio in case some kind of news broke overnight. We did not have any type of alert system, just listen for the header tone. At that particular time, we got multiple nets over the "landline", but when there was nothing feeding, it would just be silent, no music feed. Again this was early to mid 80's. And the lines were open 24/7, it would probably be very costly to keep turning them on and off, no?

 

[Joseph_Gallant]

Of course, there were times when the radio networks went all-night in times of major events and breaking news.

For instance, with the D-Day invasion confirmed at 3:30 A.M. Eastern time on June 6th, 1944, the major radio networks (Blue, soon to become ABC; CBS, Mutual, and NBC) were on the air all night.

So, too was the first moon landing. Although the moonwalk of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin started at 10:56 P.M. EDT on July 20th, 1969 (three-and-a-half hours ahead of the original flight plan), at least one radio network was on all-night, even though the moonwalk had ended around 1:30 A.M. EDT. For instance, CBS Radio (like the three major TV networks of the era) was on the air for 30 straight hours from 12 Noon EDT July 20th through 6 P.M. EDT July 21st (according to the radio listings page in the TV section of the July 20th, 1969 Boston Sunday Globe) to cover the landing; I suspect ABC, Mutual and NBC did likewise.

 

[joeybabe25]

One wonders how the radio webs handled the shooting of Robert Kennedy in 1968. It happened about 3am EDT in L.A., and while the west coast was certainly hot (and I think the tv networks were nationwide) what about the radio networks on the east coast?

CBS had a net alert, but I'm not sure what the others had to alert affiliates to a breaking story. A previous poster has said that ABC had no "net alert" system.

How was this handled on the east coast?