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Midseason 1979
Originally Published July 31st, 2008
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ABC's surge to the top of the Nielsen ratings in the mid-1970s led to a corresponding drop in the ratings for NBC. Fred Silverman, who was responsible for the rise of ABC, left that network to become president of NBC during the summer of 1978. The first true test of his ability came in the first few months of 1979, when all three networks premiered their midseason replacements. Unfortunately for Silverman, NBC's new shows performed terribly and the network ended the 1978-1979 season in even worse shape.
January 1979 -- The First Midseason Shows Debut
The networks were in no rush to debut their midseason replacements the moment the new year was rung in. The first few weeks of January were filled with a number of repeats -- especially on ABC -- and the regular dose of specials, feature films and made-for-TV movies. Cancelled programs like Grandpa Goes to Washington and The Eddie Capra Mysteries aired a handful of remaining episodes before disappearing. The return of NBC's Joe and Valerie for a second limited run (of three episodes) was the first new programming to materialize, on Friday, January 5th, 1979.
Both WKRP in Cincinnati on CBS and How the West Was Won on ABC bowed on Monday, January 15th, but they too were returning programs. The first true midseason replacement to premiere was ABC's sitcom Delta House on Thursday, January 18th. The success of National Lampoon's Animal House in 1978 led each of the networks to develop their own television versions, but only ABC was able to present a true follow-up to the film. Delta House was not only produced by the same people behind Animal House, it boasted several members of the original cast.
View a Scene from Delta House
(Yes, that's Michelle Pfeiffer.)
John Belushi, who had starred in Animal House as Bluto Blutarsky, did not return for Delta House, so Josh Mostel was signed to play Bluto's brother, Blotto. Actors John Vernon, Stephen Furst, Bruce McGill and James Widdoes did reprise their roles from the film. The rest of the cast was filled with replacements for those who, like Belushi, declined to appear in the television series. The debut of Delta House, technically a sneak preview of the series, did quite well, ranking 10th for the week with a 28.3/41 rating [16].
NBC premiered its Animal House take-off on Sunday, January 21st, following the conclusion of Super Bowl XIII. The sneak preview of Brothers and Sisters was scheduled to run from 7:30-8PM but didn't actually start until 8:12PM [17]. Despite its lead-in, Brothers and Sisters could only muster a 28th ranking for the week, with a 31 share of the audience [18, 19].
View the Opening Credits to Turnabout
(Our apologies for the quality.)
The following week, both Delta House and Brothers and Sisters would move to their regular timeslots. Brothers and Sisters joined NBC's new Friday line-up, which premiered on January 26th and was an utter failure. Although Diff'rent Strokes started things off strongly, Turnabout, Brothers and Sisters and Hello, Larry and Sweepstakes ranked 50th, 51st, 52nd and 59th, respectively, out of 63 programs [20].
Listen to an NBC Announcer Promote Hello, Larry and Sweepstakes
Delta House joined ABC's Saturday schedule beginning January 27th and fell quite a bit from its debut the previous week, tying for 35th [21]. ABC's revamped Osmond Family Hour premiered on Sunday, January 28th and tied for 48th [22]. The first regular Monday installment of ABC's Salvage 1, which had debuted as a two-hour made-for-TV movie on Saturday, January 20th, tied for 24th for the week [23]. As January came to a close, the networks had yet to debut a hit midseason replacement.
February 1979 - A "Sweeps" Month
February was another "sweeps" month for the networks, when local ad rates were calculated. Thus, each of the networks loaded their schedules with hit movies, specials and sneak previews, hoping to skew the ratings in favor of their affiliates. Les Brown, writing in The New York Times noted that the February 1979 sweeps month was especially crucial for CBS and NBC, as both had lost affiliates to ABC during the past months [24].
The efforts by CBS and NBC to dilute the ratings strength of ABC's "Roots: The Next Generation" miniseries led Brown to call the week ending February 25th "the single most competitive week that has ever been experienced in broadcasting" [25]. Films scheduled for February included Gone With the Wind, Rocky, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and American Graffiti, among others. And in addition to "Roots: The Next Generation," other high-profile miniseries included "From Here to Eternity" and "Backstairs at the White House."
NBC premiered "Backstairs at the White House" on Monday, January 29th. CBS broadcast the first installment of its "Mr. Horn" miniseries on Thursday, February 1st and while ABC previewed its new sitcom Makin' It. On Sunday, February 4th, CBS aired Rocky from 8-10:30PM, followed by a preview of Coed Fever (the CBS version of Animal House). Rocky topped the ratings chart for the week with a 36.9/52 rating, making it the third highest-rated film ever to be shown on television [26, 27]. The final episode of NBC's "Centennial" miniseries was crushed by Rocky and ranked 28th for the week.
The preview of Makin' It did well, ranking 10th, but when the sitcom moved to its regular Friday timeslot, it sunk to 38th. And the sneak preview of Coed Fever after Rocky could only manage 19th place, losing enough of its lead-in that CBS pulled it after that sole broadcast [28]. The biggest surprise during the first week of the February sweeps was the success of The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS. Its premiere on Friday, February 26th tied for 29th in the ratings; the following week it actually improved and tied for 20th place [29], 30].
The following week (February 5th through February 12th) was a relatively good one for NBC. The second part of "Backstairs at the White House" drew a 26.6 rating and ranked 7th for the week, while Diff'rent Strokes drew a 22.3 rating and ranked 15th [31]. Plus, the debut of the network's expensive Supertrain ranked 17th and premiere of B.J. and the Bear tied for 22nd [32]. The bad news included the poor showings of the first part of "Women in White" (50th) and the premiere of Little Women (58th), and the bulk of NBC's Friday line-up winding up at the bottom of Nielsen chart.
Listen to an NBC Announcer Promote Supertrain
Still, ABC easily won the week on the strength of its popular sitcoms, which included the debut of Angie on Thursday, February 8th. Scheduled between Mork & Mindy and Barney Miller, the sitcom ranked 5th for the week with a 27.9 rating [33]. The battle for Sunday evening saw ABC broadcast One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, CBS the first half of Gone with the Wind and NBC the made-for-TV movie Elvis. All three ranked in the Top 15 for the week [34].
On Sunday, February 18th, ABC aired the first two-hour installment of "Roots: The Next Generation," from 8-10PM. CBS competed with Marathon Man from 9-11PM and NBC showed American Graffiti from 8-10:20PM. "Roots" drew a strong 27.8/41 rating and tied for 8th for the week, while Marathon Man tied for 33rd and American Graffiti ranked 18th [35, 36]. NBC had little else to crow about, aside from the continued success of Diff'rent Strokes and the premiere of its "From Here to Eternity" miniseries, which placed 21st for the week [37].
The remaining six installments of "Roots: The Next Generation" were shown during the week ending February 25th, every evening save Saturday. All six placed in the Top 15 for the week, with Part VII ranking the lowest at 11th [38]. ABC averaged a 20.1 rating for the week, the highest average for any network for any week since the original "Roots" in January of 1977 [39].
The following week the networks offered the last of their midseason replacements, save for a few stragglers. CBS premiered Billy and Flatbush on Monday, February 26th, while NBC showed the two-hour pilot to Mrs. Columbo. NBC's Cliffhangers premiered on February 27th, CBS's Married: The First Year on February 28th, and two new CBS entries on Sunday, March 4th: Stockard Channing in Just Friends and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour.
Ratings for these new programs were mixed. Billy ranked 43rd for the week, Flatbush tied for 46th, Cliffhangers 53rd and Married: The First Year 57th [40]. The pilot for Mrs. Columbo did well, ranking 18th, but when the series moved to its Thursday timeslot it slipped to 45th [41]. Stockard Channing in Just Friends did well, ranking 14th, while The Mary Tyler Moore Show had to settle for 29th [42].
As the February sweeps came to a close, only two of the more than twenty midseason replacements seemed to have caught the attention of viewers on a weekly basis: Angie on ABC and The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS. The rest were either moderately successfully or, as was the case with most of NBC's new programs, occupying the bottom of the Nielsen charts.
March - NBC Hits New Low, ABC New High, And CBS Falters
On March 8th, NBC announced it was overhauling its midseason schedule, canceling Little Women, Brothers and Sisters and Turnabout, among others [43]. That brought the number of programs canned by NBC during the 1978-1979 season to 16, which was reportedly the highest number of cancellations in a single season by a single network [44]. A slew of new limited series, dubbed the network's "spring wave," would take over for the cancelled programs.
Also on March 8th, producer Norman Lear announced that his series Mister Dugan, set to premiere on CBS on Sunday, March 11th, would not be shown due to the lead character not being shown as a "positive and accurate role model" [45]. The series had been shown to members of the Congressional Black Caucus who found it "unsatisfactory" [46]. Originally called Onward and Upward, original star John Amos quit the series, objecting to its content.
On Tuesday, March 13th, ABC made history when Three's Company drew a 38.5/58 rating, the highest rating for a "regular" (not a series premiere, finale or other such "stunt") episode of a television series, topping the January 10th, 1978 episode of Laverne & Shirley [47]. Following Three's Company was the premiere of The Ropers with a 36.0/55 rating, which became the highest-rated series premiere since Mayberry R.F.D. bowed on September 23rd, 1968 [48]. For the week ending March 18th, ABC averaged an incredible 22.2 rating while NBC fell to one of its lowest ratings ever, a 13.6 [49].
A handful of additional midseason replacements premiered in late March, including Harris and Company on March 15th, one of NBC's "spring wave," 13 Queens Blvd. on March 20th, The Mackenzie's of Paradise Cove on March 27th, Friends on March 25th (all on ABC), and Miss Winslow & Son and Dear Detective on March 28th (both on CBS).
The End of the 1978-1979 Season (And The 1979-1980 Schedules)
According to ABC, the 1978-1979 season ended on Sunday, April 15th, after 31 weeks of competition that saw ABC easily trounce its rival networks, ranking first 26 times, tying with CBS for first once, and finishing second three times [50]. And on April 23rd, ABC announced its fall schedule for the 1979-1980 season, canceling Battlestar Galactica, Delta House, Makin' It, Welcome Back, Kotter, Starsky and Hutch, What's Happening!!, Friends and How the West Was Won [51]. Still under consideration were Salvage I, Carter Country and The Osmond Family Hour (Salvage 1 would return briefly in November of 1979).
Both CBS and NBC released their fall schedules on May 1st [52]. CBS canned The Paper Chase, Kaz, Good Times and The Mary Tyler Moore Hour. Shockingly, NBC kept several of its low-rated midseason replacements, including Hello, Larry, B.J. and the Bear and Mrs. Columbo (renamed Kate Columbo). It cancelled Cliffhangers, Supertrain, Whodunnit? and Highcliffe Manor (the last two were part of NBC's "spring wave").
NBC ended the 1978-1979 season with only four shows in the Top 30: Little House on the Prairie, The NBC Monday Movie, CHiPs and Diff'rent Strokes. CBS had eight, including two midseason replacements, The Dukes of Hazzard and Stockard Channing in Just Friends. The latter was not renewed for the 1979-1980 season, but Stockard Channing returned to CBS in March of 1980 in another short-lived midseason replacement, The Stockard Channing Show.
ABC filled out the rest of the Top 30 with eighteen programs, including the Top Five and seven of the Top Ten. Although both Angie and The Ropers finished in the Top Ten, both would be cancelled during the 1979-1980 season. ABC's strategy of splitting up its popular comedy blocks and shifting programs to different nights backfired somewhat, and programs that had succeeded while scheduled between other popular shows failed when they were on their own.
NBC's failure to cultivate new hits outside of Diff'rent Strokes cannot be laid entirely on the shoulders of Fred Silverman. He inherited an already floundering network that had set in motion its schedule for the 1978-1979 season before he came aboard. The alterations Silverman made to the fall schedule -- attempting to move away from sex -- were commendable but perhaps destined to fail. In an ironic twist, the very shows he had to compete with, and counter program, were the same programs he had overseen at ABC.
It is debatable as to what Silverman could have done differently when he took the reigns in June. If he had left Coast to Coast on the schedule and not changed the focus of Legs (a.k.a. Who's Watching the Kids?) and Operation Runaway (which returned to NBC in late May of 1979 as a summer replacement), he would have still had to contend with a half-dozen other programs that failed to catch on in the ratings. And there is no way to know whether or not Coast to Coast would have done well (CBS's Flying High didn't, after all).
The position of strength ABC started the season with -- especially on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and the bulk of Saturday -- left little room for Silverman to grow new hits. CBS quickly dominated Sunday evenings, leaving only Monday and Friday somewhat open. The only evening NBC did well on during the 1978-1979 season was Monday, thanks to Little House on the Prairie. And even that was only for one hour; CBS had a tight grip on the rest of the evening.
NBC's disastrous midseason schedule, which was Silverman's first true attempt at fixing the network, was at the very least designed brilliantly, as Les Brown explained in early December of 1978:
"There is something of a grand design to NBC's extensive midseason overhaul of its programming.
Each evening has been structured thematically or with a view to reaching a specific segment of the audience -- females, males or young people. Each program has been placed strategically to counter ABC's dominance of the audience-popularity ratings, and all the new programs have a common characteristic described by an NBC official as a 'light, comedy touch'."
Certainly, Silverman could have done better than Supertrain. But Supertrain was not all that much different than ABC's Love Boat, which performed well on Saturdays. If Supertrain had not been initially scheduled opposite Eight is Enough on Wednesdays, perhaps it would have caught on (when it was moved from Wednesdays in April of 1979, it did no better).
When Silverman left NBC in 1981, the network was still hurting. But by the mid-1980s, thanks to the patience and cunning of Grant Tinker and Brandon Tartikoff, NBC was back on top. The fact that Silverman was never able to bring to NBC the sort of the ratings resurgence he had brought to CBS and then ABC may be because while at ABC he simply did his job too well. If Fred Silverman couldn't go up against the ABC schedule Fred Silverman had created, nobody could.
16 Brown, Les. "ABC-TV Tops Nielsen Ratings." New York Times. 24 Jan. 1979: C23.
17 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 23 Jan. 1979: B6.
18 Brown, Les. "ABC-TV Tops Nielsen Ratings."
19 "The TV Column." Washington Post. 24 Jan. 1979: B10.
20 "The TV Column." Washington Post. 31 Jan. 1979: B8.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid.
23 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 7 Feb. 1979: B8.
24 Brown, Les. "TV Gets Ready for the February "Sweeps" in Program Changes." New York Times. 22 Jan. 1979: C15.
25 Ibid.
26 "TV Ratings." New York Times. 7 Feb. 1979: C22.
27 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 7 Feb. 1979: B8.
28 Ibid.
29 "6 of the top 10 put ABC on top again." Chicago Tribune. 2 Feb. 1979: C12.
30 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 7 Feb. 1979: B8.
31 "TV Ratings." New York Times. 14 Feb. 1979: C22.
32 "The TV Column." Washington Post. 14 Feb. 1979: D13.
33 "TV Ratings." New York Times. 14 Feb. 1979: C22.
34 Ibid.
35 "The TV Column." Washington Post. 21 Feb. 1979: B8.
36 Brown, Les. "'Roots II' Draws Well, But Not Like the Original." New York Times. 21 Feb. 1979: C18.
37 Ibid.
38 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 28 Feb. 1979: B8.
39 Ibid.
40 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 7 Mar. 1979: B10.
41 Ibid.
42 Ibid.
43 Brown, Les. "6 New Series in NBC Spring Cleaning." New York Times. 9 Mar. 1979: C29.
44 Ibid.
45 "Lear Witholds 'Dugan' Series." New York Times. 9 Mar. 1979: C14.
46 Ibid.
47 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 16 Mar. 1979: B7.
48 Carmody, John. "The TV Column." Washington Post. 21 Mar. 1979: B13.
49 Brown, Les. "ABC Sweeps Ratings." New York Times. 21 Mar. 1979: C22.
50 Boyer, Peter J. Associated Press. 24 Apr. 1979: PM Cycle.
51 Brown, Les. "ABC-TV Announces Fall Schedule." New York Times. 24 Apr. 1979: C20.
52 Pace, Eric. "NBC, CBS Release Schedules for Fall." New York Times. 2 May 1979: C17.
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