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Britain All Set To Take Wraps Off a New TV Season As BBC, Indies Jockey For Rating Posts

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1963-10-02 Variety.jpg

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With fall sked shows locked In tight and with the competing webs" programming execs able to do tittle else now save sit back and wait. the British tv industry's autumn season battle for ratings begins at the end of the week.

BBC-1's video programming hierarchy, under the control of Donald Eaverstock, has had a definite advantage over the commercial opposition inasmuch as the ladle schedule has been known in trade and advertiser circles for some weeks, while BBC's lineup has been kept more or less under wraps until the last minute.

But now that both sides have put their cards on the table, It becomes clear that the main battleground will be in the 7-9 p.m. area. As never before, BBC has shuffled and juggled its clickshows and "promising bets" so that, come the starting gun, it will mount a solid wall of potentially high entertainment value shows from 7 p.m. to the 9 pm. newscast.

"Balance" shows, which in the past have been deployed among the comedies, the dramas, the spectaculars and other high raring fare —for example the current affairs showcase "Panorama" was sandwiched between a comedy and an action show — are now mainly shunted to slots after the news. "Panorama." as a prime case in point, shifts from its Monday 8.30 p.m. berth, to a post-news peg,

Move of the "balance" shows out of early prime time allows BBC to build such pre-newscast back-to-back audience attractions as (Mon.) "Top Of the Form," "Dick Powell Theatre" or "Defenders," (Toes.) "The Lucy Show," "The Good Old Days," "Maigret," (Wed.) "Sportsview," "Z Cars," "Festival" (Thera./ "Dr. Kildare," "This Is Your Life," "It's A Square World" and (Fri.) "The Marriage Lines," "Here's Harry," "Dr. Finlay's Casebook."

At weekends BBC is going full belt at catching the viewers with entertainment shows. Saturday line includes "Deputy Dawg" cartoons bringing the gap between sports and the teen-appeal show "Juke Box Jury" followed by the 52-week serial "Dr. Who" (from Nov. 23) "Dixon Of Dock Green" (an established Saturday night fare), "Comedy Playhouse" which skyrocketed the "Steptoe And Son" show, a feature and then "That Was The Week That Was." Rounding out Saturday nights will be repeats of "The Third Man."

On Sundays, BBC introduces a new, three-weekly pattern of alternating "The Black And White Minstrel Show," "The Billy Cotton Rand Show" and a Dick Emery comedy series. "Perry Mason" follows and goes back-to-hack with the new "First Night" dramatic series of written-for-tv plays.

But while the Corporation has confined itself to significant changes only in the drama output—le. "First Night" and "Festival"—the commercial web has sparked several new shows both midweek and at weekends-

On Saturdays, for instance. ATV premieres "Sentimental Agent" (against BBC's "Wells Fargo"), "The Charlie Drake Show" against "Comedy Playhouse") and "Espionage" (against . features). From ABC-TV, the weekend-only indie operator. Al Read gets his big break in a comedy skein railed "Life And Al Read" which appears to be main contender for Sunday afternoon honors.

For Its North and Midlands operation. ABC-TV has picked up "The Greatest Show On Earth" which it slots in the key Sunday berth at 7.30 p.m. ATV at weekends in London has elected to pick up "Beverly Hillbillies" which it slots after the "Armchair Theatre" —"Drama '63" series on Sunday nights.

Otherwise, like BBC, the commercial boys are trusting to the established hits like Associated - Rediffusion's "No Hiding Place," Granada-TV's "Coronation Street." ATV's "Emergency Ward 10" and ABC-TV's "The Avengers" and several others to provide a Monday-to-Friday and weekend anchor which they hope will stand the strain of Corporation's hit-'em early tactics.

Disclaimer: These citations are created on-the-fly using primitive parsing techniques. You should double-check all citations. Send feedback to whovian@cuttingsarchive.org

  • APA 6th ed.: (1963-10-02). Britain All Set To Take Wraps Off a New TV Season As BBC, Indies Jockey For Rating Posts. Variety p. 31.
  • MLA 7th ed.: "Britain All Set To Take Wraps Off a New TV Season As BBC, Indies Jockey For Rating Posts." Variety [add city] 1963-10-02, 31. Print.
  • Chicago 15th ed.: "Britain All Set To Take Wraps Off a New TV Season As BBC, Indies Jockey For Rating Posts." Variety, edition, sec., 1963-10-02
  • Turabian: "Britain All Set To Take Wraps Off a New TV Season As BBC, Indies Jockey For Rating Posts." Variety, 1963-10-02, section, 31 edition.
  • Wikipedia (this article): <ref>{{cite news| title=Britain All Set To Take Wraps Off a New TV Season As BBC, Indies Jockey For Rating Posts | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Britain_All_Set_To_Take_Wraps_Off_a_New_TV_Season_As_BBC,_Indies_Jockey_For_Rating_Posts | work=Variety | pages=31 | date=1963-10-02 | via=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=19 April 2024 }}</ref>
  • Wikipedia (this page): <ref>{{cite web | title=Britain All Set To Take Wraps Off a New TV Season As BBC, Indies Jockey For Rating Posts | url=http://cuttingsarchive.org/index.php/Britain_All_Set_To_Take_Wraps_Off_a_New_TV_Season_As_BBC,_Indies_Jockey_For_Rating_Posts | work=Doctor Who Cuttings Archive | accessdate=19 April 2024}}</ref>


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