Why did Networks used to program Saturdays?

I just watched an old 1970s video promo for "CBS Saturday Night" which
consisted of All in the Family, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, and Carol
Burnett.

That seems odd to me..... why program on Saturday? Don't people go out
& not watch tv?

me...

Gerry...

The promo was from the 1973 season. It appears that CBS was doing
counter programming.

CBS starting at 8:00 had 4 half-hour comedy shows:

All in the Family
M*A*S*H
Mary Tyler Moore Show
Bob Newhart Show

Then the one hour Carol Burnett Show at 10:00

Meanwhile the other two networks had:

ABC
Partridge Family (30 min.)
ABC Suspense Movie (90 min.)
Griff (30 min.)

NBC
Emergency (60 min.)
NBC Saturday Night Movie (90 min.)

In reviewing CBS programming from the mid 1960s to the 1970s they
seemed to do counter programming in this decade, while ABC & NBC would

me...

.

Okay so while the other networks had decided to just "give up" on
Saturdays with reruns of old theater movies, CBS was showing original
comedies. Thanks for the explanation.

Barbara Bailey...

It wasn't a case of the other networks "giving up" with theatrical
movies. In 1973, if you missed the movie in first-run at the
theater, you didn't have downloads, Netflix or Blockbuster to watch it
whenever you wanted. You had to wait until one of the TV networks
showed it, or until it was re-relaesed in the theaters again.

Barry Margolin...

On the other hand, it wasn't as easy to miss the movie in first-run.
Movies tended to run in theatres for 3-6 months, they weren't
immediately dropped if they didn't have a huge first weekend box office.
There was no home video market, and not as much of a foreign market, so
long runs in theatres was the only way to make money on movies.

Look at the rest of the programming for the same time period: most of
the nets not only had a 10:00 PM movie at least one day a week, they
also had a 3:00-in-the-afternoon movie weekdays and a Saturday Matinee
movie, and a Late late movie (ususally about midnight weeknights.)

me...

.

Which is not original programming. As I said: "reruns" of movies I
would have already seen in the theater. IN CONTRAST, cbs was creating
its own original shows... shows that are still remembered today.

BTW I was 1-year-old in 1973, so no, I don't remember it.

bklyntv...

Your elder speaks the truth, while it wasn't original programming, it
wasn't total laziness on the Network's part, it WAS a pretty big deal
when theater movie debuted on TV at the time. Remember this DOES
precede bittorrenting, cable, DVD, even video stores.

Jude Cormier...

Back then, movies could attract HUGE Nielsen ratings.

have their Saturday night movies CBS ran these programs:

Jackie Gleason Show
My Three Sons
Hogan's Heroes
Petticoat Junction
Mannix
Green Acres
Mission: Impossible
Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Jeffersons
Rhoda
Dallas

Yeah, I remember they had Early Edition, Martial Law and Walker,
Texas Ranger on Saturday nights for awhile.

Barbara Bailey...

Additionally, it was not unheard of to go to someone else's house and,
during the course of the evening, watch a TV show or two with them,
particularly one of the variety shows, like Carol Burnett, or going
back further, Jackie Gleason, Red Skelton, Ed Sullivan or the Smothers
Brothers. (I'm not saying that all those shows were on Saturday night,
mind you--I don't remember which nights they were on...)

jayembee...

*Young* people go out on Saturday night and don't watch TV. There was
a time when the networks actually cared about audiences who didn't
fit into the 18-49 demographic.

Jeffy3...

Back in the late 80s GOLDEN GIRLS and EMPTY NEST were big draws on
Saturday nights.

Jude Cormier...

The NBC lineup on Saturdays was ratings gold--prolly the last time a big
mass audience was viewing Saturday night TV.