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It is also true that network contracts are signed on the basis of 13-week periods and continuing contracts hang over from prosperous times into depression months. Radio's big first quarter this year was swelled with much of this continuing business, and it contributed mightily to the handsome gross totals. But the rush to return to the air during the fourth quarter involves another factor. All parts of network-radio's day do not provide the same audience pulling power. To reach the largest and most varied audience, advertisers consider evening time the best, favor most strongly the hour between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. in one of the four U. S. time belts. Nobody wants any commercial time after 11 p.m. Therefore, big shows are likely to be in the market mainly for network between 8 p.m. and 11 (E. S. T.). Three hours a night, seven nights a week adds up to only 21 hours a week of premium time, 84 hours on four (two for NBC) networks. But sponsors are also reluctant to buy time in opposition to a show which is a great national favorite. That again reduces the amount of premium time, keeps a keen edge on the competition for the prize hours even in depression years. It also tends to make advertisers strain to keep their hold on time that has served them well, and is one more stabilizing and recuperative factor in the radio business.
Still another reason for radio's steadily advancing prosperity is the increase in sales of daylight time (up 500% in five years for CBS). Cereal makers have learned to go after the kiddies around the wash-for-suppertime, soap makers like to catch housewives at the morning laundry or noon dishes. But the fact remains that of the average 65% of their time the networks boast of giving away, by far the greater part is in the daytime. Commercial radio, like many a maiden, looks best after dark.
Nevertheless, only a few U. S. publishers, network radio's chief competitors for advertising contracts, could be supposed last week to be sitting on an eight-month gross so large and comfortable as that enjoyed by the big three broadcasters:
MBS. . . . . $ 1,673,913
NBC. . . . . $26,923,483
CBS. . . . . $18,373,777
Some aspects of the busiest season of their best year:
MBS. Youngest member of the young industry is the Mutual Broadcasting System. Network radio had had several unsuccessful efforts to build a fourth national chain to compete with NBC's Red and Blue, CBS, when in 1934 an advertiser who wanted to reach New York and Chicago listeners, but did not want to pay the cost of network broadcasting, approached stations WOR (Newark) and WGN (Chicago) to make a deal. The sponsor wanted to put on a show to be aired over the two stations. The show originated in Newark and he proposed to pay each station its standard time rate, but asked the stations to pay the wire charges for carrying the programs between the two cities. The deal was made and on the basis of these two-station broadcasts MBS was formed in September of that year. WOR and WGN organized on a 50-50 basis, agreed to seek advertisers who wanted to use both stations, not to interfere with each other's local programs. As a network, MBS was to have no corporate profit. Officers were to be paid only by the station for which they worked.