Soap Operas from Radio to Television

SOAP OPERAS FROM RADIO TO TELEVISION

The Rise of the Soap Opera

Gilbert Seldes writes that "the daytime serial was the great invention of radio." Three "women's serial dramas"—daily radio programs intended for an audience of women, featuring a stable cast and a melodramatic, domestic story which advanced slowly-—premiered in 1931. The three were "Clara, Lu and Em"; "The Goldbergs"; and "Myrt and Marge." The shows, in the beginning only fifteen minutes long, soon became a staple on radio. By 1939 the number of shows had grown to sixty-one. In 1950 the four television networks—NBC, CBS, ABC, and Du Mont—devoted seventy-five hours per week to daytime serials.

Importance of the Sponsor

From the early years of the serials, most were sponsored by soap manufacturers who were interested in advertising their products to women. The daytime serials became so associated with the sponsors that in 1939 some wag coined the term soap opera to describe them. Humorist James Thurber memorably described the fifteen-minute radio serial formula:

Between thick slices of advertising, spread twelve minutes of dialogue, add predicament, villainy, and female suffering in equal measure, throw in a dash of nobility, sprinkle with tears, season with organ music, cover with a rich announcer sauce, and serve five times a week.

Unsure of Success

With the advent of commercial television in the 1950s, network executives doubted the possibilities for the television success of soap operas. Many did not believe that women would sit and watch the same melodrama they previously listened to while performing housework. Once again had the networks had misgauged the response of the audience.

Soapmakers Bonanza

The sponsors, however, realized the potential of television. They knew that exclusive sponsorship of the daytime programs enhanced their ability to sell products. They thought that television would be a bonanza. Procter and Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive were the two most important sponsors of soap operas. Procter and Gamble quickly exploited what it saw as the great advertising potential of television. In 1951 the company formed its own television production company to produce soap operas. Procter and Gamble's large stake in soap-opera production contributed much to its rise by 1954 to be the largest television advertiser. From $7.2 million in 1951 Procter and Gamble's television advertising budget rose to $23.7 million in 1954.

On Television

The soap opera made the switch from radio to television in the 1950s with ease. In 1950, the year that CBS introduced the first television serial, "The First Hundred Years," there were twenty-seven such serials on the radio. In February 1954 there were seven soaps on television. The television soaps quickly matched and even exceeded the audience of their radio counterparts. The television version of "Guiding Light" was watched in 3.75 million homes in 1954 and ranked fourth among daytime programs. The radio version of the same soap was also ranked fourth among daytime radio programs, yet was listened to in only 2.7 million homes. The shows were televised live daily and were initially fifteen minutes long; late in the decade most soaps expanded to thirty minutes. The time slots for the shows were from 12 noon to 2 P.M. and from 4 P.M. to 5 P.M.

Stubborn Radio Success

Despite the increasing emphasis on television soap operas, radio serials continued to be popular through the middle of the decade. In 1952 the five toprated radio soap operas were on CBS. The list included "The Romance of Helen Trent," "Our Gal Sunday," "Ma Perkins," "The Guiding Light," and "Big Sister." The audience for the shows in 1952 reached as high as 4 million viewers. But both networks and advertisers quickly realized that the radio soaps were a dying breed. From a high of thirty-five programs on the air in 1952, the number fell to twenty-six in 1955. After 1955 the number of programs on radio dwindled, until by the 1959-1960 season there were only eight on the air: one on NBC and seven on CBS. At the end of that season NBC canceled its remaining soap, and CBS canceled one. CBS closed its radio soap shop in November 1960.

Enduring Soap Opera

Soap operas became the longest running shows on television and also the most profitable. "The Guiding Light" premiered on CBS in 1952 and remains on the air in 1993. "Search for Tomorrow," which premiered on CBS in 1951, continued on the network until 1982 and then on NBC until 1986. The relatively low costs of producing the shows and their high ratings ensured their popularity with the sponsors. The melodramatic stories of interpersonal relationships have led to an enduring popularity of the soap opera, regardless of the medium.

CORONATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH
ON AMERICAN TELEVISION

The 2 June 1953 coronation of British queen Elizabeth II drove the already furious competition among the television networks to a new height. While all four networks—NBC, CBS, ABC, and Du Mont—planned coverage, NBC and CBS engaged in a frenzied race to provide the first taped coverage of the royal events. With combined costs running in excess of five hundred thousand dollars, the two largest networks spent months planning strategies to film independently the coronation and surrounding hoopla. The networks made elaborate, and some would say ridiculous, plans to speed the pictures back to the United States. NBC wanted to bounce a television signal off the moon; CBS wanted to use a guided missile. More-practical ideas triumphed, however, and both networks planned to use high-speed airplanes to fly the tape back to broadcast studios in the United States. The CBS plane arrived in Boston well ahead of NBC's. But the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), with the aid of the Royal Canadian Air Force, was the first broadcaster to receive film of the coronation and quickly began showing the event out of their Montreal studios. Much to the chagrin of CBS, both ABC and NBC cut into the CBC signal and beat CBS onto the air. As for the competition, the winner was ABC, who showed the coronation without spending an excessive amount of money.

Sources:

"Long Live the Queen," Time, 61 (25 May 1953): 67-68; "Who's on First?," Nevuweek, 41 (15 June 1953): 92.

Sources:

Murial G. Cantor and Suzanne Pingree, The Soap Opera (Beverly Hills, Cal.: Sage, 1983);

J. Fred MacDonald, Radio Programming in American Life from 1920 to 1960 (Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1978);

Mary Mannes, "Channels: Soft Soap," Reporter (23 September 1954): 48-49;

Gilbert Seldes, "Darkness Before Noon," Saturday Review (5 December 1953): 53-54;

"Soap in Your Eyes," Newsweek (1 February 1954): 74-75;

Christopher H. Sterling and John M. Kitross, Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American Broadcasting (Belmont, Cal.: Wadsworth, 1978).