Dec. 28, 1964 - “Peyton Place,” television’s first evening soap opera, seems to be on the way to a long if not happy life. It is obtaining good ratings, it will remain on the air next summer with new episodes and no reruns, and all its sponsors have renewed for the 1965‐66 season.
According to the latest Nielsen report, the twice-a‐week serial had a rating of 26.0 on Thursdays and 23.9 on Tuesdays. A rating indicates the percentage of television homes sampled that were tuned to a program. Among all network evening programs, which total about 100, the Thursday edition of “Peyton Place” was in 12th place and the Tuesday edition in ninth place.
The filmed soap opera, adapted from the novel by the late Grace Metalious, is televised at 9:30 on both evenings by the ABC. Julius Barnathan, executive vice president of the television network, said yesterday it was ABC’s plan now to keep “Peyton Place” in the same time period next season.
It is possible that next summer “Peyton Place” will be the only continuing show that does not engage in reruns.
“You just can’t do repeats with a serial,” Douglas Cramer, vice president of program planning for ABC, said. “It’s a continuing story with no beginning, no middle, and no ending. Suspense and surprise are the chief elements in a serial.”
Among other things, “Peyton Place” is about deaths, births, and people getting married in a small New England town.
“The first rating peak for the show occurred when Mrs. Harrington, the richest woman in town, died on the operating table,” Mr. Cramer said. “We don’t lose another character until about Episode 48, when one of them will have a heart attack.”
Although there will be no reruns for the show next summer, it has to happen sooner or later. Someday, ABC will drop the show, and the episodes will be offered for syndication. Then TV’s first evening soap opera will go into daytime reruns.
Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comments