Commercial-Free Programming

Title: Commercial-Free Programming
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richiedoo
Rank：Platinum Posts：232 From：Unknown Register：09/12/2004 02:57:08	Date Posted：12/17/2014 01:51:09Copy HTML So to the best of my knowledge and memory, theYL was always shown without commercial interruptions(with the exception of station ID breaks which have now been eliminated as well). So this is what I was wondering about...I would imagine that especially during its original run back in the 1970's and 80's that the dollar figures would undoubtedly become significantly larger as to how much revenue WPIX would lose as a result of a 3 hour running time without commercials. Does anyone(Chip?) have any idea as to what the amout of money was the station lost as a result more or less? It must have been a large enough loss for the station to take off the program for 12 years! Also...having played my video copy of the 40th anniversary restored edition from 2006 many times over, I also recorded the spoken intro by Jim Watkins and Kaity Tong...Kaity had mentioned right before the YL started "Thanks to our friends at Jeep, Coca-Cola etc we now present without commercial interruption the 40th anniversary of The Yule Log" Did that mean that Coca-Cola and Jeep helped to offset the revenue loss for WPIX or did WPIX absorb the whole thing on its own? Just another piece of curiosity!
Christmas Always	Share to: #1
Rank：Diamond Posts：1230 From：USA Register：08/28/2006 07:41:07	Re：Commercial-Free Programming Date Posted：12/18/2014 03:31:23Copy HTML Richard, if you saw The WPIX Special "A Log's Life", I believe WPIX lost about $4,000 in revenue from the advertising they could of used, but instead, Fred Thrower wanted to give everyone a Musical Christmas broadcast the program without commercial interruption. I have made myself a DVD of "A Log's Life" and watched it recently, and I am certain it was $4,000 in revenue that they lost. But by today's standards, obviously, it would be much higher. Christmas Isn't Just A Day In December, It's A Way Of Life. Susan
Christmas Music Guru	Share to: #2
Rank：Honorary Member Posts：3893 From：USA Register：09/07/2005 11:04:22	Re：Commercial-Free Programming Date Posted：12/18/2014 07:05:09Copy HTML Rich, No cumulative figures like that have been kept by the station over the years, but the total amount of advertising revenue that they have sacrificed to air the Yule Log commercial-free as a Christmas gift to their viewers has been quite considerable. Yes, in 1966 the loss was estimated at $4000, but remember that was in 1966 dollars. The coast to the station became more considerable as the years went on – especially during the recession-plagued '70s. As for today, the sponsors that are mentioned at the beginning and end of the program only partially offset the loss of revenue. Lawrence F. "Chip" Arcuri Owner/Webmaster \| The Yule Log.com
richiedoo	Share to: #3
Rank：Platinum Posts：232 From：Unknown Register：09/12/2004 02:57:08	Re：Commercial-Free Programming Date Posted：12/18/2014 11:51:38Copy HTML Chip Thanks for that...it's interesting in what local and major TV networks choose to do for their viewers when it comes to select programming. It would appear that stations disregarded in some way the "Recession plagued 70's" as you mentioned above just to provide a little bit of extra entertainment even if it meant without commercials...that's great! But when you think back to a decade like the 70's it seemed like stations and networks did things somewhat more carefree compared to now. You were saying that the YL is not shown anymore on xmas eve night like it used to be since it was during the prime time slot I believe. Understood. But keep in mind that ther YL was in fact shown TWICE during its heyday. In addition i recall back in the eraly to mid 70's that A Christmas Carol (Scrooge) with Alastair Sim was shown on Christmas Eve night without a single commercial(I forgot which channel it was) Seems like things are so different these days. It always seems to be a money thing!
Christmas Music Guru	Share to: #4
Rank：Honorary Member Posts：3893 From：USA Register：09/07/2005 11:04:22	Re：Commercial-Free Programming Date Posted：12/19/2014 04:26:49Copy HTML Richard, What you said was not entirely correct. In the original 24 years that the Yule Log aired on WPIX from 1966-1989, there were only eight Christmases when it aired twice (Christmas Eve night and Christmas Day morning). Those years were 1978, 1979, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988. Lawrence F. "Chip" Arcuri Owner/Webmaster \| The Yule Log.com