Why Feature Films Were a Local Phenomenon

by: Dick Golembiewski

In the early days of television, the major networks were hostile to the use of film programming. This included the production of films specifically for the medium (telefilms), as well as the use of older, feature films. These initial concerns revolved around a number of issues:

• The cost of producing telefilms using established studio techniques
• The possible rejection by the public of reruns
• The potential that local stations would make independent deals with producers and advertisers.

Nonetheless, RCA (which owned NBC, and after a lengthy court battle was forced to pay Philo Farnsworth royalties for the use of his patented technologies - effectively giving them control over B&W, VHF television) approached the major studios during the 1940s re: producing films for the medium. RKO expressed an interest.

The use of filmed programming had one major advantage: In the 1940s there was no convenient way to show network programming to all affiliates at the same time. AT&T held a monopoly on coaxial cable interconnection lines, and by 1950 only about half of the nation’s 47 TV markets (primarily NBC affiliates) were so connected. (AT&T charged a flat mileage rate, regardless of the number of affiliates, and forced TV coaxial cable users to rent additional radio lines. The Du Mont network, which had no radio stations, was at a disadvantage.)

At the same time, television advertising revenues were too small to support the production of original films. The studios estimated at the time that TV revenue was less than half that they received from the reissue of their films to theaters. They considered developing theater and pay-TV, but the FCC consistently blocked such schemes during the 1950s. In addition, federal anti-trust rulings beginning in 1948, forced the studios to divest themselves of their theaters. Television was still considered a competitor to movie theaters, and the independent owners threatened to boycott the product of any studios which produced telefilms, or released their features to the medium.

Thus, early telefilms were made by small, independent producers. Most were low-budget action-adventure series or westerns, and generally fit in a 30 minute time slot.

The major studios were interested in releasing their feature films to TV, but only if they were paid more than they could make in reissues. Further complicating matters was the fact that in 1947, the Screen Actors Guild had negotiated agreements with the studios which provided that should a producer permit television use of its films made for the theaters, which were completed after 1 August 1948, SAG could notify its members not to work for him. (TV historians often speak of the release of pre- and post-1948 features for this reason. In fact, the studios did not come to agreements with the unions re: films made after that date until after they had abandoned all monetary claims to the pre-1948 features.) With the advent of Technicolor, Cinemascope, and 3-D technologies, the studios saw TV as a way to market their older, B&W films.

The networks viewed things differently. This was the so-called "Golden Age" of live television drama and variety shows. NBC and CBS (The two dominant networks) thought their shows were of a high quality and feared dilution by Hollywood. NBC in particular, opposed the non-network distribution of programming. It anticipated broadcasting its live shows in color, and was opposed to showing B&W films. In addition, the networks had fears (founded) that the studios would package the less popular with popular features, forcing them to take the entire package.

The first trickle of films to television came from foreign studios, which had no agreements with the Screen Actors Guild. Republic Pictures withdrew from the production of feature films, and no longer fearing retaliation by SAG, released its films to TV. Other smaller (the so-called "poverty row") studios did so as well, as they feared that the advent of color broadcasting would diminish the value to TV. (Some of these films from Monogram and others were the first horror films released to TV.)

The major break came when Howard Hughes sold RKO to General TeleRadio (a division of General Tire, which had been involved in telefilm production) in July of 1955. The RKO library included 740 feature films. In December of 1955, the television rights were sold to C&C Television. (General TeleRadio retained the right to show the films on its own stations.) C&C Television was a division of C&C Super Corporation, which made soft drinks and other products.

Since the networks had no interest in showing feature films, C&C began a series of single-market sales in June of 1956. C&C received advertising spots from the stations as partial payment. It also offered a deal in which in exchange for purchasing the entire package of 740 films, a station would receive the right to telecast the films as often as they wished, in perpetuity. In June of 1957, four other studios began releasing their films to individual stations in single markets, and in 1958 the last three studios followed.

Thus the showing of feature films during non-network hours or by independent stations became a local phenomenon. (There were a few exceptions, such as CBS’ annual showing of The Wizard of Oz.) By the late 1950s feature films were accepted as just another programming source.

The release of the Shock! Package in 1957 was the first time Universal Studios’ pre-1948 features were released to TV, and was a reaction to the popularity of RKO’s horror films.

This trend continued through the 1970s, although beginning in the 1960s the major networks began programming many popular or first-run films. After much development and regulatory wrangling, cable TV began to grow during the 1980s. By the 1990s, the cable networks had obtained the rights to many feature films, and they were no longer available to local stations. Thus the trend which had started in the 1950s was reversed.

Since the films were shown by local stations in each market, the horror host phenomenon was local as well, with different ones in each market.