It was on this day, exactly forty years ago, that the very first permanent hour-long show on daytime television began airing (not counting talk shows or children's programming). For this entry, I am going to show you all the game show and soap operas that aired for one hour during the year of 1975.
January 6
Another World (NBC; 3:00-4:00, permanent)
As mentioned elsewhere in this blog, "Another World" was NBC's highest rated soap opera, so it was decided to expand the show from 30 minutes to a full hour beginning on this day. It would continue to be a full hour until the end of its run, with the exception of a 17-month period from March 1979 to August 1980.
April 21
Days of our Lives (NBC; 1:30-2:30, permanent)
The only NBC daytime program still on the air today, "Days of our Lives" expanded to an hour after the success of its sister show "Another World" in an hour time slot and the failure of "How to Survive a Marriage".
June 30
All My Children (ABC; 12:30-1:30, this week only)
With the cancellation of popular game shows "Password" and "Split Second" on June 27th, and one of its successor shows, "Ryan's Hope", not ready to air yet, ABC decided experiment having its top-rated soap opera, "All My Children", air for a full hour from June 30th to July 4th. The show would permanently expand to a full hour on April 25, 1977.
September 8
The Price is Right (CBS; 10:30-11:30, this week only)
To celebrate its third anniversary, CBS decided to have a special week of one-hour shows for its popular game show, "The Price is Right", preempting "Gambit" in the process. This would ultimately lead to its permanent expansion which will be mentioned below.
November 3
The Price is Right (CBS, 10:00-11:00, permanent)
Due to the success of its Anniversary Week, CBS permanently expanded "The Price is Right" to a full hour in the first week of November, replacing "Musical Chairs" and bumping "Give-n-Take" to the 4:00 hour. To this day, "Price" is still the number one game show on daytime television, and has aired in the 11:00 timeslot since April 23, 1979.
Wheel of Fortune (NBC, 10:30-11:30, this week only)
"Wheel of Fortune" immediately became NBC's top game show upon its debut on January 6, 1975, and as part of a Gigantic Daytime Gala, the show expanded to a full hour for this week, preempting "High Rollers". This would lead to a temporary full-hour expansion the following month.
Hollywood Squares (NBC, 11:30-12:30, this week only)
To celebrate the show's tenth season, and as part of the Gigantic Daytime Gala, "Hollywood Squares" expanded to a full hour for this week only, preempting "3 for the Money", and bumping "The Magnificent Marble Machine" to 12:30. During this week, nine stars would appear at the start of the show, with squares being rotated between commercial breaks.
December 1, 1975
Let's Make a Deal (ABC, 1:30-2:30, this week only)
"Let's Make a Deal" had a special week of hour-long shows for the first week of December, preempting "The $10,000 Pyramid". This was most likely a ratings stunt, as the show had been in decline since the expansion of "Days of our Lives" several months earlier. By the end of the month, the show would move to the death slot of 12:00 noon, and was off the air in July of the following year.
As the World Turns (CBS, 1:30-2:30, permanent)
"As the World Turns", which had been the most popular daytime drama since the late 1950s, finally made the expansion to a full hour, moving "The Edge of Night" to ABC in the process. The show would continue to air until September 17, 2010, making it the second-longest running soap opera on American television (after "Guiding Light", of course).
Wheel of Fortune (NBC, 10:30-11:30, semi-permanent)
As mentioned earlier, "Wheel of Fortune" had a special week of hour-long shows, so the decision was soon made to have it be an hour long on a permanent basis, cancelling "3 for the Money" (a criminally underrated show, IMHO), and bumping "High Rollers" to the Noon death slot, and "The Magnificent Marble Machine" (which SHOULD have been canned by that point) to 12:30. However, "Wheel" as a full-hour might have been a bit too much, so it was cut back down to 30 minutes on January 19, 1976, and moved into its semi-permanent time slot of 11:00 a.m., where it would remain more-or-less for the next thirteen years.
And that's it for now. If I think of anything new, I'll write it here, as usual.
