Figure 1.--Here we see from the 'Uncke Al' children's TV s. It was a staple on Cincinnati, Ohio WCPO. It is a good example of local programming in the 1950s. A small on-stage studio audience of kids was very common. They were mostly very young childre, usually kindegarten to about 3rd grade (5-8 years old) children.

Network programing in the early years of television was very limited. There was no morning programming at all. And network programming for kids was limited. So local TV channels created their own programs to supplement the network programming, filling in the hours for which no network programming was available. One of the staples was a kiddy show. Commonly they would invite children as a kind of on-screen audience, much like you see on 'Howdy Doodie'. There would be a peronality around whom the show would be based. And then there would be costumed charcters. Clowns were common, but only one of the characters. These local kiddie shows sprung up all over the country and were a common feature. There were other local shows such as cooling shows. As network programming, including childen's programming expanded, the local shows gradually disappeared. It was much cheaper for the network to create one show and syndicte it rather than for each local station to crete their own programs. Today local news is the only local programming that is still commonly seen on American television.

Created: 6:58 PM 4/4/2018
Last updated: 6:58 PM 4/4/2018