Want to create an interactive transcript for this episode?
Podcast: Breaking Walls: The Podcast on the History of American Network Radio Broadcasting
Episode: BW - EP134—001: Christmas With Jack Benny In A Changing World—Benny Comes To CBS
Description: On December 23rd, 1948, CBS Chairman William Paley and CEO Frank Stanton broadcast a special closed circuit press conference to their affiliates and staff. The move was to officially announce that Jack Benny was switching his program from NBC to CBS. The change would begin with the first broadcast of the new year.
When William Paley signed Jack Benny in November, he’d convinced sponsor American Tobacco to make the jump to CBS by agreeing to pay the cigarette giant $3K per week for every ratings point lost after the migration. The move signaled that Paley was intent on not just eq...