The Pulse Inc. was founded in 1941 and like other companies in the audience measurement business was focused on radio. The company used person-to-person interviews rather than phone calls or electronic monitoring. The New York Times reported the results of The Pulse, Inc.’s television ratings for the month of August in the New York City area. Unfortunately, the brief article was vague, explaining that six of the top ten were sporting events and listing only the four entertainment programs that weren’t sports. Topping the list was Toast of the Town.
| ## | Program | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Toast of the Town | WCBS |
| 2. | Star Theatre | WNBT |
| 3. | Sporting Event | N/A |
| 4. | Sporting Event | N/A |
| 5. | Sporting Event | N/A |
| 6. | Small Fry Club | WABD |
| 7. | Sporting Event | N/A |
| 8. | Sporting Event | N/A |
| 9. | Original Amateur Hour | WABD |
| 10. | Sporting Event | N/A |
Sources:
“Radio and Television.” New York Times. 4 Sep. 1948: 26.
“TOAST OF THE TOWN”, of course, was Ed Sullivan’s Sunday night CBS variety series [9pm(et)], followed by NBC’s “TEXACO STAR THEATER” on Tuesdays [8pm(et)], which was soon to feature Milton Berle as its permanent host (originally, the show “rotated” several hosts when it premiered in June 1948, but Berle’s personality was the biggest draw, so he became “the star”). Ted Mack and his “ORIGINAL AMATEUR HOUR” was the #1 series in its Sunday night time period [7-8pm(et)] on DuMont, and continued to do so until it moved to NBC in the fall of 1949. Bob Emery’s “SMALL FRY CLUB”, on DuMont’s early weeknight schedule [7pm(et)], was a favorite of children and their parents as well. Among the “sporting events” was certainly “GILLETTE’S CAVALCADE OF SPORTS” on NBC’s Friday night lineup [10-11pm(et)], known informally as “The Friday Night Fights”.