Here are the Top Fifteen television programs broadcast in Chicago during October of 1949 according to Videodex ratings from Jay and Graham Research. The ratings were obtained from a sample of 450 families with television and were published in the November 18th, 1949 edition of The Chicago Daily Tribune. The fifteen programs were ranked three ways: by share of the audience, by total audience, and by viewer opinion. Milton Berle (on WNBQ) topped the first two lists while Cavalcade of Stars (on WGN-TV) had the best opinion among viewers.
Top Fifteen Programs by Share of Audience
I think it would be very interesting to see how many of these shows competed with one another. Were the shows facing Milton Berle left with an equal portion of the remaining audience? Or was another station able to capture the bulk of the viewers not watching WNBQ?
| ## | Program | Station | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Milton Berle | WNBQ | 67.6 |
| 2. | Toast of the Town | WBKB | 48.7 |
| 3. | Courtesy TV Theater | WGN-TV | 46.5 |
| 4. | Whiteman TV Teen Club | WENR-TV | 45.6 |
| 5. | Stop the Music | WENR-TV | 44.7 |
| 6. | Hopalong Cassidy | WNBQ | 43.4 |
| 7. | Fireside Theater | WNBQ | 42.7 |
| 8. | Lone Ranger | WENR-TV | 41.6 |
| 9. | Cavalcade of Stars | WGN-TV | 39.4 |
| 10. | Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts | WBKB | 38.4 |
| 11. | Olsen and Johnson | WNBQ | 37.8 |
| 12. | Wednesday Wrestling | WENR-TV | 36.3 |
| 13. | Monday and Wednesday Wrestling | WGN-TV | 35.6 |
| 14. | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | WNBQ | 34.2 |
| 15. | Life of Riley | WNBQ | 33.2 |
Top Fifteen Programs by Total Audience
The article doesn’t explain what total audience refers to; is it the actual number of viewers? There’s just the following list which indicates that while Courtesy TV Theater had a larger percentage of the audience during October of 1949, Whiteman TV Teen Club had a much larger audience. Both shows were broadcast by WENR-TV so they weren’t competing with one another.
| ## | Program | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Milton Berle | WNBQ |
| 2. | Toast of the Town | WBKB |
| 3. | Whiteman’s TV Teen Club | WENR-TV |
| 4. | Stop the Music | WENR-TV |
| 5. | Cavalcade of Stars | WGN-TV |
| 6. | Hopalong Cassidy | WNBQ |
| 7. | Lone Ranger | WENR-TV |
| 8. | Fireside Theater | WNBQ |
| 9. | Courtesy TV Theater | WGN-TV |
| 10. | Olsen and Johnson | WNBQ |
| 11. | Monday and Wednesday Wrestling | WGN-TV |
| 12. | Wednesday Wrestling | WENR-TV |
| 13. | Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts | WBKB |
| 14. | Life of Riley | WNBQ |
| 15. | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | WNBQ |
Top Fifteen Programs by Viewer Opinion (Best to Worst)
Finally, the Top Fifteen programs were ranked by viewer opinion. No details were provided explaining how the programs were ranked by, but the article does note that 94% of the audience decided that WGN-TV’s Cavalcade of Stars was good. Presumably, WNBQ’s Fireside Theater had a much lower viewer opinion.
| ## | Program | Station |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Cavalcade of Stars | WGN-TV |
| 2. | Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts | WBKB |
| 3. | Whiteman’s TV Teen Club | WENR-TV |
| 4. | Milton Berle Show | WNBQ |
| 5. | Kukla, Fran and Ollie | WNBQ |
| 6. | Stop the Music | WENR-TV |
| 7. | Lone Ranger | WENR-TV |
| 8. | Courtesy TV Theater | WGN-TV |
| 9. | Wednesday Wrestling | WENR-TV |
| 10. | Toast of the Town | WBKB |
| 11. | Hopalong Cassidy | WBKB |
| 12. | Life of Riley | WNBQ |
| 13. | Olsen and Johnson | WNBQ |
| 14. | Monday and Wednesday Wrestling | WGN-TV |
| 15. | Fireside Theater | WNBQ |
Source:
Wolters, Larry. “Chicago Rates Star Cavalcade 1st In TV Shows.” Chicago Daily Tribune. 18 Nov. 1949: B16.
