During April 1950, the top three television programs on the air in Chicago, seen on 457,565 television sets (as of April 1st), were as follows:
| ## | Program | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Arthur Godfrey and His Friends | 60.4 |
| 2. | Texaco Star Theater (The Milton Berle Show) | 52.8 |
| 3. | The Lone Ranger | 52.1 |
Arthur Godfrey and His Friends ran from 8-9PM (7-8PM local time) Wednesdays on WBKB and Texaco Star Theater (The Milton Berle Show) on WNBQ, Tuesdays from 8-9PM (7-8PM local time). The Lone Ranger was broadcast on two stations: WENR-TV on Saturdays from 7:30-8PM (7:30-7PM local time) and WKNR-TV on Sundays from 2:30-3PM (1:30-2PM local time). The article doesn’t specify which broadcast was in third place but I would guess it was WENR-TV’s evening showings.
Sources:
Wolters, Larry. “The Televiewer.” Chicago Daily Tribune. 3 May 1950: A7.
Notice that “THE LONE RANGER” was telecast on TWO stations in the Chicago area, via “delayed broadcast”. The series always appeared nationally on Thursdays at 7:30pm(et) in its original 1949-’57 network run, but ABC’s lineup of affiliates wasn’t as strong as NBC, CBS, or even DuMont’s in early 1950; in fact, ABC and DuMont often “fought” in certain areas to have their programming carried on “the only station in town”. And, more importantly, most of the smaller network affiliates in the Midwest carried more than one network’s programming. This is why there are many examples of 16mm network prints of ABC’s filmed series from that period (including Stu Erwin’s “TROUBLE WITH FATHER”, also sponsored by General Mills) “floating around” collector’s circles…as those affiliates had to “time shift” certain shows that were “pre-empted” due to their carrying another network’s offerings. All WENR had to do was “bicycle” their film print of “THE LONE RANGER” to WKNR in time for their Sunday telecast…who, in turn, mailed it to the next ABC “sub-affiliate” for THEIR showing a few days later.