158-519: American Top 40 (abbreviated to AT40 ) is an internationally syndicated , independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem , Don Bustany , Tom Rounds , and Ron Jacobs . The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacrest and presented as an adjunct to his weekday radio program, On Air with Ryan Seacrest . Originally a production of Watermark Inc. (later a division of ABC Radio known as ABC Watermark , now Cumulus Media Networks which merged with Westwood One ), American Top 40
316-493: A " rerun "), which is the licensing of a program whose first airing was on stations inside the television network that produced it, or in some cases a program that was first-run syndicated, to other stations; and public broadcasting syndication. In first-run syndication, a program is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show. Often these programs are made specifically to sell directly into syndication and not made for any particular network. In off-network syndication,
474-445: A "soft" news daily strip, with a number of imitations following (among which have included such entertainment news shows as TMZ on TV , Extra and ET ' s own spin-off The Insider ); and "tabloid" television, in the wake of ABC 's 20/20 and, more immediately, 20th Television 's A Current Affair , would become a syndication staple with such series as Hard Copy and Real TV . Another area where network dominance
632-491: A 15-minute experimental program, with Block borrowing both the concept and the title from West Coast disc jockey Al Jarvis , who had launched the similarly named The World's Largest Make Believe Ballroom in 1932, with Block as his assistant. WNEW's program consisted of Block playing records from popular bands and singers with the conceit that they were live performances in an imaginary ballroom. The show expanded its time slot and at one point during Block's tenure attracted 25% of
790-498: A Gun (1957–1959), and This is Alice (1958). The venture lasted five years and closed down in 1961. By the late 1960s, a de facto two-tiered system had developed in the United States, with the major network affiliates (usually on longer-range VHF stations) consistently drawing more viewers than their UHF, independent counterparts; syndicators thus hoped to get their programs onto the major network stations, where spots in
948-511: A competing weekly countdown. Industry trade paper Billboard magazine reported that the main disputes between Kasem and Watermark/ABC were over his salary (which Westwood One tripled upon his signing), because of declining ratings and a smaller group of stations airing the show. Kasem's final AT40 show, the 940th in the series, aired on August 6, 1988. Kasem was replaced by Shadoe Stevens , whose first American Top 40 show aired on August 13, 1988, on 1,014 stations. Later, Stevens and AT40 lost
1106-485: A condensed daily top-5 countdown, would begin airing as part of the daily radio program On Air , also hosted by Seacrest. In March 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic , Seacrest started to host AT40 from his house; the show also included pre-recorded messages from artists thanking healthcare workers and encouraging listeners to stay home, practice social distancing, and to keep in touch with loved ones. In August 2020,
1264-481: A continuing life as syndicated programming tailor-made for the early fringe. In 1971, the U.S. FCC passed the Prime Time Access Rule and Financial Interest and Syndication Rules , which prevented networks from programming one particular hour of prime time programming on its television stations each night and required the networks to spin off their syndication arms as independent companies. Although
1422-490: A corresponding year from seven years later, or 1977–1979). The 1980s version premiered on April 8, 2007, replacing the American Top 40 Flashback reruns. The shows are available in either their full original four-hour format, or an abbreviated three-hour version that omits the first hour of the show. To date, the latest program to air as part of the " AT40 : The 80s" package has been August 6, 1988 – Kasem's last show with
1580-404: A disadvantage in that their costs can be higher than some other formats due to the high volume of episodes needed. In many markets, a stripped show will be seen twice daily, usually with different episodes (one being a more recent episode and the other being an episode from a previous season). Sometimes, station groups with more than one station in a market, or a " duopoly ", will run one episode of
1738-601: A greater artistic freedom, and looser standards (not mandated by a network). The older Bugs Bunny and Popeye cartoons made way for first-run syndicated cartoons such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe , Inspector Gadget , Heathcliff , ThunderCats , My Little Pony , The Transformers , G.I. Joe , Voltron , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , and reruns of Scooby-Doo , Garfield and Friends , and The Pink Panther , among many others. Syndication
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#17327943617391896-636: A group level, with multiple stations owned and/or operated by the same broadcasting group carrying the program in different markets (except in areas where another station holds the market rights to the program) – making it increasingly more efficient for syndicators to gain widespread national clearances for their programs. Many syndicated programs are traditionally sold first to one of six "key" station groups ( ABC Owned Television Stations , NBC Owned Television Stations , CBS Television Stations , Fox Television Stations , Telemundo Station Group , and Televisa Univision ), allowing their programs to gain clearances in
2054-401: A home, for two seasons, on NBC, as SCTV Network 90 (and on premium cable channel Cinemax by 1983). The Universal / Paramount -produced package of original programming, Operation Prime Time , began appearing on ad hoc quasi-networks of (almost by necessity) non-network stations in the U.S. in 1978, with a mini-series adaptation of John Jakes ' The Bastard . From the later 1960s into
2212-461: A mid-December to early-December time period while Billboard's survey year varied from year to year. AT40 matched Billboard's No. 1 year-end song every year except 1977, 1984, 1990 and 1993. With the show's revival in 1998, a new chart was implemented, the top 40 portion of Radio and Records CHR/Pop top 50 chart, which was already in use on Casey's Top 40 . This chart used a recurrent rule that removed songs below No. 25 that had exceeded 26 weeks in
2370-484: A national roll-out is feasible based on the ratings accrued in the selected markets where the program is being aired. While market penetration can vary widely and revenues can be unreliable, the producers often enjoy more content freedom in the absence of network's standards and practices departments; frequently, some innovative ideas are explored by first-run syndicated programming which the networks are leery of giving airtime to. Meanwhile, top-rated syndicated shows in
2528-560: A new chart that used no recurrent rule. On the first show with Ryan Seacrest, this led to several older songs reappearing after having dropped off many weeks earlier. Over the long term, it meant songs could spend long runs for about a year on the chart even after they went to recurrent status on other published charts. " Here Without You " by 3 Doors Down set a longevity record in 2004 for the CHR show by lasting 50 weeks before finally falling off. In 2006, " Scars " by Papa Roach would go on to tie
2686-468: A political talk show on listener-sponsored KPFK .) By the early 1980s, the show could be heard on 520 stations in the United States and at its zenith, the show was broadcast on 1,000-plus stations in some 50 countries. In the 1980s, it aired in the United Kingdom on Signal Radio , DevonAir , Radio 210 , County Sound , Chiltern Radio , Northants 96 , Radio Tees , Saxon Radio and Fox FM and
2844-428: A popular new stripped series hosted by Winfrey-associate Dr. Phil McGraw, in primetime, with impressive ratings results. With a general decline in first-run production in the 2020s, syndicators and stations have turned to reruns of stripped talk shows to fill time slots, with observers noting that conflict-driven tabloid shows tend to draw higher ratings in reruns than non-tabloid shows. First-run syndicated shows in
3002-461: A profitable run in reruns. Other sitcoms, such as Small Wonder , Out of This World , The Munsters Today , and Harry and the Hendersons (as well as more action-adventure oriented series like Superboy and My Secret Identity ) enjoyed success in syndication throughout their entire run. The broadcast networks aired many action-adventure programs from the 1950s to the 1980s. By
3160-422: A program of the "ABC Contemporary Radio Network". The program was hosted by Kasem and co-created by Kasem; Don Bustany , Kasem's childhood friend from Detroit, MI; radio veteran Tom Rounds ; and 93/KHJ Program Director Ron Jacobs, who produced and directed the various production elements. Rounds was also the marketing director; the initial funder was California strawberry grower Tom Driscoll . The show began as
3318-673: A program whose first airing was on network television (or, in some cases, first-run syndication) is licensed for local broadcast on individual stations. Reruns are usually found on stations affiliated with smaller networks like The CW or MyNetworkTV, especially since these networks broadcast one less hour of prime time network programming than the Big Four television networks and far less network-provided daytime television (none at all for these networks). A show usually enters off-network syndication when it has built up about four seasons' worth or between 80 and 100 episodes , though for some genres
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#17327943617393476-691: A significant number of affiliates when, on January 21, 1989, Kasem's Westwood One show launched. The program, titled Casey's Top 40 , used the weekly chart survey published by Radio & Records ("R&R", which is based on radio airplay) instead of the Billboard Hot 100 chart AT40 was still using (which at the time was based on record sales). Further complications arose when some stations that stayed with Stevens also added Kasem's new show. In an attempt to win back an audience, AT40 tried new features, including interview clips, music news, top 5 flashbacks, and previews of upcoming chart hits (called
3634-485: A simulcast of programming from its sister network Headline News (now HLN ) to broadcast stations later, as did its rival All News Channel , although both were used mainly to fill overnight time periods and were effectively discontinued in syndication when All News Channel folded in 2002 and HLN launched a "Headline Prime" talk show block in 2006. In 2019, NewsNet began offering a similar service to its affiliates. Entertainment Tonight began its long and continuing run as
3792-417: A strip on one of their stations in the morning, and the other available episode on another of their stations that night. Meanwhile, the popularity of some of the audience-participation talk shows continues to encourage new participants, some of whom, such as Morton Downey Jr. and Rosie O'Donnell , have brief periods of impressive ratings and influence; others, such as Oprah Winfrey and Maury Povich , have
3950-595: A sustained run. A notable scheduling decision was made by KRON-TV in San Francisco: a 2000 dispute with NBC led to that station's disaffiliation from that network after 52 years, and since all the other larger networks were already represented in San Francisco, KRON decided to become one of the largest commercial independent stations by market size on the VHF band in the U.S., and soon tried running Dr. Phil ,
4108-469: A third countdown for hot adult contemporary stations titled Casey's Hot 20 . Things were not all positive, though. Westwood One had been acquired by Infinity Broadcasting Corporation in 1993, which put Kasem in the same fold as radio personalities such as Howard Stern . Then, in 1996, Infinity Broadcasting was purchased by CBS . Kasem grew frustrated that no effort had been made to cross promote his shows over CBS’ airwaves, and had also complained that he
4266-598: A three-hour program written and directed by Bustany, counting down the top 40 songs on Billboard 's Hot 100 Singles chart. The show quickly gained popularity once it was commissioned, and expanded to a four-hour-program on October 7, 1978, to reflect the increasing average length of singles on Billboard 's Hot 100 chart. The producing staff expanded to eight people, some of them still in the business: Nikki Wine, Ben Marichal, Scott Paton, Matt Wilson, Merrill Shindler, Guy Aoki , Ronnie Allen, and Sandy Stert Benjamin. (Bustany retired from AT40 in 1989; beginning in 1994, he hosted
4424-573: A total run of 20 seasons dating back to the show's premiere in August 1999). Because game shows are very inexpensive to produce, with many episodes completed each day of production, successful ones are very profitable; for example, in 1988 Jeopardy! cost an estimated $ 5 million to produce but earned almost $ 50 million in revenue. New game show concepts (that is, not based on an existing or pre-existing format) are rarely tried and usually unsuccessful in syndication; somewhat of an exception to this
4582-475: A variant of the CHR/Pop chart provided by Mediabase , the data provider to Radio & Records . The most noticeable feature of this new chart was its ambiguous recurrent rule. Songs would be removed regularly from within the top 15, seemingly regardless of the number of weeks they had spent on the chart. Additionally, the chart has resulted in songs that otherwise peaked at #41–50 on R&R's charts appearing on
4740-414: A weekly basis and are usually aired on weekends only. Big discussion occurred in the 1990s and 2000s about whether previously aired episodes of a show could become syndicated while new episodes of it continued to air on its original network. There had been much opposition to this idea and it was generally viewed to lead to the death of the show. However, licensing a program for syndication actually resulted in
4898-620: A wide schism as rock splintered into several formats in the early 1980s. As a result, AT40 's weekly playlist could be very diverse in the styles and formats of the songs played. Historians have noted that no one station actually played all of the songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list, because they represented overlapping formats, such as hard rock, mainstream rock, heavy metal, dance, new wave, punk, rap, pop, easy listening/adult contemporary and country. Stations tended to specialize in only one or two of these formats and completely ignore
American Top 40 - Misplaced Pages Continue
5056-536: Is a long-running radio program which first aired on radio station WNEW in 1935. The show was created as filler by announcer Martin Block to fill in time between news bulletins covering the Lindbergh kidnapping trial. The station did not have access to a live orchestra to play music, so Block played records instead. The concept proved successful and led to the launch of Make Believe Ballroom on February 3, 1935, as
5214-473: Is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates. Shows can be syndicated internationally, although this is less common. Three common types of syndication are: first-run syndication, which is programming that is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show and is made specifically for the purpose of selling it into syndication; Off-network syndication (colloquially called
5372-595: Is now iHeartMedia ) in 1999, at which point AT40 and other syndicated shows from AMFM Radio Networks were transferred into Premiere Radio Network. The resurrected American Top 40 kept the Radio and Records CHR/Pop chart previously used for Casey's Top 40 and was used as the basis for the show for the majority of this period. In December 2003, as part of a new deal with Premiere Radio Networks, Kasem announced that he would retire from hosting American Top 40 so he could focus on his duties hosting Hot AC and AC versions of
5530-488: Is now distributed by Premiere Networks (a division of iHeartMedia ). Nearly 500 radio stations in the United States, and several other territories worldwide air American Top 40 , making it one of the most listened-to weekly radio programs in the world. It can also be heard on iHeartRadio , TuneIn , and the official American Top 40 applications on mobile smartphones and tablets as well as on Xbox 360 , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 consoles (via iHeartRadio's console app), and
5688-631: Is syndicated in packages containing some or all episodes, and sold to as many television stations and markets as possible to be used in local programming timeslots. In this manner, sitcoms are preferred and more successful because they are less serialized, and can be run non-sequentially, which is more beneficial and less costly for the station. In the United States, local stations now rarely broadcast reruns of primetime dramas (or simply air them primarily on weekends); instead, they usually air on basic cable channels, which may air each episode 30 to 60 times. Make Believe Ballroom Make Believe Ballroom
5846-613: The Who shot J.R.? cliffhanger (recorded by Gary Burbank ) and the Chicago Bears 1985–86 NFC win and the team itself recording a rap tune about going to the Super Bowl, while others were tributes to performers who had just died. For early 1970s programs, some of the "optional extras" were actually extras (i.e., "oldies") that were originally a part of the original program; in this case, Kasem's original commentary and introduction of
6004-583: The "stripping" (or "strip") talk show, such as Donahue , Oprah , The Tyra Banks Show , and Jerry Springer . Strip programming is a technique used for scheduling television and radio programming to ensure consistency and coherency. Strip programming is used to deliver consistent content to targeted audiences. Broadcasters know or predict the times at which certain demographics will be listening to or watching their programs and play them at that time. As with game shows, talk shows are inexpensive to produce and very profitable if successful. They have
6162-558: The AT40 charts. This chart lasted until August 11, 2001, when AT40 returned to the Radio & Records pop chart. The return coincided with another modification in the recurrent rule; songs would be removed below No. 25 after three consecutive weeks without a bullet (an increase in radio plays). This change would be short-lived, as in November 2001, Radio & Records returned to the 20 weeks/below No. 20 rule, which remained in place for
6320-454: The AT40 countdown on 80s on 8 and debuted a revised version of 'The Big 40' countdown now co-hosted by three of the five original MTV VJs: Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman and Alan Hunter ( Martha Quinn was a fourth co-host from 2009 to 2015). Sirius XM "70s on 7" currently runs AT40 each Saturday at 12 pm with encore broadcasts the following Sunday at 9 am and at 12 midnight ( Eastern Time ). Most show dates roughly correspond to
6478-747: The Armed Forces Network . GEICO is the main sponsor for the show. Co-creator Kasem hosted the original American Top 40 from its inauguration on July 4, 1970, until August 6, 1988. Shadoe Stevens took over the program on August 13, 1988, and hosted until January 28, 1995, when the original program came to an end. Three years later, Kasem teamed up with Premiere's predecessor AMFM Radio Networks to relaunch American Top 40 . Kasem, who had spent nine years hosting his own countdown Casey's Top 40 for Westwood One, returned to hosting his creation on March 28, 1998. Seacrest took over American Top 40 on January 10, 2004, following Kasem's retirement from
American Top 40 - Misplaced Pages Continue
6636-466: The Billboard Top 40 Mainstream chart. This chart had more mainstream hits but fewer urban, dance and rap songs. AT40 did not always use the official year-end Billboard chart during the 25 years in which the show used Billboard charts. In 1972, 1973 and 1977, as well as 1980–1984 and 1990–1994, AT40 compiled its own year-end chart. These charts were often close to Billboard's, but AT40 would use
6794-526: The GSN dating game show Baggage first aired in syndication as a test run in early 2011 on stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group , which preceded its full launch into other markets in fall 2012; although it was removed from syndication after one season. The 2014–15 season saw the introduction of Celebrity Name Game , hosted by former The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson ;
6952-556: The National Music Survey and Countdown America , the latter of which was originally hosted by former R&R CHR editor John Leader and later by Clark; Rockin' America Top 30 Countdown with then Z100 Program Director and personality Scott Shannon ; and the Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 , which has run continuously since 1983 with Rick Dees as host. Numerous other shows following the same format, both in
7110-572: The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN), moved into syndicated distribution when its network was displaced by WB/UPN-affiliated stations, and eventually ended its final season on TNT (1998). In 1997 Earth: Final Conflict , based on ideas from Gene Roddenberry , premiered in syndication. Three years later, a second Gene Roddenberry series, Andromeda also premiered in syndication. As emerging networks WB and UPN signed contracts with formerly-independent stations, and
7268-662: The " AT40 Sneek Peek"). It also stopped using the Hot 100 chart, switching first to the Hot 100 Airplay chart and finally to the Mainstream Top 40 chart. Later still, the countdown would use what was called a "No Nuttin'" gimmick that drew criticism; at various points of the show, a song would start immediately after the jingle for its position on the chart was played and Stevens would not offer any commentary until it concluded. ABC kept American Top 40 in its syndication lineup despite
7426-489: The 1950s were MCA 's The Abbott and Costello Show (vaudeville-style comedy) and Guild Films ' Liberace (musical variety) and Life With Elizabeth , a domestic situation comedy that introduced Betty White to a national audience. In addition to the Adventures of Superman , many other series were based on comic strips and aimed at the juvenile audience, including Flash Gordon , Dick Tracy , Sheena, Queen of
7584-452: The 1950s, however, much of the theatrical product available consisted of low-budget secondary features (mainly Westerns) with relatively few notable stars. One syndication company, National Telefilm Associates , attempted to create a " NTA Film Network " of stations showing its lineup of first-run series, which included syndicated programs such as Police Call (1955), How to Marry a Millionaire (1957–1959), The Passerby , Man Without
7742-526: The 1970s and 1980s. In its early years, American Top 40 used the Billboard charts to compile the countdown, touting it as "the only source". The program subsequently switched to being based on Radio and Records airplay data upon its late 1990s return, until R&R was folded into Billboard in 2009. The current source for the American Top 40 charts are unpublished mainstream Top 40 and hot adult contemporary charts compiled by Mediabase (who had been
7900-800: The 1980s caused the number of independent stations to grow from fewer than 100 in 1980 to 328 as of 1986 , as they did not need cash for programming. With the loosening of FCC regulations and the creation of new additional broadcast networks (such as The CW and MyNetworkTV ), most of these independents have joined one or another of these or smaller (religious or low-budget) networks. In other cases, like those of KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, KMCI-TV in Lawrence - Kansas City and WMLW-TV in Racine - Milwaukee , those independent stations are used to complement their network-affiliated sister station (respectively in
8058-401: The 2000s onward, reality competition shows in one form or another, such as Star Search and American Gladiators , enjoyed popularity in syndication as early as the mid-1980s. Since the now-defunct networks UPN and The WB began offering their affiliates additional nights of prime time programming in the late 1990s, there have been fewer first-run scripted series in syndication, at least, in
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#17327943617398216-453: The 2008–09 season before those reruns moved exclusively to cable. More new shows were added for the 2008–09 fall season, including a daytime run of Deal or No Deal (which featured certain elements that differed from the show's franchised format, most notably with prospective players instead of models holding briefcases that held the monetary amounts) and an adaptation of the popular board game Trivial Pursuit . While Deal caught on and
8374-504: The Century ), Kasem explained that the LDD feature was intended to be part of the show from the beginning. He knew, however, that it was going to take some time before a listener wrote in with a request and let the process proceed organically. Kasem's patience proved correct, as staffer Matt Wilson found such a letter while checking the show's mail in August 1978. The listener asked Kasem to play
8532-695: The Clock and To Tell the Truth premiered in the late 1960s and found loyal audiences for many years. Several daytime network games began producing once-a-week nighttime versions for broadcast in the early evening hours, usually with bigger prizes and often featuring different hosts (emcees were limited to appearing on one network and one syndicated game simultaneously) and modified titles ( Match Game PM , The $ 100,000 Name That Tune or The $ 25,000 Pyramid , for example). A few independent game shows, such as Sports Challenge and Celebrity Bowling , also entered
8690-614: The Jungle , and Joe Palooka . Original juvenile adventure series included Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion , Cowboy G-Men , and Ramar of the Jungle . Series based on literary properties included Sherlock Holmes , Long John Silver (based on Treasure Island ), and The Three Musketeers . Several of these were co-productions between U.S. and European (usually British) companies. Crusader Rabbit pioneered in
8848-526: The Movies" aired prior to the 2007 Academy Awards , and on February 24, "The Top 40 Acts of the 80s So Far" aired on XM 80s the first week of July 2007. Also, "The Top 40 Songs of the Disco Era (1974–1979)" aired on Sirius XM "70s on 7" the second weekend of July 2011. As of the weekend of February 11, 2023, the 6am and noon Saturday editions were discontinued and replaced by a single 9 am Saturday airing, with
9006-531: The Nielsen-monitored audience. Forever Knight drew devoted "cult" audiences (3% rating). Psi Factor and Poltergeist: The Legacy attempted to draw on the audience for the Fox series The X-Files (as did the short-lived spinoff Baywatch Nights ). Among the other series were Relic Hunter , V.I.P. , High Tide , She Spies and Once a Thief . Babylon 5 began life in 1993 on
9164-545: The Night , Lauren Hutton 's innovatively shot Lauren Hutton and... , and talk shows hosted by Dennis Miller , Whoopi Goldberg , David Brenner and Keenen Ivory Wayans ; Magic Johnson 's The Magic Hour was seen as a massive flop, similar to Thicke of the Night . The popularity of syndicated talk shows fell dramatically in the mid-1990s as network and cable offerings expanded in the wake of Johnny Carson 's retirement. Long before their popularity on network television from
9322-474: The Seeker was canceled in 2009, until Trifecta Entertainment & Media (a company that mainly distributes programs for off-network syndication) began producing SAF3 (pronounced "safe") in 2013. During the late 1970s and 1980s, independent stations signed on in mid-sized and many small markets. The market for made-for-television cartoons grew as a result to include a branch for such stations. It usually had
9480-520: The Sunday airing moved to noon Eastern time. From October through early November 2006, oldies radio station KQQL in Minneapolis/St. Paul , which is owned by iHeartMedia , ran a series of American Top 40 episodes from the 1970s. Aside from one week, when the station attempted to air a four-hour episode from 1979 in the three-hour time slot (resulting in the show getting cut off at No. 11 and
9638-406: The U.S.; much as with the closing of windows that provided opportunity for Ziv in the 1950s and various producers in the early 1970s. The more expensive dramatic projects are less attractive to syndicators (particularly when they might be sold, with somewhat less risk, to cable channels); "reality" series such as Cheaters and Maximum Exposure and several dating series began to be more common in
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#17327943617399796-607: The United States " (E/I) rule imposed in the late 1990s as part of an amendment to the Children's Television Act of 1990 that requires stations to air three hours of educational children's programs every week, regardless of the station's format. Syndication is generally a less expensive option for a local station than to attempt to produce its own locally originated E/I programming; not all networks provide their own E/I programs, so stations that are affiliated with networks that do not carry children's program blocks acquire E/I programs off
9954-575: The United States in the 1970s was probably The Muppet Show , also from Lew Grade's company. Animated series from the 1980s Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and Around the World with Willy Fog came from Spanish animation production company BRB Internacional and their Japanese co-producers Nippon Animation . Game shows thrived in syndication during the decade. Nightly versions of What's My Line? , Truth or Consequences , Beat
10112-679: The United States include talk shows (e.g., The Dr. Oz Show , Dr. Phil , The Real , The Doctors , The Ellen DeGeneres Show & The Kelly Clarkson Show ); tabloid/newsmagazine shows (e.g., TMZ Live ); crime/law enforcement shows (e.g., Crime Watch Daily ); game shows (e.g., Hollywood Squares , Funny You Should Ask , Family Feud , Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune ); court shows (e.g., Judge Judy , Judge Mathis , Judge Jerry , Judge Faith , Protection Court , Hot Bench , America's Court with Judge Ross , and The People's Court ); and sitcoms (e.g., The First Family ). The emergence of barter syndication in
10270-527: The United States usually have a domestic market reach as high as 98%. Very often, series that are aired in syndication have reduced running times. For example, a standard American sitcom runs 22 minutes, but in syndication it may be reduced to 20 minutes to make room for more commercials. Syndication can take the form of either weekly or daily syndication. Game shows, some "tabloid" and entertainment news shows, and talk shows are broadcast daily on weekdays, while most other first-run syndicated shows are broadcast on
10428-601: The United States. Family Feud , created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman , ended its first syndication run in 1985. Three years later, a revival of the program featuring Ray Combs as host became a moderate hit and continued for seven seasons, its last year featuring the return of original host Richard Dawson in a failed attempt to save the series. A third revival hit the airwaves in 1999 and has gone through four hosts. The first three hosts ( Louie Anderson , Richard Karn and John O'Hurley ) struggled in their respective runs and only lasted three to four years. The current run of
10586-407: The aforementioned 70s and 80s charts, most radio stations re-air the 1998-2003 Casey Kasem-hosted charts, often with the original commercials intact alongside local commercials. AT40 used the top 40 songs from the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart from the show's inception in 1970 to November 23, 1991. The chart was widely regarded as the industry standard for tracking the popularity of singles, and
10744-520: The all-time record in 2011 at 117 consecutive weeks. American Top 40 also became more interactive, involving online song voting and e-mail. In December 2006, the series' website was revamped, and the online song voting was discontinued in favor of publishing the Hot AC chart. The website also includes a toll-free number where fans can make requests and " shoutouts ", as they would to a local radio station, and by 2009 replayed clips of shoutouts became part of
10902-540: The area of first-run animated series; followed by Bucky and Pepito , Colonel Bleep , Spunky and Tadpole , Q. T. Hush , and others. (All of these were five-minute shorts designed to be placed within locally hosted kiddie shows.) Syndicated sports programming included Championship Bowling and All-Star Golf , both produced by Chicago-based Walter Schwimmer Inc. In addition to regular series, syndicators also offered packages of feature films, cartoons, and short subjects originally made for movie theaters. Until late in
11060-416: The branding still belonged to him and show co-creator Don Bustany through their joint production company. In order to continue using the name after Kasem's contract with ABC Watermark expired, ABC would pay Kasem and Bustany a licensing fee. If, at any point in the future, AT40 was to be cancelled, ABC would be required to attempt to use the branding in some form within a set period of time; if they did not,
11218-545: The brief commercial-television run of William F. Buckley Jr. 's interview/debate series Firing Line . The more obvious result was an increase in Canadian-produced syndicated dramatic series, such as Dusty's Trail and the Colgate -sponsored Dr. Simon Locke . Game shows, often evening editions of network afternoon series, flourished, and a few odd items such as Wild Kingdom , canceled by NBC in 1971, had
11376-445: The broadcast networks. In the 1980s, national broadcast networks only aired cartoons on Saturday mornings , not competing with the weekday and Sunday syndication blocks aired by local independent stations; however, by the 1990s, Fox and then The WB launched their own weekday afternoon children's program blocks. By the end of the 1990s, both syndication distributors and broadcast networks ended up losing most of their children's market to
11534-435: The broadcasts at the start of the countdown's second hour; during the spring of 2012, Premiere began making the first hour of these programs "optional," meaning that stations can choose to air all four hours of the four-hour programs, or just the last three.) Starting in 2012, whenever programs from 1970 to 1972 were scheduled to air, Premiere began offering affiliates the option of airing a later 1970s program instead (typically,
11692-641: The chart data supplier for Radio & Records ). Here we go with the Top 40 hits of the nation this week on American Top 40 , the best-selling and most-played songs from the Atlantic to the Pacific , from Canada to Mexico. This is Casey Kasem in Hollywood, and in the next three hours, we'll count down the 40 most popular hits in the United States this week, hot off the record charts of Billboard magazine for
11850-514: The continued lack of improvement in ratings, but in 1994 the network finally decided to cut its losses. ABC announced that after the July 9, 1994 edition of the program, it would be dropping AT40 from its lineup and replacing it with Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 . The move resulted in AT40 completely disappearing from United States radio, as no network picked it up for distribution domestically. Despite this, AT40 did not end production. Radio Express ,
12008-426: The current week in real time. A random episode is also featured on J.J.Walker's show on "70s on 7" Thursdays at 9 pm ET. The mix of AT40 episodes being run on XM include the year-end countdowns, which are typically run in two parts: the first half (#100-#51) in one time slot, and then the second half (#50-#1) in the following time slot. The AT40 specials are also part of XM's rotation; for instance, " AT40 Goes to
12166-595: The dance-music show Soul Train , and 20th Century Fox 's That's Hollywood , a television variation on the popular That's Entertainment! theatrically released collections of film clips from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library. There were also many imported programs distributed this way. These include the documentary series Wild, Wild World of Animals (repackaged by Time Life with narration by William Conrad ) and Thames Television 's sober and necessarily grim The World at War . The Starlost (1973)
12324-569: The daytime and nighttime shows had diverged noticeably). The nighttime version of Family Feud (1977) quickly jumped from once-weekly to twice, and finally to five-day-a-week airings, and its massive popularity, along with that of new five-day-a-week entries like Jack Barry's The Joker's Wild (1977) and Tic-Tac-Dough (1978), the move of Match Game ' s daily run from CBS to syndication (1979), and Chuck Barris 's increasingly raunchy remakes of his 1960s hits The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game , brought an end (with rare exceptions) to
12482-532: The debut of a revival of You Bet Your Life that reunited host Jay Leno and sidekick Kevin Eubanks from their time on The Tonight Show ; it ran two seasons, before Leno left during the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes . 2023 saw the debut of two new games, Person, Place or Thing and Who the Bleep Is That . The dominant form of first-run syndication in the U.S. for the last three decades has been
12640-458: The early 2000s. Some of the more low-key programs in this category were designed to appeal to children, such as Beakman's World , Disney's Sing Me A Story with Belle , Animal Rescue and Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures . They were able to get significant clearance because of stricter Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforcement of rules on children's television programming. Several game shows are currently syndicated; historically,
12798-605: The episodes) distributed to PBS stations by the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority . Also in 1971, CBS dropped Lassie and Hee Haw , the latter show's run ending as part of the network's cancellation of all of its rural-oriented shows (known then as " rural purge ", which also resulted in the cancellations of The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres ). Lassie entered first-run syndication for two years, while Hee Haw continued to produce new episodes until 1992. Throughout
12956-540: The era of once-a-week games. Also popular in first-run syndication and daytime was The Gong Show , hosted by Barris throughout most of its run ( Gary Owens hosted the first syndicated season). A number of half-hour musical-variety shows were also offered in the early 1970s, generally built around personable middle-of-the-road singers like Bobby Vinton , Bobby Goldsboro , Dolly Parton , and Andy Williams , or groups like Sha Na Na , The Johnny Mann Singers , and The Golddiggers . Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972)
13114-873: The failure of the DuMont Television Network —could serve. Some stations were not affiliated with any network, operating as independent stations . Both groups sought to supplement their locally produced programming with content that could be flexibly scheduled. The development of videotape and, much later, enhanced satellite down link access furthered these options. While most past first-run syndicated shows were shown only in syndication, some canceled network shows continued to be produced for first-run syndication or were revived for syndication several years after their original cancellation. Until about 1980, most syndicated series were distributed to stations either on 16mm film prints (off-network reruns, feature films, and cartoons) or videotape (topical series such as
13272-521: The final episodes airing in late May of that same year; it would later be revived by CNBC in 2018. 5th Grader and Don't Forget the Lyrics! were canceled the following year for the same reason (although 5th Grader would later be revived by Fox and Nickelodeon on two different occasions). Reruns of the popular Discovery Channel show Cash Cab began airing in syndication in January 2011. Reruns of
13430-515: The foresight to film The Cisco Kid in color, even though color TV was still in its infancy and most stations did not yet support the technology. Among the most widely seen Ziv offerings were Sea Hunt , I Led Three Lives , Highway Patrol and Ripcord . Some first-run syndicated series were picked up by networks in the 1950s and early 1960s, such as the Adventures of Superman and Mr. Ed . The networks began syndicating their reruns in
13588-403: The general top-40 category and in various specific radio formats , have aired over the course of AT40's history as well. In addition to Dees' show, Mario Lopez , Carson Daly , and (in overseas via World Chart Show ) Mike Savage, all host competing countdown shows targeted at the pop top 40 market. From December 2000 to December 2002, many radio stations aired reruns of 1980–88 episodes under
13746-403: The inaugural show the evening of July 3, 1970. Billboard reported prior to the release of the show that it had been sold to stations in 10 radio markets. Kasem was reportedly inspired by Make Believe Ballroom , a radio show that was nationally syndicated in the 1940s and popularized the concept of a disc jockey playing current popular recorded music on the air. The chart data broadcast for
13904-439: The increased popularity for shows that remained in production. A prime example is Law & Order . As with radio in the U.S., television networks, particularly in their early years, did not offer a full day's worth of programming for their affiliates, even in the evening or "prime time" hours. In the early days of television, this was less of an issue, as there were in most markets fewer TV stations than there were networks (at
14062-416: The independent stations due to breaking news or sports commitments without the traditional inconvenience of a late night or weekend airing of the pre-empted show. A duopoly of a network-affiliated and independent station also allows a network station to move a low-rated syndicated program to their sister independent station to stem revenue losses. Off-network syndication occurs when a network television series
14220-492: The intent of the rule was to encourage local stations to produce their own programs for this time slot, budgetary limits instead prompted stations to buy syndicated programs to fill the slot. This, coupled with an increase in UHF independent stations , caused a boom in the syndication market. In the 1970s, first-run syndication continued to be an odd mix: cheaply produced, but not always poor quality, "filler" programming. These included
14378-454: The largest U.S. TV markets (such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia , where all six aforementioned groups each own stations), before striking deals with other major and smaller station owners. Shows airing in first-run syndication that are carried primarily by an owned-and-operated station of a network may sometimes be incorrectly referenced as a network program, especially if said network's syndication wing distributes
14536-450: The late 1950s, and first-run syndication shrank sharply for a decade. Some stalwart series continued, including Death Valley Days ; other ambitious projects were also to flourish, however briefly, such as The Play of the Week (1959–1961), produced by David Susskind (of the syndicated talk show Open End and also producer of such network fare as NYPD ). Among other syndicated series of
14694-451: The late 1970s, Westinghouse also found considerable success with The Mike Douglas Show , a variety/talk show hosted by a singer with an easygoing interview style, which aired in the afternoons in most markets; similar programs soon followed featuring Merv Griffin , who had been the host of CBS ' most sustained late-night answer to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson previously, and another network veteran, Dinah Shore . Also notable
14852-510: The late 1980s, however, increasing production costs made them less attractive to the networks. Studios found that reruns of one-hour dramas did not sell as well as sitcoms, so they were unable to fully recoup the shows' costs using the traditional deficit financing model. When NBC canceled the television series adaptation of Fame after only two seasons, the producers made special arrangements with LBS Communications , which resulted in MGM reviving
15010-652: The lineup were far more scarce. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulings in 1971 curtailed the U.S. networks' ability to schedule programming in what has become known as the " fringe time ", notably the 7–8 p.m. ( Eastern and Pacific Time ) hour of "prime time", with the stated hope that this might encourage more local programming of social and cultural relevance to communities (off-network syndicated repeats were also banned); some projects of this sort came to fruition, though these were usually relatively commercial and slick efforts such as Group W 's Evening/PM Magazine franchise, and such pre-existing national projects as
15168-492: The listening audience in New York City . In 1936, the stations use of recorded music resulted in a lawsuit initiated by bandleaders Paul Whiteman , Sammy Kaye and Fred Waring who claimed that the playing of records on radio broadcasts was undermining performers' network contracts, which often called for exclusive services. The court ruled that WNEW, after purchasing each record, was allowed to broadcast it regardless of
15326-437: The man and his former girlfriend about the LDD. Most shows featured two long distance dedications, usually with one during each half of the show. (Sometimes, a song currently in the countdown was requested as a LDD; in such cases, Kasem would typically read the dedication first, and sometimes not even announce the song's chart status until after the song was played.) This feature endured on AT40 into Shadoe Stevens' run as host of
15484-454: The mentioned cases, KCBS-TV , KSHB-TV and WDJT-TV ) by allowing a duopoly control of more syndicated programming than would be possible on one station (and to spread it throughout the schedule of the two stations, often several times a day), or to air news programming in times unavailable on the larger network station, along with fulfilling network and syndicated programming commitments, which allows popular or network programming to be moved to
15642-413: The merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, these AT40 shows began airing on both services on November 15, 2008. On the 70s on 7, it replaced the 'Satellite Survey', a Top 30 countdown of 1970s hits, produced by Sirius and hosted by Dave Hoeffel. On the 80s on 8, it replaced 'The Big 40' countdown produced by Sirius and hosted by Nina Blackwood . As of October 11, 2009, Sirius XM replaced
15800-672: The mid-to-late 1980s into the early 1990s, sitcoms continued to enter first-run syndication after being canceled by the networks, the most successful of which were Mama's Family and Charles in Charge . Other sitcoms during this time to enter first-run syndication after network cancellation included Silver Spoons , Punky Brewster , Webster , It's a Living , Too Close for Comfort , 9 to 5 , What's Happening!! , and WKRP in Cincinnati . Many of these sitcoms produced new shows in syndication mainly to have enough episodes for
15958-516: The most popular have been Wheel of Fortune and the current version of Jeopardy! , both created by television personality Merv Griffin , respectively premiering in 1983 and 1984. The shows have been No. 1 and No. 2 or No. 1 to No. 3 in the syndication ratings consistently since at least the late 1980s. In fact, according to the Guinness Book of World Records , Wheel is the most popular syndicated television program both within and outside
16116-466: The network would lose the opportunity to continue licensing the brand and control of it would revert back to Kasem and Bustany. Bustany, however, decided to resign from the countdown shortly after Shadoe Stevens took over as the host. He would have no further involvement in production afterward. The agreement remained in force, though, and ABC eventually would be forced to return the branding rights in 1997 without making any sort of attempt to use them after
16274-535: The network's New York flagship WABC . Other hosts have included Al Jarvis (who hosted a west coast and television version of the show), William B. Williams , and Steve Allen . The show continued on WNEW, with a brief interruption in the 1970s when the name was dropped and then restored in 1979, until 1992 when the station changed its format. After leaving WNEW, the show was revived in 1996 by Bill Owen on WVNJ and then on WNSW in Newark, New Jersey where it
16432-430: The network's affiliates on the same day of the week and at the same time (in a given time zone, in countries where this is a concern). Some production companies create their shows and license them to networks at a loss, at least at first, hoping that the series will succeed and that eventual off-network syndication will turn a profit for the show. A syndicated program is licensed to stations for "cash" (the stations purchase
16590-478: The news agency model, where nominally competing networks share resources and rebroadcast each other's programs. For example, National Public Radio ( NPR ) stations commonly air the Public Radio Exchange 's This American Life , which may contain stories produced by NPR journalists. When syndicating a show, the production company , or a distribution company called a syndicator, attempts to license
16748-496: The number could be as low as 65. Successful shows in syndication can cover production costs and make a profit, even if the first run of the show was not profitable. This type of syndication has arisen in the U.S. as a parallel service to member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ) and the handful of independent public broadcasting stations. This form of syndication more closely resembles
16906-521: The original AT40 concluded in 1995; this resulted in Kasem acquiring sole control of the brand. Meanwhile, Kasem's contract at Westwood One was due for renewal and the relationship between the two sides was becoming contentious. After Kasem's initial contract expired in 1993, Westwood One renewed it for four more years. Kasem had launched an adult contemporary countdown in 1992 as a companion to Casey's Top 40 called Casey's Countdown , and in 1994 he added
17064-405: The original program. Because the rights to Shadoe Stevens-era episodes were held by Cumulus Media, no programs from August 13, 1988, to 1995 have been re-aired as part of this or any similar block. Newly produced extra segments hosted by voiceover talent Larry Morgan are available for use at stations' discretion. Prior to Kasem leaving Premiere Radio, these segments were hosted by his son Mike; when
17222-612: The others. In November 1991, American Top 40 switched to the Hot 100 Airplay chart (then known as the Top 40 Radio Monitor). These songs generally scored much higher radio airplay, and some were not even released as singles (such as "Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton ). During this time, a few songs made very high debuts, including two that almost debuted in the No. 1 spot: "I'll Be There" by Mariah Carey , which entered at No. 4, and "Erotica" by Madonna , which entered at No. 2. In January 1993, American Top 40 switched charts again, this time to
17380-481: The premiere of Casey Kasem's 'American Top 40: The 80s . On August 4, 2006, XM Satellite Radio began replays of the original 1970s and 1980s AT40 shows with Kasem that were digitally remastered from the original vinyl LPs and open-reel master tapes by Shannon Lynn of Charis Music Group. The event began with a weekend long marathon of original shows, with AT40 then being added as a regular show on two of XM's Decades channels, " The 70s on 7 " and " The 80s on 8 ". With
17538-495: The premiere show actually included the top 40 songs from the week ending July 11, 1970. The first show featured the last time both Elvis Presley and the Beatles had songs simultaneously in the Top 10. It was originally distributed by Watermark Inc. , and was first presented in mono until February 24, 1973, when the first stereo vinyl copies were distributed. In early 1982, Watermark was purchased by ABC Radio and AT40 became
17696-604: The program, hosted by Steve Harvey , has been a major ratings success; on the week of June 12, 2015, for the first time ever, Family Feud was the highest-rated syndicated program in terms of average household ratings. While the current version of The Price Is Right (another Goodson-Todman game show) has enjoyed tremendous success on the CBS daytime schedule since its inception in 1972 under hosts Bob Barker and Drew Carey , it has also produced three spinoffs, two of which failed after one season. The most successful syndicated edition
17854-418: The program, regardless to its distribution to stations of varying network affiliations and despite the fact it is not part of an individual network's base schedule. Since the early 2000s, some programs being proposed for national distribution in first-run syndication have been test marketed on a selected number of or all stations owned by certain major station group, allowing the distributor to determine whether
18012-416: The record. In 2011, Taio Cruz set AT40 's all time longevity record with his song " Dynamite ". This hit remained on the chart for 72 weeks, from July 2010 to November 2011. The record has since been broken by Rema & Selena Gomez ‘s song “ Calm Down ”, which remained on the chart for 75 weeks, from November 2022 to April 2024. On the Hot AC version of AT40, " Use Somebody " by Kings of Leon set
18170-424: The remainder of Kasem's tenure. Radio syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates . Syndication
18328-650: The resistance from artists. WNEW's victory subsequently authorized radio stations across the country to start playing recorded music and brought about the modern radio programming landscape. Make Believe Ballroom was nationally syndicated beginning in 1940 and Block and Make Believe Ballroom made the cover of Billboard magazine in April, 1942. In 1949, the radio show inspired the movie Make Believe Ballroom . Block left Make Believe Ballroom in 1954 to host The Martin Block Show for ABC Radio , originating from
18486-427: The rights to local insertion some or all of the advertisements at their level); given to stations for access to airtime (wherein the syndicators get the advertising revenue); or the combination of both. The trade of program for airtime is called " barter ." In the United States (as a result of continued relaxation of station ownership regulations since the 1970s), syndicated programs are usually licensed to stations on
18644-427: The rise of cable television channels aimed at that audience such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network , which provided appealing children's entertainment throughout the week at nearly all hours. Syndication remains a method of choice for distributing children's programming, although this has gradually shifted to only produce programs to satisfy the federally mandated " regulations on children's television programming in
18802-521: The series first began, these segments were hosted by one of Kasem's former guest hosts, Ed McMann . These extra segments are also heard on the 80s show. KQQL was the first to sign on, airing programs beginning on December 30, 2006. Typically, the "optional extras" were songs that had yet to enter the top 40 of the Hot 100. However, some songs never reached the top 40 but had since become popular at classic hits/oldies/classic rock stations or certain novelty songs that were popularized by certain media events like
18960-420: The series for first-run syndication in the fall of 1983, where it continued for four more seasons, with the last first-run episode airing in the U.S. on May 18, 1987. Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in 1987, and became the most-watched syndicated show throughout its seven-year run. Its great success caused many others to debut. Friday the 13th: The Series (a horror series which shared its title with
19118-426: The series was renewed for a second season in January 2015, while Ferguson would also win a Daytime Emmy Award for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for his work on the program. In January 2016, Fox owned-and-operated stations began a test run of South of Wilshire —a game show produced by TMZ. The 2017 summer season includes the game show iWitness created by TV judge Judith Sheindlin. 2021 saw
19276-400: The series. Currently, American Top 40 with Seacrest airs in two formats, with one distributed to Contemporary Hit Radio (Top 40) stations and the other to Hot Adult Contemporary stations. However, there is no distinction made between the two shows on air. There are also two classic editions of the original American Top 40 distributed every weekend, featuring past Kasem-hosted shows from
19434-624: The show rebranded their logo for the 50th anniversary. It features lines similar to those on the edges of vinyl records. It was changed again in September 2021; the same month, Premiere announced the show had been renewed through 2025 with Seacrest as host. As of 2020, American Top 40 is produced by Easton Allyn and Jennifer Sawalha, and engineered by James Rash. American Top 40 has faced numerous competitors since its debut in 1970. These include The Weekly Top 30 with Mark Elliott (1979–1982); several Dick Clark-hosted shows starting in 1981 with
19592-413: The show to one station in each media market or area, or to a commonly owned station group, within the country and internationally. If successful, this can be lucrative, but the syndicator may only be able to license the show in a small percentage of the markets. Syndication differs from licensing the show to a television network. Once a network picks up a show, it is usually guaranteed to run on most or all
19750-459: The show's international distributor, kept the program alive for the overseas markets that had not dropped the series after ABC's cancellation. On the weekend of January 28, 1995, the final episode of the original AT40 was broadcast. Two years later, in 1997, two separate and coincidental series of events would lead not only to the revival of American Top 40 , but would also see the return of Kasem to host it. When Kasem left ABC Radio in 1988,
19908-402: The show, American Top 20. He also announced that the new host of AT40 would be Ryan Seacrest , an afternoon DJ host from KYSR who was rapidly gaining stardom from his hosting of the successful music reality TV show. American Idol . Kasem's last show as host of AT40 aired on the weekend of January 3/4, 2004. His final No. 1 was Outkast 's " Hey Ya! ", which hit the top of the chart on
20066-424: The show, from 1988 to 1995, and also followed Kasem on his Westwood One shows, first as "Request and Dedication", and then back to LDD when he returned to AT40 in 1998. Long Distance Dedications were dropped after Ryan Seacrest became host in 2004, but they continued as part of Kasem's adult contemporary countdowns. In 1988, Kasem left the show over contract concerns with ABC and signed with Westwood One to host
20224-664: The show. Online song voting was later reinstated, with results of votes on American Top 40 's website factored into the chart rankings. AT40 was also expanded to social media through Twitter and Facebook where listeners from around the world will request a song to be included in the AT40 Extra segment, as well as their own mobile application which is available for free download on the Apple AppStore for iOS devices and on Google Play for Android devices. In March 2010, Premiere Radio Networks announced that "American Top 5,"
20382-409: The song " Desiree " by Neil Diamond , which he dedicated to his girlfriend of the same name who was moving to West Germany to live with her family on an Army base. The request was fulfilled on the weekend of August 26, 1978; when that show was rebroadcast the weekend of August 25–26, 2007, Kasem recorded two optional segments (played at the discretion of the station) in which he did phone interviews with
20540-459: The song were kept intact, in lieu of Morgan's voiceover. In March 2008, XM Satellite Radio rebranded the XM broadcasts with the "Casey Kasem's American Top 40" name and logo used for terrestrial broadcasts, although XM still aired the commercial-free broadcasts, while Premiere Radio carried edited and recut broadcasts with commercials. While Premiere Radio does not officially re-air programs other than
20698-689: The successful movie franchise) also debuted in 1987. The next syndicated shows that debuted in 1988 were War of the Worlds and Freddy's Nightmares . Baywatch , which debuted in 1989 on NBC and was canceled after one season also became one of the most watched syndicated shows throughout its ten-year-run, garnering a worldwide audience. By 1994, there were more than 20 one-hour syndicated shows. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Renegade were also syndicated. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess were also popular, often tying Deep Space Nine at 5% to 6% of
20856-471: The syndicated versions of Price were 30 minutes long. A Hollywood Squares revival also thrived beginning in 1998 under host Tom Bergeron , running six seasons until its 2004 cancellation. By far the most successful entry into the market in the 2000s has been the daily version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire , which premiered in September 2002 and was canceled in May 2019 after 17 seasons in syndication (and
21014-543: The syndication market around this time. Of these shows, Let's Make a Deal and Hollywood Squares were the first to jump to twice-a-week syndicated versions, in about 1973. Another popular daytime show to have a weekly syndicated version was The Price Is Right , which began concurrently in weekly syndication and on CBS ; the syndicated "nighttime" version was hosted by Dennis James for its first five years, after which daytime host Bob Barker took over for another three years of weekly episodes (even though, by this point,
21172-568: The syndication market shrunk, Andromeda season 5 moved to the Syfy Channel (2004). There was not another first-run syndicated drama (or a first-run scripted series in syndication) until 2008, when Disney-ABC Domestic Television and ABC Studios teamed up with Sam Raimi to launch a new first-run syndicated series, Legend of the Seeker , based on Terry Goodkind 's Sword of Truth novel series. Another gap in first-run scripted series in syndication followed for four years after Legend of
21330-469: The syndication market to fulfill the requirements. Also in the 1980s, news programming of various sorts began to be offered widely to stations. Independent Network News , which was produced by WPIX in New York City, was a half-hour nightly program that ran from 1980 to 1990 on independent stations (in some markets, INN was paired with a locally produced primetime newscast); CNN would offer
21488-414: The talk shows of Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin , and variety and quiz shows). Ziv Television Programs, after establishing itself as a major radio syndicator, was the first major first-run television syndicator, creating several long-lived series in the 1950s and selling them directly to regional sponsors, who in turn sold the shows to local stations. Ziv's first major TV hit was The Cisco Kid . Ziv had
21646-495: The time four), which meant that the stations that did exist affiliated with multiple networks and, when not airing network or local programs, typically sign-on and sign-off . The loosening of licensing restrictions, and the subsequent passage of the All-Channel Receiver Act , meant that by the early 1960s, the situation had reversed. There were now more stations than the networks—now down to three in number after
21804-575: The title American Top 40 Flashback . The show was syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks . In its early weeks the shows were the original four-hour format of an American Top 40 episode, but after the first month and a half the show was reduced to three hours. Although the national syndication of American Top 40 Flashback ceased in December 2002, radio station WMMX in Dayton, Ohio , continued to carry American Top 40 Flashback on Saturday mornings until
21962-462: The top 10 not being heard), this test run was largely successful. Because of the success, Premiere Radio Networks decided to launch "Casey Kasem's American Top 40 : The 1970s" into national syndication featuring the three-hour shows from 1970 to 1978, and the last three hours of shows originally aired from October 1978 through December 1979. (One original four-hour program, first aired in October 1978,
22120-414: The top 50; these removals, if they occurred in the top 40, would be reflected on the appropriate week's program. In 1999, the rule was modified to further restrict long chart runs: songs falling below #20 with at least 20 weeks in the top 50 would now be removed. On October 21, 2000, American Top 40 began using an unpublished chart on a weekly basis for the first time in its history. The chart seemed to be
22278-406: The two largest media markets (New York and Los Angeles) had dropped the program several years earlier. Another sticking point between the two sides, other than Kasem's salary demands, was that Westwood One was not willing to let Kasem change the name of Casey's Top 40 to American Top 40 . The sides eventually put aside their differences, with Westwood One deciding that losing Kasem to a competitor
22436-429: The way for a second series two years later, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers . The following year, the two shows aired together under the umbrella block The Disney Afternoon . In the fall of 1990, Disney added another hour to The Disney Afternoon ; the block continued in syndication, running additional first-run animated series until 1999. These cartoons initially competed with the ones that were nationally televised on
22594-536: The week ending July 11, 1970. In this hour at No. 32 in the countdown, a song that's been a hit 4 different times in 19 years ! And we're just one tune away from the singer with the $ 10,000 gold hubcaps on his car ! Now, on with the countdown! American Top 40 began on the Independence Day weekend in 1970, on seven radio stations, the first being KDEO in El Cajon, California (now KECR ), which broadcast
22752-406: The weekend of December 13, 2003. On January 10, 2004, American Idol host Ryan Seacrest took over the hosting duties of American Top 40 from Kasem, although Kasem would continue to host American Top 20 and American Top 10 until his retirement in July 2009. With the host change, AT40 underwent a makeover, using a new theme song and introducing several new features. The show also began using
22910-520: Was Street Smarts , which lasted from 2001 to 2006 (despite the series airing in late night slots in many markets). Between 2003 and 2007, no new game shows debuted in syndication, marking four consecutive seasons where no new shows with that genre debuted, a syndication first. That streak ended with the fall 2007 debuts of Temptation and Merv Griffin's Crosswords , bringing the daytime tally to six game shows; both ended production after one year, though Crosswords aired in reruns in some cities during
23068-617: Was a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series attempting to ape the All in the Family -style sitcoms; Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (1969), an Australian children's series, or Gentle Ben (a decade later, the decidedly not-for-children Australian Prisoner: Cell Block H would have a brief U.S. syndicated run); and a Canadian sketch-comedy series began appearing on U.S. television stations in 1977— Second City Television , which would eventually find
23226-451: Was a Canadian series, apparently modified from the vision of science fiction writers Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova . Britain's ITC Entertainment , headed by Lew Grade , made UFO (1970) and Space: 1999 (1975). These two series were created by Gerry Anderson (and his associates), previously best known for Supermarionation (a combination of puppetry and animation) series such as Thunderbirds . The most successful syndicated show in
23384-631: Was also important for the nascent anime community in the United States, with imports like Speed Racer and Star Blazers (a localized edit of Space Battleship Yamato ) helping to grow interest in Japanese animation. This led to the establishment of companies dedicated to importing and translating anime such as Streamline Pictures and Viz Media towards the end of the 1980s. In 1987, The Walt Disney Company tried its luck at syndication; DuckTales premiered that September and would eventually last for 100 episodes. The success of DuckTales paved
23542-673: Was also transmitted on Manx Radio . Kasem told the New York Times in 1990 "I accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. That is the timeless thing." During Kasem's run as host, the AT40 show had a number of popular and distinguishing features, some of which Kasem had done for some time at stations like KRLA in Los Angeles: In a 2007 Valentine's Day special edition of American Top 10 (and explained earlier in Rob Durkee's book American Top 40: The Countdown of
23700-526: Was challenged by syndicated programming in the 1980s was with late-night talk shows ; The Arsenio Hall Show was the only very successful one (it would be canceled after five years in 1994 due to ratings declines spurred by many CBS affiliates pushing the show to later timeslots following the debut of the Late Show with David Letterman , and was later revived in 2013), but similar programs were attempted such as Alan Thicke 's earlier short-lived Thicke of
23858-405: Was edited into a three-hour program for re-airing in 2007, and the four-hour "Disco Hits" special from July 1979 with the first hour optional was aired in 2008, but until the fall of 2010, no other program from the last 15 months of the 1970s was included in the " AT40 : The 70s" package. Starting in late 2010, Premiere began airing three-hour versions of four-hour AT40s from 1978 to 1979, beginning
24016-653: Was finalized shortly after Kasem's abrupt departure from Westwood One in which Chancellor would become owners of the AT40 franchise and Kasem would return as host. Westwood One filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Kasem. The revival of AT40 premiered the weekend of March 28, 1998, one week after Westwood One finally cancelled the three countdowns Kasem was hosting for them after four weeks without him. Chancellor also brought Kasem's AC countdowns to their network, with both now being branded as American Top 20 (see Spin-off programming below). Masters sold Chancellor/AMFM to Clear Channel Communications (the predecessor of what
24174-451: Was not given as much promotion as he initially had been getting when he joined up with Westwood One in 1989, especially now that he was hosting three weekly programs for the network instead of one. Westwood One, meanwhile, did not feel that Casey's Top 40 was producing as much advertising revenue as it had been when Kasem's contract was up for renewal four years earlier; the program did not have as many affiliates by 1997 as it had in 1993, and
24332-527: Was not worth their trouble and Kasem signed on for one more year in December 1997. However, after the February 21, 1998, edition of his weekend countdowns, Kasem disappeared from the airwaves without notice and, unbeknownst to Westwood One, with no intention of returning to work. Chancellor Media, the media company founded by Roy Masters , and Kasem began negotiations to relaunch AT40 for its newly launched syndication service called AMFM Radio Networks. A deal
24490-460: Was renewed for the 2009–2010 season, Trivial Pursuit: America Plays suffered low ratings throughout its run and was canceled. For the 2009–2010 season, the Fox game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? moved to syndication with a new, less expensive format. Don't Forget the Lyrics! followed for the 2010–2011 season. Deal , suffering from falling ratings, was canceled in February 2010, with
24648-438: Was the 1972–80 weekly version that was initially hosted by Dennis James , but in 1977, daytime host Bob Barker also hosted the nighttime version for the final three seasons. For the 1985–86 season, Tom Kennedy hosted a daily syndicated version, and in 1994–95, Doug Davidson emceed his own daily syndicated version, titled The New Price Is Right . Unlike the daytime series, which expanded to its current one-hour length in 1975,
24806-521: Was the growing success of audience-participation talk shows, particularly that of the innovator of the format, Phil Donahue . First-run syndication in the 1970s also made it possible for some shows that were no longer wanted by television networks to remain on the air. In 1971, ABC canceled The Lawrence Welk Show , which went on to produce new episodes in syndication for another 11 years, and currently continues to much success in weekend reruns (with new segments featuring Welk cast members inserted within
24964-472: Was thus a natural choice to be used. Kasem would frequently announce during the show that Billboard was the only source for the countdown. While using these charts worked well for the first half of the 1970s, as music changed during the decade and disco became popular on the charts, some rock stations began to drop the show because of complaints from program directors that AT40 was playing too many songs not normally heard on their stations. This gradually became
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