Guys,

In researching the show, I found out from my archieved local newspapers that my local ABC afflilate did NOT show the first season in prime time for the first year. Instead of Friday night back in the fall of 1969, The Brady Bunch was broadcast Saturday afternoons at 4 pm. My guess is that station management at the time thought that the show was more "kids oriented" and believed The Brady Bunch would attract a bigger audience by being broadcast as a Saturday matine series.

By Season 2, The Brady Bunch had moved to its typical prime time line-up in my area.

As much as I loveThe Brady Bunch, I think that the first Season IS geared more for children and the station may have had better ratings doing it that way in the first run. Series 2-5 have more "familiy oriented" issues that adults and kids can relate to. The series matured as the kids did and as Robert Reed and his scriptwriting friends became more involved in realistic storylines

Jack

Guys,

In researching the show, I found out from my archieved local newspapers that my local ABC afflilate did NOT show the first season in prime time for the first year. Instead of Friday night back in the fall of 1969, The Brady Bunch was broadcast Saturday afternoons at 4 pm. My guess is that station management at the time thought that the show was more "kids oriented" and believed The Brady Bunch would attract a bigger audience by being broadcast as a Saturday matine series.


Regular pre-emptions were not unusual in the late 60s and early 70s; it's more likely that the station had a syndicated show that it thought would perform well in the Friday primetime slot, rather than the station worrying about where a new ABC show would play best. Several NBC stations in the midwest used to pre-empt "Sanford and Son" for "Hee Haw" in the early 70s. The local station in Boston used to bump "Happy Days" from Tuesdays at 8:00 in favor of "Space: 1999" (believe me, that pre-emption didn't last).

Guys,

In researching the show, I found out from my archieved local newspapers that my local ABC afflilate did NOT show the first season in prime time for the first year. Instead of Friday night back in the fall of 1969, The Brady Bunch was broadcast Saturday afternoons at 4 pm. My guess is that station management at the time thought that the show was more "kids oriented" and believed The Brady Bunch would attract a bigger audience by being broadcast as a Saturday matine series.

By Season 2, The Brady Bunch had moved to its typical prime time line-up in my area.

As much as I loveThe Brady Bunch, I think that the first Season IS geared more for children and the station may have had better ratings doing it that way in the first run. Series 2-5 have more "familiy oriented" issues that adults and kids can relate to. The series matured as the kids did and as Robert Reed and his scriptwriting friends became more involved in realistic storylines

Jack



That's interesting Jack... so can you tell from the info you have what show WAS aired on Friday nights in place of the Brady Bunch?

It's been a while, it might have been Nanny and the Professor or Here Come The Brides, but I am not sure.

Jack