I came across this one night changing the channels and it's so wonderful to watch a show by this man. He has great guests on there. It is in black and white and watching it I get the feeling of being back in time. Of course, this show came on waaay before I was born, but still, it reminds me old variety shows and so forth. I hate the info that appears when I check the info out...it says something to the effect that Nat King Cole with great guests and songs, couldn't keep this on the air. that is sooooo bad. I would expect to read the info on what guests would be appearing, not read how the ratings were low on this show. The ratings were low because certain people had issues with a black man having his own show and not being the stereotype they want.

hi, i agree. this is a wonderful old classic variety show. i came across it the other week and have been recording it ever since. thanks

I just got that channel too. I will have to watch it one of these days

great to know others enjoy this kinda show.

...why "THE NAT 'KING' COLE SHOW" failed as a half-hour series in 1957....

When Nat started his 15 minute show in late 1956 on NBC [at 7:30pm(et) on Monday nights before "THE TEXACO HUNTLEY-BRINKLEY REPORT" at 7:45], his show was "sustained", meaning there were no sponsors available to support the show- network promos and PSA's filled the "commercial breaks".
When the network gave him a full half-hour show on Tuesdays at 10pm in June 1957, they had expected some advertising support. Again, NO advertisers came forward to sponsor the show. It cost NBC $20,000 a week to produce the show, but they stood behind Nat, even though more people were watching "THE $64,000 QUESTION" on CBS opposite his show, and Nat's friends in the business came on as guests to lend support (sometimes, they appeared and waived their fees as a favor to him). Then, in September 1957, the network moved the show to an earlier time- 7:30, in the hope that a more family-oriented audience would tune in. By this time, they gave up on the idea of national sponsorship, and offered Nat's show on a "co-op" basis
[the local stations would sell the ad time to local sponsors, with their ads
shown at the appropriate breaks- Rheingold Beer in New York, for example, was the "local" sponsor there]. Yet, NOT ONE AD AGENCY could sell Nat's show to a NATIONAL sponsor. Finally, in December, NBC infomed Nat and his agent that the show was going to be moved to 7:00pm Saturday nights-"fringe time"...Nat sneered at that suggestion as "cowboy time", as a lot of old Western movies were shown on many stations in that time period, and said he would not appear at that earlier time. So the network cancelled his show one week before Christmas, and replaced it with a show that HAD a national sponsor....."TREASURE HUNT".

For years, Nat Cole said to anyone who would listen that, because he was black, NOBODY was willing to sponsor his program. No ad agency or national sponsor would do so because he claimed they were afraid their sales in the South would suffer because of him, if they did. And he was bitter about that.
And he had every right to be.


How things have changed since then!!!!

Texaco didn't sponsor "THE HUNTLEY-BRINKLEY REPORT" until 1958. It, too, was "sustained" for a while...but not because of racial considerations. Chet & David's primary competition was CBS' "DOUGLAS EDWARDS WITH THE NEWS", and more viewers watched him...until Huntley & Brinkley overtook Doug in the ratings by 1960.

...why "THE NAT 'KING' COLE SHOW" failed as a half-hour series in 1957....

When Nat started his 15 minute show in late 1956 on NBC [at 7:30pm(et) on Monday nights before "THE TEXACO HUNTLEY-BRINKLEY REPORT" at 7:45], his show was "sustained", meaning there were no sponsors available to support the show- network promos and PSA's filled the "commercial breaks".
When the network gave him a full half-hour show on Tuesdays at 10pm in June 1957, they had expected some advertising support. Again, NO advertisers came forward to sponsor the show. It cost NBC $20,000 a week to produce the show, but they stood behind Nat, even though more people were watching "THE $64,000 QUESTION" on CBS opposite his show, and Nat's friends in the business came on as guests to lend support (sometimes, they appeared and waived their fees as a favor to him). Then, in September 1957, the network moved the show to an earlier time- 7:30, in the hope that a more family-oriented audience would tune in. By this time, they gave up on the idea of national sponsorship, and offered Nat's show on a "co-op" basis
[the local stations would sell the ad time to local sponsors, with their ads
shown at the appropriate breaks- Rheingold Beer in New York, for example, was the "local" sponsor there]. Yet, NOT ONE AD AGENCY could sell Nat's show to a NATIONAL sponsor. Finally, in December, NBC infomed Nat and his agent that the show was going to be moved to 7:00pm Saturday nights-"fringe time"...Nat sneered at that suggestion as "cowboy time", as a lot of old Western movies were shown on many stations in that time period, and said he would not appear at that earlier time. So the network cancelled his show one week before Christmas, and replaced it with a show that HAD a national sponsor....."TREASURE HUNT".

For years, Nat Cole said to anyone who would listen that, because he was black, NOBODY was willing to sponsor his program. No ad agency or national sponsor would do so because he claimed they were afraid their sales in the South would suffer because of him, if they did. And he was bitter about that.
And he had every right to be.


How things have changed since then!!!!

Thanks for the history TV Knowledge Fan. I remember the reruns of "The Nat King Cole Show" when it was on a PBS affiliate WNET-TV (channel 13) a long time ago back in the early 90's. I would love to see that show again soon. "The Nat King Cole Show" was a 15-minute variety show aired on NBC back in 1956 and lasted until 1957 after one season because nobody has sponsor the show. "The Nat King Cole Show" was kinda short-lived.

Thanks for the history TV Knowledge Fan. I remember the reruns of "The Nat King Cole Show" when it was on a PBS affiliate WNET-TV (channel 13) a long time ago back in the early 90's. I would love to see that show again soon. "The Nat King Cole Show" was a 15-minute variety show aired on NBC back in 1956 and lasted until 1957 after one season because nobody has sponsor the show. "The Nat King Cole Show" was kinda short-lived.
thank God for cable so we can see these old shows.