In 1968 and 1969, broadcaster Bob Whitney experimented with television production techniques by renting studio facilities and recording sample video modules synchronized to popular records. This web page contains material produced in 5 different facilities and some studio photos from one production session at WFAA-TV in Dallas. Some materials from other venues will be added as they are located. Whitney was attempting to create a cost effective video product that would emulate the style and success of top forty radio. By creating a library of videotaped popular records accompanied by synchronized videos, programs could be assembled later by a video disk jockey. Such programs could be syndicated and distributed on 2 inch videotape to product-starved independent stations. Since the concept was like a radio show on TV, stations could run a program for any length of time. Thus some stations could fill up large time vacuums with material that might attract a new audience.

Whitney, who had a background as a Top Forty radio programmer, thought that large, enthusiastic audiences of young viewers would be attracted. In 1969, a pilot program was produced from many of the experimental video modules. Many images from that pilot are below on this page. In 1970, the program called The Now Explosion went on the air at Channel 36 in Atlanta where hundreds of modules were produced and assembled into programs that were played locally all weekend on Ch 36. After 13 weeks, Ted Turner acquired the program for his Atlanta UHF station, Channel 17, and for his Charlotte TV station. The new program was then syndicated and distributed nationally. It lasted 26 weeks until it was forced to shutdown when commercial revenue did not match the high production and distribution costs.

 

 

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