Television: Over the Rainbow

The most popular single film property in the history of U.S. television is MGM’s 1939 The Wizard of Oz. When it was first presented on CBS-TV in 1956, Oz attracted 35 million viewers; last February the annual showing reached 44.6 million. Over the years, Oz has captured an average 53%~of all sets in use at the time (30% is considered high).

For such surefire fare, CBS has been paying MGM a bargain rate of $200,000 for each replay. When the network’s option finally ran out this year, bidding understandably leaped somewhere over the rainbow. MGM asked for $1,000,000 per showing, almost the same rate as the record $2,300,000 it received from ABC this year for the first two TV reruns of Marlon Brando’s Mutiny on the Bounty.

Last week NBC won the rights to Oz by reportedly paying some $3,500,000 for the next five reruns. For NBC, even that price may be a bargain. The net work hopes to gross $1,000,000 from commercials for each rerun. The cut for Judy Garland and Oz’s other 1939 stars: nothing. It was not until 1960 that film contracts began to provide residuals for actors.