When CBS televised its first Masters in 1956, the network used seven cameras and covered action from the final four holes.

This week at Augusta National, for the 61st consecutive year, considerably more personnel and technology will be in place. CBS will offer nine hours of live coverage this weekend, and it can show action from all 18 holes.

The Augusta National Golf Club, and network partner CBS have a unique relationship. CBS operates on one-year contracts and pays far less than market value for the rights. In return, Augusta National insists on approval of all announcers and dictates terms of the coverage, and as you’ll see in the yearly history below, they take this coverage seriously, and breaking the rules get announcers kicked off the show. Among the rules, no mention of prize money, plenty of references to “patrons”, no promotions for other TV programs, etc., and as always, the tournament has been presented with minimal commercial interruption.

Augusta National has always limited the amount of coverage by its TV partners. While it has allowed the number of TV hours to increase in recent years, it still lags significantly behind the other golf majors in this area.

Here is a look at how the coverage has evolved over time beginning with the first televised Masters in 1956.

Chronology of Masters TV coverage

1956 – CBS provided a half hour of coverage on Friday with one hour each on Saturday and Sunday. Chris Schenkel and Bud Palmer manned the microphones. CBS only covered holes 15-18 with all of its cameras stationary and most of them pointed at the greens.

1957 – Jim McKay became the lead announcer.

1958 – CBS expanded its Sunday coverage to 1.5 hours and eliminated the Friday coverage.

1959 – Frank Chirkinian produced his first Masters. CBS added cameras to cover more fairways and tees.

1961 – The tournament concluded on Monday due to weekend rain and CBS added an hour of Monday late afternoon coverage.

1962 – Schenkel resumed the lead broadcast role as McKay had moved to ABC. The Masters had an 18-hole playoff on Monday and CBS provided one hour of coverage.

1965 – Jack Whitaker took over the lead announcer role.

1966 – The Masters was televised in color for the first time. An 18-hole playoff was needed and CBS televised the end of it on Monday afternoon. This was the year that Whitaker made an on-air comment referring to the gallery surrounding the 18th green as a “mob”. For this, he was banned from the telecasts by Augusta National chairman Clifford Roberts for the next several years. Henry Longhurst called his first Masters for CBS.

1967 – A strike by the American Federation of Radio and Television Artists (AFTRA) impacted the coverage. With the regular CBS golf broadcasters honoring the strike, some CBS management personnel handled the telecast along with two top amateur players who were Augusta members.

1968 – Pat Summerall broadcast the Masters for the first time and anchored the coverage at hole 18. Frank Glieber also made his Masters TV debut.

1969 – Ray Scott joined the CBS telecast crew. So did Frank Gifford who worked golf for CBS for a few years before moving to ABC.

1970 – Scott took over as the 18th hole announcer. The final 18-hole playoff took place this year and CBS added late Monday afternoon coverage for that.

1973 – CBS expanded to 2 hours on Sunday. CBS added late afternoon coverage on Monday after rain necessitated a Monday finish. Ben Wright joined the CBS crew for the first time.

1974 – This was the last year that Scott served as lead announcer.

1975 – Vin Scully worked his first Masters and assumed the 18th tower announcer role.

1977 – CBS expanded to 2 hours on Saturday.

1980 – CBS increased the Sunday coverage to 2.5 hours.

1982 – This year saw a major change as the USA Network provided Thursday and Friday coverage (2 hours live each day along with a prime time replay). This was the first ever cable coverage for one of the golf majors. The USA coverage used the CBS production crews and CBS announcers.

1983 – Summerall took over the 18th hole tower role as Scully had moved to NBC. Verne Lundquist made his debut on the Masters. So did Brent Musburger who was stationed in Butler Cabin for the first of 6 consecutive years. CBS increased the Saturday coverage to 2.5 hours and Sunday to 3 hours. Due to rain, the tournament did not finish on Sunday, so CBS added late afternoon Monday coverage.

1986 – Gary McCord and Jim Nantz joined the CBS crew. Bob Carpenter hosted the USA coverage.

1988 – CBS shifted the Sunday TV window to end at 7 pm ET where it remains to this day.

1990 – Bill Macatee hosted the USA coverage and would do so for all subsequent years that USA had the TV rights.

1994 – McCord made the infamous on-air “bikini wax” reference while describing the speed of the Augusta greens and remarked that mounds behind the 17th green resembled “body bags”. These comments did not go over well with Augusta officials and despite still being a member of the CBS golf team, McCord has not worked the Masters since. That was also the last Masters tournament (and final CBS assignment of any kind) for Summerall who moved to Fox.

1995 – USA expanded the Thursday/Friday coverage to 2.5 hours each day. Nantz took over the lead announcer role.

1996 – Chirkinian produced the CBS telecast for the final time.

1997 – David Feherty called his first Masters on CBS as did Peter Oosterhuis.

2000 – Dick Enberg started a 7-year run of hosting the Masters from Butler Cabin. The Masters was televised live in HDTV for the first time.

2002 – Another major milestone took place this year as CBS increased the Sunday coverage to 4.5 hours and showed the leaders for all 18 holes. CBS had wanted to do this for a number of years, but tournament officials had always denied these requests in the past. This was also the last Masters in the TV booth for longtime lead analyst Ken Venturi.

2003 – Lanny Wadkins became the lead analyst and CBS expanded the Saturday coverage to 3.5 hours ending at 7 pm ET. The SD and HD productions of the event were unified. In the wake of the controversy over the Martha Burk protest regarding Augusta membership practices, the Masters chose to drop its sponsors. Both CBS and USA televised the event commercial-free. The same was true in 2004.

2005 – USA increased the Thursday/Friday coverage to 3 hours.

2006 – CBS added a one-hour special Jim Nantz Remembers Augusta which led into the Sunday coverage. That show looked back on the 1986 Masters using original CBS footage. This series has become an annual Masters Sunday tradition featuring vintage CBS telecast clips being rebroadcast for the first time.

2007 – Nick Faldo took over as CBS lead analyst joining Nantz in the 18th hole tower.

2008 – ESPN took over the Thursday/Friday coverage with Mike Tirico anchoring the action.

2009 – ESPN increased the Thursday/Friday coverage to 3.5 hours each day. CBS expanded the Sunday coverage to 5 hours.

2011 – ESPN expanded the Thursday/Friday coverage to 4.5 hours each day.

2013 – CBS increased the Saturday coverage to 4 hours. For both of the weekend rounds, CBS Sports Network aired a same-day prime time replay of the CBS network coverage.

This week’s weather here in Georgia looks great and the dogwoods and azaleas are busin’ out all over! -Bobby Ellerbee

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Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968

This is behind the hotel and shows a makeshift cable bridge between the two NBC trucks.

Final Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968

Thanks for all the descriptive comments on the first two sets of photos. Hopefully these will answer some questions raised there, and thanks to Martin Perry for finding these Los Angeles Fire Department photos. More detail on the photos so click though them. Enjoy and share.

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Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968

I have had several request to repost these photos, so here is the second of three sets of photos taken the afternoon that Senator Robert Kennedy was killed at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. There is more on the orignal post text, quite a bit of detail on the photos, as well as some instructive comments from the first posting, so be sure and click on each image. -Bobby Ellerbee

This is in the Max Rafferty for Senate HQ in one of three ballrooms that were active that night with election activity. The camera on the left is from ABC and I think it is a black and white…maybe a TK30. CBS is in the middle with what looks like a Marconi Mark VII. The right cam is an NBC Norelco. I can see this at a different angle in another picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsYLelmN6BA&ab_channel=ABCNews
I have added the ABC coverage from the next day with Frank Reynolds reporting. In it, you can see ABC’s video from the night before was shot in black and white. Also included in this clip is the voice of the Mutual reporter, Andy West who had live audio in the kitchen. It is quite chilling.

Today’s images include the network and local trucks from KTLA and KTTV and more photos from inside The Ambassador. I think it is best if I include the details of this set of photos on the pictures themselves, so please make sure you click on them individually. This is the only time and place these have been seen with any narration, so remember to share these. -Bobby Ellerbee

Many thanks to Martin Perry for finding these photos taken by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Six more pictures coming tomorrow!

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Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968

I have had several request to repost these photos, so here is the first of three sets of photos taken the afternoon that Senator Robert Kennedy was killed at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. There is more on the orignal post text, quite a bit of detail on the photos, as well as some instructive comments from the first posting, so be sure and click on each image. -Bobby Ellerbee

The Embassy Room was where the Kennedy party was. Notice the sign…Alan Cranston was running against Max Rafferty for the Senate seat and his election night HQ was also in the hotel. Kennedy was in the Embassy Room, Rafferty in a second ball room and Cranston was in a third ballroom. It was a busy night for the press.

The Night RFK Was Shot…Inside The Ambassador Hotel, Part 1 of 3

Rare Photos Of The Television Coverage…June 4, 1968

We have all have scenes of that tragic event in our heads…the optimistic victory speech and then the horrific events in the ballroom kitchen where Sirhan Sirhan waited. I have often wondered about what else was going on in that room that night…where were the cameras, who covered this and more. Now, we’ll finally see.

Thanks to Martin Perry, I’ve located these photos taken by the Los Angeles Fire Department that night and they are quite interesting. I’m breaking these up into three parts and will post the other two parts Saturday and Sunday. There will be some interesting shots coming of all three network trucks as well as the KTLA and KTTV vans. I am still researching the events of that night and along the way, will include some of the back story in separate articles.

I think it is best if I include the details of this set of photos on the pictures themselves, so please make sure you click on them individually. This is the only time and place these have been seen with any narration, so remember to share these. -Bobby Ellerbee

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Being A Member Of The “SNL” Band, And My Experience With Them…

http://www.avclub.com/article/whats-it-be-member-saturday-night-live-house-band-234547
At the link above, is a wonderful interview with SNL guitarist Jared Scharff, who’s been on the show for 9 year. In the article, there is also a 19 minute audio interview with the band’s leader, and master of the sax, Lenny Pickett.

I have a couple of great stories of my own about the band and Lenny, but have never had quite the right opportunity to share them, till now.

On May 2nd and 3rd, of 2014, I visited the Friday afternoon SNL rehearsal, and was there for the live dress rehearsal show on Saturday night, and got back to the hotel in time to see the 11:30 live show on TV. It was interesting to see what got cut.

On my Friday visit, I was there from 1:30 till 8:30 and was thrilled to see much of the show in rehearsal, and was glued to my seat on the studio floor. At one point, I went to the restroom, and on the way back to 8H, I met Lenny in the hall, and spoke with him for a few minutes.

To my amazement, he remembered meeting me in 1975 at a concert I produced inside Diamond Head Crater in Hawaii, with Santana, Hall & Oats, and the band he was in, Tower Of Power. Their great trumpet player, the late Mickey Gillette was a good friend. I had forgotten how tall Lenny was, and it was like talking to Big Bird.

Now this is the funny part…to me at least. As part of the warm up for the show, Colon Jost took the stage in front of the band. He told a few jokes and then said it was time to play, Stump The Band!

When Johnny Carson played this with the audience, they could hardly ever stump Doc and the boys, and I always loved it when Letterman and Paul came up with perfect renditions too, right on the spot, so this should be fun.

Without hesitation, from my front row seat, I yelled out to Jost and Lenny, “How about “Boogaloo Down Broadway” by The Fantastic Johnny C”? Jost replied, “You mean Johnny Cash”? I could see Lenny shaking his head “no” to Colin’s question, so I answered “No, Colin, Johnny C…it’s an old soul song”.

Instantly the band hit a couple of notes from the intro, that were immediacy recognizable to me from the song, and then stopped. At that point, Lenny started talking to the band, and they to each other and all agreeing…”Yes, we know it”. And that was it, and the whole studio erupted in laughs.

They are a tricky bunch, but among the most talented musicians anywhere. But, so you won’t be left wanting, to Boogaloo Down Broadway, here is a link to the tune. Thanks to Jodie Peeler for sharing this article, full of great video. Enjoy! -Bobby Ellerbee

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“The Kraft Television Theater”…TV’s First Anthology Series

This was the earliest and, at the time, the most famous of television’s live dramatic anthologies, and helped define the “golden age” of television. The hour-long series, sponsored by Kraft Foods, premiered on Wednesday, May 7th, 1947 on NBC. It would run continuously, with no summer breaks, for the next eleven and a half years. The final episode was broadcast on Wednesday, October 1st, 1958.

The Kraft show set the stage for all that followed, including “The Philco Playhouse,” “Playhouse 90,” “Robert Montgomery Presents.” and many more.

Here  are two very rare photos taken in early May, 1947, in what was at the time, NBC’s only television studio…3H. If you ever wondered what camera the Kraft Cameraman was based on, now you know. It was the RCA A 500 Iconoscope camera (that you can see in the photo below), which was used in Studio 3H until April of 1948, when they were replaced by RCA TK30s. As a reminder, “The Howdy Doody Show” started in December of ’47 with the A 500s, and in May 1947, Studio 8G became NBC’s second 30 Rock TV studio.

As you can see in the photo above of the Kraft Cameraman opening graphic, the cameraman model originally rotated on a round countersunk piece of balsa wood.

The in-studio photo below is from the first broadcast on May 7, 1947, which was titled “Double Door”, and was one of the first network directing jobs for NBC legend Fred Coe.

Between 1947 and 1958, the Kraft Television Theater presented more than 650 comedies and dramas, and in all 11 years, it was ranked in the Top 25 shows.

Although Kraft Television Theater quickly established itself as a critical favorite after its premiere in May 1947, in Kraft’s estimation the show was only as useful as its ability to move product. In this it succeeded beyond fondest expectations. The first indication of the magnitude of the program’s sales prowess came from Kraft’s ad agency, J. Walter Thompson, which reported in June ’47, that Imperial Cheese, a new Kraft product advertised nowhere else but on television, was flying off grocers’ shelves.

The decision to feature food preparation commercials, over hard-sell personality or price appeals was not made lightly. Kraft’s advertising personnel were concerned that using a model or a recognized spokesman would detract from the product, so they designed live commercials that used a single-focus technique.

Each program had, on average, a pair of two minute breaks, at which time cameras focused on a pair of feminine hands as they demonstrated the preparation of various dishes as announcer Ed Herlihy relayed the recipe to the viewer. This careful approach paid off for Kraft; sales of advertised products rose dramatically in television cities and, even more importantly, a poll conducted by Television Magazine, in November 1947 showed that “Kraft Television Theater” had the highest sponsor identification of any show on television.

Actors on the series included James Dean, Anne Francis, Lee Grant, Helen Hayes, Jack Lemmon, Grace Kelly, Jack Klugman, Cloris Leachman, Patrick McVey, Michael Higgins, John Newland, Paul Newman, Leslie Nielsen, Anthony Perkins, Judson Pratt, Lee Remick, George C. Scott, Rod Steiger, and Joanne Woodward.

Directors for the series included Sidney Lumet, George Roy Hill, Fielder Cook, and John Boulting, and the many contributing writers included Rod Serling and JP Miller.

Serling won an Emmy for scripting “Patterns”, which was the best remembered episode of the series. The drama had such an impact that it made television history by staging a second live encore performance three weeks later and was developed as a feature film of the same name. -Bobby Ellerbee

By the way, it was only in 1954 that Kraft made the now famous toy cameraman available for 50 cents, and a couple of box tops.

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TeleTales #106…ABC’s First News Stars; John Daly And Quincy Howe

Both men started out with CBS Radio and both worked with Edward R. Murrow in Europe during WWII, with a staff that included Charles Collingwood, William L. Shirer, Eric Sevareid, Joseph C. Harsch, H. V. Kaltenborn and Robert Trout.

Daly actually covered the famous, General George Patten. “spapping” incident. In 1950, He became the host of “What’s My Line” on CBS. Around ’53, Daly also became the vice president in charge of news, special events, and public affairs, religious programs and sports for ABC and won three Peabody Awards.

From 1953 to 1960, he anchored ABC news broadcasts and was the face of the network’s news division, even though “What’s My Line” was then on CBS. This was a very rare instance of a television personality working on two different networks simultaneously. (Technically, Daly worked for Goodson–Todman Productions). As if that wasn’t enough of an oddity, Daly also filled in occasionally on “The Today Show” on NBC, making him one of the few people in early television to work simultaneously on all three networks.

Quincy Howe was best known for his CBS radio broadcasts during World War II. Howe served as director of the American Civil Liberties Union before the Second World War, and as chief editor at Simon & Schuster from 1935 to 1942. He left CBS in 1947 to join ABC. Howe moderated the fourth and final Kennedy/Nixon debate on October 21, 1960, and retired from broadcasting in 1974.

When Mr Howe won a Peabody Award in 1955, this is the story that accompanied the presentation.

“The distinguished historian, journalist and commentator Quincy Howe has long been a great asset to broadcasting. His five-times-a-week commentaries on the ABC Radio Network are objective and penetrating analyses of the important issues of our times. His new documentary television series entitled “Outside U.S.A.” is an outstanding contribution to the understanding of the significant events and developments around the world. The variety and effectiveness of its presentation have made this program a most significant contribution of television to the promotion of international understanding. In recognition, the Peabody Award is hereby presented.” Enjoy and share! -Bobby Ellerbee

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