To Be Announced

From TeeVeePedia, the Internet TV Encyclopedia.

To Be Announced is one of the most popular shows in television history. Originally broadcast on NBC in 1947 as a lead-in program for Howdy Doody, To Be Announced was soon picked up by ABC, CBS and several local affiliates. Typically, To Be Announced is shown whenever there is a hole in a network's schedule, for instance after the cancellation of one or more summer replacement shows.

Conflict With the DuMont Network

The original producers of To Be Announced were sued by the DuMont Network in 1948 over claims that they had stolen the idea from them. After the Supreme Court refused to rule on the issue, DuMont vowed never to air an episode of To Be Announced, a policy that continued after the network's transformation to Fox.

Resolution

Descendants of the original To Be Announced producers met with Fox executives at a party in Hollywood celebrating the show's 60th anniversary. After intense negotiations, it was decided that To Be Announced would be placed on the Fox schedule beginning in 2009. In exchange, the original producers would receive an opening credit as well as a tract of land in New Mexico on which to build a casino.