Mobil Showcase Theatre
| Type | Occasional network |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Availability | top 50 markets |
| Owner |
Mobil SFM Media Service |
|
Key people
|
Herb Schmertz |
| Established | 1976 |
| Dissolved | 1984 |
The Mobil Showcase Network, also known as Mobil Showcase or Mobil Showcase Theatre, was an occasional or ad hoc television network from 1976 to 1984 with an ad hoc group of stations.
A Mobil Oil media expert, Herb Schmertz, wrote canned paid "editorials" placed into newspapers like the New York Times opinion-editorial page. Schmertz also had Mobil underwriting Masterpiece Theatre to improve Mobil's image. He also considered having the company buy a newspaper, the Long Island Press. He instead settled on a "sort of TV network" as Mobil and Schmertz were frustrated with the network-developed anti-oil-company news and documentaries.
Schmertz worked with SFM Media Service Corporation lining up 43 stations, primarily in the top 50 markets; half of these were network affiliates. Mobil paid $3.2 million to the stations for the 8 PM ET/PT Thursday time slot for 10 weeks. In the winter of 1976, Mobil launched its first show, Ten Who Dared, hosted by Anthony Quinn and adapted from a 1975 BBC documentary series, which was originally shown in the UK as The Explorers and presented by David Attenborough. The show dramatized the adventures of various explorers (including Cook, Columbus, Amundsen and Mary Kingsley), and was one of the highest budgeted BBC shows for its time. The show beat the networks in the ratings, defeating NBC's The Fantastic Journey, and even CBS's The Waltons. Based on the ratings, Mobil arranged for two more "'non-network' series."
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