1950s quiz show scandals

It would be insane.

So all of these accusations of payola kinda came to nothing until the TV quiz show scandal exploded in 1958.

So television quiz shows were really popular at the time, which meant there was a lot of money being thrown at them.

So to maintain high ratings, secure advertisers, and keep the show successful, producers would sometimes, like, identify charismatic contestants and feed them answers while other contestants were instructed to intentionally miss questions.

This episode featured audio from Sony's Wheel of Fortune.

You also heard audio from the Quiz Show Scandal Senate Hearings, plus excerpts of Fremantle's Beat the Clock, Prestige Entertainment Group's Name That Tune, NBC Universal's 21, Merv Griffin Entertainment's Merv Griffin Show, Warner Brothers' Knots Landing and Dallas, Beast Industries' Beast Games, Benny J Entertainment's Deal or No Deal Island, and Vox Pop and Take It or Leave It, which both aired on CBS Radio.

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