European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 13, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday May 13,19bb an denies its programming is weighted i Hope you can stand to see another idler complain about sports on an to. I have come to the conclusion that one or More of three possible conditions exist which arc the cause of the heartache and unrest it have been experiencing with sports programming. In the 50s Iacre was a popu Lar program thai s my  either he famous father in that program is the programming buyer Tor an to sports program Are cheap and easy to get compared to other programming or an inaccurate poll was made and programming bought based on faulty data. One would have the tendency to guess the cheap and easy to gel but i May be misjudging an. I remember when i would grab the family Speed Home turn on the to to watch "60 minutes and gel an unannounced sports program. I planned ways to sex and violence on German to when i blew up an and "60 minutes would never fill my screen again then there is the adding of insult to injury when 1 set my Var in the morning for my favorite program come Home make a pot of Pophom pop open a cold Beer and turn on "60 minutes Only to see sports. Now the programming is still preempted by sports but at least it is usually published in Advance. Thai is quite an improvement in ii self. Since i fed As strongly As i do. I set out with a lot of prejudice to find Oul what the Public really thinks about an programming. My idea was to ask to peo ple at random How they fell. I have a Job where 1 come in Contact with More than 100 men and women a Day so 1 tried to be As reliable As possible i asked 10 women and 10 men strictly at random do you agree with How an to is screwing up the regular programming with All these sports events and specials two soldiers agreed with an and none of me women. I decided that maybe my question was Loo leading to allow accuracy. So. I repeated the Experiment reword ing my question. I asked Don t you think we arc Lucky 10 have so much sports available to us on an to sometimes it interferes with regular program Ming but it sometimes comes on Lacr in the evening. Would you believe that five women agreed and eight men whal does that say for my Experiment 1 did something wrong so i went Back and ined again t set up the question so that it would not be leading and 1 made sure thai later questions were also nol leading t asked what is your feeling about the sched uling of sports events on ?1 this time i received quite n mixed reaction. Each person i asked had something different to say Bui the final analysis was quite Clear. I repeated the same Experiment once again to be sure and got almost identical responses Irani completely different viewers. This convinced me Ihal i had done something right. The prefer Raj  shown at times other than prime Lime with the exception of major events like the super bowl which comes Only once a year or other events of equal importance. Even those who were sports buffs would Hove preferred sports during prime time Bill could understand items Clvis being the minority causing them to have 10 watch at another Lime. Some time ago an published a questionnaire asking viewers 10 return them by mail. This was a mistake because Only certain types of people Wilt re Spond to this Type of solicitation. This would mean programming to a unique audience and Noi the general audience. People have to be called at random and asked. Will ii be possible for an to admit that icy made a boo boo 1 would be surprised if they would. It Mim Rosl Money and Lake a lol of phone Calli but then the viewing Public and an would have their first reliable relationship. After such an event an might receive Many More complimentary letters in result is thai the majority of viewers would regular programming As scheduled and sport the so irs and stripes. As a final statement i will say that i have Many years of service in this country and an to was i always in this area i remember Frankfurt when it was Only Black and White but at least they bad to. We Here in number had to feel Lucky to have an radio. The coverage of an and the Quality of programming has never been Beller. Don t to me wrong an i think you Are doing great work Oul there and i am the first to compliment you on your internal operations As Well As your Quality of production. 1, for one just hate spoils Messing it All up. Name withheld Nurnberg editor s note Manny Levy broadcast Man Ager an Europe replies we an heartened that you understand an operates with constraints and that you appreciate the bulk of our service. However your impatience with our sports programming and its effect on the prime time schedule is disturbing. We bring the same reasoned experienced approach to sports programming As we do to program Ming the res of our radio and television networks. The multitude of television channels in the United slates allows viewers to see their favorite variety of programs virtually All Day. There Are channels for Cul Ture children news old and new movies 50s and 60s programs music videos Public affairs programs Black programs tuscan la programs and sports. No matter what your favorite program is there is an agreeable Choice at virtually any Lime. The transition to a single English language Channel May be difficult for people who find television lot extremely important in their lives. Some viewers cannot understand Why an does nol satisfy All their needs. Now and do it As Well the stateside channels ran. There Are in Oil nil people who g. 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