A desperate advertiser’s gamble, not network strategy, birthed network television’s biggest hit

Evidence

In the summer of 1955, at the height of Weaver’s challenge, Paley threw down what would be his great trump card—a quiz show named The $64,000 Question. The concept was not original—Louis G. Cowan, the creator, had pioneered the quiz format for radio—but the prize money was unprecedented and impossible to ignore. Like Amos ‘n’ Andy, the show owed its existence to a desperate advertiser—Revlon—looking for something to set them apart and willing to try anything. So they agreed to the massive cash payout—more than half a million in today’s dollars. — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 479

Categorization

• XREF: Echoes the earlier insight that advertisers desperate for attention drive format innovation — reinforcing the pattern from Amos ‘n’ Andy.