When they were younger, so much younger than today, a generation sat in front of what would seem today miniature TV screens to watch the Beatles on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Fifty years later to the day (now much of that audience is 64), CBS is marking what it modestly calls “The Night That Changed America” with an 8 p.m. special featuring Fab Four survivors Paul McCartney (age 71) and Ringo Starr (73). Rock on, kids!
More than mere musical appreciation is at work here. Baby boomers have cornered many markets on their stegosaurus-size stomp through the years, and the networks are willing to bet that nostalgia will be the latest one.
If CBS gets strong ratings for this event, you can bet your Beatles wig rival broadcasters will jump on the “good old days” bandwagon with special news and entertainment shows.
“There’s high potential,” pointed out TV industry observer and writer Brian Steinberg. “CBS has recently found success by digging into its archives to help better illustrate landmark anniversaries.”
And thanks to that newfangled Internet thingy, the media conglomerates also have the benefit of employing multimedia platforms and forums to reach a large audience.
“There’s probably a whole new genre of ‘encyclomedia’ — using digital platforms to revive old content that could be created from this stuff,” Steinberg said.
Sunday’s broadcast comes on the heels of the CBS airing of two Beatles segments on its “Sunday Morning” show, segments last week on the evening news and musical features on David Letterman’s “Late Show,” as well as a chunk of time on the recent Grammy broadcast. CNN also got in on the act by showing a one-hour Beatles special Super Bowl night.
The two-hour CBS special will feature current artists like Katy Perry and Imagine Dragons covering Beatles songs, as well as footage from that landmark Sunday evening and other archival material.
Anthony Mason is anchoring a live-streaming event for CBS from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Sunday night. Asked if he sees other kinds of nostalgia shows for boomers on the horizon, he said, “I don’t see why not. We have a lot of material that can be used in news and entertainment ways.”
Why not indeed? Forget sentiment; the networks might point out something the Beatles sang on their second album, released a half-century ago in April: “Your lovin’ gives me a thrill/ But your lovin’ don’t pay my bills/ Give me money.”