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A rerun or repeat is a re-airing of an episode of a radio or television broadcast. The invention of the rerun is generally credited to Desi Arnaz^{[citation needed]}. There are two types of reruns—those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated. Reruns can also be, as the case with more popular shows, when a show is aired outside of its timeslot (e.g. in the afternoon).

In the UK, the word "repeat" refers only to a single episode; "rerun" or "rerunning" is the preferred term for an entire series/season. "Repeat" is also used to refer to programs shown less than a week after the original broadcast, before the next episode of the series.

The term "rerun" can also be used in some respects as a synonym for reprint, the equivalent term for print items; this is especially true for print items that are part of ongoing series (such as comic strips).

Reruns in the United States[link]

In the United States, most television shows from the late 1940s and early 1950s were performed live, and in many cases they were never recorded. However, television networks in the United States began making kinescope recordings of shows broadcast live from the East Coast. This allowed the show to be broadcast a few hours later for the West Coast. These kinescopes, along with pre-filmed shows, and later, videotape, paved the way for extensive reruns of syndicated television series.^[1]

During hiatus[link]

In the United States, currently running shows will rerun older episodes from the same season to fill the time slot with the same program. This is often done for headliner shows because the length of the year (52 weeks) is far more than the length of a pick-up (from six to 13 episodes - usually one per week) or a full season (usually from 22 to 24 episodes or weeks). Shows will tend to start rerunning episodes after November sweeps week and usually show only reruns from mid-December until mid January or even February sweeps (where a show will return to new episodes in order to spike their ratings which will determine the cost of a commercial run during that time slot). This winter ( or "mid-season)") phase is also used to try out new shows that didn't make it on the fall schedule to see how they fare with the public. These series usually run six or eight episodes. If they do well with the public, they may get a renewal for a half (13 week) or full season in the new fall schedule. Major shows that are already a hit with the audience will return from February Sweeps until the end of the season (which sometimes ends before May Sweeps) with only limited reruns used. These are more frequently referred to as repeats, with reruns the term more commonly used for syndicated programs.^{[citation needed]}

Television specials[link]

Often, if a television special such as Peter Pan or a network TV showing of a classic film like The Wizard of Oz is especially well-received, it will be rerun from time to time. Before the VCR era, this would be the only opportunity audiences had of seeing a program more than once.

Seasonal programming such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, A Christmas Carol or the Charlie Brown television specials are normally re-shown once (or occasionally twice) each year, in the appropriate timeframe.

Syndication[link]

A television program goes into syndication when many episodes of the program are sold as a package for a large sum of money. Generally the buyer is either a cable company or a host of local television stations. Often, programs are not particularly profitable until they are sold for syndication. Since local television stations often need to sell more commercial airtime than network affiliates, syndicated shows are usually cut to make room for extra commercials. Often about 100 episodes (four seasons' worth) are required for a weekly series to be rerun on a daily schedule (at least four times a week). Very popular series running more than four seasons may start daily reruns of the first seasons, while production and airings continue of current seasons episodes.

No one anticipated the long life that a popular television series would eventually see in syndication, so most performers signed contracts that limited residual payments to about six repeats. After that, the actors received nothing and the production company would keep 100% of any income. This situation went unchanged until the mid-1970s, when contracts for new shows extended residual payments for the performers, regardless of the number of reruns.

Classic television[link]

With the growing availability of satellite television channels or terrestrial digital subchannels, combined with a growing body of available post-syndication programming, a handful of specialty channels have been built solely or primarily to run former network programming which otherwise would no longer be in syndication. Branded as "classic television", these often carry re-runs of programming dating back to the monochrome television era and are promoted as nostalgia. The corresponding radio format would be that of an oldies, classic rock, classic hits or adult standards station. Depending on the programs chosen for a classic station, running the format can be very inexpensive, due to many shows beginning to fall into the public domain.

On satellite, channels that devote at least some of their program schedule to post-syndication reruns include Nick at Nite, TV Land, TBS, USA Network, WGN America, TV Guide Network, The Hub, Game Show Network, Boomerang, Nicktoons Network, INSP, RFD-TV, and the Hallmark Channel; on terrestrial digital television otherwise-vacant subchannels may be used to carry Retro Television Network, Antenna TV, Me-TV, This TV or PBJ. Equity Media Holdings had been using low-power TV stations to carry RTN in various markets; those stations were, as a result of Equity going bankrupt, sold to the religious broadcaster Daystar Television Network.

Traditionally, shows most likely to be rerun in this manner are scripted comedies and dramas. Game shows, variety shows, Saturday morning cartoons and, to a lesser extent, newsmagazines and late-night talk shows (often in edited form) have been seen less commonly in reruns. Most variants of reality television have proven to be a comparative failure in reruns, due to the competitive nature of the format and the lack of the element of surprise. Despite this, reruns of sports broadcasts have found a niche, and networks such as MSG Network, ESPN Classic and NFL Network currently have a significant portion of programming time devoted to reruns of live sportscasts.

DVD retail[link]

With the rise of the DVD video format, box sets featuring season or series runs of television series have become an increasingly important retail item. Some view this development as a rising new idea in the industry of reruns as an increasingly major revenue source in themselves instead of the standard business model as a draw for audiences for advertising. While there were videotape releases of television series before DVD, the format's limited content capacity, large size and reliance on mechanical winding made it impractical as a widespread retail item.

TV listings[link]

TV Guide originally used the term rerun, but abruptly changed to repeat in the early 1970s.

Other TV listings services and publications, including local newspapers, would often indicate reruns as "(R)"; since the early-2000s, many listing services now only provide a notation only if an episode is new ("(N)"), with reruns getting no notation.

Repeats in the United Kingdom[link]

In the United Kingdom, most drama and comedy series run for shorter seasons—typically six, seven or thirteen episodes—and are then replaced by others. An exception is soap operas which are either on all year round (for example EastEnders and Coronation Street), or are on for a season similar to the American system.

As in the U.S., fewer new episodes are made in summer. Until recently it was also common practice for the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 to repeat classic shows from their archives, but this has more or less dried up in favor of newer (and cheaper) formats like reality shows, except on the BBC where older BBC shows, especially sitcoms like Dad's Army and Fawlty Towers, are frequently repeated.

Syndication did not exist as such in Britain until the arrival of satellite, cable and later, from 1998 on, digital television, although it could be argued that many ITV programs up to the early 1990s, particularly imported programming was syndicated in the sense that each ITV region bought in some programs independently of the ITV Network, and in particular many programs out of prime time made by smaller ITV stations were "part-networked" where some regions would show them and others would not. Nowadays the UK has many channels (for example G.O.L.D.) which repackage and rebroadcast "classic" programming from both sides of the Atlantic. Some of these channels, like their US counterparts, make commercial timing cuts; others get around this by running shows in longer time slots, and critics of timing cuts see no reason why all channels should not do the same.

Early on in the history of British television, agreements with the actors' union Equity and other trade bodies limited the number of times a single program could be broadcast, usually only twice, and these showings were limited to within a set time period such as five years. This was due to the unions' fear that the channels filling their schedules with repeats could put actors and other production staff out of work as fewer new shows would be made. It also had the unintentional side effect of causing many programs to be junked after their repeat rights had expired, as they were considered to be of no further use by the broadcasters. Although these agreements changed during the 1980s and beyond, it is still expensive to repeat archive television series on British terrestrial television, as new contracts have to be drawn up and payments made to the artists concerned. Repeats on multi-channel television are cheaper, as are re-showings of newer programs covered by less strict repeat clauses. However, programs are no longer destroyed, as the historical and cultural reasons for keeping them have now been seen, even if the programs have little or no repeat value.

References[link]

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The Osmonds
The Osmonds performing in Hamburg; 1970s (l-r): Alan, Merrill, Donny, Jay and Wayne
Background information
Origin	Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Genres	R&B, pop, disco, Soft rock, rock, Blue eyed soul, Funk, Country
Years active	1958–present
Labels	MGM Uni MGM/Polydor Records Mercury Elektra/Asylum Records Warner Bros. MGM/Kolob Records
Associated acts	Donny & Marie, 1976 Donny & Marie 1998
Website	Osmond.com
Members
Alan Osmond Wayne Osmond Merrill Osmond Jay Osmond Donny Osmond Marie Osmond Jimmy Osmond

The Osmonds are an American family music group with a long and varied career—a career that took them from singing barbershop music as children, to achieving success as teen-music idols, to producing a hit television show, and to continued success as solo and group performers. The Osmonds are devout members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and their religious values have influenced their careers.^[1]

When it began as a barbershop quartet, the group consisted of brothers Alan Osmond, Wayne Osmond, Merrill Osmond, and Jay Osmond. They were later joined by younger siblings Donny Osmond and Jimmy Osmond. Their only sister Marie Osmond, who never sang with her brothers at that time, launched a successful solo career in the 1970s. Older brothers George Virl Osmond, Jr. (Virl) and Tom Osmond were born deaf and did not originally perform,^[1] although they later made occasional appearances, most notably on the family Christmas specials from the 1970s. All of the Osmonds were born in their hometown of Ogden, Utah except the youngest, Jimmy, who was born in Canoga Park, California. The group have sold 102 million records worldwide.

The Osmonds' Story[link]

Early years: barbershop and variety shows[link]

The Osmond Brothers' career began in 1958 when Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay began singing barbershop music for local audiences in and around their hometown of Ogden, Utah. In their made-for-TV movie "Inside the Osmonds," the Osmonds explain that they originally performed to earn money to support Virl and Tom in buying hearing aids and serving missions for their church.^[2] Despite their young ages (in 1958 Alan was 9, Wayne 7, Merrill 5, and Jay 3), within a few years, the boys' talent and stage presence were strong enough that their father, George Osmond, took them to audition for Lawrence Welk in California. Welk turned them down, but on the same trip, they visited Disneyland and were hired to perform there ^{[3][unreliable source?]} after joining an adult barbershop quartet for some impromptu singing.^[4]

The boys with Andy Williams in 1964. Fron left: Alan, Wayne, Williams, Merrill, and Jay.

While the Osmond Brothers were performing on a televised Disney special, Andy Williams' father saw them and was so impressed he told his son to book them for his television show. Andy did, and the Osmond Brothers were regulars on Andy Williams' show from 1962–1969,^[4] where they earned the nickname "one-take Osmonds" because of their professionalism and tireless rehearsing.^[5] Donny soon joined them on the show, making the Osmond Brothers a 5-member group. Marie and Jimmy were also introduced on the show as the years went by. During this time, the Osmonds also toured Europe, performing with Sweden's most popular singer, Lars Lönndahl, and even releasing a single where they sang a Swedish version of "Two dirty little hands" ("Fem smutsiga små fingrar")^[6].

The Osmond Brothers were regulars on the Jerry Lewis Show in 1969, and they continued to tour and perform with Andy Williams.^[4] But soon the Osmond Brothers decided they wanted to perform popular music and shed their variety-show image. They wanted to become a rock-and-roll band. This change was a difficult one for their father, who was suspicious of rock and roll. But he was persuaded, and the boys began performing as a pop band. They achieved only modest success at first, but they found fame in 1971.^[2]

The Osmonds: a pop music success – 1971 – 1972[link]

Record producer Mike Curb saw the Osmonds (no longer called "The Osmond Brothers") perform as a band and recognized that they combined a rare mix of polished performing style, instrumental skill, and vocal talent.^[4] He helped the Osmonds get a record contract with MGM, and arranged for them to record at Muscle Shoals with R&B producer Rick Hall.^[2] Under Hall's guidance, the Osmonds hit the top spot on the pop chart with "One Bad Apple" (Billboard #1) in 1971. The Osmonds soon had hits with other light, R&B-style pop numbers like "Double Lovin'" (Billboard #14) and "Yo-Yo" (Billboard #3). In each of these hits, the formula was the same; Merrill sang lead, and Donny was "co-lead" in essence, singing the "hook" or "chorus" of the song.

The Osmonds in 1971. Clockwise from top right: Merrill, Jay, Donny, Alan, and Wayne.

At this time the Osmonds also recorded several hits that were billed to Donny, the lead soloist on the songs. They included "Sweet and Innocent" (Billboard #7), "Go Away Little Girl" (Billboard #1), "Hey Girl"/"I Knew You When" (Billboard #9), and "Puppy Love" (Billboard #3). It was at this time, 1971 and 1972, that the Osmonds were at their peak of popularity.

After this early "bubblegum soul" phase, the Osmonds began writing their own music, and their sound moved towards rock and roll with hits like "Down by the Lazy River" (#4), "Hold Her Tight" (Billboard #14), and "Crazy Horses" (#14).^[4] The Crazy Horses album was the band's first really personal statement—the brothers have been quoted as saying that the title song refers to air pollution from cars. They wrote all the songs and played all the instruments with Alan on rhythm guitar, Wayne on lead guitar, Merrill on lead vocals and bass, Jay on drums, and Donny on keyboards.^{[7][unreliable source?]} All the brothers sang back-up, with Jay and Donny sometimes singing lead parts.

Rock and roll and Osmondmania[link]

With their clean-cut image, their talent, and their energetic pop-rock sound, the Osmonds toured to crowds of screaming fans in the U.S., and they even had a short-lived Saturday-morning cartoon series on ABC-TV during 1972–1974. By this time the Osmonds had broken through in the UK as well: all members of the Osmond family, counting group and solo recordings, charted 13 singles on the UK charts during 1973. Some observers coined a new word, "Osmondmania," to describe the phenomenon.^[4]

But changes and challenges soon arrived. The older boys were of age to go on church missions, yet they believed they could reach more people through their music. The Osmonds viewed their music as their mission.^[2] As a part of their mission, they recorded an ambitious album in 1973 called The Plan, perhaps best described as a Mormon concept album with progressive rock aspirations. One reviewer suggested that The Plan carried a too-strong religious message—Mormonism is, after all, fairly conservative and not usually associated with the themes of rock and roll. He likewise suggested that the music was too varied and experimental.^[8] The album produced only two modest hits: "Let Me In" and "Goin' Home" both peaked at #36 on the Billboard charts. Furthermore, the older boys may have wanted to reduce the regular touring that is a necessity in popular music but not so good for marriage and "settling down."^[2]

Solo careers take off[link]

Donny, and to a lesser extent, Marie and Jimmy, soon began to emerge as solo artists. Jimmy had hits in Japan, and in 1972 had a #1 hit in the United Kingdom with "Long Haired Lover from Liverpool." Marie hit #1 on the U.S. country charts in 1973 with "Paper Roses"--she was only 13 at the time. And Donny achieved near-superstar status. He had a string of pop hits in the early 1970s, including "Go Away Little Girl" (Billboard #1), "Puppy Love" (#2), and "The Twelfth of Never" (#8). From 1971 to 1976, he had 12 top-40 hits, including 5 in the top 10.

Donny's popularity, and his numerous solo hits, have led many to assume he was the group's lead. But Merrill was the lead singer, although Donny would usually sing the chorus of the songs, therefore being a "co-lead" in the group. Donny's emergence as a solo star, and the record-company's desire to appeal to the teen-girl audience, often thrust Donny out in front of the group.^[2]

By now the family was touring, recording, creating, and producing for 5 technically separate artists: The Osmonds, Donny Osmond, Marie Osmond, and Jimmy Osmond—plus Donny and Marie had begun recording duets and had hits with "I'm Leaving It Up to You" (Billboard #4) and "Morning Side of the Mountain" (#8). Through all the stress and pressures created by these many efforts, the family hung together. "Inside the Osmonds" depicts the family mottoes as being "It doesn't matter who's out front, as long as it's an Osmond" and "Family, faith, and career. In that order."^[2]

The original Osmonds as a group still produced hits. In 1974, "Love Me for a Reason" reached #10 on the U.S. pop charts and went to #1 in the U.K. The Irish boy band Boyzone took the song to #2 on the U.K. charts in 1994.

Donny and Marie: the show and its challenges[link]

Donny and Marie, 1977.

By 1976, though, the group's record sales were softening, and the Osmonds poured themselves into a new venture: The older brothers began producing The Donny & Marie Show, which was a hit on ABC from 1976–1979.^[4] But the success came at a cost. The family built and operated, at great expense, a first-class television studio in Orem, Utah, where the show was produced.^[4] As a result, the Osmonds as a performing band became a third or fourth priority to the careers of Donny and Marie, the success of the show, and the operation of the family studio. The older brothers deferred or gave up their dreams of being a rock-and-roll band. Donny experienced stage anxiety, a type of social phobia, and Marie had a brief bout with an eating disorder after a network executive told her she looked heavy. When the show was canceled, the Osmonds found themselves in debt and without a clear direction.^[2]

They recovered and eventually paid their debts and re-established their careers.^[2] But the various Osmond artists and enterprises began to operate separately.

[edit] After The Donny and Marie show

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Jimmy worked as a businessman and manager. He eventually moved to Branson, Missouri, and opened the Osmond Family Theater, where he and his brothers performed until 2002. They now^[when?] appear in Branson during the Christmas season.^[4]

Marie recorded a number of successful duets with Donny and continued to sing country music; she had several top-40 country hits in the mid 1980s, the biggest of which was "Meet Me in Montana" with Dan Seals (country #1). She starred in the Broadway musicals The King and I (as Anna) and The Sound of Music (as Maria) in the mid-1990s. She returned to television first in the short-lived 1995 ABC sitcom Maybe This Time and then with Donny in 1998 to co-host Donny & Marie, a talk/entertainment show that lasted two seasons.

Donny returned to the pop-music scene in 1989 and had two Billboard Top-40 hits: "Soldier of Love" (#2) and "Sacred Emotion" (#13). He performed on Broadway as Gaston in the stage production of Beauty and the Beast, and also gave over 2,000 performances as Joseph in the touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. He has hosted games shows, continues to appear on television, winning the ninth season (Fall 2009) of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and still tours in the US and England. He currently^[when?] performs dates in Las Vegas with Marie.

The Osmonds performing in May 2008

Alan, Wayne, Merrill, and Jay formed a country group and returned to using the name "The Osmond Brothers."^[4] They had two Billboard Country hits in the early 1980s: "I Think About Your Lovin'" (#17) and "It's Like Fallin' in Love (Over and Over)" (#28). They had other country successes, but mostly did not tour, preferring to stay in Branson and perform. The brothers continue to perform with various line-ups and sometimes with their children in Branson.^[4] Merrill performs and records as a solo artist as well. Alan has multiple sclerosis, and does not perform as often today. All of the brothers are married, some with large families. Alan's eight sons started performing in the mid-1980s as "The Osmond Boys," now known as The Osmonds—Second Generation.^[9]

In 2007–2008 all of the Osmonds went on a tour of Europe to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their career in show business. A special televised concert in Las Vegas (the only tour stop in the US), commemorating the anniversary, aired on US PBS stations on March 10, 2008. Alan played piano with the orchestra for most of the show and Virl and Tom provided signed lyrics for two songs. The Osmonds' long time friend and mentor Andy Williams made a surprise appearance, reminiscing about how his father had told him to put the brothers on his variety show.

In 2009, Donny and Marie Osmond will record a television special for the British channel ITV1. An Audience with Donny and Marie is the latest in ITV's long running An Audience with... series and will be based on their Las Vegas stage show.^[10]

Olive and George Osmond (aka Mother and Father Osmond)[link]

Olive Osmond, mother of the Osmond siblings, died on May 9, 2004 at age 79. Their father, George Osmond, died on November 6, 2007 at age 90.^[11] The couple were survived by their nine children and 55 grandchildren as well as a number of great-grandchildren; Olive by 22, George by 48. Before Mr. Osmond's death, plans were being made for him and the 120+ members of the Osmond family to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show to celebrate the family's 50th anniversary in show business. He died just a few days prior to the show being taped. The family ultimately decided to go on with the show as scheduled, and on Thursday, November 9, the entire Osmond family appeared on stage with Oprah Winfrey as a tribute to their father. The show aired the following day, the same day as Mr. Osmond's funeral.

Hollywood Walk Of Fame[link]

In 2003, the Osmond Family were honored for their achievements in the entertainment industry with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Osmond family

• www.osmond.com Official Web site
• Behind the Teeth: Know Your Osmond at Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict
• The Osmonds Biography on YouTube