CBS a 23.8 share in 1949 to 5.4 in 1953. By 1952, "death seemed imminent for network radio" in its familiar form; most telling of all, the big sponsors were eager for the switch. Gradually, as the television network took shape, radio stars began to migrate to the new medium. Many programs ran on both media while making the transition. The radio soap opera "The Guiding Light" moved to television in 1952 and would run for another 57 years; Burns & Allen, back "home" from NBC, made the move in 1950; Lucille Ball a year later; "Our Miss Brooks" in 1952
Vine Street (TV series) California. Audiences were already accustomed to continuing story serials from the radio, but this was the first attempt on television. The term "soap opera" came about since many soap and cleaning product companies started trying to reach the many housewives who were home to listen these programs which normally aired in the afternoons. The "Oxford English Dictionary"s citation for the phrase dates its first appearance in print to 1938. Vine Street (TV series) Vine Street, considered the first American television soap opera, was first broadcast on 15 April 1938 by W6XAO in Los Angeles, as a daily 15-minute serial, and