[Jeffhs]

In the '50s, many TV programs (game shows in particular) were sponsored by one company, whose name was prominently displayed somewhere in the studio. Common sponsors in those days were companies dealing in hair care products (such as Brylcreem), razors and blades, women's hair care products and so on. One program I vividly remember that was always sponsored in the 1970s by an oil company (Exxon) was Meet the Press, on NBC-TV. I don't know who sponsored the program in the '60s and earlier.

When did TV programming practices get away from the "one sponsor" model? Meet the Press, for example, is still on NBC-TV, but the program has several sponsors these days. I would think it would cost the network much more to have multiple sponsors for a broadcast such as MTP than it did when the program was sponsored solely by Exxon.