I Love Lucy Launched Reruns

The first television rerun was an episode of I Love Lucy in 1952; before that, TV episodes were aired just once, and never again. In 1952, CBS began rebroadcasting popular first-season episodes of I Love Lucy while Lucille Ball was pregnant. Producer Desi Arnaz and head writer Jess Oppenheimer used the repeats to reduce the number of new episodes Ball had to film and give her time to recover after giving birth. Because Desilu had recorded the sitcom on 35 mm film with three cameras, CBS could return completed episodes to its schedule. The repeats became ratings winners and helped establish the profitable television syndication market.

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