Videos · October 15, 2026 · 41 seconds

'I Love Lucy' at 75: The Pay Cut That Made the Rerun a Business

Name: 'I Love Lucy' at 75: The Pay Cut That Made the Rerun a Business
Uploaded: 2026-10-15T18:26:00.000Z
Duration: 41 s
Description: I Love Lucy premiered on CBS on October 15, 1951. Its stars took a pay cut to film it in Hollywood and keep ownership of the film, and that deal turned the rerun into a business.

I Love Lucy premiered on CBS on October 15, 1951. Its stars took a pay cut to film it in Hollywood and keep ownership of the film, and that deal turned the rerun into a business.

Read the full articleby Adamo Cannizzaro

Transcript

'I LOVE LUCY' AT 75: THE PAY CUT THAT MADE THE RERUN A BUSINESS

[THE PAY CUT] Two stars refused to move.

In 1951, CBS wanted I Love Lucy performed live from New York, but its stars, Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz, would not leave Hollywood.
Arnaz, pictured, offered to film the show instead and take a lower fee, and in return their company, Desilu, kept ownership of every episode.

[THE RERUN] Owning the film paid off.

When Ball, pictured with Arnaz, took leave to have a baby in 1953, CBS filled the schedule with filmed repeats, and they proved as popular as new episodes.
In 1956, Desilu sold the episodes to CBS, the network that had refused to pay for the film, for $4.3 million and soon bought a Hollywood studio.

Read the full article at noozify.com. Images: Images: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in TV Radio Mirror, June 1955, and in a TV Guide ad, December 1955 (public domain, US copyright not renewed); Desi Arnaz in a 1950 publicity photo (public domain); via Wikimedia Commons. Music: an original score for Noozify.