This chart traces the Saturday ratings of the WCCO-TV program Axel and His Dog from January 1959 through December 1961. Ratings for the competing programs on KSTP-TV are also included. The rating is the percentage of all television sets in the metro area (whether being watched or not) which are tuned to a particular show.

The Y axis shows the timeline, and the X axis represents the average rating that each show achieved for that particular month. The vertical lines that occasionally bisect the chart indicate points when the schedule of Axel and His Dog was changed. This usually resulted in the show facing different competing programs.

There's not much to say about this chart -- Axel destroyed his Saturday morning competition month after month. The regular fluctuations in Axel's ratings, in concert with the changing seasons, can be seen clearly in this chart. Note that the ratings for January through March of 1960 are estimated; it's quite possible that Axel's actual ratings were even higher.

Although ratings information about the rest of Axel's Saturday show is not currently available, it seems likely that he continued to dominate his early morning slot until the Saturday edition of the show was discontinued in September 1963.

Want to see some Sunday ratings? Click here!