vignettes available on compact disc for OTR collectors. In the mid-1950s, Monitor began broadcasting reruns of the British the Goon Show with Spike Milligan, Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers, and Michael Bentine. The American comedy troupe the Firesign Theatre cited these broadcasts as a major influence on their style of comedy.:4,5,61 Later years The innovative approach of Monitor made it a profitable success for NBC Radio over many years, helping to sustain the network in an era when network radio was collapsing. Its strong start and high popularity led the show to air on Friday nights from 8pm to 10pm in 1957, followed by an expansion to weeknights in 1959, all in addition to its 32 weekend hours (reduced from 40 in late 1955). By 1961, the weeknight Monitor was gone and the weekend schedule cut in half - from 32 to 16 hours each weekend. This was not quite as drastic a cut as it seems, as some programming that had been counted as part of Monitor's 32 hours—such as Sunday morning religious broadcasts and the radio version of Meet the Press—continued to air on NBC outside of the Monitor schedule. This was further shortened in 1974 to only 12 live weekend hours (plus nine repeated hours). Radio stations, especially in large markets, had increasingly adopted personality-driven formats featuring local disc jockeys and sought to establish a clear-cut musical or talk identity for themselves. Because of this, Monitor's "something-for-everyone" programming often did not fit in with schedules and viewpoints of stations, and fewer affiliates carried the program in major markets. Due to this, many of the show's sponsors also pulled away, requiring a shortening of the schedule to keep costs low. NBC refused to get rid of its biggest money-making show without a fight. The network introduced new music formats and changed hosts. It hired Don Imus, Wolfman Jack and Robert W. Morgan to alternate on Saturday-night segments in an attempt to make the format faster-paced. NBC also created a "custom package" to allow stations to carry certain portions as they saw fit. Despite NBC's efforts, it appeared that Monitor's time had come and gone. The network finally gave up fighting the trend by Fall 1974 and simply continued planning and programming the show's six-hour blocks for each Saturday and Sunday, now reduced between 6 p.m. and midnight on Saturdays and noon and 6 p.m. on Sundays. The final weekend