From the Alien Worlds operations manual: "The ALIEN WORLDS format is setup to accommodate three minutes of local commercials per half-hour episode. There is an additional thirty seconds provided for station promo and I.D. Two of the local commercial minutes are to be placed within the context of the half-hour, each following the one-minute national spots located immediately following Acts One and Two. The third local minute is to be scheduled as an adjacency, either preceding the show or following the closing credits at the end."
Radio stations would have to sign an affidavit stating that they played the show and mail the affidavit back to the distributor on Monday. These affidavits allow the show producer to receive payment from the national sponsors who are funding the show. If these are not filled out promptly by the station, then the makers of the show do not get paid. This arrangement was the standard way syndicated shows would be funded.
Radio stations would receive the records each week, ready for airing. Two versions of the LPs were pressed. One version would include national commercials and the second version did not contain any sponsor information. Each segment has a break that allows for the station to place local commercials, announcements and station IDs.
Compared to the discs without commercials, the discs with commercials can have additional voice overs from the narrator Roger Dressler such as, “And now, Peter Paul hopes you enjoy, Alien Worlds...”
The promos for the commercial version and non-commercial version of the records are different. They have different voice overs and the commercial versions also have a commercial.Demonstration discs were also produced to let stations understand what they were getting before they signed up for the show.
The format of the demo discs was different than the broadcast versions. The demo versions would come in a record jacked that says "Alien Worlds" on the cover. The back of the cover was blank. Broadcast discs would come in a paper sleeve, without an album jacked. The broadcast discs all have a lead-in test tone. The “demo” discs do not have the test tone.
The demo discs would provide a complete show on a single disc. The most common demo disc was for the story "The Sun Stealers". This was a two part story. The demo disc would have part 1 on side 1 and part 2 on side two. The broadcast discs split the story across two discs. Two discs allowed for better audio quality because the sound can be recorded with a better signal-to-noise ration and reduce confusion as only one part would be played each week. The broadcast disc would also include two promo spots to advertise the upcoming episode.
The Sun Stealers Demo Disc. Side 1 with the entire first episode
As an insentive to radio station airplay, the producers of Alien Worlds created "wild tracks" that were read by narrator Roger Dressler. For each radio station that subscribed to the show, they would record voice overs that were distribed on vinyl LPs. The station could then use these to integrate that Alien Worlds show directly with the station.
For example, in 1979, I listened to Alien Worlds on 99 WXLO out of New York city. For this station, Roger recorded lines such as: "This Saturday at 11PM on 99X", "99X on the threshold of the unknown." and "Alien Worlds on 99X, WXLO". The radio station then integrated them with the show. For example, when coming back from a commercial break, there is a short musical bed. Over this bed, the station could play one of these IDs.
From the Alien Worlds operations manual, "Either packaged with the first show of each new Alien Worlds Series, or shipped separatley, Watermark will deliver to seach subscribing station a vinyl disc or 1/4" reel-to-reel tape contain station call letters and schedule. There are two wild track lines, delivered by the ALIEN WORLDS narrator for each station." I have never come across a 1/4 tape with these voice overs. I have found an "A" and "B" wild track disc. These are so hard to find they are virtually non-existent today. For me, it was just luck. I have no idea as to the number of these discs that were created. A letter from the Watermark sales manager dated October 23, 1978, states that the series will be in 155 U.S. markets. The wild track albums I have found cover only half of those stations. I would expect that either more wild track albums were created or they were sent on tape as stated in the operations manual.
Wild Tracks Disc A Cue Sheet