NAB reports (Mar-Dec 1933)

The idea behind this committee is for us to try to blend the advertising agency, the station representative and the in¬ dividual station, and at no time, if you have ever been in an advertising agency making a solicitation and you were com¬ peting with a network representative, do they ever worry about you as an individual. I think we had better leave them on Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue. I think it is the best way to handle the tiling. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: Are you ready for the ques¬ tion as it stands now? MR. PATT: Mr. Chairman, I would like to hear one or two other people express their views on that subject. I would like to hear what Mr. Church has to say and what Mr. Harry Howlett has to say. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: Arthur, do you care to say anything? MR. CHURCH: Sooner or later we are going to have to meet this network problem. I am pertinently reminded of that fact when I look at my estimate of the income for the month of July and when I review my income for the past months and when I think about things that are going to happen next winter. How am I going to hold my beautiful spot accounts when the stations start selling time again? On the other hand, I think that the resolution proposed by Mr. Travers is perhaps slightly separate from this problem that John brings up. It seems to me that we should vote on the resolution, we should pass, it and. that the problem of net¬ work broadcasting is something we should get into as a separate matter. It is not immediately involved with the question of station representation on an exclusive or semi¬ exclusive or brokerage basis. MR. HOWLETT: I am heartily in favor of what Mr. Church has stated. (Laughter) CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: Thank you. Go on, Harry, what else have you to say? MR. HOWLETT: I am also in favor of what John Patt has stated. It is true that we know that sooner or later there must be a different arrangement between chain affiliates and the chain itself. It has been discussed for many moons in corners and corridors, as John states, as to what might be the possible solution. Arthur states that he is in a quandary already as to what will happen to his beautiful local business when the chain begins to sell its fall schedule. We are in the same quandary. Personally, I would like to see a committee at work on it and personally I would enjoy reading their de¬ liberations. Outside of that, I don’t have anything to say. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: Are you ready for the ques¬ tion on this resolution as it stands? * * * Thq motion was put to a vote and carried * * * MR. FOX: Getting back to this proposition of John Patt’s now, looking at it from the standpoint of the National Asso¬ ciation of Broadcasters, while I hold no brief whatever for the networks, as long as they are members of the National Association, certainly we can’t go ahead with something that is going to put them in any sort of a difficulty. We should give them representation by all means. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: The position of the National Association of Broadcasters has been up to this point that any relationships between individual stations and networks is a matter that they will have to work out; that the Association, on account of the way it is, constructed and the fact that the national chains are members just as much as we are, finds this is something it cannot get into. MR. PATT : Mr. Carpenter, I want to make it emphatic that I haven’t a thing against the networks. They have made two stations that we operate very desirable from an advertis¬ ing medium standpoint, and we are perhaps a little more fortunate as to position than some of the stations, in that we have always had no written contract and we have always had the right of rejection of any program, commercial or sus¬ taining. Nevertheless, in the rate discrepancy and the fact that all eighteen hours of the day are available for network commercial programs, and in many cases to the exclusion of anything that is on locally or from a spot campaign, I think there is plenty of food for a committee to work out some form of recommendation or make a study of some kind and submit . Page it to the organization as a whole, and I am firmly of the opinion that networks are entitled to ample representation in deliberations of that committee, just as much so as the in¬ dividual stations. MR. TRAVERS: Mr. Chairman, I am down John’s alley on that idea, but how about this: Some of us own more than one station, we will say. It is up to us to go into New York and make a favorable contract with the networks. I don’t think that that has anything to do with the National Associa¬ tion. If Mr. X goes into the New York office and makes a contract whereby we don’t have to worry about the delivery time of the network and the, individual himself can present a proposition to the networks that is attractive enough to them to allow that kind of a contract, I think if we go into a com¬ mittee and break this thing open, it is going to spoil it for the individual owner of the station who makes a favorable contract. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: I would like to hear Phil’s reaction on that. MANAGING DIRECTOR LOUCKS: To this particular problem? As you all know, the National Association of Broadcasters is composed of members who have network affiliations and members who have no network affiliations. It is composed of members who are on the Columbia Broadcast¬ ing System and on the National Broadcasting Company’s sys¬ tem. It is composed of members who are on the National Broadcasting Company’s system who are satisfied and thoge who are not satisfied, and the same thing is true with respect to Columbia. I have no particular brief for the networks, but I have al¬ ways regarded it as an issue between the ownership of the network and the stations affiliated with that particular net¬ work. I have always felt the way to approach this problem would be for the affiliated stations of the Columbia Broadcasting System to take it up with the Columbia Broadcasting Company and for the affiliates of the National Broadcasting Company to take it up with the National Broadcasting Company. After all, what has the general membership of this Association to do with a contractural relationship between a national broad¬ casting company and its affiliate stations? That has been my position all along. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: Arthur says he has a few more words — with accent on the few. MR. CHURCH: I agree with Phil. We must also re¬ member that at the present time the only common meeting ground we as broadcasters have is at these meetings of the National Association of Broadcasters. It occurred to me as Phil was speaking that it might be well to incorporate in our program at the annual convention a time for sessions to be attended by the various network members in their various classifications. MANAGING DIRECTOR LOUCKS: I think that is worthy of consideration. Mr. PATT: Do I understand from that, one afternoon ses¬ sion, and perhaps longer, may be given over to separate meet¬ ings, side by side in different meeting places, to the National Broadcasting Company and its affiliated stations? MANAGING DIRECTOR LOUCKS: Yes. MR. PATT: I make a motion a committee be appointed to arrange the details of the meetings. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: The motion is a committee be appointed to arrange details between the affiliates and their associates at our convention in October. * * * The motion was seconded by Mr. Howlett * * * MR. PHILLIPS : I am wondering if we aren’t considering something that is brought about to a great extent by this little boom we are in right now. If this competitive situa¬ tion is apt to exist, assuming conditions do right themselves, with the network selling, it does bring a very distasteful situa¬ tion sometimes, but I believe we are going to eliminate a lot of it if conditions correct themselves and it is going to elimi¬ nate a lot of unjust competition. CHAIRMAN CARPENTER: The things these boys are talking about have been hashed over for the last couple of years and go much deeper than that, much deeper. There is a 157 .