Yearbook of radio and television (1957)

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Growth of Television Film Built On Imaginative Leadership -^ THERE is one thing we at Ziv TV have learned to expect in the telefilm industry — it is the kind of dynamic business that isn't going to stand still for anyone. Our thinking and our planning must grow as the industry grows, and be prepared to meet challenges we would not have dreamed of a few seasons ago. For example, we have set a $12,500,000 production program of telefilms for syndication and network release in 1957. Part of this, of course, is continuing production this year on our telefilm series now on the air, such as "West Point," "Men of Annapolis," "Dr. Christian" and "Highway Patrol." 0<I>0 However, we realize that we must constantly plan and create new forms of telefilm entertainment. New programs, like "Harbor Command" starring Wendell Corey, are due to go into production, and altogether a total of 10 pilot films are on the drawing boards or in various stages of preparation. Although we accept production of this scope as being part of our regular business, we occasionally remember — with something of a shock, I will admit — that a production program of the size we anticipate this year is the kind of production spending that was going on in the entire television industry combined just a few short seasons ago. 0<=>0 Production quality is not a lucky accident. Last year, to maintain a consistent quality level, we found we had to increase our tele■film production budgets an over-all average of 27%, as compared with budgets for similar situations the previous year. Chiefly, these stepped-up costs to us, as producers, have come about through extra location costs of housing, transportation, overtime and residual payments to crews and talent, and the stepped-up prices of the raw materials of film production. The ranks of our personnel, particularly creative film makers and technicians, is constantly growing. Last year, the number of members in the Ziv TV employee family swelled by nearly one-fourth. Outstanding producer-director-writer teams joined forces with us bringing their valuable fund of production know-how and special skills gained in years of TV and motion picture work. Our plans call for continued expansion of our creative staffs. By FREDERIC W. ZIV Chairman of the Board Ziv Television Programs Our growth has been one of diversification, too. We now produce telefilms, and market them, to an astonishingly wide variety of customers. We sell to national advertisers, for placement on TV networks and major regional campaigns. We sell to regional advertisers. We sell to purely local firms who demand the utmost in program quality for use at the local level. We sell to stations, who in turn offer programs to their own lists of advertisers. (XZX) And, we market our telefilms, largely revoiced with special sound-tracks in foreign languages, overseas. We have found that audiences in foreign lands have much in common with our U. S. audiences — they want to be entertained on TV. That's why we've found widespread acceptance for Ziv TV shows in such countries as Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, Monaco, West Germany and Switzerland in Europe; in Japan, the Philippines and Australia in the Orient; and to Mexico, Cuba, Guatemala, San Salvador, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil and Argentina in the Latin and South American areas. There has been plenty of competition, as there is in any healthy business activity. But we feel the competition has served a strong purpose for us in sharpening our creative thinking, and creative marketing of our film product. 0<Z>0 We are optimistic about the challenges facing our industry today. There is evidence that multi-market telefilm advertisers, those in the national and regional brackets, will spend more than $125,000,000 for syndicated telefilms and telefilm time slots this year, with millions more due to be spent by purely local advertisers seeking the same high program quality. We are confident that we will play a major role in such telefilm plans. At the same time, we are increasingly aware of the responsibilities that come with such an important role. You must keep raising your standards, setting new objectives, striving for better methods to create better film products to maintain a leadership position. tk 77