Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

FRIDAir AT 5 PGW Dividing Tv Sales Into Three Regionals New York — Peters, Griffin & Woodward has joined the trend among tv station representatives to divide their lists into regional or separately sold groups. By the first of the year, PGW will have three separate tv sales staffs operating in New York. One list will be known as east-southeast, with Theodore Van Erk in charge. The Cigarets In Recovery Stage, Says Ag Dept. Washington, D. C. — Agriculture Department's Tobacco Report expects fairly strong recovery of cigaret sales from the first quarter, 1964, slump — but the long-range trend of cigaret smoking appears uncertain. The department does not expect any 1965 sag equivalent to the 1964 first quarter drop after the Surgeon General's Smoking and Health Report, and believes sales might even be up a little in 1965.. Population gains in the 18-year-old and over bracket will be about 1.5 percent a year, from 1965 to 1970, and would ordinarily mean an increase in cigaret smoking. But the smoking and health factor will be spotlighted by a dozen educational and informational programs by HEW and medical associations (Agriculture mentions AM A among them), and "consumer response caimot be predicted with any certainty." Agriculture hopefully summarizes projects in government, in the tobacco industry and medical research, and notes that FTC has delayed action on its hazard warning for cigaret labels until July 1, 1965, at the request of the House Commerce Committee. Per capita cigaret smoking for 1964 is estimated at about 207 packs. This is about 5 percent less than in 1963 and probably the lowest since 1959, Agriculture says. Cigars and cigarillos consumed per male (Agriculture's italics) are estimated at 150, up about 20 percent over 1963, and highest since 1930. Per capita, per male use of smoking tobacco (for pipes and roll-your-own cigarets) is estimated at about 1.4 pounds — 15 percent more than in 1963 and highest since 1955. Reference is to males 18 years and over. second list will be referred to as midAmerica. William Walters will head this group. The third list will contain west-southwest stations and have Arthur E. Muth as sales manager. The purpose of the fragmentation, as stated by Lloyd Griffin to Sponsor, is to give more concentrated services on a regional basis and to meet increased competition expected for 19 6 5. PGW's present list entails 42 stations. KATZ has two tv lists, east and west, while Blair has two tv sales entities, Blair Tv and Blair Television Associates. N.Y. VHFs Renew Leases In Empire State Building New York — Assuming George Orwell's forecast of the future was strictly fiction, all of New York's seven VHP stations will be transmitting atop the Empire State Building until 1984. Agreeing to rentals totaling nearly $25 million, the stations have renewed their leases for another 20 years, with renewal options extending until 1999. An eighth tv outlet, the city's own UHF station, is expected to follow suit. The tower, which enables the stations to reach a five-state area, is 22 stories above the top of the building. NBC-WBC Agree on Property Swap Washington, D. C. — It seems to be all over but the shouting on the NBCWestinghouse backtrack to their original stance of 1955, before NBC took over the Westinghouse Philadelphia properties, and WBC reluctantly accepted the network's Cleveland stations and $3 million in consolation money. Formal FCC filings by NBC and WBC to effect the reversion of properties to their original ownership took place last Monday. Sept. 29 was the deadline set by the FCC for the network to return its "fruits of misconduct" if NBC expected to get renewal on the Philadelphia stations. Renewal was needed to put NBC in business on any deal involving the Philadelphia properties. Justice Department has been breathing down the network's neck, with divestiture of the Philadelphia stations due Sept. 30, 1964, under NBC's consent decree. RKO-General's long-planned swap of its Boston outlets, WNACTV-AM and WRKO-FM, for NBC's Philadelphia WRCV-TV-AM was dismissed as "moot" in the FCC's July 29 decision to make NBC restore the "coerced" properties to Westinghouse. Final confirmation will have to come when the commission acts on the NBC-Westinghouse applications. Since the historical reverse was the FCC's own idea, there is little doubt of how it will vote. Majority vote on the restoration was by FCC chairman E. William Henry, commissioners Hyde, Bartley, Ford and Lee, with commissioners Loevinger and Cox not participating. Denied Friday (Oct. 2) were Philco and RKO-General pleas for FCC to reconsider. Philco has been battling to get back the Philadelphia channel 3 outlet which was once its own, until sold to Westinghouse in 1953. RKO took the toughest financial rap, having forfeited CBS affiliation on its Boston station WNAC-TV, when plans with NBC were hopeful. RKO estimate of damage was $2 million. Philco has had the least reason for optimism. Its petitions were shot down by the FCC Broadcast Bureau, by chief hearing examiner James D. Cunningham — who would have permitted the NBC-RKO swap — and finally by the commission. Philco was accused of putting its manufacturing interests too far ahead of broadcasting and public interest, both before and after its 1961 takeover by parent company Ford. FCC's stunning upset decision on July 29 did three things: it conditioned renewal for NBC's Philadelphia properties on an exchange for Westinghouse Cleveland outlets; it allowed Westinghouse to keep the $3 million that went with the 1956 exchange; allowed NBC to keep Philadelphia profits made since then. FCC demanded implementing applications within 60 days — and they were on target last week. Philco and RKO, unless they withdraw their petitions for FCC to reconsider the decision, are still in fighting stance. SPONSOR