Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

FTIZT>AX AT 5 RKO Attacks NBC-WBC Affiliation Deals Washington — RKO General has attacked the NBC-WBC station swap ordered in an FCC decision of last July, from a new angle: If neither the Appeals Court nor the FCC will reverse commission's exchange order, RKO at least wants assurance that NBC's strong affiliation commitments to Westinghouse stations, made in the course of the original 1956 swap of WBC's lush Philadelphia outlets for NBC's Clevelanders, will be cancelled out. RKO says the strong affiliation commitments made in the course of the 1956 deal will hurt it not only in Boston (where NBC allegedly promised WBC a perpetual affiliation) but in New York and San Francisco where NAB Answers Sen. Dodd Washington — In a polite letter to chairman Thomas J. Dodd of the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency, the NAB has said "thanks, but no thanks" to the suggested legal enforcement of NAB Codes on tv programing. NAB opposes establishment of any type of program standards by the Federal Communications Commission. The broadcaster association says it shares Sen. Dodd's concern for youth, and agrees with need for continuing tv program improvement — but the responsibility in programing must lie with the individual licensee. NAB also agrees that the public and community groups should b e heard about tv programing if they want to — but NAB opposes "any use of government fiat to force the media to engage in this colloquy." NAB believes that any move by government into setting up "specific categories" of programing for favor or disfavor, takes programing out of the hands of the licensee, and clearly runs counter to the first amendment. The jointly signed letter from NAB's vice president Vincent Wasilewski and Code director Howard Bell points out that, according to the subcommittee's own interim report, "research scholars are cautious in their statements as to possible causal connection between conduct portrayed on tv and subsequent conduct of the viewer." NAB says it will cooperate in prospective research. all three parties in interest compete, and in fact in all markets. RKO sees Weslinghouse's Philadelphia "Windfall" as a competitive bonanza that will give WBC stations the edge over RKO and all other stations in bids for national spot sales and feature films, as well as inside track on NBC affiliation. RKO was on the very brink of a profitable exchange of its Boston stations, WNAC-TV AM-FM for NBC's WRCV-TV-AM in Philadelphia, until the commission stepped in. FCC would not renew the NBC Philadelphia licenses, and thus enable it to meet Justice Department divestiture order, unless NBC swapped back with Westinghouse, giving up the "illgotten gains" allegedly pressured in the 1956 Westinghouse exchange. RKO wants the FCC's order held up until the Appeals Court decides the case. In the event the court upends the NBC-WBC deal, there will be less "unscrambling" of assets and personnel than if the deal becomes a fait accompli first, RKO says. Dubonnet Doubles Order On 'Arthur Godfrey Time' New York — Dubonnet, whicl recently made its network radio coast to-coast debut on CBS' Arthur God frey Time, apparently liked what i heard — and doubled its weekly par ticipation on the show. The resul was "standing room only" for Godfrey Schenley Imports Co., U.S. mar keter for the aperitif wines, placec an initial order for two commercial* per week for 26 weeks (see Spo.nsor Nov. 2, p. 15) in mid-October. Aftei hearing Godfrey's way with the Dubonnet message, the firm doubled iti order, purchasing all the remaining available time on the now sold-oui show. Commenting on the stepped-up advertising, Scott Romer, advertising director for Schenley, declared: "Godfrey has done very well for Park anc Tilford's Tintex and Norex Laboratories' Amitone, two other Schenlej divisions. We felt that he would provide a perfect showcase for our expanded national sales program." Time was purchased through Nor man, Craig & Kummel, Inc. American Research Bureau Reports Stabilizing Trend in Top 20 Shows Beltsville, Md. — American Research Bureau reports that programs "showed further stabilizing trends during the week of Oct. 26-Nov. 1 with eight of the top 10 programs still in the top 10 and only two programs making the top 20 for the first time this season. New to the top 20 were Gunsmoke and Ben Casey. Here is the breakdown: ARB TOP 20 PROGRAMS BASED ON NATIONAL ARBITRON RATING ESTIMATES FOR THE WEEK OF OCT. 26-NOV. 1, 1964 Program Rating Estimate 1. Bonanza, NBC 29.6 2. Red Skelfon, CBS 27.1 3. Ed Sullivan, CBS 26.7 4. Andy Griffith, CBS 25.7 5. The Fugitive, ABC 24.5 6. Peyton Place 1, ABC 23.9 7. Bewitched, ABC 23.7 8. Peyton Place II, ABC 23.5 9. The Virginian, NBC 23.3 10. The Lucy Show, CBS 21.3 11. Lawrence \Ne\V., ABC 20.8 12. Corner Pyle, CBS 20.5 13. Candid Camera, CBS 20.0 14. I've Got a Secret, CBS 19.8 14. Dick Van Dyke, CBS 19.8 14. Combat, ABC 19.8 17. Wednesday Night Movie, NBC 19.7 18. Gunsmoke, CBS 19.5 19. Ben Casey, ABC 19.3 20. Jackie Gleason, CBS 19.2 Fair Trial for Pay Tv Council Backs Weaver Hollywood, Calif. — Echoing the sentiments of Sylvester L. (Pat) Weaver on the defeat of STV in California, Dana Andrews, president of the Fair Trial for Pay Tv Council and president of the Screen Actors Guild, called it a "temporary set-back." "An incredible amount of money was spent by the theater owners of the nation to buy an affirmative vote," he declared, "but we expect that ultimately the courts will hold this prohibition measure to be unconstitutional." SPONSOR