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FTlXJyAX AT 5 AT&T Gets into the CATV Act Washington, D.C. — Latest entry into the lists against CATV is the formidable American Telephone & Telegraph Co. The phone company, which has more than a passing interest in the transmission of sight and sound, urges the FCC to keep expanding community antenna microwave relays out of the common carrier band. AT&T says this band is too limited as is and, in any case, should be kept for those who service the public directly — not for those who merely "serve themselves." The CATV people are enraged at the phone company's stand. NCTA, speaking for the industry, says naturally AT&T would benefit if microwave relays for community antenna systems were "evicted" from the common carrier band. This would leave all the more for the phone company, NCTA argues. The comments were in reply to the commission's proposal to set up a special limited band for CATV microwave relays, to be called CAR. The community antenna association says CAR is much too small a space in the spectrum. It also says the FCC action goes counter to policy and singles out CATV service for discrimination. Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed New York — Possession of the latest tape equipment proved more of ;i handicap than a boon to CBS-TV in its reruns of three old Fred Astaire specials. Bucking Sunday night's toprated Bonanza on NBC-TV, CBS lad scheduled the three shows as a itop-gap measure pending premiere )f For the People. Hitch was that the Astaire specials kvere recorded on an out-moded variety of color tape which can only be )layed back on a heterodyne machine. TBS no longer had such a machine. Who did? NBC, of course, and JBS had to rent the equipment from ts rival at an estimated $5000. How did the Astaire specials fare igainst NBC's Bonanza? National Arbitron rating figures ell the story: Share of Rating Audience 28.1 45 17.7 27 12.0 20 Broadcast comments on this aspect of the tangled CATV skein continue to urge that FCC hold off on all piecemeal rulings until it can set up broad rule-making to protect free tv from wire and air community antenna systems. Springfield Television Corp., licensees of WRLP, says CATV in nonservice areas deters new UHF stations. WRLP-UHF, which with its satellitte serves Keene, N. H., Brattleboro, Vt., and Greenfield, Mass., says it competes with 20 CATV systems. The station claims it must temporarily drop its local programing until the FCC sets up some protection, enabling WRLP to again attract local advertisers. WRLP says community antenna systems provide "free bonus coverage to prospective WRLP advertisers." As for any protection by microwave relay rules, WRLP says only one of the 20 competing CATV systems uses microwave relays. RKO Buys 'Twilight Zone' In Deal with CBS Films New York — RKO General moved quickly when Rod Serling's Twilifihl Zone was put on the market. Within a week after CBS Films, Inc., released the series for syndication, RKO General Broadcasting inked a $1.5 million contract for the show, plus longterm rights to other properties. Twilight Zone, consisting of 1 34 half-hour programs and 17 one-hour shows, will be aired on RKO General stations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit and Memphis in October, 1965. Other shows involved in the deal are the rights to the Marshall Dillon series in Detroit and Have Gun, Will Travel in Boston. In announcing the buy, CBS Films notes that during its five network years, Twilight Zone established itself as one of tv's top-rated hits, with an average audience of almost 18 million viewers weekly. The series also won a number of awards, including three Emmy statuettes, plus critical praise. BRC Issues Report in Ratings Probe ■rogram lonanza (NBC) ponday Movie (ABC) Itstaire Special (CBS) New York — Broadcast Rating Council, Inc., currently taking a hard look into the activities of the various radio and television rating services, has issued a progress report. As of last week, BRC auditors had completed or were in the process of completing the audit of field work in 24 markets. Audit includes an "examination of the sample design, the implementation of the sample, refusal rates and methods of substitution, and contacts with field supervisors, interviewers and respondents in order to validate the occurrence of interviews and the placement of diaries." Next step, according to BRC, will be an examination of the processing of the raw data as they are received from the field, including a check on coding, editing and publishing of the report. In addition, computer programs will also be examined and checked when used. Kenneth H. Baker, executive director of the council, declared that cooperation from the rating services has been "uniformly good." He adds, "This is especially important because the audit normally requires the time and attention of a service's top personnel." In discussing the markets currently under audit. Baker stressed that there were not enough observations made in any one of them to constitute an audit of that market. "The rating service as a whole is being audited," he said, "not the outcome of the results in a particular market." Baker added: "It is conceivable that later the council may offer such a service so that broadcasters may order an audit of a particular market if they desire one to be conducted." Markets included in the field audit to date are: Augusta, Ga.; Bristol, Va.; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus and Dayton, Ohio; Elk City, Okla.; Elkhart, Ind.; Green Bay, Wis.; Hastings, Neb.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Kearney, Neb.; Lincoln, Neb.; Memphis, Tenn.; Missoula, Mont.; New York, N.Y.; Pembina, N.D.; Pittsburgh, Pa.; Roswell, N.M.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio, Tex.; South Bend, Ind.: Watertown, N.Y., and Worcester, Mass. (Note: Radio and/ or television surveys were conducted in these markets.) CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE December 28, 1964