Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1959)

10 ADVERTISING AGENCIES: Chester T. Birch promoted to exec. v.p. of Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample; Fred T. Leighty promoted to administrative v.p.; Clifford L. Fitzgerald continues as pres, with senior v.p. Lyndon O. Brown as chairman of new executive committee . . . George Chatfield, ex-exec. v.p. of Wm. Esty Co., named senior .v.p. of Benton «&: Bowles . . . Gerald Light promoted to v.p. of McCannErickson . . . Lester S. Rounds & Ed Spitzer promoted to v.p.’s of Kudner . . . John Peace promoted to first v.p. of Wm. Esty Co., N. Y. . . . Mrs. Frances Corey, ex-adv. v.p. of Macy’s, named West Coast v.p. of Grey Adv. . . . Andrew Stewart, exec, v.p., named pres, of Denhart & Stewart, N. Y. . . . George H. Lovitt promoted to exec. v.p. of Franklin Spier Inc., N. Y.; Irving Gruber & Stanley Aaron promoted to v.p.’s . . . Nat Wolff, ex-NBC program development director, named v.p. in Young & Rubicam TV-radio dept. . . . Edward A. Gum pert, ex-ColgatePalmolive, named v.p. of Geyer, Morey, Madden & Ballard . . . John H. Byrne, ex-MacManus, John & Adams v.p., named senior v.p. of Hockaday Assoc. . . . Edmund F. Johnstone, ex-Dowd, Redfield & Johnstone exec, v.p., named vice chairman of Calkins & Holden . . . Stanley T. Peterson promoted to v.p. of Cunningham & Walsh San Francisco office . . . Sam Silberman promoted to v.p. of H. Weiss & Co., Chicago . . . Horace E. Curtis, ex-Benton & Bowles, named v.p. of Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Bayles . . . Paul B. Morgan promoted to v.p. of Armstrong Adv., Chicago . . . Stuart Minton promoted to mgr. of broadcast activities of Foote, Cone & Belding, Hollywood. Station rep Donald R. Cooke is buying KXLA, Pasadena, Cal. (1110 kc, 10 kw U) for $900,000 from Loyal King & associates, according to application filed with FCC this week. Also being sold is KGDE, Fergus Falls, Minn. (1250 kc, 10 kw D, 5 kw N) by Howard Dell for $124,000 to Carroll E. Crawford (80%) and Kingsley H. Murphy Jr. (20%). Murphy also holds 20% of Ch. 8 applicant for Moline, 111. and, with family, owns 40% of KRNT-TV, Des Moines (Ch. 8). Broker was Blackburn & Co. [For news about other radio station sales, see AM-FM Addenda R.] FCC’s Space Race Role: Specific allocations for space communications were proposed by FCC this week as it invited comments by Jan. 21 in preparation for meetings of International Telecommunications Union this year. Commission says it isn’t proposing use of space vehicles for relays for TV, radio, etc. at this time. “These frequency bands,” it said, “are intended to accommodate such functions as tracking, telemetry, command (i.e., turning on or off transmitters aboard space vehicles from the earth or from other space vehicles), communications between earth and space vehicles, and for communications between space vehicles themselves. It is not contemplated at this time that the same bands would be used for the relay of thirdparty communications between points on the earth’s surface using space vehicles as either passive or active relay stations. In other words, these bands are intended for functional purposes and would not be available for such things as aural or TV broadcasting normally intended for public reception.” FCC proposes use of portions of following bands, now allocated exclusively to Govt.: 25.6-25.65, 100-150, 1700-1725, 1825-1850, 2275-2300, 8300-8400, 15,15015,250, 31,500-31,800 me. Deadline for comments on FCC’s proposed changes in license renewal forms (Vol. 14:48) has been extended from Jan. 19 to Feb. 20, the Commislson having granted NAB half the 60 days requested. TV ‘Audit’ Derided: Sure way for TV to “commit suicide” in competition with newspapers would be to adopt the one-best-rating system advocated by Revlon adv. v.p. George J. Abrams (Vol. 14:50). That was Pulse director Dr. Sydney Roslow’s warning this week. ' Using same forum — Washington Ad Club luncheon — where Abrams argued last month for a TV-audience measurement corresponding to dailies’ Audit Bureau of Circulation, Roslow said: “As soon as [broadcasters] decide on any one service, they will be in trouble.” And it wouldn’t matter whether TV industry set up own single system or picked Pulse or any of its competitors, he added, blaming decline in number of newspapers on “blind reliance on [ABC circulation] head counting.” Roslow pointed out: “In newspapers, you are either first or a poor second and in trouble. In radio & TV, even the last station has an audience and does a good job for its advertisers.” Retreat on Liquor: Radio WCRB, Waltham, Mass., one of few stations involved in last year’s short-lived revolt against broadcasters’ voluntary ban on liquor commercials (Vol. 14:44), surrendered to NAB this week. In letter to NAB pres. Harold E. Fellows, WCRB pres. Theodore Jones said station is discontinuing 26-week account with Federal Liquors Ltd. for Nuyens cordials & vodka commercials, will accept no moz’e hard liquor ads. Jones said station made decision “out of consideration for NAB views, after deep thought on the possible effects such a policy as ours may have on people in general and on the industry as a whole.” WCRB had been only known NAB radio member to accept alcoholic beverage commercials for anything stronger than beer & wine. Record 1959 advertising volume of $10.6 billion for all media is predicted by Jan. 9 Printers' Ink. This is 4% ahead of estimated $10,145 billion in lagging 1958, and more than enough to top previous high of $10.3 billion in 1957. Magazine’s forecast is predicated on 4.5% increase in Gross National Product, 5% gain in industrial production this year. WMUR-TV, Manchester, N. H. (Ch. 9), being purchased for $450,000 cash by Richard Eaton’s United Television Co. of New Hampshire (Vol. 14:51), is shown in transfer application filed with FCC this week as having deficit of $157,894, net loss from Jan. thru Nov. of $121,506. Nov. 30 balance sheet also reveals total assets of $485,173 (including $17,636 cash which will not be transferred), current assets $82,094, fixed assets $400,238. Current liabilities are shown as $478,817 including $440,000 notes payable. Capital is $150,000, capital deficiency being $7894. Meredith’s WOW-TV & WOW, Omaha, bought from Woodmen of The World Life Insurance Society in 1951, has acquired land, building & equipment formerly leased from that company and plans to combine all except transmitter in new building at site of present TV Bldg. Allocations petitions filed: Add Ch. 5 to Pendleton, Ore., by radio KUMA; add Ch. 12 to Atlantic City, by CP-holder WHTO-TV (Ch. 46), which operated there Dec. 1952-May 1954 as WFPG-TV. KQED, San Francisco educational outlet (Ch. 9), boosted power to 156-kw week of Jan. 5 and resumed programming after going dark Dec. 29 in oi’der to install Standard Electronics amplifier and 6-bay GE antenna. Canadian channel shift — substitution of Ch. 11 for Ch. 13 in Yarmouth, N. S. — was announced by FCC this week, following U. S.-Canadian agreement. i