Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

4 TV stations. Real significance of move, however, is self-evident: The pact between Republic & WCBS-TV is a trial balloon, a weathervane — and as such is being watched closely as possible indication of early opening of vaults to TV. Hollywood's movie makers are torn between 2 breaa-&-butter loyalties — to their exhibitors and to their stockholders. The producer's biggest customer is his exhibitor — on whom he still depends for financial success of his films. Republic has been dickering with TV interests for some time, seeking best offer for block of oldies. Deal was almost signed early this year, when word leaked out (Vol. 8:8). Exhibitor groups immediately threatened to boycott all Republic pictures (Vol. 8:10) — and Republic drew in its horns for time being. What will exhibitors do this time? Some, of course, have learned they can't buck the inevitable, and have applied for TV stations. But how will the rank-Sc-file react? Answer to this question looms extremely large in other producers' plans for TV release of old films, and that's why film folk are watching outcome so intently. *,U *!* yt. T V T *r On the other horn of the film maker's dilemma is his corporate prof it-&-loss ledger. Boxoffice is down, and TV is deemed responsible. And when profits drop, when dividends are skipped, stockholders don't like it. Old films in producers' vaults are like money in the bank. In the heyday of the movie, the best of these oldies could always be counted on to show big profit when reissued for theatre re-runs. In a "normal" film market, even the briefest reshowings of old films would bring in far more money than they'd make if sold to TV. But "normal" market exists no more. Market for theatrical reissues — except for the "classics" — appears to be nearly shot. TV, on other hand — young, dynamic, growing rapidly now - is beginning to offer more and more profit potentialities. Existing TV stations have scraped bottom of barrel, showing and reshowing the same hoary old turkeys - and now they are screaming for "fresh" films. More straws in the wind have appeared in recent weeks — for example, the reported negotiations between Paramount and various TV interests for the release of huge block of old short subjects and cartoons (Vol. 8:45). Independent producer David 0. Selznick again is reported trying to peddle a group of his best pictures for TV showing. Negotiations between him and Bruce Eells & Associates collapsed last year when his asking price of $2,000,000 for 12 films — each to be shown 4 times in 63 markets over 2 years - was said to be too high. But now time may be ripe. Selznick is said to be offering 26-week supply of films — broken into one-hour packages - to individual sponsors for $1,000,000. Included are such classics as The Third Man, Intermezzo, Spellbound, Rebecca. Something's bound to give. And Republic deal, while it may not be the wedge that breaks the "logjam", might vrell turn out to be bellwether. Outcome of deal — how it affects Republic's relationships with its exhibitors — may determine how soon other big producer-distributors decide time has come to join forces with the upstart TV for mutual benefit of both media. THEATRE-TV production of Carmen from Metropolitan Opera stage (Vol. 8:50) got mixed reviews, most critics applauding Nathan Halpern’s Theatre Network TV Inc. for noble effort but pointing out technical shortcomings in transmission. Variety’s city-by-city check of attendance reveals first opera attraction didn’t have nearly the “pull” of theatre-TV prizefights, attendance being quite low in some cities, though at or near capacity in others. There are now about 115 theatre-TV installations in use, according to our survey of equipment manufacturers made in connection with preparation of our TV Factbook No. 16. Not all are in theatres, though, some installations being located in such places as the Pentagon, U. S. Naval Academy and Rheem Mfg. Co., Lester, Pa. Among manufacturers of theatre-TV gear, RCA maintains strong lead with 81 installations, while Trad Television Corp. has jumped into second place with 12, General Precision Lab oratory 10, Paramount 4, Air Marshal Corp. (TheatreView) 2, home made or unspecified 2. Total seating capacity of theatres with TV installations now is about 235,000. List of TV-equipped theatres, with seating capacity and make of equipment, will be feature of our new Factbook, due off presses in January. Theatre Owners of America, at midwinter board meeting in New York’s Hotel Pierre Jan. 26-27, will consider Dept, of Justice’s anti-trust suit against 12 movie .producers & distributors to compel them to release 16mm films to TV (Vol. 8:30-32). Deadline for filing theatre-TV exhibits was extended this week by FCC from Dec. 22 to Jan. 12 at request of Western Union; hearing is scheduled to resume Jan. 26.