U. S. Radio (Jan-Dec 1960)

made in U.S.A/ ernmenl. A bulletin Iroiii the Australian News Bureau states "Dramatized testimonials are forbidden. . . . False or anonymous testimonials, comments upon the products of other advertisers, the advertising of matter barred from the mails, speculative finance and grossly exaggerated statements are also prohibited. "Rules for Sunday advertising lay down that not more than two advertising announcements shall be permissible in any 15 minutes, and that not more than 150 words of advertising jiiatter may be used in that time. Statements al)()ui licpior and certain patent medicines may not be made on Sundays." The innnber of words in a commercial are also controlled. For example, a 60-sccond spot can have a maxinuun of 1 10 words; a 25-second message is limited to 50 words, and a 15-second spot to 25 words. Tinning to programming, the News Bureau bulletin points out that A very large portion of the material broadcast by the commercial stations is recorded. As a geneeral rule, the material is of a light nature, with dance music jjredominating: in the dramatic field, the radio serial takes up most of the time. Children's programs are expected to be compiled with nuiiculous care and must encourage correct speech, respect for law and order and fair play. Standards are laid down for children's plays and many things are distinctly prohibited, such as torture, horror, the supernatural and profanity." Station Profile An Australian station which has quite frankly patterned itself along American standards is 2SM in Sydncv. The station has been on the air since 1931, and operates on 5,000 watts — the maximum power permissible in Australia for a conmiercial station. Its facilities include three studios. In describing its market, the station points out that Sydney has a population of 2,054,800. "As an indication of its market size," a station 34 presentation states, "last year there were over $2.68 billion spent in the State of New South \VaIes on the sale of retail goods." Media in Sydney include two government radio stations, six competitive conmiercial stations, one government owned tv station, two conunercial tv outlets, two morning and two afternc:)on newspapers and 25 miscellaneous types of magazines. The station presentation also savs "In Sydney there are 87 accrediicd ladio advertising agencies." Programming Policy Describing its progranmiiiig policy, the 2SM presentation reports: "Of the six conmiercial stations in Sydney, foiu^ operate on a pojjidar music programming policy, one has feature programs and the other has a combination ol nnisi( and leatures. "2SM's policy is basicallv one of music, news, weather, sport and public service, banded together into v>hat we call .M7 Family Foiiiuil;i Progranmiiiig. Kacli half-hoiu segment of musical progiamniing, throughout the day, is broken up into categories . . . designed to give all age groujjs a record they will enjoy every few minutes. . . . Tlu' music is backed up by a comprehensive news policy, incorporating Ikjui ly news. 2SM also broadcasts all major sjjorting events in the city, with the exception of horse racing, and devotes a considerable amount of free time for announcements and interviews on niatteis ol a pid)lic service nature. ' In describing its sales policy, 2SM says its main selling point is the delivery of "specialized audiences combined with hard-hitting personalities." In addition to the home audience, the station states that it diiccts its efforts to: "The heacli audience — Sydney has 34 major beaches and a hall million people visit them every weekend. "The factory audience — There are 326,125 jjeople working in Sydney factories. "The moiorinn audie7ice— There are approximately 100,000 cars on the road in Sydney. Each afternoon, 2SM has a special two-and-one-half hour progiam devoted to car radio listeners." Prospects for the lulure of radio, as it is for all media in Australia, '; appear to be extremely bright as the country continues to develop and expand. A study of the international market recently released by McClann-Erickson states "By 1970, its (Australia's) level of ouljjut should approach S16 billion, an increase of approximately 40 percent. The population growth rate of Australia will increase by about 25 percent in 1970 — a rate faster than that indicated for the U. S." MEXICO Currently estimated to be spending over SI 00 million a year for ad\ertising, Mexico is a vibrant, growing market — and one in wliic li radio is the number one advertising medium. In the previously mentioned .Mcdann-Erickson study, it was rejjorted that "Mexico will show one of the steepest growth rates of any economy in the free world. Its population over the next 10 years will rise from 33 million to 45 million. . . . National output will more than (loiible, expanding lioni over $10 l^illion to oNcr S22 billion." It is estimated that there are over five million radio sets in use, with approximately 40 percent of that total being concentrated in the federal district which includes Mexico City. By comparison, there are said to be approximately 500,000 television sets in operation, with the vast majority of them being found in the Mexico City federal district. It is generally agreed that the Mexico City market accounts for 40 percent of all retail sales in the country, and therefore has the greatest concentration of media. According to a recent issue of Medios Publicitarios Mexicanos, a subsidiary of Standard Rate k Data Service, there are some 29 radio stations in the Mexico City federal district. There are four networks in Mexico, but only one is connected U. S. RADIO Aiiou.t 1960