Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

14 JANUARY 18, 1960 Programming Prestige-Show Sponsors Sought: All 3 networks are hunting sponsors for the growing crop of public-affairs & prestige shows scheduled or blueprinted for 1960. The chase isn’t as difficult as it used to be — sponsors are becoming more concerned with their responsibility in TV’s public image, and sales are keeping pace nicely with prestige-program plans, network officials told us last week. The latest coup in this field has been performed by NBC-TV, which has signed Florist Telegraph Delivery Assn, to sponsor 2 NBC English-language operacasts — “Cavalleria Rusticana” on Jan. 31 and “Don Giovanni” on April 10. This marks the first time — apart from the annual “Amahl” shows— that the network has had a sponsor for its prestige-heavy, rating-light televised opera. NBC has also had recent success with Brown & Williamson {Journey To Understanding) and Purex {Project 20) — both normally associated with purely entertainment shows. CBS-TV is equally active. In addition to its roster of such public-affairs sponsors as Bell & Howell and Goodrich (co-sponsors of CBS Reports) and Firestone, CBS brought back to network TV last week American Machine & Foundry Co. as a sponsor of Tomorrow, a new 6-program science series being developed with MIT (see Network Activity, p. 7). ABC-TV is scouting what an ABC program executive called “preliminary agency reaction” to its blueprinted newsfilm series based on Winston Churchill’s books. In the wake of such moves, a new brand of rivalry is developing among network sales depts. As the sales development mgr. of one network put it to us: “It’s easier to land an advertiser already sponsoring a public-affairs show than it is to start selling one on doing so.” Thus sponsors who are pre-sold on the idea of public service shows are now enjoying a new height of status and everyone’s chasing their business. * * * Edge-of-cliff sponsor rescue for WNTA-TV N.Y.’s much-praised, high-prestige Play of the Week was staged last week by Standard Oil Co. (N.J.), which will assume full sponsorship of the 120-min. pre-taped dramas on Feb. 8 for a 13-week initial period in a major local publicservice gesture. The show’s freedom to tackle controversial drama would not be affected by the move, stated M. J. Rathbone, Jersey Standard pres., and advertising in the prestige series will be handled on an institutional level. Commercials will be inserted only at the playv'right’s regular intermissions. Mr. Rathbone, reported the N.Y. Times, “said that he and his associates did not feel competent to control a theatrical venture and that the task should be left to those whose work had enjoyed sustained critical & public approval.” David Ogilvy, pres, of Ogilvy, Benson & Mather agency, admitted that the show’s heavy fan mail (27,000 cards & letters urging WNTA-TV to keep the show on the air somehow, despite low sponsorship revenue) was a factor in the oil firm’s TV decision. TV program criticism by Coty Inc. Pres. Philip Cortney v’as picked up by House Small Business Committee Chmn. Patman (D-Tex.) for 2 appendix insertions in one Congressional Record issue. With approval, Patman inserted texts of Cortney’s statement at FCC’s programming hearing (Vol. 16:2 p6) and the perfume manufacturer’s San Francisco Commonwealth Club speech last Nov. 6 on “The TV Scandal & How to Defend Honesty & Morality.” Cancellation Activity: A sudden round of nighttime mid season sponsor pull-outs left NBC-TV sales dept, last week holding the bag on a potential loss in gross billings of “about $3 million.” Because the sponsors were cancelling time periods and not just programs, there was no immediate carry-over of billings. NBC-TV thus faces the tricky problem of deciding whether to continue axed shows at NBC expense while searching for sponsors, or to put replacement shows in the periods to attract new business. Sponsors notifying NBC-TV of cancellations last week were Singer Sewing Machine & Standard Brands {Fibber McGee & Molly, Tues., 8:30-9 p.m.), Procter & Gamble {Wichita Town, Wed., 10:30-11 p.m.), Block Drug {Richard Diamond, Mon., 7:30-8 p.m.) Renault {Law of the Plainsman, Thurs., 7:30-8 p.m.). The network still has the opportunity to sell the time in the usual rush of midseason reshuffling, as none of the cancellations are effective immediately. CBS-TV is also facing a round of sponsor shuffles, but they’re primarily program changes rather than sponsor losses. Person to Person lost co-sponsor Richard Hudnut, but gained full sponsorship from co-sponsor Pharmaceuticals Inc. Revlon cancelled the 90-min. Big Party but is buying a 60-min. weekly show in its place. Masquerade Party is being replaced by The Kate Smith Show but American Home Products is sticking with the time period. ABC-TV’s only nighttime show axing this season was World of Talent but sponsor P. Lorillard continued in the time period with 21 Beacon St. Govt.-paid TV & radio time for Presidential tickets & Congressional candidates is provided in an election-reform bill (S-2823) introduced by Sen. Neuberger (D-Ore.). Complaining that “salesmanship, not statesmanship,” has become the prime prerequisite of a candidate seeking office today, “he proposed to equalize big contributions to campaign funds with govt, subsidies. Under the Neuberger plan, half the costs of broadcast time (limited to 30 min. on radio & 15 min. on TV for primaries; times doubled for general elections) in campaigns for federal office could be paid by the govt. “To qualify for a federal contribution, the candidate could not purchase additional broadcast time in excess of the amount to which the federal contribution applies,” Neuberger said. Candidates also would be entitled to recover part of the costs of general campaign costs from the govt. “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” suit is none of FCC’s business, in opinion of attorneys for Grove Press, which is defending itself against the Postmaster General’s appeal from a court ruling which permits the book to use the mails. FCC had asked the Court of Appeals to confine its forthcoming decision to printed media (Vol. 15:52). “If it is the Commission’s purpose,” said the firm of Rembar, Zolotar & Leavy, “to instruct the court, in a case in which the Commission has had no part, on the proper bounds of judicial opinion, we submit that the effort is unseemly & unnecessary” — pointing out that no one has proposed to broadcast the book. “Affront to radio & TV journalism” is the way the Radio-TV News Directors Assn, describes separate-butequal news conferences for newspapermen & newscasters instituted by N.Y. Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller (Vol. 15:46 pll) & Cal. Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown. In a telegram to Brown, the RTNDA said its members line up with CBS, NBC & ABC in protesting the practice of holding cameras & microphones off for 2nd runs of the conferences.