Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

10— TELEVISION DIGEST FEBRUABY lU 1963 COLOR PENETRATION' ESTIMATED; Cincinnati is Colortown, USA — 6.4% of its TVs are color sets — according to survey estimates in Jan. 21 Television Age. Magazine estimates there are now 1.220.000 color sets in use, of which 942,840 are in nation’s top 50 markets. Its ranking of top 20 color markets in order of percentage of penetration (color sets as percentage of total) shows variation of 0.9% to 6.4%, with 12 of the 20 higher than national average of 2%. Here are Television Age’s rankings of color markets, with estimated number of color sets, followed by percentage of color penetration (in parentheses) : Cincinnati 46,000 (6.4%); Philadelphia 84,000 (4.3%); Milwaukee 24,500 (4%); Omaha 11,875 (3.7%); San Francisco 46,500 (3.5%); Chicago 86,200 (3.3%); Los Angeles 88.000 (3.1%); Minneapolis-St. Paul 23,750 (3.1%); N.Y. 163.000 (3%); Columbus 13,800 (3%); Atlanta 16,100 (2.8%); Dayton 12,600 (2.8%); Indianapolis 16,900 (2.6%); Detroit 34,000 (2.2%); Dallas-Ft. Worth 14,600 (2.1%); St. Louis 14,100 (1.9%); Cleveland 18,800 (1.5%); Washington 11,500 (1.5%); Pittsburgh 14,800 (1.3%); Boston 16,000 (0.9%). Philco will boost printed circuits in nationwide series of meetings for some 55,000 TV dealers, technicians & independent servicemen. “We will emphasize our belief that printed circuits are the best,” said Consumer Products Div. vp-gen. mgr. Larry Hyde, adding: “We think it is especially important that the men who sell & service the sets share with us our belief that eventually all sets will have circuit boards.” Series of 130 service seminars began Feb. 5 in San Antonio, will end April 23 in Huntington, W.Va. Meanwhile, Philco intensified its newspaper attack on printed circuits by repeating in the trade press last week full-page ads on “misleading propaganda about ‘hand wiring’ in TV sets” which it ran earlier in consumer newspapers (Vol. 3:2 plO). Emerson is establishing separate & autonomous sales & merchandising dept, for its phono div. & Telectro tape recorder div., headed by Alvin Barshop, who now is sales mgr. for both divisions. “We intend to get a high-powered drive under way which will move our products into new markets and improve our penetration of those markets where we are already firmly entrenched,” said Barshop. Under plan, accelerated push for tape recorders can be expected, keyed to new market opened by FM stereo. Special sales staff is now being trained. Four new TVs have been introduced for RCA’s Feb. 19-March 9 “Bargain Bonanza” promotion: Two “tray-top” ensembles — 23-in. metal table models with matching hardwood bases & serving tray-tops which lift up to become TV snack servers, at $209.95; one open-list lowboy color console; 17-in. portable with rollabout base at $139.95. Stereo consoles from regular line have been specially priced for event. Another color show has been scheduled by ABC-TV — one-shot drama Alcoa Premiere 10-11 p.m. Feb. 28, “Hornblower,” based on C. S. Forester character. It will be carried in color by ABC’s 5 o&o’s, and other affiliates equipped for color. CBS-TV recently announced it will run several Lassie episodes in color beginning Feb. 17. Trade Personals Charles R. Denny, NBC operations exec, vp, appointed vp & managing dir. of RCA International Div., succeeding Douglas C. Lynch, resigned. Joseph S. Wright, Zenith pres., elected a dir. of Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust, Chicago. Milton J. Shapp, Jerrold Corp. chmn., receives 1963 Philadelphia Fellowship Commission Award for contributions to religious & racial understanding. John S. Chamberlin appointed GE radio receiver dept, mktg. mgr., succeeding William B. Clemmens who joins GE Major Appliance Div. in managerial post. Bernard H. Lippin, pres, of Lynch Corp. & chairman of its wholly & partly owmed subsidiaries. Symphonic Electronic Corp. & Cox Instruments, also elected chairman of Lynch, succeeding Will Freeman, who resigned for health reasons. Herbert Taber, former RCA corporate marketing development administrator, named administration ser\nces mgr., RCA Electron Tube Div. . . . David K. Elwell, exdir. of procurement & facilities services, appointed to new post of Sylvania dir. of new product planning. Benjamin P. Ransom named supervisor of audio-video requisition engineering, GE Technical Products Operation, Syracuse, a new post. John S. Reesor, Jensen Mfg. credit mgr., named 1963 chmn. of EIA credit committee. Joseph S. DeMaio, former ad & sales promotion dir.. Coming Glass Electrical Products Div., appointed production mgr. Coming Fiber Box Co. Charles T. Lee named Philco International Div. mktg. & sales mgr., headquartering in N.Y. John A. Marchese, now with Sears Roebuck, will join Warwick Mfg. as vqj & business planning dir., a new post. Henry J. Bechtold appointed RCA product news mgr.; Benjamin I. French Jr. named trade news editor. William A. Rheinfelder, ex-Motorola semiconductor products div’., named Ameco Product Development Dept, chief engineer, Phoenix. Lorin C. Weiss appointed western district mgr. (Los Angeles), Sylvania Semiconductor Div., succeeding Roger A. Swanson, recently named div-isional product mgr. for transistors. Robert Gieb appointed engineering vp of Motorola’s subsidiary Dahlberg Co. ^lark Shepherd Jr., Texas Instraments exec, vp, & S. T. Harris, senior vp, elected dirs. Samuel Grode named Pentron Electronics exec, vp, succeeding Marshall Peiros, resigned. David P. Wilkinson elected corporate planning vp, Electi’onic Associates. Kenneth A. Waldron, former Amphenol-Borg Electronics vqj, named Erie Resistor mktg. vp, succeeding Allen K. Shenk, resigned. Direct energy conversion dept, has been established by RCA Electron Tube Div. Manager is Lloyd R. Day, previously mgr. of new business dev-elopment.