Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

I NEW SERIES VOL. 3, No. 11 TELEVISION DIOEST— 5 FOREIGN STATIONS & SETS; Here is summary table compiled from the Foreign TV Directory section of our new 1963 Television Factbook giving number of stations & sets-in-use in foreign countries as of Oct. 1, 1962 (see p. 1) : Country Stations Sets Albania 1 ^ Algeria 6 67,600 Argentina 9 850,000 Country Stations Sets Malta’® 1 21,000 Mexico 24 1,000,000 Monaco 1 12,000 Austria^ «... 27 350,000 Belgium 12 950,000 Bermuda 1 9,400 Brazil _... 37 1,430,000 Bulgaria^fl 2 22,000 Netherlands 7 1,168,996 Netherlands A (West Indies) .. 1 10,000 New Zealand 4 52,000 Nicaragua 2 10,000 Chile 3 4,000 hh!n«-i 26 100.000 Panama’® 3 30,000 Costa Rica’* 4 16,000 Cuba® 27 400,000 Cyprus 1 4,600 Czechoslovakia* .... 100 1,300,000 Denmark 11 795,000 Dominican R 4 18,000 El Salvador 3 30,000 Peru 7 75,000 Philippines 11 56,000 Poland 17 1,000,000 Portugal 8 90,000 Rhodesia 3 35,000 Rumania 9 110,000 Saudi Arabia 1 14,000 Spain” 36 400,000 Finland 19 315,000 France® 152 3,059,574 E. Germany*® 117 1,600,000 W. Germany® 419 7,000,000 Syria 3 42,000 Taiwan 2 5,000 Thailand 2 100,000 Haiti 1 2,600 Honduras 2 4,600 Hong Kong’ 1 16,000 Hunprary 8 250,000 United Arab Republic*® 13 200,000 United Kingdom .. 60 12,600,000 Irnn 2 73,000 USSR 173 6,600,000 fi 190, non Italy!® 586 3,266,611 Japan® 207 10,724,091 Kenya 1 3,600 Korea 1 40,000 Kuwait J. 8,000 FOREIGN TOTAL 2,563 64,937,221 U.S 619 60,000,000 U.S. Military 36 Lebanon 6 80,000 Luxembourg 1 10,600 GRAND TOTAL 3,217 124,937,221 * Sets-in-use estimate unavailable. Station total includes 15 low-power satellite. ’ Recent information not available. * Station total includes 89 low-power satellites. ° Station total includes 115 low-powered satellites. * Station total includes 334 low-power satellites. '' Closed-circuit cable system. * Some viewers also can get British stations. “ Station total includes 82 low-power satellites. ^ Some viewers also can get Italian stations. Station total includes 15 low-power satellites. ** Sets-in-use does not include those in Canal Zone. ^ Station total includes 32 lowpower repeaters. ^ Station total includes 3 low-powered relays. ** Station total includes 2 repeaters. “ Station total includes 107 lowpower repeaters. ** Station total includes 543 low-power repeaters. Station total includes 28 satellites. ^ Station total includes 6 relay units. Settlement of NBC-Philco fight over NBC’s WRCV-TV (Ch. 3) Philadelphia, as proposed by the principals (Vol. 3:1 pi), has been rejected by FCC. Parties had proposed that Philco pull out, get paid $550,000 by NBC for expenses incurred fighting for Ch. 3. Commission turned that down, asked Philco to tell Commission, quickly, whether it will prosecute its application for Ch. 3. FCC’s position is that it had accepted, as justifying a hearing, Philco’s original charges against NBC’s qualifications as a licensee — and it can’t simply ignore those charges now. It’s expected Philco will drop application, won’t get the expense money, and FCC will renew NBC’s license. Station Sales: (1) KSYD-TV (Ch. 6) Wichita Falls, Tex. to Paul Harron by Sidney Grayson & associates for $2,350,000, approved by FCC. (2) Also approved was sale of WMAZ-TV (Ch. 13) with radios WMAZ & FM for $2,094,750 to WMRC Inc. by George P. Rankin & associates. WMRC Inc. also owns WFBC-TV (Ch. 4) Greenville, S.C. (3) KVIP-TV (Ch. 7) Redding, Cal., is being sold for about $1,250,000 to Sacramento Valley TV (William Smullen), which will drop Redding Ch. 9 application, leaving Northern Cal. ETV Assn, unopposed for Ch. 9. Personals Sigurd S. Larmon, ex-Young & Rubicam chmn., named U.S. Advisory Commission on Information member for 3-year term. Frank Kearns appointed chief, CBS News Bureau for Africa, with home base in London. Blaine Littell named Paris bureau chief. William R. Baker Jr., honorary chmn., Benton & Bowles, elected Advertising Council chmn. Vice chairmen elected: Albert Cole, Reader’s Digest: George Gribbin, Young & Rubicam; Edwin Ebel, General Foods. Kevin Sweeney, ex-RAB pres., becomes pres. & major stockholder, John Poole Broadcasting, Los Angeles. . . . John R, (Dick) Carlson promoted to WOW-TV Omaha program dir., succeeding Bill McBride, station mgr. Milton J. Shapp, Jerrold chmn., receives 1963 Philadelphia Fellowship Commission Award for work on interracial employment. Peace Corps, neighborhood renewal. Dr. Mary Ann Cusack, ex-U. of Mich, statf, appointed special asst, to NAB Pres. Collins, for special projects & administrative affairs. William Stubbs, southeastern TV sales mgr., Peters, Griffin, Woodward, elected vp. Martin Leeds, exec, vp. Talent Associates-Paramount, resigns because of company move to N.Y. Jacob A. Evans, TvB central div. vp, Chicago, also named Detroit representative, succeeding Guy Cunningham, now creative dir. . . . Ben McLaughlin, ex-Broadcast Time Sales executive, named KSLA-TV Shreveport sales mgr. Edward A. Grey, ex-senior vp-media operations, Ted Bates, appointed senior vp in charge of TV programming & media div., McCann-Erickson . . . Robert L. Miller, exTrans-Lux TV, appointed ABC Films dir. of film operations. Howard Wry, WHNB-TV Hartford, and Caley Augustine, WIIC Pittsburgh, named winners in Fifth Annual NBC Promotion Managers Awards Campaign. Obituary William D. George, 55, asst, chief, radio frequencies. Bureau of Standards Radio Standards Div., Boulder, Colo., was killed in car accident March 5 in Switzerland. He was there for meetings on International Telecommunications Union. Considered a leading space radio scientist, George joined Bureau in 1929. He is survived by wife, daughter, 3 sons and sister. ■ as David Lachenbiuch promoted to editorial director. Television Digest (N.Y.), succeeded as managing editor (Washington) by Jonah Gitlitz. Latter served as editor of U.S. Radio magazine, 1957-61, recently was dir. of advertising & public relations for Adam Young Inc., TV-radio reps; he’s graduate of American U., served 5 years on staff of Broadcasting magazine. Mich. Gov. George Romney will address luncheon session on final day of 41st annual NAB convention at Chicago’s Conrad Hilton, March 31-April 3. Other luncheon speakers, per custom, will be FCC Chmn. Minow & NAB Pres. Collins. Bob Hope will receive NAB Distinguished Service Award for 1963 on April 1.