Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

8— TELEVISION DIGEST MAY 6, 1S63 money. I personally feel this condition will last about 6 months. As production and knowhow improve, allchannel tuner prices should start coming down, partly offsetting the increase." Motorola Pres. Robert W. Galvin took note of problem in recent annual report, in which he stated that all-channel bill will cause "moderately deflating situation" in TV business at first, probably ending in fall 1964 as consumer becomes accustomed to all-channel TV. "We feel it will hurt sales at first, but we don't know how much," said a Magnavox spokesman. "Forcing the consumer to pay extra is boimd to have an adverse effect." As GE analyzes it: "Of the 3 buying groups — original set, 2nd-set and replacement — only the 2nd-set buying group will be sharply affected, and this should only be temporary. At the outset, price differential will be about $20 [between all-channel & vhf-only set], but competition will knock it down to about $10. At retail, this is not a tremendous enough figure to be a major stumbling-block." Three other manufacturers thought law would have no appreciable effect on TV buying one way or another. Said one: "Next year there'll still be so many vhf sets available that there'll be no effect at olL Toward the end of the year it might hurt, might slow down black-&-white sales. But remember, everybody will load up on vhf-only sets during the first quarter, so they'll be available most of the year." "The market is influenced by economics, not legislation," said a Philco spokesman. "All manufacturers will be in the same boat. We're already noticing an increasing demand for all-chcmnel sets; by the end of this year about 20% of our mix will be all-channel." Said another big set maker: "We're not concerned, since we think it will have no noticeable effect on buying. As one of our big dealers says, 'let's stop talking about that $20 and sell sets.' The only thing that concerns us is the possibility of vhf dumps." Accenting the positive, Emerson Pres. Benjamin Abrams thinks all-channel low "will have a salutary effect on TV. It's a new thing and will stimulate buying of 'up-to-date sets.' Our own business is now 20% all-channel, increasing continually; 80% of the sets we ship to Los Angeles have uhf, and even N.Y. is beginning to wake up. By fall, I think 30-35% of all set sales will be all-chonneL" "I think it will boost sales rather than hurt them," reasons Sears Roebuck's TV chief H. E. McCoy. "It should rejuvenate the whole industry. Looking for a feature? This is a real one — not a gimmick. This is something more to talk about — more stations. People are beginning to learn about uhf — in Chicago they're asking for all-channel sets and the uhf stations haven't gone on the air yet. To the customer, it's often simpler than to the dealer. Let's not complicate it. What all-channel does can be said in a few words — it makes more TV stations possible. "We must be fair with our customers," continued McCoy. "Anyone who sells vhf-only receivers after next April 30 to gain price advantage is kidding himself. I don't know of a better way to encomage growth of this industry than to help increase programming sources and competition between broadcasters. The allchannel law makes it possible for us to help develop this business and eventually increase the market for sets. Sears has been working for more than a year on all-channel campaign, pushing it very vigorously for the last 6 months, and our all-channel sales constitute a greater percentage of total merchandise each month." NEW 3M TAPE CARTRIDGE MODELS IN ^64: Minnesota Mining is "starting at the top" with its 3M-Revere tape cartridge system at $450 (Vol. 2:46 p9), but has no intention of confining system to the audiophile's rarified price range. 3M has the time, and it's gaining the experience — but there's no doubt it hopes eventually to aim cartridge system squarely at mass market. Nor is there any doubt that world's biggest tape maker will marshal its considerable forces in drive tc obsolete both records & phonographs. That's the mighty oak which 3M hopes to cultivate carefully from its $450 acorn. At present, the single portable tape cartridge changer system (which provides 15 hours of music from stacked 3% -in. square cartridges) is working its way into national distribution. From its present areas of St. Louis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, San Francisco & Los Angeles, it will fan out this month to Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, Des Moines, Seattle & Portland, reaching all major markets this fall. As to its sales success. Revere product mgr. Darrell H. Boyd wiU say only that it is "more than meeting our expectations" and that additional franchised dealers hove been added in the 4 original market areas. Customers have principally been component hi-fi enthusiasts (who use recorder as additional component).