Broadcasting (Jan - June 1936)

Sponsors Seeking Baseball Programs BASEBALL again will be very much on the air this season, with dozens of national and local sponsors angling for play-by-play accounts, reenactment of games and announcements of scores. Among national sponsors already negotiating for broadcasts of major league games are General Mills Inc., SoconyVacuum Oil Co. and Texas Co. Owners of major league clubs for the most part are opposed to broadcasts of games at home but usually do not object to play-byplay accounts when their teams are playing in other cities. League officials leave the question up to individual club owners. In the National League, Pittsburgh permits summary descriptions of home games and play-byplay accounts of out of town games. Cincinnati games are open to all stations. In the American League, Washington permits playby-play accounts of out-of-town games and reenactments of home games. Detroit games will be carried exclusively on WWJ, except for Sunday, with network time cleared for the local broadcasts under a special arrangement. New York Inhibition. A TRI-CLUB agreement in New York prevents broadcasts of home games of the New York Giants, New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. Philadelphia will sell broadcast rights. St. Louis permits broadcasts on week days, but not Saturdays or Sundays. In Chicago Hal Totten will announce all home games of the Cubs and White Sox over WCFL, sponsored by Texas Co. Russ Hodges will announce games for WIND, Gary, with no sponsor being scheduled as yet. On WGN Bob Elson will announce, with Walgreen Co., chain drug stores, as sponsor. On WBBM Pat Flannagan will announce games for General Mills. NBC is now negotiating with advertisers to sponsor baseball resumes over individual NBC-owned stations on a spot basis. All baseball games of the Cleveland Indians will be sponsored on WHK, Cleveland, and in addition three other sponsors have signed for supplementary baseball features on WHK. P. 0. C. beer will broadcast summaries of games, using a period between 6 and 7 p. m. A late evening summary will be sponored by Cleveland Oil Heating Device Co. Spots preceding and following every game have been sold to Deisel-Wemmer-Gilbert Corp., Detroit (R. G. Dun cigars). Jack Graney will announce. WHK has a contract with the Cleveland club for exclusive radio rights. Games are not broadcast Sundays and holidays. All home and road baseball games played by the Cincinnati Reds baseball team will be carried over WHIO, Dayton, during the coming season, which opens April 14. The entire schedule, including Sundays and holidays, is being sponsored by the SoconyVacuum Oil Co., which will also present the games over WSAI and WCPO in Cincinnati. Club owners who object to broadcasts take the position that the programs hurt gate receipts and that announcers are inclined to second-guess umpires oix close plays. Baseball Records WHEN Lowell MacMillan, Kendall sports commentator of WHAM, Rochester, went South to the baseball training camps he took with him George Driscoll, WHAM recording technician. As MacMillan journeys among the camps, Driscoll accompanies him to make records of the announcer's interviews with outstanding personalities. Each day during the three weeks of travel, MacMillan sends the recordings back to WHAM via air mail to be broadcast on the daily Kendall Sportcast. The trip is financed by Kendall Refining Co. of Bradford, Pa., and is MacMillan's own idea. Loft Tests Successful LOFT Inc., New York (confectioners) has renewed Garnett Marks as news commentator for another four weeks on WMCA, New York, effective March 2. The original contract covered a twoweek test period, during which the sponsor broadcast special radio sales. Although the radio special, a box of candy, was kept under the counter, some 14,000 boxes were sold. The results of this test led to the renewal. The news is broadcast four times a day, seven days a week. The account is placed direct. New WGY Sales Chief STANLEY L. SPENCER, of the sales staff of WGY, Schenectady, has been named commercial manager by Kolin Hager, general manager, succeeding George Nelson who with Winslow Leighton recently organized the new Schenectady advertising agency of Leighton & Nelson. Walter Duncan has succeeded Leighton as national sales representative for NBC in upstate New York. RADIO will be used again in promoting the 1936 National Cotton Week, June 1 to 6, under auspices of the Cotton Textile Institute. LAST FALL, United Shirt Distributors bought the 15 minutes immediately following Father Coughlin every Sunday afternoon on WJR, Detroit. They made it a news broadcast, installing Jimmie Stevenson as commentator. Business was good and the program was maintained solely for its prestige value. No effort was made to sell merchandise. Retail business in Detroit was bad during January and February. Early in February, out of patience with institutional advertising during dull periods. United instructed its agency, S. M. Epstein Co., Detroit, that henceforth every advertising dollar must pay its own way. Anxious to keep the program on the air, the agency switched to commercial continuity definitely plugging specific merchandise From Phila. Auto Trade Journal "Yoii wanted an auto radio, didn't youf" Training Camp Remote VIA SPECIAL telephone line from Orlando, Fla., Arch McDonald, ace sports commentator of WJSV, is carrying on his nightly sports broadcasts during a trip to the Orlando training camp of the Washington baseball club. He left March 11 and will return about April 1, broadcasting every other day his observations of the team from the studios of WDBO, Orlando. Line charges for the hookup alone are running about $600, that and Mr. McDonald's other expenses being borne by his sponsor, the People's Drug Co., chain stoi'es. Between his remote talks, his regular period is being occupied by Wells Church, WJSV program manager. General Cigar Spots GENERAL CIGAR Co., New York (William Penn cigar) will use oneminute WBS transcription announcements, five days a week, on WHO, KSO and KRNT, Des Moines; WMT, Cedar Rapids; KSCJ, Sioux City. H. W. Kastor & Sons Adv. Co. has the account. items. The results were amazing. In many of their Detroit stores and in several of their out-state stores. United Monday business actually exceeded the volume for the preceding Saturdays. Generally speaking, the Monday business was of a more desirable type than that produced on Saturdays by newspaper advertising. As retail stores go. United has always been a fairly heavy newspaper advertiser. Radio has always been used as a supplementary medium. Based on this experience, however, current plans call for the extensive use of radio this spring. United has 22 stores in Detroit, also stores in Pontiac, Flint, Lansing, Jackson, Monroe and Battle Creek. Several weeks ago they absorbed the Albert Hoefeld chain in Chicago and plan to open additional stores in that city. Great Lakes Exposition Planned for Cleveland . To Use Radio Promotion PERSONAL appearances of radif stars at the Great Lakes Exposi , tion are being discussed with sev eral sponsors and their agencies Broadcasting plans at the exposi tion, as given by Ralph B. Hum phrey in charge of radio, centei about Cleveland's Public Auditor! um which will be converted int' "the world's largest broadcasting studio", since 14,000 can be seatec in the main hall. Loud speaker; will carry the stage broadcast tc the audience within the auditoriun which is an integral part of th( exposition. The main hall of th( building will become "Radioland' from June 27 to Oct. 4, the exposi tion period, with daily presenta tions of radio acts from Cleve land's four stations. The exposition, which start; within two blocks of the heart o: the city and extends for about i mile along Cleveland's lake front was underwritten by a committe(; of Cleveland business men late ii ■ January. More than half of the available exhibtion space has al ready been taken, with plans unde way to increase possible floo . space. Commerce, industry and product; of the lake region provide the cent tral theme of the exposition Among national advertisers wh<i< will exhibit are Apex Electric Co.j Addressograph Multigraph, Wil lard Storage Battery, Timken Rol ler Bearing, Republic Steel, Inter national Nickel, The Hoover Co. American Rolling Mill Co., Chas' Brass & Copper, Osborn Manufac turing Co., U. S. Steel Corp., Inter national Business Machine Coj Standard Oil of Ohio and othe firms doing a sectional business. The automotive industry wit! which the Lakes region is so close ly allied will have its own exhibit in Automotive Building. Hall o Progress will feature public utilit; displays. The Horticultural Buildl ing keynotes both indoor and out' door horticultural exhibits whicl' will include landscaping for resi; dences. Model homes of variou building materials will be shown. GE Dealer Broadcast ■ GENERAL ELECTRIC Co. wii take time from 11 to noon ES7 March 30 over more than 60 sta^ tions of the NBC to conduct ;■ nation-wide dealer meeting. Thij broadcast will originate in Ne\ York. About 1300 GE dealers wil' be present at the broadcast in NeA; York, and several thousand other: vdll listen in. Gerard Swope, Gen eral Electric president, and othe, high officials will speak. The mtf sical program will include Richar^ Bonelli, baritone, the GE concer orchestra of 40 pieces, directed b; Harold Levey, and the GE men' and women's choruses of 20 voice each. Maxon Inc., Detroit, is th^ agency. ^ Barn Dance in Fifth Yeai THE WLS National Barn Dane on March 14 began its fifth yea of continuous presentation at Chi cago's Eighth Street Theatre. I: 209 weeks, presenting two show each Saturday night, the prograr has played to a total of 449,01 paid admissions. SHIRTS AFTER COUGHLIN United Shirt Distributors, Using Sunday Period, Amazed by Success of Direct Selling Page 12 BROADCASTING • March 15, 1931