Broadcasting (July - Dec 1936)

DON'T OVERLOOK THE SOUTH'S FINEST MARKET WHEN PLANNING YOUR FALL AND WINTER SPOT CAMPAIGN wsoc CHARLOTTE, N. C. AN NBC AFFILIA E Regionals Fear (Continued tive regional areas may be improved and made satisfactory. These principles and these facts were necessarily considered and finally determined in favor of regional stations and were the basis on which the Commission necessarily acted in permitting regional stations to increase their day time operating power to 5 kilowatt." Station Popularity GOING into business aspects of regional operation, Mr. Spearman said it has been found somewhat easier to sell the services of regional stations to local advertisers if the local advertiser is convinced that the station has been carrying a large amount of national business. This is on the premise, he 2215 LETTERS— BUT NOT ONE FROM CHINA! , 1 "Musical Memory Contest" (two theaOn a recent local Muna t9 who sent in the tre tickets for the first ten «^ te br0adcast correct titles of five songs^on > * ^ CAME hr°Ut\ niSTANCE A ^ GREAT AS FIFTY MILES! FROM A DISTANCE A ^ ^ This is convincing f ^/^dience is concentrated ing so often-that WAVE au fa in the richest part of Kentnc y .g __that virtually no part of yonr ^ ^ in taking yonr message to remo country fastnesses. In a nut-shell: A big nrban ££££ „ interested with N.BX.'S best features to gua audience. National Representatives FREE & SLEININGER, INC. Ruin by 500 kw. from page 13) added, that many advertisers believe that the popularity of a station is largely dependent upon national business for high quality programs. The average increase in the technical operating expense of regionals by virtue of 5 kw. operation, Mr. Spearman said, would amount to about 21.48%. There is no question, he said, that the increased volume of business resulting from such power boosts, would easily offset the relatively small increased cost of operation. As for stations on Canadian shared channels, Mr. Spearman argued that the present rules limiting power on such channels should be eliminated and left to the discretion of the FCC. Under the head "Opposition to 500 kw. Station Menace", the NARBS counsel launched a vigorous tirade against superpower. He then set out methodically to break down the Sept. 1 FCC allocation survey contending that it was based largely upon "theory and conjecture." It had been indicated before that this survey would be attacked in that fashion. Individual post-cards returned by rural listeners were examined by Mr. Spearman's organization, he said, and a categorical challenge to the results was made. Going into "economic and social considerations", Mr. Spearman said that 500 kw. stations to justify themselves socially must show that they will provide listeners with program service which is not available to them at present. He contended that the clear channel stations are for the most part network stations and that it is therefore obvious that the service which the public will receive from clear channel stations in the future will be as it is today and as it was yesterday— network programs. "In view of these facts this Commission should give consideration to the present coverage by network programs. The networks and the stations, including practically all classes of stations affiliated with these networks, have done this job for the Commission and have done it well. Both the National Broadcasting Company and the Columbia Broadcasting System have conducted thorough and painstaking surveys to determine coverage of their respective networks. The thoroughness with which these surveys were conducted and the results analyzed cannot be compared with the post card survey which we have discussed. The networks WDRC The Advertising Test Station In the Advertising Test City" Maximum Coveraqe of the Major Connecticut Markets Basic CBS Station have done a much more thorougl job." Mr. Spearman next analyze* coverage surveys of both NBC an. Columbia, which he said purports to show that they already coverei practically all of the country. "W submit that it is fundamentally un sound to permit the operation o clear channel stations with 500 lr.\ power and thus to give them onl; a 10% increase in population whic; they could serve, if in grantin; this authority it might in any wa; tend to disturb the status of othe important classes of stations." Declaring that NARBS is con vinced that the installation and op eration of 500 kw. stations is eco nomically unsound, Mr. Spearma: pointed to a report made by lead ing engineers for the advisor, committee on engineering develop ments of the National Advisor Council on Radio in Educatior which said that cost of maintain ing and operating the plant of 50,000 watt station along with in cidentals would be $194,750. Wit other necessary figures added, h said his engineers concluded tha on this basis the minimum cost fo operating a clear channel static of 50 kw. would be $214,750. Superpower Costs "OUR engineers after investigat ing the difference in cost of oper ating a 500 kw. station as com pared to the cost of operating . 50 kw. station, advise that the cos of operating a 500 kw. station wil be more than 2V2 times and slight ly less than three times as muc as the cost of operating a 50 lew station. If we take the minimur. difference and multiply the cost o operating a 50 kw. which is $214, 750 by two and one-half it is foun that the minimum cost of operat ing a full time 500 kw. statio will be $536,875, or $322,125 mor than the minimum annual cost o operating an efficient 50 kw. sts tion.'_' Injecting a new note in his dis cussion, Mr. Spearman said tha: a week ago, after he had prepare his presentation, he received a ne-s edition of the National Advisor; Council report in which the figure had been changed as to the cost o operating a 50 kw. or a 500 kw station. "The amazing disclosur that comes from the new repoi of the committee is that in 193 it cost only $10,000 to cover a the power needed to operate a 5 kw. station 16 hours per day where as the report of the same commit I tee showed that the power bill i\ 1932 to operate a 50 kw. statiof would be $30,000. This means thai! power rates have been reduced 75% and that they now are onlj 25% as much as they were i, 1932. Does anyone believe tha such reductions have been made i power rates?" Source of Business THE NEW REPORT, he said, doej more than support figures on op] eration of 500 kw. which had bee presented previously. "The figur is given by us at half a millio Hartford Conn. ■ JOHN BLAIR & CO National Representative Free, Johns & Field, Inc. New York — Chicago — Detroit San Francisco — Los Angeles Mcduxvud of Jl&cUxr StaZLoruL NEW YORK -CHICAGO -DETROIT -SAN FRANCISC Page 74 • October 15, 1936 BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertisin