Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

An Australian Scans U. S. and British Radio American System of Competition Held Superior to BBC But Neither Found Entirely Suitable for Australia By L. A. HOOKE Deputy General Manager, Amalgamated Wireless, (A/ asia) Ltd, A KEEN analysis of the contrasting advantages and disadvantages of the American and British systems of broadcasting is presented in this article by a neutral observer. The author spent more than two years in England and in this country studying broadcasting operation and the manufacture of receiving sets. The criticism is especially timely as the Australian government has just placed the management of Class A stations in the hands of a newly organized radio commission. It is also reported that the government is planning to open a chain of Class B stations. Just what effect this would have on the Class B stations now financed by advertising is conjectural. DURING two years spent abroad I found that in Great Britain relays of Continental programmes I were frequent. Occasionally the English listener hears also American programmes received by short I wave from the United States and .rebroadcast in England, but these not regularly. In the United States j the two leading organizations frequently give special programmes from Great Britain, and one chain y of stations has a regular weekly , rebroadcast of leading English . speakers. The results are general| ly very satisfactory. The engineer in charge of international reception for the National Broadcasting Company told me , that one of the best rebroadcasts, and the most interesting, was the Australian programme on the occasion of the return of Byrd to i New Zealand. Technically this ranked, in his opinion, as the world's greatest broadcast relay. There is some room for reorganization in the arrangements in Australia in order to give a better coverage of broadcast matter. Although there is not much difference in the technical aspects of Continental and American transmitters, the English apparatus is more highly finished, and the English manufacturers have had more experience in the use of high power in the medium wave lengths. Sets Simpler in U. S. BUT I THINK that the receiving set has been commercially further advanced in the United States. In general the sets are simpler to operate, give greater range, and are mechanically of better construction. In England royalty is charged according to the number of valve sockets, with the result that designers endeavor to limit the number of valves and to get the most out of each valve, to the disadvantage of the user. The Australian-made receiver more closely follows the American designs, and of two submitted to American receiver manufacturers it was said that they were equal to the best produced in the United States. Great Britain and the United States have distinct methods for the provision of programmes, both possessing advantages and disadvantages. The American system of competitive broadcasting, under which A-class stations are dependent for their revenue on advertising and no license fee is charged, has encouraged a high technical standard. Stations afford the best facilities to their clients, and apart from the competition between stations or chains of stations there is real competition between advertisers in the selection of their programmes. One of the chains alone has more than 100 advertisers, each endeavoring to provide better programmes than the others, and the total number of programmes provided by all stations is very many times this number. The effect of this competition is the presentation of orchestras, artists, and speakers of the highest standard. The supply of different programmes for 18 hours a day on every day throughout the year is an immense task for any one organization. The American system has the advantage of dividing this work among many sources, consequently bringing more brains and diversified interests into the provision of programmes. One broadcasting organization in the United States alone spends more than $5,000,000 (£1,000,000) a year on its programmes, and more than 5,000 persons appear before the microphone each month. Our Cultural Programs IT HAS BEEN said that the American system leads to the neglect of cultural and educational subjects. This is far from being true. The principal broadcasting organizations have special committees dealing with subjects such as music, education, and agriculture, and many series of lectures on these subjects are regularly delivered. The National Broadcasting Company gives weekly concerts for the musical education of the students in the public schools and colleges, and more than 370 schools receive this instruction, which is conducted by Walter Damrosch. The performances of the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski, and other famous orchestras, such as the Detroit Symphony, the Chicago Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, are regularly broadcast, and the Chicago Opera gives a weekly programme. Much time is devoted to education, and many special programmes are devoted to the education of women in all its phases. Facilities are granted to Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish churches for the regular broadcasting of their services, and the Shakespearian productions broadcast by American stations are considered to be equal to any produced in the English-speaking world. Analysis of Advertising THE BROADCASTING of advertisements is the objection levelled against the American system, but this objection is the price the American citizen pays to procure programmes of the highest standard. It is idle to say that blatant advertisements are attractive, but broadcasting stations and advertisers in the United States realize that the virtue of the sponsored programme is the creation of good will, consequently advertisements and programmes are framed with the sole object of pleasing the public. So we find the system demanding that programmes shall be of the best character and quality, and the use of direct advertisements is deprecated. That the American system has succeeded is proved by the fact that 16,000,000 sets are in operation in the United States, the highest number per head of population in any country in the world. The chief advantage claimed for the British system under which advertising is forbidden to A-class stations, and a license fee is charged for revenue purposes, is that uniformity of control enables the most economical use to be made of programme matter. The British Broadcasting Corporation has covered England with well-designed stations of high power, which enable alternative programmes to be heard throughout Great Britain and Ireland. The October 1, 1932 • BROADCASTING choice, however, in general is retricted to two programmes. The programmes are of a high standard, and owing to control by a public corporation they are not likely to offend class or creed. On the other hand, the listener has no choice but to turn to one of the programmes provided by the BBC. The British method is notable for correctly arranged productions and for uniformity of announcements made in excellently modulated and correct English. The objection is that the presentation and control of comedy, drama, and educational matter are apt to lack variety and color. BBC Shortcomings THE BRITISH Broadcasting Corporation began with an assured income built up by its predecessor, the British Broadcasting Company. With its present income of more than £1,000,000 a year it might be expected that the corporation would be successful, but the fact that enterprising advertisers sponsor programmes in English transmitted by European stations for reception in Britain, and that many listeners turn to the Continent for Sunday programmes, shows that some people remain uncatered for, and that the system does not fully meet the requirements of the British Isles. This does not reflect on the ability of the BBC. Rather it indicates the difficulty of endeavoring to suit a multiplicity of tastes with only two programmes. The number of licenses in England — more than 4,000,000 — is cited by some people to prove the success of the British system, but Denmark, with no recognized broadcasting system, has a higher percentage of listeners than any European country. On the whole, I think, there are more advantages in the American system, the very essence of which is competition, than in the English system; but neither system in its entirety would be suitable to the needs of Australia. Rep. Horr Defeated REP. RALPH HORR, (Rep.) of Seattle, Wash., who began his first term in the House two years ago with an attack on alleged broadcasting monopolies, was defeated in the Republican primaries of his state this month by former Rep. John F. Miller, of Seattle. Mr. Horr several years ago served as receiver for the Northwest Broadcasting System formed by Adolph Linden, which failed when he attempted to expand it into a nationwide network. WMCA Seeks 1 Kw. SPECIAL authorization to increase its power from 500 watts to 1 kw. on an experimental basis was asked by WMCA, New York, in an application filed with the Radio Commission Sept. 17. Page 13