Broadcasting (Jan - June 1941)

; said, it is provided that no person shall control more than one such ' station in the same community and ' that no person shall control more ' than six FM stations in all. In tele' vision, the limit is three stations. ' He pointed out that no attack had '1 been made on the FM and television regulations, although they ! "flow from the same policy and the 1 same law which is the basis for the i matters now being considered by V this committee". Says FCC Has An Open Mind "But we should be glad to dis!uss with representatives of the inlustry, or any branch of it, alterlative means of achieving the two ^nds we have in mind — decentraliation of power over what the pubic may hear, and removal of existng restraints upon competition." While the Commission feels the ecord already convincing, Chairnan Fly reiterated that the Comaission stands ready at any time ereafter "to consider with open nind any change in the regulations, ? it can be shown that the regula tions we have promulgated prevent practicable and profitable network operation." But it goes without saying. Chairman Fly concluded, that the effective date of the regulations "requiring networks to dispose of certain of their stations will be postponed from time to time, as the regulations themselves state, in order to permit the orderly disposition of properties and to prevent any pressure for forced sales". He id this was contemplated at ;ime the regulations were I. He said that the same contions "apply to the disposily NBC of one of its netFCC knew at the outset that arrage of criticism and even srepresentation would come he adoption of the orders", he 'he Commission knew that the hing would have been to "do g", but it also knew that were abuses "crying to be d, abuses which, if permitted to flourish, might eventually choke off the channels of free broadcasting altogether". He said the Commission "merely tried to do its duty under the law, and we stand by what we have done". A final disclaimer from the Chairman was that the Commission was not opposed to the inquiry by the Senate Committee. The Commission's only aim, he said, was to forward it in every way possible and he said he stood ready to produce at any time such further facts as may be required. He said he regarded a study of this kind as "very helpful and constructive", but declared that all this was "quite apart from the question as to whether the rules against monopoly are to be set aside". Present during the Monday sessions were Chairman Wheeler and Senators White (R-Me.), Smith (D-S. C), Tunnell (D-Del.), Johnson (D-Col.), Hill (D-Ala.), Brooks (R-Hl.), and Gurney (R-S. D.). Mutual Witnesses Take the Stand MBS began its presentation in support of the FCC regulations and in opposition to the White Resolution Tuesday morning with Louis G. Caldwell, former Radio Commission general counsel and now general counsel of MBS. Fred Weber, MBS general manager, sat at the counsel table and several times during the examination answered committee questions dealing primarily with business and competitive aspects of network broadcasting. Chairman Wheeler opened the session by reading a telegram from Dr. Leon Levy in connection with the Lindbergh incident. The telegram recited that no request had been made of the station to broadcast the speech, but that a request was made to buy announcements for the Lindbergh meeting. WCAU's commercial department, however, interpreted the NAB code Says Rules Will Promote »j Healthy Competition In a catch-all statement, Chair(j man Fly said that by outlawing five-year contracts, network control over the rates of affiliates, network contracts preventing the broadcasting of programs on other chains, "such as deprived thousands of listeners of the opportunity of hearing the World Series broadcasts", and of those other restrictions imposed by NBC and CBS, "our reguI' lations will not only free the sta\^ tions from restraints which are objSviously inequitable, but will also !' open the broadcasting field to healthy competition." Competition also will be strength' ened by limiting the number of stations licensed to a network and by jtrequiring NBC to divest itself of ione of its two nationwide networks. >. Thus, he said, competition shouldn't J be hampered "as MBS has been (hampered" and a new network 'would not be barred as was the illfated Transcontinental. • The FCC, Chairman Fly said, •"stands ready at any time to con'fer with representatives of any network, or any station, or any group of stations on the subject of chain broadcasting regulations. I have made this offer repeatedly to the industry, and I make it again at this jtime." I If it can be' shown that the regulations "unduly injure any interest or unduly disturb any aspect of the network broadcasting structure," he said, "we shall be pleased now, as in the past, to reconsider." He added, however, that this did not mean that "we will abandon the main question of policy, whether 5uch tremendous power should be lodged in two large New York corporations". He added he did not :hink the Commission should reconsider the question of whether the letwork broadcasting should be a competitive one. msisti the 1 drawr sidera tion 1 works The the "I of mi with t said. 1 easy f nothir there righte (I 11 R F A M I L Y And what an addition! With a 500% increase in nighttime power, WIBW's friendly roof now covers over two and a half million more members of OUR FAMILY . , . an increase of 173.4%. They're our kind of folks, too. We discovered this when thousands of additional letters began pouring in telling how glad they were to be full-fledged members of OUR FAMILY. They praised WIBW's friendly, neighborly personalities . . . our entertainment . . . the value of our service features. BUT MOST IMPORTANT is that these new members of OUR FAMILY are BUYING . . . buying the products of WIBW advertisers in ever-increasing amounts. And that's a PLUS VALUE no shrewd advertiser can afford to overlook. WI BW ^0^-:^^^^^^^ * WW ,„^"^ COLUMBIA OUTLET FOR KANSAS ■ ^ ^BEN LUDY, Gen. Msr. — . REPRESENTED BY CAPPER PUBLICATIONS, INC BROADCASTING • Broadcast Advertising June 16, 1941 • Page 25