Broadcasting (Jan - Mar 1949)

BOXING Farley, Eagan Declare TV Doesn't Hurt Wincharger towers in directional arrays • even six element arrays! Higher quality, wider versatility, lower cost have made Wincharger antenna towers America's first choice, ■ >-> r lUinCHHRCER/'^^,^ Sioux City 6, Iowa. U.S.A. For Technical Data and Prices Phone, Write or Wire Wincharger Corporation's Antenna Tower Division Makers of Preferred T<iw^s„ Page 60 • January 17, 1949 TELEVISION will not be detrimental to boxing according to both James A. Farley, ex-Postmaster General and former chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, and Col. Edward P. P. Eagan, present commission chairman. They spoke Wednesday evening * at the Boxing Writers Assn. annual dinner in New York. Their opinions were diametrically opposed to that of Abe J. Greene, national commissioner of the National Boxing Assn., who the week before stated television was a threat to the ring industry [Broadcasting, Jan. 10]. Said Mr. Farley: "Ultimately it will be found that television is not detrimental." Col. Eagan suggested that television might actually be "the morning star" that points the way to future prosperity for the ring sport. He explained that the widespread advertising job television is capable of performing might bring boxing to many who never saw a contest and make them enthusiasts who would come to the arenas. Col. Eagan traced the constantly increasing flow of revenue to the commission from radio and television. Radio in 1947, through a 5% tax on boxing and wrestling promoters' grosses, gave the commission $9,685, whereas in 1948 the amount rose to $14,132.50. Television's increase was, considering the newness of the medium, even more spectacular. In 1944 it gave the commission $1,275; in 1945, $4,725; in 1946, $5,000; in 1947, $8,492, and in 1948, $13,265. TV HOOPERS To Coyer Ten Cities HOOPER TV audience measurements will jump from one to ten cities as of Feb. 10. On that date information on evening TV viewing will be available for Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington, in addition to New York, on which Hooper TV reports have been available since February 1948. Reports will be based on the regular random coincidental telephone sample in each city. They will provide station audience indexes and station Hooperatings by 80-minute and 60-minute periods for all evenings of the week, and will be published as section 11 of the regular city Hooperatings reports. BRITISH VIDEO Goverriment Handicaps Cited by Fisk TV INAUGURAL Films Ready in 24 Hours A FILM recording of the first telecast of a Presidential Inauguration will be available within 24 hours after the ceremonies Thursday to stations in every television city, it was announced last Thursday by representatives of four networks. The networks will record two negatives of the telecast, one a master from which prints will be made, and the other a projection copy. The master will be rapidprocessed, edited, printed and positives will be offered at cost to all affiliated network stations. Those who concluded the arrangements were: Larry Ruddell, ABC television director of recording; Robert Wood, manager of CBS television network operations; Edward Carroll, manager of DuMont Teletranscription department, and N. Ray Kelly, assistant director of NBC television's film division. TELEVISION growth in the United States is leaving British TV service far behind, according to Sir Ernest Fisk, deputy chairman and managing director. Electric & Musical Industries Ltd. He attributes this lag to the handicaps imposed by Britain's government-operated system as against the U. S. system of free * competitive enterprise in radio. Addressing EMI's 17th annual meeting, he reminded that BBC established the "first public television in the world at London in 1936," using EMI's system. "That service was closed during the war and reopened in 1946," he said. "We expect the second station in England to be opened in Birmingham some time in 1949. "In the United States there was no public television service, in the proper sense of that term, before 1946 but when this kind of thing starts in America under their system of competitive enterprise, it goes ahead with such vigor that corresponding developments in England are quickly left behind. "There are already more than 30 TV stations operating in the United States [as of early December]. Ignoring the war period, England will have provided two stations in seven years against the United States providing 30 stations in two years. "Even more startling is a forecast recently made by the FCC chairman [Wayne Coy] that there will be 400 TV stations in the U. S. by 1950 (that is about the time we shall have completed our second station in England) and that within seven or eight years, there will be 1,000 TV stations in operation in the United States. "The same amazing difference shows in the manufacture and sale, of TV receivers. After six years operation in England, 100,000 TV sets have been manufactured and installed in English homes." He compared this with the million sets installed in the United States, and the prediction of 17 million set in use by 1955. He contended the English TV image of 405 lines is providing better pictures than the higher 525line U. S. standard because of superior use of facilities. Toy Council Sponsors NEW VIDEO program for children and parents, Hurray for Play, will debut on March 6 over 20 ABC-TV stations on the network's eastern and midwestern networks, as well as stations now beyond cable or relay range. The first program on ABC's video recording to stations not served by cable will be televised on March 13. Featuring songs, games and children's parties, and stressing functional toys. Hurray for Play is scheduled for Sundays, 6-6:30 p.m., EST and PST, and 5-5:30 p.m., CST. It is sponsored on a 52-week basis by the Toy Guidance Council, New York, through Reiss Advertising, New York. Another BMl "Pin Up'> Hit— Published by BMl ITS A BIG WIDE WONDERFUL WORLD On Records: Buddy Clark^ol. 38370; Nancy Poland— Int. 132; ISess Coulon— 6M946 , , . , On Transcriptions: Evelyn Knigh^--Assocmted , Monica Lewis-World; Cy Walter-ISBC Thesaurus BROADCASTING • Telecasting