Broadcasting (Jan - Mar 1950)

Sf-Weelr/y vs. iVeefc/y Placements By BRUCE ROBERTSON WILL TELEVISION follow radio's pattern of delivering programs — and their sponsors' commercials — to the home audience on a regular basis of same time, same station, every week or more often? Some say yes, noting that much of radio's success as an advertising medium stems from this regular delivery of the sponsor's message to the listening public and believing that the same will be true of TV. Others say no, pointing to the much higher costs of video programs as a deterrent to any general slavish following of the radio pattern. These individuals also cite the many statements of TV proponents as to the unequalled impact of this new medium and comment that if monthly ads in magazines have been profitable an every other week TV schedule should also pay off for its sponsor. Donald W. Stewart, advertising manager of the Texas Co., whose Tuesday night TV series starring Milton Berle has for more than a year been television's most popular show, told last fall's AAAA convention that one-hour shows do not need to be seen more than twice a month. "If your show is good, there will be no audience loss because there is a , one-week lapse between shows," he declared. He noted that with such a schedule there would be more time to rehearse each program and less chance of a star, such as Berle, "burning out too soon" and that it would permit year-round broadcasting without the customary summer lay-offs. "It will be pretty hard to justify spending as much as $75,000 every week for 39 weeks when you can accomplish the same results in 26 weeks at a saving of about $1 milMr. CHALMERS lio"-" averred. Mr. STEWART One of a Series Mr.* CASE THE additional time provided for production is one of the major reasons for the present everyother-week schedule of the Ford TV Theatre, seen alternate Fridays, 9-10 p.m., on the CBS-TV Network. William A. Chalmers, vice president and radio-TV director of Kenyon & Eckhardt, New York, agency in charge of this program, told Telecasting: "The Ford TV Theatre proves that guessing, ad libbing and risk can be eliminated from commercial television. With the success of the Ford Theatre, there is no longer any excuse for slipshod production, especially in dramatic shows. For our series has shown that long range planning, careful production, fastidious attention to detail, and allotment of time to each effort, pays off in the kind of pro gramming which makes TV ani adult medium. I "Let's take a look at what's hap-! pened, in case my adjectives seem too overwhelming to prove. "Three years ago. Ford Theatre was launched on a long range plan. The basis of the plan was simply to provide the best possible radio dramatic fare. Last year, after two successful seasons, it was decided that television offered the most rewarding long range possibilities in terms of impact and audience. The plan was switched to television with the same objectives in mind as originally outlined two years prior to the decision. "That plan called for the most careful selection of properties, cast — and most importantly, production staff. Especially in television, it is our feeling that the producer and his staff must be a harmonious, skilled unit, which has the freedom to act with unimpaired authority. The chain of our TV command is not kinked with all types of supervision. The show goes on as the production staff feels it should, without interference by outside elements. %W felt that once a week Ty operation would be impossible under the circumstances. It would tend to violate our ideas about the most careful preparation in presenting our shows. Here we be<^an with a monthly presentation and now are on an every other week basis. This schedule, under our current setup, enables a potent commercial punch to be felt, as well as providing program impact upon TV viewers. "If we were to go on a weekly program schedule, our plan would be to set up dual production units, each responsible for two shows per month. In that manner, our production values would never be hurried or strained. At this stage of TV, we believe it is impractical for one production staff to handle the manifold difficulties of a weekly hour dramatic series. "There is no secret about our objective. We want to have the number one dramatic show on television. If planning, preparation and allowing creative talent a chance to create will do the trick, we should achieve our goal. "Certainly, the client has shown himself to be sympathetic towards the aims which we have in common. Critics, too, have expressed themselves in emphatic terms as to the production and staging of the Ford series. "We're pretty happy about the fact that actors on the Ford show have time befor« they go on to get a bite to eat, have a cigarette and relax! Not many other shows can boast of that atmosphere at rehearsal time!" * * * THE every-other-week formula has also been adopted by another automobile manufacturer, Chevrolet Division of General Motors, for its Inside U.S.A. With Chevrolet, CBS-TV, alternate Thursday, 8:30-9 p.m. Three major motives prompted the decision to adopt and maintain this schedule, according to Winslow H. Case, senior vice president of CampbellEwald Co., Chevrolet agency, who continued : "If television's impact is as powerful as we believe it to be, and sponsor identification surveys on top programs have shown some amazing results, it may be wasteful to rigidly follow radio's weekly formula. Each advertising medium must develop a frequency pattern of its own. "Production-wise, too, a musical revue as complicated as Inside U.S.A., with its split-second timing and many transitions, demands two weeks of concentrated rehearsal. "Budget, in relation to the total possible audience, is the third factor. "One effective way to maintain audience for a particular time segment would be to alternate two top ranking shows on an every-otherweek schedule. It is yet to be tried but I think this system may prove to be one of the most workable and satisfactory solutions to the frequency problem. "Obviously, there can be no certain answer to the question of which yields a better return : every week, every other week, or even once a month. Television's philosophy is still in the formative stage. If our own research and industry studies reveal a definite and significant trend, we will move to take advantage of it." UNWILLING to be quoted directly, TV network executives told Telecasting that the advantages of every-other-week TV programming from the standpoint of scripts, rehearsals and production are more than offset by the difficulties of time clearance. With too few stations in most cities to provide each video network with exclusive affiliates, the networks are competing with each other and with local advertisers for station time, and a weekly show will always get Page 6 • TELECASTING January 9, 1950 BROADCASTING • Page 52