Broadcasting (July - Sep 1950)

I Telefile ^(Continued from page 59) t, two directors and two secreies, Mr. Tooke often doubled as ij-r manager, cameraman, corBtor and anything else needed the time. 'Domniercial manager is Alexler W. Dannenbaum Jr., a Jpran Philadelphia radio execut who joined WDAS there in .|4. Mr. Dannenbaum, formerly ■^[imercial manager at WPEN Uadelphia, has been directing the i.tion's sales picture since 1948. Technical Staflf ^phief Engineer Raymond J. jpley heads a technical staff of i averaging better than four ^rs of television experience per rn. Mr. Bowley, in TV since f4, supervised the station's halfUion-dollar modernization pro WPTZ prides itself on its techniproficiency. But, in addition, the I'tion also has compiled a telling V of programming. A testi:al in itself is GimheVs Handy -iia show, a department store fea'^■'e that has already started its rth straight year under the .e sponsor. That it is increasing popularity and has appeal to its ajiansor is unquestionable in light its new series, an addition to f; original program, which is seen 80-4 p.m. r|-During the three years on the for Gimbel Bros. Department bre, the Handy Man has put fether some astounding success •ries. One broadcast alone sold li-' if MDIA RESERVE Pentagon Course Launched i,f.S SERVE officers of all media nue embarking on a 40-weeks indocP:^.nation and orientation course ■r^jder a program developed by the r.litary public relations unit ■^laded'by Col. Edward M. Kirby, -^v chief of that division. (jjiAbout 25 or 30 reservists in the Washington, D. C. area, including 'dio station personnel and lawyers '^laling with radio, will take lecj'|,(res during that period, according TH Col. Kirby. Chicago and New initiated by the also are underway, he lavy Dept. Ided. j Col. Kirby was recalled to active jjity fortnight ago in the offices of jiaj. Gen. Floyd Parks, information jdeftain of the Military Establishent [Broadcasting, July 10]. He eads the Washington unit, deijigned to create a pool of trained iji'edia personnel for assignment s'-'hen necessary. J-P-CA Tube Dept. has announced new 'Ilid completely revised edition of tube sifiaracteristic booklet titled. "RCA t^ieceiving Tubes for AM, FM and TeleI'f'.sion Broadcast." Booklet, form No. tj^275-E, covers more than 450 RCA Bceiving tubes and kinescopes, includig more than 50 new RCA types. $8,000 worth of hams, $3,000 worth of men's shirts. Another, $2,500 worth of popcorn poppers which retailed at $8.35. It was the popcorn popper sale that touched off a "dream" sales story. The "Handy Man," unable to get the popper going a week prior to the sale, asked his audience not to buy until he could make it work. The very next day, 75 customers asked for the popper that the "Handy Man" couldn't work. A regular daytimer, Deadline for Dinner, Monday and Tuesday, 33:30 p.m., features a visiting chef from one of the area's country clubs, hotels or restaurants. A telecast of "Shrimp Lamaze" brought 2,000 requests for the recipe in two days. The request load became so heavy that the station's publicity department sent out a letter to every name on its mailing list, giving the recipe. Current WPTZ sponsors' ' list reads like a "Who's Who" of Philadelphia commerce. Names like Supplee (Sealtest), Philadelphia Electric Co., Sylvan Seal Dairy, Philadelphia Gas Works, RCA Victor, Philco Dealers, Oppenheim Collins (women's specialty shop) in addition to Gimbel appear on the list. WPTZ averages about 65 hours of program operation each week with slightly over 65% of the time sponsored. A total of 135 advertisers (local and network) purchased time on WPTZ as of late spring. Significantly, the station has been operating in the profit column this year. WPTZ, which operates on Channel 3 (60-66 mc) with 8.1 kw aural and 16.2 kw visual power, has modern studios, new equipment and mobile units. Remodels Completely After the war, WPTZ scrapped at least six complete camera chains, master control equipment, its transmitter and towers, and practically every other bit of gear it had used up through 1948. Today, about the only part left of the original WPTZ installation is the physical building at the transmitter site at Wyndmoor. Pa., Philadelphia suburb. Even that has been overhauled. A consei-\'ative cost estimate of the 1948 redevelopment program is placed at over a half million dollars. Today, it has a formidable array of the latest and most modern cameras, facilities for both 16 and 35mm film, latest sound and switching equipment, full slide and projector facilities and an effective lighting arrangement. WPTZ studios are located in the Philco-Westinghouse Radio and Television Center, 1619 Walnut St. in downtown Philadelphia. Administrative and commercial offices are in the Architects Bldg., 17th & Sansom Sts., about 50 yards from the studios. Station has two studios where such NBC network programs as The Nature of Things and Melody, Harmony and Rhythm have originated. Another studio frequently used is the Westinghouse Station KYW 200-seat auditorium ABC TV CENTER Plans Extensive Enlargement EXTENSIVE enlargement of ABC's New York TV Center is planned, Frank Marx, vice president in charge of engineering, announced last week. Studio TV 1, described as the largest in the East by Mr. Marx, will receive installations of permanent scenery, rigging, and lighting equipment for the southern half to match those already installed in the northern half of the studio. Construction of a new basement studio (TV 8), 35 x 40 feet, will bring the total studio floor space to 20,000 square feet. ABC also will improve lighting and scenery rigging, as well as add 600 square feet of stage area, at its other New York location, the Ritz Theatre. For remote pick-up telecasts, a TV field truck with cameras and equipment will be purchased. where WPTZ rents space. Studios include control room equipment, a master control, film projection rooms, property rooms, set design shops, an art department, client rooms, reception center, dressing rooms, make-up department and other numerous necessities for program perfection. The station has three complete mobile units, one of them the trailer-type. The latter is almost a self-contained TV unit with no lost space for automotive equipment. These units are necessary in the station's operation since WPTZ makes practically all pickups for NBC in the Philadelphia area including features and sports events. The units are employed also to bring church programs to viewers. The station makes it a practice to place cameras in various churches to make these remotes an integral part of its service to the public. Station's rates are based on $700 per hour for Class A time periods, $560 per hour for Class B time and $420 an hour for Class C time. Announcements are based on the rate of $100 for Class A; $80 for class B and $60 for Class C. A new feature on the card is the special across-the-board program rate of five programs for the rate of 80% of the card rate. With 18 years of telecasting experience, WPTZ is well aware that the lean, hard years of struggle have been left behind. As its black side of the ledger shows, advertisers now regard television as an important selling medium and a vital part of an effective campaign. That, Mr. Loveman says, means ". . . television in the home is becoming as commonplace as radio in the home. And from nothing, the television industry has grown to a $2 billion baby."^ It is Mr. Loveman's, and other WPTZ executives' belief, that the Philco station will continue to help point out the road. ele casting • BROADCASTING July 24, 1950 • Page 69