Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1952)

CONVENTIONS Phiko Signs NBC Radio-TV A PAIR of prize political plums had been picked off by the NBC and CBS Radio and Television Networks last week and other networks were actively — and hopefully— searching for more. Philco Corp. announced it would sponsor — at a cost reported unofficially as about $3.8 million — NBC Radio and TV coverage of the Democratic and Republican Conventions in Chicago next July, certain pre-convention activities and results of the November elections. Westinghouse Electric Corp. already had announced [B*T, Dec. 31, 1951] that it will sponsor convention and election coverage, plus a 13-week get-out-the-vote campaign, on CBS Radio and CBS Television, though on a more restricted number of stations — 100 major markets, with the radio station selections representing the network's first sale under its new "Selective Facilities Plan" [B«T, Dec. 10, 1951]. This requires Westinghouse to make the broadcasts available to all other CBS Radio affiliates, for sale through CBS Radio to non-competing advertisers. Cost of the Westinghouse pact was placed unofficially at about $3 million. Negotiating With Prospects ABC officials meanwhile were in active negotiations with prospective sponsors for both radio and TV coverage and DuMont TV Network also was reported "in negotiations." Mutual spokesman said Friday that they were undertaking "strong presentations" to a number of potential sponsors. Sears Roebuck & Co., which has rarely used network radio, reportedly was considering the sponsorship role on the ABC Radio and TV Networks. Another prospect which was said to be considering convention sponsorship was Time Inc., which sponsored off the floor developments at the 1948 conventions on NBC-TV and whose plans for Time and Life campaigns for 1952 are under study by Young & Rubicam. New York [Closed Circuit, Dec, 31, 1951]. The negotiations with both Westinghouse and Philco had the unofficial, tacit approval of both the Democratic and Republican National Committees, it was learned. Both groups have under study a proposed code of standards for physical coverage of the conventions, including sponsorship factors. The Democratic National Committee is expected to pass approval on the standards of practice at a special midwestern party conclave in Kansas City, Kan., Jan. 25-27. Still at issue, as reported in the Dec. 31, 1951, issue of Broadcasting • Telecasting, is the question of who shall bear the cost of installing studio equipment. Feeling in some political quarters is that BROADCASTING • Telecasting the networks should sustain the financial burden. Multiple sponsorship also is an industry problem, it also is felt. Reasoning on facilities is that conventions are held to select Presidential candidates, and that broadcast coverage is secondary, with responsibility for facilities falling on industry shoulders. In disclosing its plans for coverage for Philco, NBC predicted it would have "the largest lineup of radio and television stations ever assembled by a single network to carry the more than 60 hours of convention coverage." Two special NBC TV studios and one for NBC Radio are being constructed in the International Amphitheatre, site of both conventions, NBC reported, and one other for TV and another for radio will be set up at the Hotel Conrad Hilton, headquarters for the two parties. Additionally, the new "Walkie Lookie" portable television camera will get its first convention use during the sessions, NBC said. Coverage from the convention floor presumably will be handled on a pool basis to all the networks. NBC said it would handle the audio transmission froin the convention hall for all TV networks. NBC-TV coverage will be under the direction of William R. McAndrew, director of public affairs for the television network, while Henry C. Cassidy, director of news and special events for radio, will direct the radio network coverage. Overall convention coverage supervision for NBC will be in the hands of William F. Brooks, vice president in charge of public relations ; Davidson Taylor, general production executive for NBC-TV, and General Executive for NBCTV A (Abe) Schechter. Several NBC and NBC-TV forum and discussion programs will originate from Chicago. Elaborate Coverage Plans In addition to "elaborate plans" for both radio and TV coverage of the convention itself, including a minimum of 20 hours to be devoted to each convention by each CBS network, Westinghouse-CBS plans include a get-out-the-vote series in both radio and TV, to start in August and extend to the night before elections, with equal time to be afforded each of the two major parties. The Westinghouse campaign will cover 100 major markets. These will include TV in all cities which are interconnected by convention time, with the remainder to be reached by radio. Three cities — New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh— will have both radio and TV under Westinghouse sponsorship, but under CBS Radio's selec tive Facilities Plan the radio coverage also will be made available to all CBS Radio affiliates. In markets not selected by Westinghouse, the Selective Facilities Plan stipulates, coverage may be sold to non-competitive advertisers through CBS Radio or, if not sold, may be broadcast sustaining with commercials deleted. Construction of special studios to handle the CBS networks' coverage also is planned. Election night coverage by CBS Radio and TV will start at 9 p.m. CBS TV is assigning a staff of more than 100 for its convention coverage, including NewscastersCommentators Edward R. Murrow, Robert Trout, Douglas Edwards, Charles Collingwood, Walter Cronkite and others. For CBS Radio, the group will include these and Lowell Thomas, Larry Le Seuer, Don Hollenbeck, Winston Burdette, Allan Jackson, David Schoenbrun, Eric Sevareid, Bill Shadel, Joe Wershba, Griffing Bancroft, Bill Costello, Ron Cochran, Dwight Cooke and Lyman Bryson. For the Philco coverage on NBC, the network said arrangements had been made for Bill Henry to report the running story of both conventions on both radio and TV. Mr. Henry said in Washington he expects to concentrate largely on TV. NBC said it assigned its combined radio and TV staffs of more than 100 reporters, commentators, analysts and via'iters. (Continued on page 36) ms Bttims '51 Time Sales Show Increase MUTUAL Broadcasting System during 1951 had gross time sales of $17,875,758, a gain of 11.0% over the $16,102,797 gross time sales of this radio network during 1950, probably the only one of the four nationwide networks whose figures are regularly reported, to show an increase in time sales for the year. Figures, reported last week by MBS, are for the first 11 months of 1951, with December billings estimated by the network's statisticians. 1950 figures are gross billings. Other Figures Not Available While other networks' 12-month figures were not available last week, it is almost certain that ABC, CBS and NBC would wind up the year with time sales more or less lagging behind their 1950 grosses. Preliminary estimates were made by Broadcasting • Telecasting on the basis of 10-month gross time sales as reported by Publishers Information Bureau [B»T, Dec. 24, 1951]. PIB does not cover Liberty Broadcasting System time sales. Kellogg Co. was the leading purchaser of MBS time during 1951, the network breakdown of gross sales by clients shows. This cereal company spent $1,407,900 for MBS time during the year, largely for programs primarily appealing to the juvenile consumers of Kellogg products, such as Mark Trail, Wild Bill Hickok, and Clyde Beatty, although during the first six months of 1951 this company also had the Danish comedian-pianist, Victor Borge, on MBS in a three-a-week, five-minute program series. Other MBS clients spending more than $1 million for time on that network during 1951 were Johns-Manville Corp., sponsoring Bill Henry's five-minute newscasts five evenings a week with a total gross time cost of $1,275,723; B. T. Babbitt Inc., spending $1,245,809 for time for the five-minute, five-aweek daytime BAB-0 Re-porter; P. Lorillard Co., using $1,245,415 worth of time for Queeyi for a Day; American Federation of Labor, whose sponsorship of Frank MBS 1951 Gross Billings* Monthly Cumulative January $1,542,887 $1,542,887 February 1.426,705 2,969,592 March 1,648.006 4,617,598 April 1,539,801 6,157,399 May 1,510,818 7,668,217 June 1,191,691 8,859,908 July 1,347,841 10,207,749 August 1,329,375 11,537,124 September 1,324,061 12,861,185 October 1,759,468 14,620,653 November 1,583,291 16,203,944 December 1,671,814 17,875,758 TOTAL $17,875,758 * December billings estimated Edwards' late evening newscasts utilized $1,208,675 worth of MBS time; and Quaker Oats Co., buying $1,056,596 worth of time on Mutual for Roy Rogers Shoiv, Challenge of The Yukon, Sergeant Preston of the Yukon and Man on the Farm. J. Walter Thompson Co. placed more time on MBS during 1951 than any other agency, according to the network's records, which show gross billings for this agency of $1,899,926 for the year. William H. Weintraub Co. ranked second with gross Mutual time purchases of $1,430,744. Lennen & Mitchell stood third in the agency line at Mutual, with a total of $1,245,415 worth of time purchased for its clients during the year. Furman, Feiner Co. was fourth wdth gross time purchases of $1,208,675, and Sherman-Marquette Inc., fifth, with gross MBS time billings of $1,056,596. When Mutual time sales are broken down by product classes, seven such categories are seen to have accounted for more than $1 million worth of time purchases on this network (at gross rates) during 1951. Food and food products was the heaviest user of network time, $4,115,127 worth. Drugs and toilet goods ranked second with $3,257,343. Cigars, cigarettes and (Continued on page 34) January 7, 1952 • Page 25