Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct - Dec 1952)

AUTO FIRMS HOT FOR SPECIALS m*** THE AUTOMOTIVE industry's move-in on broadcast sponsorship of top-billing special events spread across the Atlantic Ocean last week as General Motors and WillysOverland set plans for coverage of the pomp and spectacle of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in London next June 2. In the automotive industry's kindred field, American Oil Co. (Amoco) meanwhile signed for the DuMont TV Network's coverage ■*of the Jan. 20 inauguration of President elect Eisenhower in Washington — an event which already had drawn three automotive sponsors to three other networks. General Motors signed to sponsor NBC's Coronation coverage on both radio and' television, while Willys-Overland signed for CBSl TV's. Meanwhile it was reported that CBS Radio and ABC radio and television were, respectively, . negotiating with several prospec. tive sponsors — some of them, again, in the automobile field, j Details of coverage plans for the I colorful ceremonies attendant to i the Coronation had not been worked out. The telecasts necessarily would be from films sped as quickly as possible from London to New York, while radio coverage would be both live and taped. The NBC-General Motors pact was announced jointly by the two companies late Thursday afternoon. It was the fourth contract between the two companies in recent months, GM having sponsored the NCAA football series on NBC-TV, and having signed for NBC radio and television coverage of Gen. Eisenhower's inauguration, plus a special one-hour NBC-TV program on Christmas Day (4-5 p.m. EST) featuring CBS star Arthur Godfrey as master of ceremonies. The NBC GM announcement gave no details on plans beyond 'RYBUTOL' HIT FTC Challenges Claims COMPLAINT has been filed against VCA Labs., Vitamin Corp. of America, Newark, N. J., by the Federal Trade Commission challenging certain advertising claims. The complaint questions various statements made for "Rybutol," a drug preparation. FTC claims they are misleading and deceptive. VCA has used television advertising in recent years. Firm is given 20 days to file an answer and a hearing will be held in New York Feb. 10, 1953. Also named as respondents were Morton Edell, Larry J. Paskow, Philip Edell, John Cox and Louis E. Edell of the company. the bare statement that the network has had them underway for many months and that NBC radio coverage would include tape recordings and a live broadcast direct from Westminster Abbey, where the Coronation occurs. The announcement also noted that Romney Wheeler, NBC's London bureau chief, had just returned to London after three weeks of planning sessions with network officials in New York. The sale to General Motors was made direct. Kudner Inc. is the GM agency. The contract between WillysOverland and CBS-TV had not been officially announced and it was understood that detailed plans as to coverage remained to be worked out. The contract was said to call for the motor company to pay $75,000 in talent fees— for sending crews to London, filming, etc. — plus time costs. Willys' agency is Ewell & Thurber Assoc., New York. There were indications that CBSTV planned to devote at least two hours to the Coronation, perhaps spread over two days. Daytime 'Digests' The coverage plan being offered by CBS Radio, it was understood, included two daytime "digests" of highlights — perhaps at about 10 a.m. EST and one from 4-5 p.m. EST — plus another in the evening. In addition, the network is considering live pickups starting at about 5 a.m. EST and carried sustaining if a sponsor is not found. ABC was said to be thinking in terms of several Coronation pickups, probably including both live broadcasts and tape recordings, at NBC television affiliates' monthslong efforts to secure a revision in the formula under which they are compensated by the network brought forth fruit — tasty, apparently, to both sides — in a compromise reached at a special meeting in Chicago last week. Details of the new plan were not revealed officially, but it was learned that statistically, it gives the stations approximately 30% of the objective of their original demands. Leaders in the stations' movement seemed well pleased, as did NBC officials. The plan achieves compensationsystem changes by revising the "free hours" formula — and station spokesman said few affiiliates, if any, will realize immediate benefits. They emphasized that it is a longrange plan under which the affiliates' benefits will come as network intervals during the day and evening. Willys, like General Motors, has signed for Gen. Eisenhower's inauguration coverage, but unlike GM, not on the same network it signed for the Coronation. The Packard Motor Car Co. has signed for CBS-TV plus CBS Radio coverage of the Washington event, while Willys signed for ABC's, also both radio and TV. Willys also participates in the sponsorship of the Ford Foundation's Omnibus extravaganza on CBS-TV and sponsors weekly concerts of the New York Philharmonic on CBS Radio. Parade Pickups The contract between Amoco and DuMont for inauguration coverage, while not officially announced, presumably envisions — as in the case of the other networks — pickups along the parade routes, with coverage of the actual swearing-in ceremonies and inaugural address carried on a sustaining basis. Mutual meanwhile has said its inauguration coverage will be made available for sale by affiliates to local and regional sponsors on a co-op basis. Preparations for coverage of the Jan. 20 ceremonies in Washington were being pushed forward by the networks last week, with details announced by NBC, the CBS networks, and Mutual as follows: General Motors will sponsor four of the five hours on NBC television, as well as the entire NBC radio broadcast of the event. The noonhour swearing-in ceremonies at the Capitol and Gen. Eisenhower's inaugural speech will be broadcast and telecast unsponsored by NBC sales expand. Under the existing system, the stations give NBC-TV 24 hours a month "free" as payment for line charges, sustaining programs, etc. The plan has been based on an hour unit system with a one-hour unit for one Class A hour, three-fourths of a unit for Class B time and onehalf unit for Class C, and projected to 24 units or hours. Affiliates Original Plan The affiliates originally proposed that this be changed to provide for reduction of the number of free hours by 15 minutes for each hour of network commercial time a station carries in excess of 174 hours a month. Thus if a station carried 270 network commercial hours a month, the number of free hours it gave the network would be reduced to zero [B«T, Aug. 4]. as a public service. Coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. EST and will continue till 2 :30 p.m. on radio and approximately 4:30 p.m. on television. Special equipment for the inaugural will include a Cadillac sedan, which General Motors is constructing in cooperation with NBC. It will become a TV mobile unit complete with studio-type electronic equipment and a TV innovation — a hand-camera — together with full radio and TV transmitting equipment. This "camera-car," which will have all the facilities of NBCTV's truck-size mobile units, will take close-ups of the President and President-elect, their aides and the thousands of persons lining the streets. NBC's hand camera, de ( Continued on page 3U) R&R NAMES SLATER To Head Radio-TV Depts. APPOINTMENT of Tom G. Slater, vice president of Ruthrauff & Ryan, New York, as director of R&R's radio and television departments [Closed Circuit, Dec. 8] was announced by the agency last week. He succeeds Willson M. Tuttle, who resigned to become president of United Television Programs Inc., also New York. Mr. Slater joined Ruthrauff & Ryan in September 1946 as an account executive. In 1949 he became business manager of the radio and TV departments as well as an agency vice president, becoming associate director of both departments in 1951. The compromise agreed upon in Chicago follows a similar pattern, but substitutes a new scale governing the reduction in the number of free hours. In general terms, the new rate of reduction will average slightly less than 5 minutes of free time recaptured by the station for each hour of network commercial time carried in excess of 174 hours a month. Thus, if a station carries 270 hours of solid network time — which represents all network option time — the station would recapture slightly less than 8 of the 24 free hours. Leaders among the stations said a survey last March, made in preparation for the negotiations, indicated that the average affiliate was carrying around 140 hours of net (Continued on page i2) RATE FORMULA mc> TV Affi|iqtes Reqch Acc°rd BROADCASTING • Telecasting December 22, 1952 • Page 23