Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1954)

FILM ANNOUNCEMENTS B-FS THIRD SURVEY OF TV FILM USE INVESTIGATES SPOTS TELEVISION advertisers sponsor a heavier share of film announcements than live announcements, according to the third in a series of film surveys conducted by B«T. Three-fourths of all film announcements are commercial, according to the survey, compared to less than one-half of live announcements. The sponsorship analysis is drawn from results of questionnaires supplied by 124 television stations, approximately a third of all the stations on the air. Data are broken down by size of markets as well as by number of operating hours per day and the length of announcements. Average number of daily announcements per station ranges from around 50 in smaller markets to 101 in the case of stations operating full schedules in markets with over a million population. Smallest number of announcements occurs at stations in markets with 250,000-500,000 population. While over three-fourths of all film announcements are sponsored, the average is brought down by stations operating fewer than 10 hours per day in markets of 500,000-1,000,000 population. In scanning the use of commercial announcements by tv stations, the B«T survey shows a fairly uniform pattern for length of films among the four sizes of markets. One-fourth to one-fifth of all commercial film announcements are IDs, or 8-10 second offerings, with the 250,000-500,000 category showing a 26.6% ratio. A little over a third of commercial film announcements are 20 seconds in length. Heading the commercial film field are one-minute announcements, hovering around the 40% mark. Only a minor percentage, around 2 % , of such announcements are more than one minute in length. Looking into the types of commercial live announcements, it was found that tv stations in cities over 500,000 population average over 40% of IDs, or 8-10 second types. The percentage of 20-second announcements is much smaller, ranging from 11.9% in largest markets to 27.2% for 250,000500,000 markets. The number of one-minute announcements is high in the commercial live group, reaching 55% in the case of markets under 250,000. A somewhat higher ratio of commercials over a minute in length will be found in the live group, though the average is under 10%. With 124 usable questionnaires submitted in the survey, results are believed to be typical of the field. The 124 returns were divided among different markets as follows: Under 250,000 population, 26 questionnaires returned; 250,000-500,000, 32 returned; 500,000-1,000,000, 29 returned; over 1,000,000, 37 returned. The term "film" as used in the survey includes both films and slides. The first 1954 film survey conducted by B«T, covering 1 hour, P/i-hour and fulllength feature films [B»T, April 12], showed that the price paid for feature film programs ranges upward in direct ratio to the size olj the market served. This first analysis showed that few stations permit single .commercials of more than two minutes duration during feature, films; the number of breaks during the; showing of a one-hour or full-length feature ! ranges between two and five, as a rule; film< ; are interrupted more often by stations ir . the smaller markets. It was found, too, that local advertiser;' are supplying a major share of film sponsorship revenue in smaller markets, with sta tions in larger markets getting over half theh\ film income from national advertisers. In the case of quarter-hour and half-houi, film packages it was found [B*T, May 10 j that a majority of stations devote an averagt \ of more than six hours a week to such pro S gramming. Maximum announcements al lowed a single advertiser in a half-hour filn package is three, this survey showed, thougl some larger stations allow four in half-hou:! packages sold on a participating basis. This study also revealed that average; commercial announcements run around on(i minute; double spotting is prevalent at sta tion breaks, usually in the form of an iden ! tification plus longer announcement; som< triple spotting exists; in large markets three i fourths of tv stations get over half thei: revenue from national advertising. Top price paid to distributors for halfi hour film packages ranges from around $4( ! to as high as $1,400, depending on size o' market and station audience, this survey showed. THREE B»T STUDIES OF TELEVISION FILM •Feature film: its use, costs, sponsorship (April 12) •Package film: its use, costs, sponsorship (May 10) •Film announcements (full details this and opposite page) Page 78 • June 14, 1954 Broadcasting • Telecasting