Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1954)

FILM PROGRAM SERVICES — FILM SALES CBS-TV Film Sales, N. Y., announces Langendorf Bakeries, San Francisco, has signed to sponsor The Range Rider tv film series over KEYT (TV) Santa Barbara, KERO-TV Bakersfield, KTVU (TV) Stockton, all Calif., and KIMA-TV Yakima, Wash. CBS-TV Film Sales also announces sale of Crown Theatre to WTRITV Albany and WABC-TV New York; Files of Jeffrey Jones to WABC-TV; Eddie Drake to KOAT-TV Albuquerque; Gene Autry to WTRITV, WCBS-TV New York, KTTV (TV) Colorado Springs, Colo., KNXT (TV) Los Angeles and KFBB-TV Great Falls, Mont. Ziv Television Programs Inc., N. Y., reports five top film series have been "practically sold out" in nation's top 60 markets, accounting for about 74.5% of total national tv audience. Programs are: / Led Three Lives, Mr. District Attorney, Favorite Story, Cisco Kid and Boston Blackie. Screen Gems Inc., N. Y., announces Gallo Wines, Modesto, Calif., through BBDO, San Francisco, will sponsor The All Star Theatre in 17 markets throughout country, raising total markets on program to 157. FILM PRODUCTION National Video Productions Inc., Washington, announces it will begin production on Hand to Heaven program, appearing live for past two years over WTTG (TV) that city. Atlas Film Corp., Oak Park, 111., announces series of tv film commercials for following firms: Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, through Mathisson & Assoc., same city; Clinton Foods Inc., Clinton, Iowa (Hi-C Sherb Ade orange drink), through L. W. Ramsey Co., Chicago, and Anheuser-Busch Inc. (Budweiser beer), St. Louis, through DArcy Adv., same city. Television Screen Productions Inc., N. Y., announces production has started on another 13 episodes of its five-minute animation tv film series, Jim and Judy in Teleland. Thirty nine programs of series are completed, raising to 52 the number that will be available by Oct. 1. RANDOM SHOTS National Television Films, Charlotte, N. C, established as division of Howco Productions Inc., same city, for distribution of tv films. Jerry Courneya Productions Inc., West Hollywood, Calif., forms own distributing company, United Producers Distributors. FILM PEOPLE Jim Stevenson appointed general manager, Mannie Baum Enterprises Corp., N. Y., Greatest Fights of the Century series distributors; Allen Black, in charge of production of series under former packager, Greater Fights Inc., joins Baum company in similar capacity. Murphy McHenry, formerly with Productions on Film Inc., Cleveland, to Transfilm Inc., N. Y., as account executive on tv commercial and industrial films. Alex Sherwood to Harry S. Goodman Productions, N. Y., as sales director for northeastern U. S. Gerard H. Slattery, formerly with Nona Kirby Co. (radio and tv representatives), Boston, to Television Programs of America, N. Y., as account executive covering northern New England states, headquartered in Boston. John D. Purer, account executive, William Kosta Co., Denver, to Ziv Corp., Salt Lake City, as sales representative. Robert H. Forward, general manager, KABCTV Hollywood, to Sportsvision Inc., San Francisco, as director of production. John Rapp and Lester White, comedy writers, signed by Ziv Television Corp., N. Y., for Eddie Cantor Theatre series. Paul Talbot, president, Fremantle Overseas Radio & Television Inc., N. Y., on round-world sales trip for company's radio and tv shows. L. A. BMI TV CLINIC STRESSES FILM VALUE Third major session draws registration of 1 87 from western states and Canada. FILM with its attendent ramifications of competitive bidding for packages, contractual inequities between station and distributor and foisting off of inferior feature films came under fire at the BMI Television Program Clinic, held in Los Angeles last Monday and Tuesday. Topping the attendance at sessions a fortnight ago in New York and Chicago [B»T, Aug. 9], the Los Angeles meetings had a total registration of 187 station, film distributor and agency executives with 48 stations in the 11 western states and Canada represented. From 80-90% of tv programming will be on film or video tape within three to five years, Harold See, manager, KRON-TV San Francisco, and chairman, NARTB Film Committee predicted. Among the obvious and concealed problems of film programming, he listed price structure, re-runs, quality, quantity, future technical developments and contracts. Citing necessity for standards to be established between stations and distributors, he said a tv station in a big market is now faced with feature films in third to seventh re-run and syndicated film packages in third to fourth rerun. The larger the market, the worse this problem, which is augmented by a confused situation regarding price. Firm believer that live tv can beat film programming, Joe Drilling, vice president, KJEOTV Fresno, declared local viewers are interested in live video and for this reason his station maintains a live camera from sign-on to signoff. Finding in his experience that live tv is more reasonable than film, he said his problem had been to convince agencies that such programming constitutes good adjacencies. Change of Formula To illustrate high grade production on a low grade budget, George Mathiesen, production manager, KPIX (TV) San Francisco, declared the formula for success in tv should be revised to read, 90% imagination and 10% all other ingredients. Emphasizing imagination as the key word, he said set designs are all-important in live tv production and part of quality programming lies in the use of good graphic art in the opening title cards. Robert J. Burton, BMI vice president in charge of publisher and writer relations, warned that a warranty from the distributor will not cure the ills of film. Story and music rights are the two fundamental rights involved in tv film, he declared in discussing "Legal Aspects of Tv Film Clearance and Music Rights." Common practice in syndicated tv film packages is to turn the film over to a dubber, who for $300 or $400 will decide what music fits and dub it in from libraries recorded abroad and categorized according to mood. This, he said, goes around the 5% AFM levy for using live musicians. The yardstick he uses to determine effective tv programming is results, according to George Whitney, general manager, KFMB-TV San Diego. Ratings don't mean a thing unless the merchandise moves. When San Diego's other CKLW-TV Windsor, Ont. (ch. 9), which also will cover the Detroit area when it begins regular programming in the early fall, signs with the NBC Film Division for five programs. L to r: seated, Len Headley, manager, RCA radio-tv program division, Toronto; Ted Campeau, CKLW-TV president; Campbell Ritchie, station program operations director; standing, Tom Shull, NBC Film Division and Art McCall, station film director. Page 38 • August 16, 1954 Broadcasting • Telecasting