Broadcasting Telecasting (Jul-Sep 1955)

NETWORK FALL SALES UP (Continued from page 66) day than has been evidenced during the past year-and-a-half. "That interest is not just academic. It has manifested itself in dollars and cents with sponsors signing contracts for network time. We have signed more commerical shows during the last 30 days than in the past six months. "More significant, however, is the rate of contract renewals signed by advertisers currently sponsoring Mutual network shows. It is encouraging to note that not one Mutual network advertiser has exercised the right to cancel programs when renewal time arrived. "With both the advertiser and agency following a favorable course and with new and renewed contracts pacted, the network will show a healthy figure when the year's billings are totalled." NBC's statement emphasizes Monitor in particular. Of the new radio service, Fred Horton, director of radio network sales, said it "is helping us to move toward the ultimate stabilization position." His full statement: "For the first time in years there is a new interest in network radio — evidenced by active advertising agency attention, new audience attention and great critical acclaim. For the first time in years there is a truly new market for network radio sales. And for the first time in years the daily newspapers are printing lead stories on radio. "Why all this radio activity when a year ago there was a woeful dearth of all these? "As Bob Sarnoff said early this year, NBC is a member of neither the head-in-sand school nor the pallbearers school when it comes to facing the fact that networks have been eating losses for several years. Instead, NBC has been almost the lone proponent of the let's-do-something-about-it school in network radio thinking. "NBC has done something about its belief that the solution for the audience shrinkage for individual programs (and our nighttime programs have consistently been in the Nielson 'Top Ten'), paralleled by a decline of individual program sponsorships during the past years, is the recapture of national circulation through multiple advertising exposures across a service. "By experimenting with such plans as the Tandem-type sales and the Three Plan, we have tried to find the solution which will help reach the ultimate stabilization point network radio must come to if it is to survive as a useful entertainment and advertising medium. "The most recent and successful plan for such is Monitor, an adapted audience service as well as a sales pattern in a major block of time, and which has created to date more dollar volume on the weekend than the weekend business of all other networks combined. "Results-wise, Monitor is helping us move toward the ultimate stabilization position. It was Monitor which, during the third quarter of this year, was 80% sold out in its network positions — phenomenal for marginal weekend time. Over $1 million in network time sales for this quarter or ten times as such as other NBC weekend business was recorded. "How has Monitor fared as a circulation builder for its advertisers? It accumulates audiences faster than any other program. In a four-week period, 13 million homes are delivered in the 14 network option hours alone. "Monitor audience is 50% greater in television homes than radio-only homes, or 8 million in four weeks. We believe this is a good indication for the future as television reaches saturation. "In a recent Advertest Turnpike survey, Monitor pulled a bigger share of the weekend automobile audience than all other networks put together. Also, Pulse studies show that for five owned and operated markets there are increases ranging from 13% to 27% in weekend audience (May to August). "The business Monitor has created is new business not otherwise available if we were without an effective form to bring it in. With about $350,000 already signed for the fourth-quarter, with substantial additional business at the point of order, with some advertisers dropping out and new clients coming in, Pat Weaver and Bob Sarnoff RADIO: STILL GROWING RADIO SETS !N WORKING ORDER IN U. S.: Sept. May 1955* 1954** 25,500,000 25,320,000 24,000,000 21,560,000 In kitchens 17,200,000 16,100,000 4,500,000 4,390,000 In other rooms in homes 8,800,000 7,370,000 TOTAL, IN U. S. HOMES 80,000,000 74,740,000 TOTAL, IN AUTOMOBILES. . . 31,000,000 26,180,000 TOTAL, OUTSIDE HOMES, EXCEPT IN CARS 10,000,000 (Not estimated) GRAND TOTAL, IN U. S 1 21,000,000 100,920,000 (in homes and cars only) * Interim estimate by Radio Advertising Bureau pending completion of four-network report. ** From study conducted by Alfred Politz Research Inc. for the radio networks and Radio Advertising Bureau and supervised and validated by Advertising Research Foundation Inc. (B»T, Sept. 27, 1954). wmal-tv channel 7 in Washington, D. G, is now Greater Coverage of the multi-billion dollar Washington market Greater ABC -TV Programs backed by unparalleled audience promotion 1 UREASE II RATES Ask the Katz Agency Get your share of our cotton bonanza . . . Your best Louisiana Purchase Si Willing, Gen. Mgr. ■% INDIE SALES, INC. IV I LfcT National Rep. TALLULAH, LA. NEW YORK 22, N. Y. Broadcasting • Telecasting September 19, 1955 • Page 193