Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

B INTERVIEW y/&&\ nisui THE PLUNGE INTO COLOR, AS MADE BY WDSU-TV THE PHILOSOPHY with which WDSU-TV New Orleans approached colorcasting, the problems station personnel encountered in producing local live color programs, the methods they used to solve them, the manner in which they have educated the advertisers and advertising agencies of the New Orleans area in the use of color and the way in which the station's first color rate card was evolved are set forth in the following transcript of a B»T recorded interview with Edgar B. Stern Jr., president; Robert D. Swezey, executive vice president, and the operating color staff of WDSU-TV . Q: You've put a lot of money into color development work at WDSU-TV, haven't you? When do you expect to start getting it back? A: Yes, we will have about half a million dollars invested in color before we're through, counting the new building, which we certainly wouldn't have needed if it hadn't been for color. And we've started getting it back already, in a small way, since Maison Blanche [New Orleans department store] began using color tv as part of its Christmas advertising. We're producing the store's fiveminute Thursday evening Mr. Bingle program in color in our color studio. Q: Then you are making an extra charge for color, even with the limited number of color receivers around? A: Yes. Our philosophy is that a color program is something special, something extra and if an advertiser wants us to broadcast his show in color he should be willing to pay a premium for it. Eventually, of course, circulation will determine the cost of color tv, as it does of all advertising media. But even from the start, when most people will see the program and the commercial in black-and-white, we feel we're entitled to some extra charge — even the very little one we are making — for color. Q: So you expect to get back your extra costs of color plus a little profit, do you? A: Yes. We're certainly entitled to get our costs back and I think we deserve a little profit as well. Now I want to make a distinction between the sale of time and the sale of production facilities. It is a simple matter to ascertain costs of special sets, graphic arts and other materials required in producing a color program. We want to get our cost back, plus a small profit to take care of part of our overhead. Q: That's production. What about time charges? A: We plan to make an additional charge for time for color telecasting. You notice that in all other media the advertisers for years have been paying special extra rates for color. I don't think those rates necessarily tie in completely with the additional costs of supplying color. For example, they run anywhere from 25% to 50% just to have color in newspapers, and it's not very good color at that. Now, I realize that it costs these other media considerably more for color, just as it will us. But I think it's a special service, so desirable to the advertiser that it should warrant an extra charge without regard to our immediate cost to produce it. Q: Just how much extra are you charging for color? A: Our present, and first, color rate card, which is tentative, provides for a 50% increase in live studio charges and 10% increase above the normal time charge for monochrome. Q: How did you prepare your color rate card? A: On the basis of a cost accounting study we had made so we could find out how much more color actually costs us. Q: Have you any other sponsors signed for color, in addition to Maison Blanche? A: We have several prospects with Tip Top buying a spot schedule. Q: With your first sponsor a department store, do you think that generally color is going to make stores more interested in television than they have been? Page 70 • January 16, 1956 Broadcasting • Telecasting