Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

MANUFACTURING RADIO-TV SALES SITUATION ANALYZED BY WEAVER AT RETAIL DEALERS MEET National Appliance & Radio-Tv Dealers Assn. hears NBC board chairman say '1956 would be the year in which the color dam burst' if the dealers start 'believing in color and selling color aggressively.' Others adopt wait-and-see policy. MANY of the nation's tv retailers are thinking more and more about color television and look toward the day in the near future when they can realize as much profit from tinted tv receivers as on household appliances. Some plan to push it aggressively by mid-year. On the other hand, still other dealers are adopting a wait-and-see attitude and relying on refrigerators, ranges, home freezers and other products to bring a fair return. These conclusions were apparent after Sylvester L. Weaver, NBC board chairman, addressed the annual banquet of the National Appliance & Radio-Tv Dealers Assn. in Chicago last week. Mr. Weaver called on over 500 tv-appliance dealers to get behind color tv as a potential mass medium and held out the prospect that "1956 would be the year in which the color dam burst" if they would only start "believing in color and selling color aggressively." Mr. Weaver added that "what we are offering the people is so good that those who will not be able to afford a color set in the next year or two will still buy the new large-screen, low-cost black-and-white sets that you have available." But even so, he indicated, $800 is not too much for a color receiver. Reviewing NBC-TV programming accomplishments and RCA Expenditures of $65 million on color tv in recent years, the NBC board chairman told dealers they could feel assured of 40-50 million color unit sales in the next seven or eight years and a boom could take place almost "immediately" with aggressive selling. "If you have the confidence in the schedule and the programming that we have as broadcasters, you would not worry about black-andwhite sales falling apart," he asserted. Promoting color tv sales would also help America achieve greater prosperity heights, he added. Mr. Weaver chided the dealers (and also manufacturer's representatives attending the banquet) when he got into the heart of the matter, noting that there is a "ball game on" and it would be reassuring if they would just come "out to the stadium." He continued: "Television is the most important factor in lowering distribution costs and increasing the elevation of our gross national product . . . you are fortunate by your positions as part of this catalyst — or dynamic overdrive — for the economy through your sale of tv sets." Mr. Weaver was principal speaker at the Monday evening banquet of the three-day NARDA convention at the Conrad Hilton Hotel, during which Don Gabbert, Minneapolis, succeeded H. B. Price, Norfolk, Va., as association president. Mort Farr, NARDA board chairman, past president and a key association figure, was optimistic about color tv and set dealers to thinking when he predicted Tuesday that a $595 color receiver would be ready by June for fall buying — and one for $495 by 1957. He said the "magic figure of $495 will move color sets in full force." Some dealers indicated they would launch aggressive campaigns to push color by mid1956. Profit considerations and technical doubts were apparent in views by dissidents. A dealer from East Lansing, Mich., told B»T: "I'm a merchandiser. Why should I sell one color set when I can make more money selling 20 freezers?" He said he would go into color when its progress attained a "leveling out" in the industry and "it's here." He also suggested technical problems rather than price have been the major hurdle thus far. A dealer from Muskegon, Mich., cited difficulty and expense connected with servicing sets. Mr. Farr spoke Tuesday morning at a general session on color video, radio sales, transistors and television merchandising. He reviewed various manufacturer's plans for tinted tv production, stressing that appeals should be directed at both the "Cadillac-type" set owners and medium-income groups. He said one set-maker (Hoffman Radio Corp.) sells as many as 12-15 each day or over 300 a month. Cliff Knoble, general sales manager, Raytheon Mfg. Co., Chicago, reviewed progress of transistorized radios and sales, predicting a rosy future for this development. Dealers were urged by other panelists to stress record depart ments for high fidelity phonograph sales. Dan Halpin, general sales manager, Westinghouse Electric Corp. radio-tv division, felt the key to tv set selling lay in new styling features and said sales should be geared to color modes and better quality rather than price, much as in the automobile industry. John D. Craig, vice president and general manager of Westinghouse Electric Corp. in chaige of consumer major appliances, Mansfield, Ohio, felt there might be an example for his company in the auto-dealer type of franchise and in handling full-line goods. He also noted a trend toward full "concentration and consolidation of products." Establishment of full-line items enables manufacturers to even out seasonal lags, reduce unit costs and spread promotional and distribution outlays, not to mention the proposition of affording them a better opportunity of buying network television, declared Mr. Craig. "Not many single item manufacturers can afford, week in and week out, the cost of network tv," he said, claiming that a single twominute commercial on color shows runs an estimated $66,000 or that three commercials in an hour-long program costs about $100,000. With the advent of color, he added, "a good servicing organization demands the full-line manufacturer's support." 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Y. U Canadian Division: Instantaneous Recording Service, 42 Lombard St., Toronto WORLD'S FOREMOST MANUFACTURER OF PRECISION RECORDING EQUIPMENT AND DISCS m Broadcasting • Telecasting January 23, 1956 • Page 85