Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1956)

NETWORK RADIO'S NEW CONCEPTS LAUDED CBS' Howard G. Barnes and NBC's William F. Fairbanks tell merits of current programming and selling in talks before New York seminar of Radio & Television Executives Society. NETWORK RADIO'S new programming and selling concepts — as employed by CBS Radio in its segmented plans and NBC Radio in its Monitor-Weekday participations — featured last Tuesday's timebuying and selling seminar held in New York by the Radio & Television Executives Society. Speakers were Howard G. Barnes, vice president in charge of network programs, CBS Radio, and William F. Fairbanks, national sales manager, NBC Radio. In his talk, Mr. Fairbanks stressed increased station compensation among affiliates because of Monitor. Both men acknowledged that there still are problems. Mr. Fairbanks said NBC Radio is concerning itself with "what direction Weekday should take." He said that "ratings of the program have not been depressing, but we must learn more about the housewife's radio listening habits." Weekday is programmed Monday through Friday. Mr. Barnes said CBS Radio is meeting the problem of station clearance by offering strong programming — "the kind the stations will accept in their schedules, sustaining or commercial." Another challenge, he said, is how to convince the advertiser who feels he has little left for radio after paying his tv bills. The latter problems, Mr. Barnes said, is being attacked by CBS Radio with offers to the advertiser of segmentation and program unit purchases, permitting him to buy into "high-rated, audience-pulling shows with a high degree of station acceptance for a fraction of his television costs or of his old-time radio costs." Penetration, he said, can be obtained via repeated impressions for supplementing tv advertising or as a total broadcast campaign. "Our problem here is to convince you timebuyers that not only is there life in the old medium yet, but that it's a healthy and a going concern," Mr. Barnes said. The important function of radio is entertainment, Mr. Barnes said, explaining that from this concept CBS Radio has built its current precept of the "big name" in its shows. He said the network is "holding the line" in offering favorite shows at specific time periods at night and during the day with its personality shows. He said CBS Radio also makes use of the medium's "immediacy" — being on the scene when disaster or some other news event is fast-breaking. On NBC Radio, the advertiser can buy oneminute participations in high-rated shows (Top Ten Plan), one-minute, 30-second and six-second participations on Monitor and similarly on Weekday, and individual programs (weekly or multi-weekly) in offerings ranging from the five-minute newscast to a one-hour symphony broadcast, Mr. Fairbanks said. After outlining the programming that has been on Monitor, since that service's inception last June, and on Weekday, on the air since last November, Mr. Fairbanks presented audience figures and advertising rates. Mr. Fairbanks said that Monitor's primary option time now consists of 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, and the periods 3-6 p.m. and 7:3010:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Costs (time and talent) are a maximum of $1,059 and a minimum of $759 for one minute, $3,176 and $2,276 for four 30-second participations or for 10 six-second buys. Clearance is from 132 to 174 stations with an average audience of about 550,000 homes per average minute. Ten announcements on a single weekend have a cumulative audience of 3.2 million homes, he said. Mr. Fairbanks said that last year, 29 national advertisers participated in Monitor, representing nearly $2.5 million in billings. He said that in the summer months, 80% of the network positions were sold out, and that in weekend time, "marginal in radio for several years," NBC Radio was "running over $1 million net for the quarter — ten times as much as all other weekend business — more dollar volume than all the networks put together, as far as the weekend is concerned." He said that NBC's affiliates "benefited immediately" from Monitor: "station compensation increased 10 times over what it was for the typical weekend before Monitor started. The increased compensation caused by Monitor alone was the equivalent of 22 daytime halfhours." Mr. Fairbanks also claimed that stations owned and operated by NBC doubled weekend business because of Monitor, with half of the new business in national spot. Picking WRC Washington to illustrate his point, Mr. Fairbanks said that station's total monthly compensation went up 29% in July 1955 over July 1954 — ". . . without Monitor, its compensation had been projected to go down 34% from the previous year. . . . Looking at weekend compensation alone, the station's compensation in July was 22 times as great as it would have been if there were no weekend Monitor last July." He said that national and local spot sales on WRC jumped from 20% of availabilities before, to 66% after Monitor. Cited also by Mr. Fairbanks were increases in cumulative ratings for weekend time periods on the station. FCC Comr. Robert E. Lee is slated to talk before the group at tomorrow's (Tuesday) session. FARM LIVESTOCK INCOME IN THE KFAB I j AREA — OVER A BILLION j J AND A QUARTER DOL' LARS LAST YEAR I When you want to reach the farmer, it's time to "Face the Facts" with Lloyd Oliver . . . KFAB's Farm Field Director. Lloyd is an "old hand" in this business of farming and is qualified to talk about the farmers' problems. He is a favorite with advertisers as well as listeners. He presents farm news as he sees it, and he's close to the Omaha livestock market — the world's largest! Nebraska is the capitol of the livestock and meatpacking industry. Nebraska is number one in agriculture and KFAB is the number one farm station serving this market. If you have a message to tell the farmers . . . "face the facts" with a Free & Peters man and find out what Lloyd Oliver can do for you. Or check with General Manager Harry Burke, who has all the answers on this number one farm medium and market. 1 1.. L.i i ii ii . iiiiiiii, ..Dili.. I.).,.. . . , \ \ \ \ ! : 1 , 1 I I I i .' Broadcasting •Telecasting February 20, 1956 • Page 89