Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1957)

ADVERTISERS & AGENCIES A&A PEOPLE Miles C. McKearney, vice president, Foster & Davies Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, elected member of board of directors and appointed to agency's executive committee. Harry W. Witt, vice president of Calkins & Holden's L. A. office, to Reach, McClinton & Co. as head of Western office. Harold E. Wilson, vice president in charge of sales at Swift & Co., Chicago, placed in charge of advertising, merchandising service, sales planning and consumer packaged frozen foods. Sam Fink, art supervisor. Young & Rubicam, N. Y., named vice president and head of art department in Y & R's Chicago office, succeeding William Johnston, resigned. John Malone Jr., vice president-account supervisor, Roy S. Durstine Inc., and Michael A. Spano, creative head, J. M. Korn & Co., Phila., to Don Kemper Co., Dayton, Ohio, as vice president and creative director, respectively. Frederick C. Bruns, former vice president and director of Ruthrauff & Ryan, elected vice president and chairman of plans board of Bermingham, Castleman & Pierce, N. Y. Barbara Bender, group supervisor, William Esty Co., N. Y., to Grey Adv., same city, as copy group chief. MR. BRUNS . ^ ^ John F. Coneybear, public relations consultant, named radio-tv director of Edward Gottlieb & Assoc., N. Y., succeeding Joseph Daly, now account executive with firm. Margaret Harrison, Gaymore Co. (book distributor), to BBDO, N. Y., as assistant to sales promotion director of marketing department. Gale M. Spowers, account executive, William Barber & Co., Colorado Springs, to Galen E. Broyles Co., Denver, in similar capacity. Blair Walliser, N. Y. radio-tv representative, John W. Shaw Adv., Chicago, named account executive in addition to his present duties. Phil Dexheimer, formerly president and general manager of KFXM San Bernardino, has joined Raymond R. Morgan Co., L. A., as account executive in charge of service and development on specific accounts and broadcast properties. W. Denning Harvey, account executive, Kenyon & Eckhardt, N. Y., since 1954, has been selected a vice president. FILM LOEWS TO IRON OUT FILM SALE POLICY • Vogel to Speak at Chicago • Problem: Justice Dept. Suit POLICY on the future of negotiating position with stations on its Metro-GoldwynMayer feature film library was expected to be formed in Chicago last week by Loew's Inc. just before the NARTB convention. The tv problem — directly stemming from a government suit filed two weeks ago in New York charging Loew*s Inc. with blockbooking MGM features to tv stations [B»T, April 1] — is but one policy matter that was to be worked on by Loew's top executives in the Chicago meeting. High point in the meeting actually was the slated appearance of Loew's President Joseph R. Vogel who was to outline production plans of the motion picture firm to sales people from all over the U. S. The Justice Dept. had charged that Loew's had refused to sell less than the entire package since it began to sell its backlog of more than 700 pre1948 MGM features to tv last year, noting that Loew's licensed its package to many tv stations in many different markets and that the film company had acquired 25% interests in tv stations as payment for the features. As of late Thursday, it was asserted that Loew's was expecting its MGM-TV division to be '•selling" features at the convention. No confirmation of this report was forthcoming, however. Up to that time, MGM-TV officially was holding to a "no comment" position, pointing out that the company's lawyers were studying the Justice Dept. complaint. Other distributors of major Hollywood film products took a similar tack, unwilling to comment or jeopardize their position until their attorneys had fully apprised them of the details in the Justice Dept. suit and its possible effects on their operations. Film buyers questioned generally threw the shoe back to the distributors feeling that this was a problem for them and the government to work out. One buyer said his station (a big user of film product in New York) would continue to purchase film as it always has, in packages, per picture or pictures, depending on the "existing situation and many things at the time." Though not one of the distributors would talk "on the record," it generally was indicated that not one of them was blockbooking films as described in the government allegation, but each of the buyers and distributors who talked about the suit, emphasized the "problem" hinged on "price." Several representatives of distributors of feature films reported that the standard contract gives the station the right to purchase as few pictures as they need or desire. However, stations insisting on a few pictures would be required to pay well above the asking price for the average of a package. One spokesman claimed that block-booking as applied to the motion picture field cannot be extended to feature films. He pointed out that both the station and the sponsor require continuity of product, so that a quantity of features is required. Sim ilarly, he added, if the feature film sales policy is construed as block-booking, this same charge could be applied to syndicated halfhour films, wherein the station or sponsor buys in cycles of 13, 26, or 39 weeks. An independent station spokesman acknowledged that most non-network stations would prefer to buy only the outstanding pictures from a library, but realize this is not realistic from the distributor's point of view. In any event, most independent operators are aware that the price for desired films would skyrocket, if extracted from a large package. NTA to Recapitalize For Added $8 Million STOCKHOLDERS of National Telefilm Assoc., New York, last Thursday approved a plan to raise up to $8 million through an issue of debentures convertible in common stock of the corporation. Shareholders approved resolutions granting an increase in common shares of NTA from one million to two million and conferring conversion rights on any notes or debentures that may be issued up to the amount of $8 million. It was reported the company's board of directors would begin work shortly on details of the debenture issue. It is expected that Bache & Co., New York, will underwrite the offering. Ely A. Landau, NTA president, told stockholders the financing is needed to maintain the company's growth potential, with funds to be used to "retire certain short-term indebtedness and meet certain commitments in connection with the acquisition of motion picture product." Simultaneously with the financing plans, NTA last week launched the NTA film network on a "sold-out basis," with Hazel Bishop Inc., New York, and the Sunbeam Corp., signing as alternate week sponsors of the remaining 10% segment of the one and one-half hour weekly feature film presentation. Raymond Spector Co., New York, and Perrin-Paus Co., Chicago, are the agencies for Hazel Bishop and Sunbeam. Hazel Bishop and Sunbeam are sponsoring the programming, Premiere Performance, on 126 stations. Earlier the Warner-Lambert Pharmaceutical Co. and P. Lorillard Co. (Old Golds) had signed for 69% and 30%, respectively, of the weekly programming on 133 stations. CBS Film Sales Plan Working A NEW discount structure set up six weeks ago by CBS Tv Film Sales and called "The Six Star Plan," which enables stations to earn a discount up to 50% based on the number of half-hours per week the station programs CBS Film shows, has resulted in sales of over $250,000 since its start, Thomas Moore, general sales manager of CBS Film announced last week. Stations using the plan are KVDO (TV) Corpus Christi. Tex., WCKT (TV) Miami, WTVY (TV) Dothan, Ala., WOI-TV Ames, Iowa, WPIX (TV) New York and WTTG (TV) Washington. .Page 52 • April 8, 1957 Broadcasting • Telecasting