Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1957)

GOVERNMENT Sports Antitrust Bill Introduced by Keating ANOTHER bill (HR 6876) involving professional team sports and the federal antitrust law was introduced into the House of Representatives last week. Rep. Kenneth B. Keating (R-N. Y.), ranking Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the measure (he terms it the "Square Deal for Sports Act") which would place only the purely business aspects of professional baseball, football, basketball and hockey under the jurisdiction of the antitrust laws, but not include certain internal facets of the sports themselves. Rep. John W. Byrnes (R-Wis.) last week introduced a bill (HR 6877) identical to that of Rep. Keating. Sports business practices, such as the operation of radio and television contracts and broadcasts, would be subject to the antitrust laws under his bill, Rep. Keating said. To be exempted from the jurisdiction of the four U. S. antitrust laws (Sherman Act, Clayton Act, Federal Trade Commission Act, and Robinson-Patman Antidiscrimination Act) are the following facets of the professional team sports: • "Playing rules of the game: • Organization of leagues and associations; • Contracts and agreements between leagues and between clubs relating to the rights of the parties to such contracts or agreements to operate within specified geographical areas; and • Employment of players." Stating that "the middle ground charted in my bill represents the sound course," Rep. Keating also pointed out that he makes special provision guaranteeing the rights of players to bargain collectively "for their mutual aid or protection." The New York congressman's bill is the fifth to be introduced involving professional team sports and the antitrust laws. All have been offered since the U. S. Supreme Court ruled in February that professional football was subject to the antitrust laws [B«T, March 4]. Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-N. Y.), chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee to which all of the bills have been referred, has called for hearings on the matter, probably to be held next month [B«T, March 25]. Reps. Keating, a subcommittee member, and Patrick J. Hillings (R-Calif.), a member of the parent House Judiciary Committee, urged the hearings, at which sports leaders and officials and some players are expected to testify. First congressman to introduce sports-antitrust legislation this session was Rep. Hillings, whose bill — introduced Feb. 26 — would place professional baseball under antitrust laws. Rep. Oren Harris (D-Ark.), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, followed Feb. 27 with a bill to exempt football, baseball, basketball and hockey from antitrust laws' jurisdiction. Then Rep. Celler introduced a bill March 1 to place baseball and all other professional team sports under the antitrust laws. Asserting, "Congress has a mandate to clear up the muddled situation left in the wake of the recent Supreme Court decision . . .," Rep. Keating said: "I do not believe the solution to this problem lies in subjecting these specialized businesses to antitrust control any more than it lies in freeing them completely from such regulation. The middle ground charted in my bill represents the sound course." Noting that "with few exceptions . . . sports are doing a good job of ruling their own roosts." the congressman declared, "we should keep the long arm of the federal government out of their affairs as much as possible." Firms Charged With Selling Phony Color Tv 'Adapters' THE Federal Trade Commission last week issued complaints against three distributors for falsely claiming that tv screen plastic adapters which they sell will produce the same visual effects as color television, reduce eyestrain and eliminate such difficulties as haziness, glare, and "snow" from screens. The distributors and the names of their products are: J. David Paisley, who trades as J. David Paisley Co., St. Louis, Mo. — "Wonder Vue"; Harry G. Kriegel, trading as Superior Products, New York City — "Color V", and Alrich Mfg. Co. Inc., Great Neck, Long Island, N. Y., and Judith Gleichenhaus, an officer —"Color Pix." The similar device sold by the three firms consists of a "sheet of transparent plastic" which is fastened to the tv screen and sprayed wih orange paint blending into green at one border and blue at the opposite border. FCC Denies Three Protests Against KTVI Ch. 2 Operation IN denying three protests against the grant to KTVI (TV) St. Louis of temporary authority to operate on ch. 2. the FCC last week ruled that a protest of the temporary authority is not allowable under the Communications Act. The protests had been lodged by Louisiana Purchase Co., an applicant for the channel, KWK-TV St. Louis and ch. 10 WTHITV Terre Haute, Ind., which has applied for ch. 2 in Terre Haute. Ch. 2 was deleted from Springfield, 111. (which got ch. 36 in return), and reassigned to St. Louis and Terre Haute by the Commission late in February [B»T, March 4]. Temporary authority was given KTVI (which was assigned ch. 36), the FCC said, to expedite the use of ch. 2 in St. Louis and ch. 36 in Springfield. Granting the stay also would defeat the purpose of its action, the FCC said. Also denied was a petition by Louisiana Purchase to operate on ch. 2 pending a final grant of the facility. The petitioner has no outstanding authorization which could be modified to specify operation on ch. 2 and has made no showing warranting a conditional grant, the Commission said. Moulder Subcommittee Plans To Start Agency Probe in May THE HOUSE Special Legislative Oversight Subcommittee will begin "active work" soon after May 1 on its sweeping probe of some 16 federal regulatory agencies and their administration of the laws creating them, Rep. Morgan M. Moulder (D-Mo.), subcommittee chairman, announced last Thursday after the group's first meeting. A detailed, objective investigation of both the internal and the public workings of the agencies — including the FCC and the FTC — was promised after the House passed a resolution April 1 1 allotting $250,000 for the subcommittee's probe [B*T, April 15]. Broadly, the purpose of the investigation is to examine the execution of laws by specific regulatory agencies to determine whether they are being properly administered as Congress so intended. Rep. Moulder noted. In a statement following the subcommittee's initial meeting, the group asserted that the probe would ascertain whether the agencies' laws are "being executed in the public interest" and whether these laws "have been or are being interpreted by rule or by internal procedures to enlarge the area of regulation beyond that intended . . ." Details of the investigation will include a review of each agency's original laws and amendments enacted by Congress; the size of the field regulated by each law; the legislative standards in the laws with a view toward reducing administration discretion; the agency's rules and regulations issued by discretion; its administrative interpretations and practices apart from formal regulations; the publicity given to discretionary procedures; the judicial decisions on the agency's administration of its laws; the enforcement of regulations, rules and statutes; the organization of the agency to determine its bipartisanship; the qualifications and capacity of its staff, and the workload distribution among its personnel. "We probably will hire an investigative staff of some seven or eight lawyers, and from 10 to 15 clerical people," Rep. Moulder noted. "The proper selection of qualified personnel is one of the subcommittee's most important tasks," he said. The Special Legislative Oversight Subcommittee is part of the House Interstate & Foreign Commerce Committee. WTVI (TV) Denied Educational V AN ATTEMPT by ch. 19 WTVI (TV) Ft. Pierce, Fla.. to secure educational ch. 3 Tampa-St. Petersburg. Fla.. for commercial use failed last week when the FCC denied the dark uhf station's proposal. WTVI had asked that ch. 3 be shifted to Ft. Pierce and that its cp be modified to specify operation on ch. 3. In denying the petition, the Commission pointed out that Florida West Coast Educational Tv Inc. has applied for an educational station on ch. 3 [B»T. April 15]. The need for educational operation of the channel outweighs any new service that would be provided by commercial use. the FCC stated. Page 60 • April 22, 1957 Broadcasting • Telecasting