Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1957)

STATIONS PETRY URGES NIGHT RADIO SLASH • Irresistibility of lower rates stressed to client stations • Representative's first proposal made at NARTB convention MANUFACTURING PEOPLE James L. Lewis, vice president of Van Norman Industries, named president of Insuline Corp. of American (subsidiary of Van Norman), Manchester, N. H., succeeding Myles S. Spector. Paul C. Eberhardt, Van Norman vice president, appointed Insuline vice president succeeding William J. Schoenberger. W. Raymond Parshall and Max A. Stolper named treasurer and secretary of Insuline, respectively. Jack Kuhner, treasurer of Hoffman Labs Inc., L. A., elected director-vice president of Hughey & Phillips Inc., Burbank, Calif. John F. Watter, sales engineer, General Electric, named district manager of GE's new district sales office for radio-tv broadcast equipment at Wyatt Bldg., Washington, D. C. He will also serve as company's liaison with FCC, engineer consultants and legal MR. watter firms. Donald F. Karaffa, sales correspondent at Sylvania Electric Products Inc., sales service department at Williamsport, Pa., appointed supervisor of Sylvania's government sales service — electronic products, succeeding Charles R. Slagle, transferred to company's renewal sales department. Thornton F. Scott, market planning research analyst, appointed administrator, advertising and sales promotion, RCA components division, Camden, N. J. L. Alan Wintering, lighting sales representative of Sylvania Electric Products Inc., in Columbus, Ohio, appointed St. Louis district sales manager for radio and television division of company. Malvern B. Still, manufacturing manager of RCA's Cannonsburg (Pa.) plant, named manager of RCA Victor Radio & Victrola Div. at that plant, succeeding F. E. Stouffer, resigned. Thomas G. de Fabiny, assistant to managing director of international division, Sylvania Electric Products Inc., N. Y., appointed planning-development manager of division. Lewis C. Radford Jr., eastern district sales manager for Allen B. DuMont Labs. Tv Transmitter Div., to Visual Electronics Corp., N. Y., as southeastern sales representative. Joseph Marry Jr., formerly general manager of Admiral Corp.'s Electronics Div., appointed special field sales representative at Zenith Radio Corp., Chicago. Robert Wilson, 51, engineer for Westinghouse Electric Corp., died in Chicago April 12. He had attended NARTB Convention. A MOVEMENT to cut radio stations' nighttime rates to approximately one-half of daytime charges has been initiated by Edward Petry & Co., pioneer station representation firm, with first indications that the drive is making headway among Petry-represented stations. The nighttime cut, it was learned last week, was proposed to stations on the Petry list at a special "let's face facts" meeting called by the firm's officials in conjunction with the NARTB convention in Chicago two weeks ago. The plan also involves reductions in weekend time costs through a somewhat more complicated formula. Petry officials last week declined to discuss the meeting, but it was learned they had told their stations the time has come to get some life into nighttime sales — and that the way to do it is to make evening time so attractive that advertisers cannot refuse to buy it. It's better to make sales at substantially lower prices than to go on making few or none at the present rates, Petry officials were reported to have told the group. In short, they were quoted, maintaining rates that fail to move "goods" — and which have shown over a substantial period that they are not attractive to buyers — is economically senseless. CBS Radio's recent action in cutting its evening rates by one-third, while boosting daytime rates slightly [B«T, Feb. 25], was cited as both precedent and support for the Petry proposal that evening rates also be cut at the local level. Before that realignment, CBS Radio's day and night rates — like those of most stations in recent years — were substantially identical. The Petry officials were said to have emphasized that nighttime cuts must be coupled with strong "positive selling," with evening time not to be treated "like daytime's stepsister." With a 50% cut in rates, they reasoned, nighttime could be pushed wholly on its own merits without regard to daytime, where sales now are running much stronger. While the discussions in the Petry meeting centered on rates for spot announcements and packages, it was presumed that any reductions in that area also would apply to established charges for whole program periods, which are not now in general demand. The representation firm's leaders made clear, it was understood, that in proposing large-scale nighttime cuts they were "not talking to any of you who are really selling evening time." But few of the approximately 20 stations represented at the meeting were said to have claimed that their nighttime sales — either local or national — were satisfactory, although at least one was reported to have argued that the better course would be to leave evening rates where they are but boost daytime charges to twice those for night. Most of the stations, it was understood, indicated privately if not openly that they were in general agreement with the Petry officials' arguments, although apparently none made any commitment on the spot. The decision, of course, will be up to each station individually. Indicating the extent to which they had pondered the question, the Petry authorities showed a presentation developed in support of the rate-cut proposal, and offered to back the stations with substantial promotional outlays if they decide to adopt the plan. As part of the presentation they cited research showing the average level of radio sets in use between 7 and 10 p.m. is approximately 58% of the average between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., while for the four-hour period from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. the average is 55.5% of the 6 to 6 level. But instead of establishing nighttime rates on the same mathematical basis as the relationship between evening and daytime listening— that is, at 55% or 58% of day rates — they argued that the nighttime costs should be reduced even further, to around 50%, to overcome the "unglamorous ideas" that many advertisers and agencies hold about nighttime radio. A super-saturation or "tonnage" type of sales package was foreseen by the Petry officials as the backbone of the reduced-rate plan. That is, stations would offer large packages of announcements at the new rates on a run-of-evening-schedule basis, but with some safeguard to assure the advertiser that his announcements would be distributed over several evenings of the week rather than lumped into one or two evenings. The Petry executives also were reported to have cautioned their stations that the SWEET SUCCESS IN THE LAND of tall men, tall tales and tall tv, the new tower of KTBCTV Austin turned out to be too tall for one candy firm, even a Texas candy firm. Lamme's Candy of Austin, a confectionery that specializes in pralines, cooperated in a one-day promotion by KTBC-TV to find out how far the tower was sending its signal. Each viewer who wrote from more than 50 miles away was promised a box of candy. Two days later the praline purveyor had to postpone a proposed second offer until after Easter. The firm was swamped, mailing out 1,100 boxes of candy. Viewers wrote from as far as Brownwood, 115 air miles away, and from several towns and cities within the SO-90 mile signal limit. Broadcasting • Telecasting April 22, 1957 • Page 103