Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1957)

FILM ANIMATED ADS ZIV Television Programs' Mexico City office is fielding a baseball team in a semi-pro league this year — and is making certain that spectators will not forget the names of the company's programs carried in Mexico. The names of the various Ziv tv programs (in Spanish) are emblazoned on the players' uniforms, with the team's "clubhouse lawyer" sporting El Senor Fiscal (Mr. District Attorney); the champion base-stealer, Lo Inseparado (The Unexpected); the fastest fielder, Patrullas De Caminos, (Highway Patrol), and the top pitcher, El Agente X (The Man Called X). Monte Kleban, head of Ziv Tv's Mexico City operation, is credited with the idea for the baseball team. FILM SALES Gross-Krasne Inc., Hollywood, announces sale of 39 O. Henry Playhouse segments to British Broadcasting Corp. Associated Artists Productions, N. Y., announces sale of Warner Bros, features and cartoons, including "Popeye" series. Cartoons, features and "Popeye" bought by WLOS-TV Asheville, N. C; WIIC (TV) Pittsburgh; KGEO-TV Enid-Oklahoma City and KFRE-TV Fresno, Calif. Other sales were to WTVJ (TV) Miami for cartoons; WKRG-TV Mobile for cartoons and "Popeye"; WBRZ (TV) Baton Rouge, "Popeye," and WILK-TV Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Warner Bros, features. National Telefilm Assoc., N. Y., announces sale of Sheriff of Cochise, half-hour tv film series (dubbed in Spanish), to WKAQ-TV San Juan, P. R., marking first sale of series in Latin America. Interstate Tv Corp., N. Y.. announces sale of its Adventure Action Westerns to WSJSTV Winston-Salem, N. C; WTVO (TV) Rockford, 111.; WWJ-TV Detroit; KBTV (TV) Denver; WSAV-TV Savannah. Other sales announced: Adventure Album and Hans Christian Andersen, CBNT (TV) Montreal; Jubilee Theatre, WWJ-TV Detroit and WSPA-TV Spartanburg, S. C; Little Rascals, KFVS-TV Cape Girardeau, Mo.; WTTV (TV) Indianapolis-Bloomington; WPTA (TV) Roanoke, Ind.; WNCT (TV) Greenville, N. C; KOLO-TV Reno, Nev. and KHJ-TV Hollywood; Public Defender, WSPA-TV Spartanburg, S. C; seven features, KSL-TV Salt Lake City; KONA (TV) Honolulu and KAKE-TV Wichita, Kans.; KRON-TV San Francisco; KBTV (TV) Denver; KERO-TV Bakersfield and WDSU-TV New Orleans. FILM DISTRIBUTION National Telefilm Assoc., N. Y., last week offered for distribution to stations new halfhour tv film series, The Big Little Show, consisting of music revue programs produced by various theatrical motion picture companies. TRADE ASSNS. ELECTRONICS IN FOR BIG GROWTH • Reports back this at RETMA Chicago convention • Baker re-elected; Reynolds new general counsel ELECTRONICS manufacturing is headed toward an era of vast expansion, led by such basic economic factors as the automation trend, military demands, the evolution of color television and the popularity of hi-fi, and portable radio and tv sets. Members of Radio-Electronics-Tv Mfrs. Assn., meeting in Chicago last week, surveyed a series of reports showing the steady rise of electronics to the fifth-ranking place in all American industry. The 33rd annual RETMA convention reelected Dr. W. R. G. Baker. General Electric Co., as president. William L. Reynolds, Washington, was elected general counsel Friday to succeed Glen McDaniel, who has held the position since 1952. Mr. Reynolds had been serving as assistant general counsel for the last year. Before joining RETMA in 1953 he was an associate in the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling. Mr. McDaniel, a member of the New York law firm of Lundgren, Lincoln & McDaniel, was president of RETMA in 1951, 1953 and 1954. James D. Secrest was re-elected executive vice president and secretary and Leslie F. Muter, Muter Co.. re-elected treasurer. Among statistical highlights cited at RETMA's 33rd annual convention were: • Electronic equipment and parts are being produced at an annual rate of over $6 billion — about equally divided between military and commercial business. • Overall electronics volume is close to $12 billion, with inclusion of broadcasting revenue, merchandising distribution costs and servicing. (RETMA's marketing data department estimates total billings of electronics, with these inclusions, at about $11 billion with dollar value of manufacturers' sales pegged at nearly $5.7 billion.) • About two million portable tv units and 1.25 million transistor radios were produced last year. Six million tv receivers were turned out with dollar volume of $795 million. A total of 9.3 million home, clock and portable radios were manufactured with factory sales of $195 million — portables accounting for 3.75 million units, a gain of 40% from 2.67 million. (Total radio production: 15,350,000, with a nearly 10% gain in manufacturers' sales. ) Phonograph sales hit five million units: auto set output rose slightly. • Total dollar value of all amusement devices (radio, tv, phonographs, etc.) was $1.5 billion. Also up: industrial-commercial products, from $850 million to nearly $1 billion: military products, from $2.6 billion to $2.8 billion, and replacement parts, from $800 million to $900 million. • Parts sales for initial equipment use in 1956 hit $1.5 billion, with replacement components sold by jobbers bringing the total to about $2.3 billion. • Thirty-four manufacturers suffered "fi nancial difficulties" from May 1956 through March 1957 with components parts makers (14) hardest hit, phonograph and hi-fi (6) next and radio-tv manufacturers (5) third. • American commercial exports of electronic equipment-parts rose 24% in 1956. Broadcast station equipment increased from $4.3 million in 1954 to over $8 million last year; shipments of non-broadcast heavy electronic equipment jumped from $88 million in 1955 to past the $100 million mark. Radio exports declined, with shipment of 322,000 sets with dollar value of over $7.5 million. In his annual report Thursday, Dr. Baker noted the investment of billions of dollars by the Defense Dept. in research and development (about $15 billion) from 1950 to 1956 and cited "remarkable vitality" of radio and other "older products of the industry" [B*T, May 6]. He cited close cooperation with FCC, the Defense Dept. and other organizations in various projects the past year. He described relations with the commission as "most friendly and cooperative." He also noted RETMA's participation in Television Allocations Study Organization (TASO) to conduct studies involving uhf-vhf. Dr. Baker is expected to testify before FCC in hearings on allocations above DR. BAKER MR. REYNOLDS Page 48 May 20, 1957 890 mc. The hearings on FCC's proposal to review allocations between 25 and 890 mc are not expected before 1958, he said. Robert S. Bell, Packard-Bell Electronics Corp. and acting chairman of RETMA's set division, described volume output of portable tv sets and transistor radios as "the highlight" of the set industry the past year, despite lower unit profits for manufacturers. In addition to 1,250,000 transistor radio portables made in 1956, two million transistorized auto sets were produced. Commenting on the drop in tv set sales and production "despite encouraging retail sales," Mr. Bell noted the radio-phonograph business, "provided a welcome contrast as both the public clamor for hi-fi equipment and the popularity of the new miniature portables provided new stimulants for a market which at one time was thought to have been obliterated by television." J. A. Hatchwell, RETMA Service ComBroadcasting • Telecasting