Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

GOVERNMENT continued owners, Copley Press Inc., to Kenyon Brown, Harry L. (Bing) Crosby, George L. Coleman and Joseph A. Thomas for $4 million. The NAFBRAT complaint also asked that this be refused. South Bend, Elkhart Combined, Assigned Lower Uhf Channels A strong uhf area was made even stronger by the FCC last week when high uhf channels assigned to South Bend and Elkhart, both Indiana, were replaced with lower channels and the cities were made a hyphenated area on the table of assignments. South Bend-Elkhart received chs. 22 and 28 in exchange for chs. 34, 46 and educational 40. This was accomplished by substituting ( 1 ) ch. 79 for ch. 22 in Waukegan, 111.; (2) ch. 83 for ch. 28 in Elgin, 111.; (3) ch. 40 for ch. 42 in Benton Harbor, Mich.; (4) ch. 46 for ch. 36 in Kalamazoo, Mich.; (5) addition of Plymouth, Ind., to table of assignments with ch. 34, and (6) making ch. 52 Elkhart, available for educational use in South Bend-Elkhart. At the same time, the Commission modified the licenses of WSJV (TV) Elkhart to specify operation on ch. 28 instead of 52 and WSBT-TV South Bend to specify operation on ch. 22 instead of 34. These two changes were conditioned that construction could not begin until requested engineering information had been given the Commission by the two stations. WNDU-TV South Bend, with FCC approval, shifted from ch. 46 to 16 last summer. KGO-TV Asks Commission Hearing On Location of Antenna Farm KGO-TV San Francisco (ch. 7), owned by American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres Inc., last week asked the FCC for a hearing on its dispute with KRON-TV San Francisco (ch. 4) over the location of an antenna farm in that city. KGO-TV wants the new multiple station television tower to be built on Mt. Sutro. But KRON-TV already has won approval by the Airspace Panel of the Air Coordinating Committee for construction on Mt. San Bruno. Both are near the city's international airport. [Government, Sept. 16] According to KGO-TV, the Mt. Sutro location would constitute less of an air safety hazard and provide better service. The station added that selection of Mt. San Bruno would cause KGO-TV serious economic injury by providing KRON-TV with improved coverage of an audience for which both stations compete. FCC Dismisses One Ch. 13 Bid The FCC last week dismissed with prejudice the application of Frontier Broadcasting Co. for a new tv station on ch. 13 in Alliance, Neb., and in so doing paved the way for a possible award to Western Nebraska Television Inc., the only other applicant for the channel. At the same time the Commission approved Frontier's request to hike the power of KSTF (TV) Scottsbluff, Neb., ch. 10. from 11.513 to 240 kw, and antenna height from 240 to 840 ft. KSTF has been a satellite of KFBC-TV Cheyenne, Wyo., but as a regular station is understood to be capable of reaching the Alliance audience some 40 miles away. Longer Plans Bill to Prohibit FCC From Acting on Toll Tv Senator William Langer (R-N.D.) stated last week that he will introduce a bill in the next session of Congress to prohibit the FCC from licensing pay tv. Sen. Langer declared that the communications laws currently contain neither authorization nor express prohibition for the regulatory body in the matter of subscription service. Mr. Langer claimed that millions of people would be deprived of seeing various types of programs if pay tv is allowed. In referring to Senate debate on the Federal Radio Act of 1927, he stated that the reasoning then for not prohibiting pay-as-youlisten radio is not applicable. The North Dakotan joins other congressional critics of pay tv, including Rep. Oren Harris (D-Ark.), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, who intends to hold hearings on the subject early next year. Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-S.C.) have both introduced bills to prohibit pay tv (HR 586 and S 2268, respectively). Both Rep. Celler and Sen. Thurmond intend to push their bills next session. Meanwhile, Comr. Robert E. Lee declined comment on Rep. Celler's request that Mr. Lee disqualify himself in the toll tv considerations [At Deadline, Oct. 7]. Mr. Celler asked this because of Mr. Lee's article last year in Look magazine recommending a public trial for toll tv. Examiner Finds Against Kriegel Harry G. Kriegel, trading as Superior Products, 673 Broadway, New York, has been ordered in a Federal Trade Commission initial decision to stop claiming a plastic sheet attachment for tv sets will simulate color television. Mr. Kriegel, however, has told the commission that he did not own the firm and that sale of the product was discontinued June 1, 1956. The action by an FTC hearing examiner follows a complaint made last spring. It is not a final decision of the commission. 'Bachelor Father1 In Court Jay Sommers and Don Nelson, writers of the Ozzie & Harriet program on ABC-TV, went to court last week in a move to establish their ownership of another tv series, Bachelor Father. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by attorney Ralph Marks, asks for (1) declaration that the plaintiffs own the program, (2) an accounting and (3) $200,000 damages from the defendants: American Tobacco Co., CBS, Music Corp. of America and Revue Productions. The complaint alleges that early in 1956 the plaintiffs submitted a program of identical title and plot to MCA, which was to act as their agent, and says it turned up on CBS-TV 14 months later with American Tobacco as sponsor. good digging for sponsors, too! Elton Britt, once prospector for uranium, wrote and recorded for RCA-Victor the first country and western song ever to sell over a million records. His records have sold 1 2 million plus. Britt is now finding better diggings on WMAL-TV's "Town and Country Time" . . .2:00-3:00 p.m. Monday through Friday . . . produced by Connie B. Gay, and birthplace of Jimmie Dean, Patsy Cline, and George Hamilton, IV. With Britt, Roy Clark's band, top guest stars, this show digs gold for sponsors too, in the tradition of WMAL-TV, first local station to program country music successfully. "J" real live daytime programming wmal-tv 1 61 maximum power on channel 7 WASHINGTON, D.C. AN EVENING STAR STATION/ Represented by H-R Television, Inc. Page 66 • October 14, 1957 Broadcasting