Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

SPECIAL REPORT ON TOLL IV LANGER'S B ARTLES VI LLE SURVEY TOSSED INTO TOLL TV RHUBARB • Celler argues against pay tv with Porter in New York • NBC declines Zenith challenge to debate the issue • 'Broadcasting' revisits Bartlesville to find some answers SEN. LANGER man Paul A. Porter, The champions of free and fee tv renewed their jousting with added vigor last week, highlighted by the efforts of anti-subscription congressmen to throw on-the-record sentiments of the American people into the debate. The familiar faces of the old guard were there. Sen. William Langer (R-N. D.) drew an avalanche of questionnaire returns from Bartlesville, Ok la., home of the new Telemovie system, which overwhelmingly opposed pay tv, but questioned whether their local service belonged in this category. Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-N. Y.) squared off in a New York debate against former FCC chairWashington counsel for Paramount's International Telemeter Corp. (page 68). Another debate failed to materialize when NBC declined to act on a challenge from Zenith Radio Corp. to argue toll tv in a public forum (page 68). Ted Leitzell, assistant to E. F. McDonald, Zenith president, had bristled at NBC President Robert Sarnoff's earlier remarks that pay television would crush the viewers' opportunity to choose between pay and free tv. And, in an effort to find out some of this viewer thinking, Broadcasting last week revisited Bartlesville to find out what has happened in the two months since Telemovies were introduced and just what was the public reaction to it as well as to the Langer questionnaire (see pages 62, 64). Post cards on toll tv began flooding two areas of the government in Washington last week. Up on Capitol Hill, the office of Sen. Langer began receiving the first batch of yeas and nays from Bartlesville families on how they liked pay tv. As of noon last Friday, 1,662 responses to Sen. Langer's one-man postal card survey had been received in his office. Of these, he reported. 1,430 voted against pay tv, 113 were for pay tv and 1 19 answers were neither for nor against the principle of paying for television. More than 150 of the responses noted energetically that there is a difference between subscription television and Telemovies. In the Telemovies system operating in Bartlesville subscribers pay $9.50 plus tax per month to see first run and rerun motion pictures via coaxial cable on their tv sets. And, at the FCC, mailbags full of printed post cards were being received at the instigation of Michigan State Sen. Harold M. Ryan. Mr. Ryan began a one-man crusade against pay tv three weeks ago in Detroit [Government, Oct. 21]. As of Friday, the FCC had received almost 3,500 cards against toll tv. They were being sent over from the White House in mailbag loads. The cards are addressed: "Federal Communications Commission, c/o The White House, Washington 25, D. C." On Oct. 24, Sen. Langer mailed a personal letter to all 8,000 families in Bartlesville asking their opinion of pay tv. Enclosed was a card with a box to check in favor or against "pay-as-you-see tv," and a place for names and addresses. The North Dakotan's letter said he was writing as a member of the Senate Antitrust & Monopoly Committee, a subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee. Sen. Langer is the ranking Republican on this subcommittee. "Personally and as a United States senator I have been opposed to pay-as-you-see television, because I believe it will ultimately result in poor people getting poorer programs, while those who can afford to pay will get better programs," Sen. Langer said. The North Dakota Republican said he would submit all responses to the Antitrust & Monopoly Committee. He asked that the postal cards be returned before Nov. 4. The cards were common business reply cards, although bearing Sen. Langer's frank. A review of the postal cards bearing comments showed that Bartlesville was well indoctrinated. Many of the cards vigorously noted that Telemovies was not pay tv. Many others objected to Sen. Langer's attitude toward pay tv: They emphasized that although they may be for or against it, they thought it should be allowed to prove itself in the competitive marketplace. Comments on returned cards favoring toll tv ran a variety of reasons. Economy for large families was one notation. Another qualified his approval "if advertising is prohibited." A third noted that he enjoyed the lack of commercials. Those who opposed subscription tv and inscribed comments covered a wide range. One stated he likes tv as it is, thought some of the commercials were "real good." Another declared he was not in favor of tv "in any form. I think it is the worst thing that has happened to us." Earlier this month Sen. Langer announced that he would introduce a bill to prohibit toll tv [Government. Oct. 14]. He said that current laws neither authorize nor prohibit subscription television. He added that millions of people would be deprived of free tv programs if pay tv is authorized. Pending in the Senate is S 2268 to prohibit pay tv submitted by Sen. Strom Thurmond (D-S. C). In the House, Rep. Emanuel Celler (D-N. Y.) is the author of HR 586. also to prohibit toll tv. Rep. Oren Harris (DArk.), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, has announced that he intends to hold hearings on Rep. Celler's bill as soon as Congress reconvenes in January. TOLL ISN'T THE WORD FOR IT A fast lesson in Sooner-style semantics was given Sen. William Langer (R-N. D.), of the Senate Antitrust & Monopoly Committee, by Henry S. Griffing, president of Video Tndeoendent Theatres Inc., Oklahoma City. The theatre chain operates the Bartlesville, Okla., Telemovies test project (see page 64). Sen. Langer has polled everyone in Bartlesville for a yes-or-no vote on pay tv, throwing the city into a tv tizzy and throwing up one more hazard for the Telemovies service. Telemovies, Mr. Griffing wrote the Senator Thursday, is a wired system of delivering motion pictures in the living room, using vacant places on the tv dial. Telemovie service is not pav tv, he explained. He regretted Sen. Langer hadn't checked the Bartlesville project "before writing our customers and issuing a press release. I hope vou haven't hurt our business as I am sure this was not your intention." "Our theatres have been in business in Bartlesville for 28 years," Mr. Griffing wrote. "In the last few years television has kept many of our customers at home. Three theatres have been abandoned. In the face of this we are trying, just like any other merchant, to give more service and deliver Page 60 November 4, 1957 our merchandise to the customers." Mr. Griffing explained it is "optional with the customer if he wishes to supplement his television reception with motion picture entertainment." "Surely," he said, "since you are on the antimonopoly committee, you must think competition is all right. We just want to continue selling motion pictures in Bartlesville. "Now, like you, we are opposed to pay tv. You see, if the motion picture producers sell to the 500 tv stations for pay tv, they will bypass 19,000 theatres and we will be forced to close because we won't have any pictures to sell. I am not surprised that you couldn't understand our situation in Bartlesville from some of the news stories. They have been pretty confusing. Since ours is a local venture, we don't come under the FCC, so that part of your press release was in error." The letter concluded: "If you ever get down to Oklahoma, drop in to see us." Broadcasting MR. GRIFFING