Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

SPECIAL REPORT CONTINUED WHAT'S THE BARTLESVILLE PULSE? LANGER RAISES SOME PRESSURES — Some of the citizens of Bartlesville, Okla., most door-belled spot in the nation, lost part of their civic composure last week when a U. S. senator started polling everybody in town. The local citizens have tolerated countless professional and amateur survey units since Sept. 3, when the city became a proving ground for paid home reception of theatre movies. But when Sen. William Langer (R-N. D.), of the Antitrust & Monopoly Committee, sent long letters about pay tv, accompanied by a postcard questionnaire, many of the residents took a dim view of congressional nosiness. The thing became downright funny when businessmen received senatorial letters addressed, "Hon." In any event, the deluge of official letters spurred interest in the Telemovie service of Video Independent Theatres. Bartlesville has taken Telemovies in stride. Nobody is very much excited. It's just a new service that many like, and many more don't buy. A good share of citizens contacted in homes, business places and on the sidewalk figured the senator is ignorant of what is happening in the northeasern corner of Oklahoma. They took a common slant — this politician can't tell the difference between pay tv and the movies wired into homes. Video Independent has done a good job selling its semantics — "Telemovies,'" and extension of the theatre into the living room tv set. A lot of residents naturally were impressed by the fact that a U. S. senator thought enough of them to ask for their individual votes. Some thought enough of the poll to write back their ideas. Here are some of the comments made in letters to Sen. Langer: Newell G. Welty, Foster Petroleum Co. executive: "The local Telemovies bear as much resemblance to pay tv as a U. S. senator's cry for a balanced budget bears to his vote for a home state pork-barrel fund." Will D. Parker: "There are too many important things going on in the world to have our Washington representatives concerning themselves with relatively unimportant ideas which are not even factual." Loren C. Steel," manager of a large machine shop: "TM will provide employment. We still plan to watch free tv. Maybe TM will keep the family at home more." Many thought it strange that the senator loaded his survey by coming out with an anti-pay tv statement in the accompanying letter. William Radcliff, manager of Crown Drugs, took a stand in common with a good many others: "They've got a product to sell, like the phone company. We can take it or leave it alone. What business is it of Sen. Langer's? We received his letter at the store but won't bother answering it." Taking a different tack was R. W. Davies, insurance agent, who said, "the senator has a valid point when he says paid television would put television on a price basis, with people getting only what they can afford Page 62 • November 4, 1957 to pay." He, too, said that pay tv and Telemovies service are entirely different. It quickly became obvious that the results of the Langer questionnaire may not match the early comments of those who received letters. Many mentioned this point after reading the early paragraphs of the letter, with its comments about the evils of paid television. Few residents have a very clear idea what pay tv is, but they know what they believe it isn't — Telemovies. "I sent him a nasty letter," said D. W. Shugars, executive editor ofthe local Examiner-Enterprise. I explained he didn't have any reason to use Bartlesville in his fight against pay tv." The newspapers carried an editor's note in the United Press story about the Langer poll, explaining, "Sen. Langer is apparently as confused as Eastern publications in labeling the local Telemovie project as pay tv. The project is not in any sense a pay-tv project in that it does not use air channels, but instead uses commercial cables as its transmitting means. The project has not received permission or authorization by the FCC because the project does not come under the Commission's jurisdiction." A Phillips Oil Co. chemical engineer, who was looking at the stock market quotations in the Burlingame Hotel lobby, said, "fhe senator showed, by his letter, he had made up his mind before he started the survey." The oil executive wouldn't let his name be used. A semi-retired hotel man, Paul R. Neyman, asked, "How does this little deal down here affect Sen. Langer? "I don't get the idea, and his letter wasn't clear. I don't have Telemovies, and I wouldn't want to have to pay for all television service." Mr. Neyman reflected a familiar feeling when he suggested that local people will decide whether the Telemovies idea is successful and they don't need any help from Washington in making up their minds. RESIDENTS UNDECIDED ON TM — The universal belief voiced in Bartlesville as two months of TM service (one month free) came to an end was this — Nobody can tell at this time whether paid movies in the living room will succeed. It's too soon to draw conclusions — months too soon. One businessman who was among the early subscribers decided last week to drop TM. He asked that his name be withheld for obvious business reasons. "They started out with a splash — 'Pajama Game' — but now the quality trend is downward," he said. "In two months I've seen only five movies worth looking at. The pictures don't reduce well on the tv set. Some movies are blurred on the edges. A lot of the big epic films look bad on a small tv screen." The technical quality of the Telemovies images on home tv sets is about the same as service from the three Tulsa tv stations, judging by comments of most subscribers. Most frequent criticisms were fuzziness and cropping of heads. Mrs. Logan Taylor, whose home became a haven for reporters and surveyors after it was mentioned in the Sept. 9 Broadcasting article on Bartlesville, said the family likes Telemovies but doesn't look as much as anticipated "because there are so many things to do." The Taylors have two children, 3 and 6. "The children like the new Sunday matinees," she said. "We see possibly three Telemovies a week when Mr. Taylor is in town." He is a Phillips Petroleum Co. executive. The Taylors have the Langer letter, but Mrs. Taylor won't decide whether to answer until her husband returns from a trip. The family of M. T. Balds figures their Telemovie service is too expensive and may drop it despite the fact it means the family can see movies without going to the theatre. Regular tv programs and the fights are still popular in the Balds' home. Mrs. Alta Riggs, who lives with her teenage daughter said "Some of the movies aren't too clear." She added that sometimes they chop off parts of a head. She figured that was due to some technical detail in putting wide-screen movies on a tv screen. She said there was only one other set in the neighborhood and didn't seem to mind paying the extra tax on the $9.50 bill. J. Fred Case, president and general manager of KWON Bartlesville, said he has found no observable impact on radio listening since Telemovies began. He has treated high spots of the service as a news item, mentioning the visit of Sen. Robert S. Kerr (D-Okla.) at an Oct. 21 Telemovies promotional luncheon. "It's being tried in the marketplace of public opinion," he commented. He feels TM should be regulated, pointing out that it now avoids regulation by the Federal Trade Commission, FCC and industry groups. Ralph L. Smith, Examiner-Enterprise reporter, said there's a real need to define the terms used in the various forms of paid tv and movie service. Like others on the newspapers, he feels the Video Independent group will eventually sell advertising on Telemovies. He suggested this new medium should be subjected to Federal Trade Commission jurisdiction, just as other media are regulated. He said the 545 subscription list isn't at all low since only 38 of the planned 80-odd miles of cable have been built, and many newer residential areas aren't serviced. "We'd like to see it go, even if it might be an advertising competitor," he said. The newspapers, carry about a column a day of theatre advertising plus double spreads. The Telemovies project hasn't been given much news treatment except in a 20-page special Sunday edition, Oct. 20. "How can they call it a flop?" Mr. Smith asked, recalling a national newspaper's bearish story and some of the amusement journal pieces. He has his own telephone list of 50 Telemovies subscribers and calls them occasionally. "Out of 50, only four have dropped it," he said. "A few hardly use it, and others like the pictures. Some are getting choosy and spending more time looking at tv." Broadcasting