Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

■KJB BROADCASTING THE BUSIN ESSWEEKLY OF TELEVISION AND RADIO Vol. 53. No. 21 NOVEMBER 18, 1957 PAY TV VETOED IN 10-CITY POLL • Broadcasting-Pulse Inc. survey in major markets shows 2-1 against • Yea's want it on cheaper basis, would prefer paying per-program fee Viewers in 10 major markets representing all sections of the U. S. are divided 2-to-l against pay television. This was revealed last week in a special survey conducted for Broadcasting by The Pulse Inc. as this magazine sought to explore more definitively the public attitude on one of the most controversial issues to grip television since its emergence as a major medium. Two-thirds of the respondents voted that they were "not interested" in having toll.-tv in their homes even though they were told that "first-run movies, major sports events, Broadway shows, operas, balle'.s" were among the programs being held out to them as a supplement to their free-tv fare. In the Pulse poll for Broadcasting, the proportion of viewers "interested" in toll television ran higher than in some other recent but more localized studies — notably one in the Salinas-Monterey and San Luis Obispo areas of California where the tally Of those who preferred per-program payments, the greatest preference was for $1 to $1.24 per program. A little less than 32% checked that price range. But an equal number said they were willing to pay less than a dollar per program, so that overall some 63.5% came under $1.25 in their price preferences. The second largest single preference was in the 50-74 cent range (17%) and the third largest (8%) checked the 2549 cent span. Almost one-fourth didn't know how much they would be willing to pay. Among those who preferred to pay by the month and see all they wanted, almost 64% fell under the $6-a-month figure. The number of those who voted for a monthly price somewhere between $1 and $2.49 exceeded all those who would be willing to pay $6 or more. How would these figures stack up in Bartlesville? Officials of Video Independent Theatres, now on free television. This was approximately the same number — a few less — than those who would not be interested in pay tv as a supplement to free tv. Whether the similarity in these "nay" votes indicated a bias against payment for any programs, or whether it had other significance, could not be pinpointed statistically. The study did show that more than 93% of the viewers regarded present free-tv fare as satisfactory or better. Some 18% voted it excellent, 44.2% thought it good, and 31.3% considered it satisfactory. Asked to put a monetary value on these free programs, an even 50% chalked them down as worth $1 a week, while 22.6% rated them at $5 a week. One-fifth had no opinion. Among those willing to pay for programs now on the air, if they were not being distributed free, Playhouse 90 was the most popular choice in the drama category; Father Knows Best in the comedy and situation comedy field; Perry Como Show among WHAT PULSE FOUND OUT DO THEY WANT SUBSCRIPTION TV? Number Per Cent Yes 470 33.4 No 939 66.6 Total 1 ,409 1 00.0 was 5,002-to-4 against pay television, and one conducted by Sen. William Langer (RN. D.) in Bartlesville, Okla., where a wiredsubscription-tv is now underway and where Sen. Langer's returns at last report indicated a l,930-to-163 majority against [Program Services, Nov. 11]. Two-thirds of those "interested" in having pay tv in their homes said they would prefer to pay by the program, rather than by the flat monthly fee. Their reasons for this choice were not explored. But one possibility advanced is the belief that on a per-program basis they could keep a month's total expenditure below what they would be charged on a flat monthly basis giving them access to all pay-tv programming. operators of the Bartlesville toll-tv test, have estimated that in that town of 8,500 tv homes they need 2,000 subscribers at $9.50 a month to break even. That comes to $19,000 a month. At $5 to $5.99 a month — the preferred range in the Broadcasting-PuIsc study — the Bartlesville operators would have to boost their break-even point to a new level of from about 3,170 to 3,800 homes. The proportion of "don't knows" was about the same among those estimating payments on a monthly basis as among those preferring a per-program payment. The study also showed that almost twothirds of the respondents would not be willing to pay for programs similar to those varieties and musicals; What's My Line? in the quiz and audience participation category; boxing in the sports line; Cheyenne among westerns; Alfred Hitchcock Presents for mystery and adventure; Wide Wide World in the documentary-educational-forum interviews area. In the miscellaneous group Disneyland was tops (Broadway shows got only 0.6% in that group as against 4.3% for Disneyland). The survey was conducted in New York, Seattle, Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Milwaukee, New Orleans, St. Louis, San Francisco and Chicago. Respondents totaled 1,409, of whom 983 said they had and 426 said they had not previously heard of pay tv. COMPLETE PULSE RESULTS ON PAGE 32 Broadcasting November 18, 1957 • Page 31