Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

PROGRAM SERVICES THEATRE OWNERS HIT TOLL TV • TOA convention resoultion supports free television • Shapp surprised; urges activity in wired pay tv The Theatre Owners of America, composed of major theatre owners, unanimously voted last week "opposing and condemning" all forms of pay tv — off the air or via wire. In a completely unexpected action, the exhibitors voted against any form of toll tv following a morning panel on cable tv Thursday morning at the TOA convention in Miami Beach, Fla., Nov. 20-23. The resolution, which was passed at a private meeting of TOA members Thursday afternoon, also pledged the organization and its members to work toward the enactment of legislation to "preserve" the right of the public to view tv in their homes free of charge. The resolution said that pay tv and free tv cannot coexist and that pay tv in any form would "usurp" all of the popular programs and personalities now available on free tv. It declared that the public has bought 45 million tv receivers on the assumption that the programs received were to be free. It also stated that pay tv would affect the nation's economy by "entrapping" much of the nation's purchasing power. It not only lashed out at the monopoly potential of toll tv, but also the deleterious effect on theatres and exhibition. The resolution stung Milton Shapp, president of Jerrold Electronics Corp., a prime mover in behalf of wired, cable tv, into immediate retort. He claimed that the resolution was "surprising" in view of the great interest of a "great number of exhibitors" in cable theatre. He also said that exhibitors' opposition was ill advised, since they also had opposed talkies and drive-ins when those changes were coming onto the theatre scene. Television, Eric Johnston, president of the Motion Pictures Assn., told the theatremen, "is reshaping the entertainment business [and] is obviously our toughest competitor today and may get tougher tomorrow." (Condensed text of Mr. Johnston's speech on page 70.) International Telemeter Corp., a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures Inc., held daily demonstrations of its wired pay tv system during the convention. The morning open session heard one surprise. Bernard L. Goldenberg of New York identified himself with a new company called Selectivision Inc., 1 W. 58th St., and declared that his company had contracts for cable theatre projects with two New York area theatrical circuits — Associated Prudential Circuit and Interboro Theatre Circuit. The convention also heard Mr. Shapp, Herbert Barnett, General Precision Lab.; Carl Leserman, International Telemeter Corp., and Marcus Cohn, Washington attorney. Philip Harling, of the Fabian Theatre Circuit, co-chairman of the exhibitors' Joint Committee Against Pay Tv, was chairman. Mr. Shapp urged exhibitors to become active in wired toll tv as a means of reaching millions not going to the movies. This is an extension of motion picture exhibition, he declared. Mr. Barnett questioned whether the Bartlesville, Okla., Telemovies project was a fair demonstration, since the community was not typical. Mr. Leserman told TOA members that ITC had no plans to wire large metropolitan areas, but intended to concentrate on new communities which have grown up without a local movie house. Mr. Cohn warned that both wired or off-air toll tv would be regulated in some form or other by the federal government or state authorities. Regulation, he stated, was against the history of the entertainment media which flourished best in a free, competitive market. It was indicated that both Skiatron and Zenith had been invited to send a representative to the convention. Skiatron had not replied, it was said, and Zenith declared it was not interested in wired toll tv. Active audience participants included Mitchell Wolfson, chairman of TOA's board of directors, whose interests include WTVJ (TV) Miami, and WFGA-TV Jacksonville, both Florida, and WMTV (TV) Madison, Wis.; Walter Reade, Reade circuit, who holds a cp for WRTV (TV) Asbury Park, N. J.; Samuel Pinanski, Boston theatre owner, and Donald Schine, Schine Theatres. Both meetings attracted about 400 theatremen. TV GUIDE' POLL: 96.6% OPPOSE PAY • Readers strongly anti-toll tv • 44,888 answer magazine query Subscription television received another strong rebuff from the public yesterday (Sunday) when Tv Guide, national consumer tv publication with headquarters in Philadelphia, reported that 96.6% of nearly 45,000 readers had gone on record in opposition to toll tv in any form. Of the 44,888 ballots tabulated by Research Inc., an independent survey organization, only 34 out of every 1,000 were marked in favor of pay tv. The polling is believed to be the largest sampling of public opinion ever taken on the subscription television issue. The subscription tv cause received an even stronger rejection on the Pacific Coast where some business entrepreneurs already are counting toll tv chickens in the newest major league baseball cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Only 17 out of every 1,000 ballots from this area favored pay tv. In the big cities, subscription tv fared better than elsewhere. Returns from 15 of the largest cities showed that 77 out of every 1,000 persons favored pay tv. While practically all of the small band in favor of pay tv indicated they would install subscription tv, a substantial minority of these (about 3 of every 10) were unwilling to pay for installation of the service. Ballots covered six questions on subscription television and were published in a September issue of Tv Guide. The results will appear in the next issue being released tomorrow (Tuesday). Questions and answers : 1. Are you in favor of any subscription television system? Yes 1,527 ( 3.45%) No 43,361 (96.65%) 2. Would you have subscription tv installed in your home? Yes * 1,990 (4.43%) * Figure includes some 1.22% of people who voted against pay tv but said they would install it if system were adopted. 3. Would you be willing to pay any of the installation charges if necessary? Yes 1,444 (3.2%) 4. Which transmission system do you prefer? Those Those Not Favoring Favoring All Pay Tv Pay Tv Respondents Direct Wire 44.73% 3.45% 4.85% Regular tv 41.78 36.46 36.64 No answer 13.49 60.09 58.51 5. How much would you be willing to pay a month for subscription tv if it included special shows of interest to you not available on free tv? Those Those Not Favoring Favoring All Pay Tv Pay Tv Respondents $5 42.83% 5.63% 6.90% 10 40.41 1.88 3.19 20 0.06 0.33 0.46 25 4.78 0.81 0.94 No answer 7.92 91.35 88.51 6. If commercials on pay tv would lower the cost per show to you, would you object to them? Those Those Not Favoring Favoring All Pay Tv Pay Tv Respondents Would object 52.91% 25.26% 26.20% Would not object 44.47 0.40 1.90 No answer 2.62 74.34 71.90 Locally-Owned Pay Tv Proposed To California City Council A proposal that a locally-owned toll tv company be formed to serve residents of California's Centinela Valley and South Bay areas (in the greater Los Angeles area southwest of the city) was made by Fred C. Jones, a member of the city council of Inglewood, in a letter to fellow councilmen and those of 10 neighboring communities. "This company would be owned by local people; its telecasts would include local activities; its facilities would be available for local enterprises and, altogether," he wrote. Page 66 • November 25, 1957 Broadcasting