Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

PEOPLE at deadline LNA, BAR Release Details, Rates for Planned Data Service Details and rates for new service that will provide monthly figures on network tv billings, along with much additional material [At Deadline, Nov. 11], announced Friday by Leading National Advertisers Inc. and Broadcast Advertisers Reports Inc. New service, by LNA and BAR, will be launched Jan. 1. It will supplant monthly figures formerly compiled by LNA for Publishers Information Bureau. Officials reported hearty acceptances among agencies. LNA President Francis Miller and Executive Vice President Bob Morris of BAR noted that new service will include basic elements of BAR's current network brand information compilations and LNA's network dollar figures and station lineups which users heretofore have had to combine on their own. For network tv, new service will include monthly expenditures by product classification; station lineups for all programs and individual advertisers; dollar figures for all brands by company and program (showing percentage of commercial minutes for each brand, total commercial minutes by brand, number of commercials by brand, number of telecasts, and current and year-to-date totals for each item); monthly summaries of company and brand expenditures, totaling all programs and showing individual network shares; and weekly monitor reports of three networks, showing programs, advertisers, brands and commercial minutes, logged in order of occurrence for each network. For network radio, service will include monthly listing of station lineups for all programs and individual advertisers, and weekly monitor report for each network, showing programs, advertisers, brands and commercial minutes, logged in order of occurrence. Agencies billing more than $60 million in radio and tv, network and spot, time and talent, will be charged $6,000 per year; those billing $20 million to $60 million will pay $5,500; agencies billing $19 million will pay $5,200, and for each million under that, charge will drop $300 until $10 million level ($2,500) is reached. Below that, charges scale down to $1,100 for agencies in milliondollar bracket, and $1,000 for those under $1 million. Five Named By RKO Teleradio George Ruppel and Oscar Nittel among five RKO Teleradio executives newly assigned in move announced today [Mon.] by Board Chairman Thomas F. O'Neil as recognizing "increased importance" to firm of financial management and "long-range planning." Mr. Ruppel becomes treasurer and Mr. Nittel comptroller. Mr. Ruppel has been vice president and treasurer of RKO Teleradio's broadcasting division and at one time was vice president, treasurer and director of Mutual; Mr. Nittel was with WOR New York and this year was named assistant treasurer of General Teleradio (subsidiary of RKO Teleradio). Charles Drayton, Philip Wissman and Herbert Mayes are other executives newly assigned, Mr. Drayton as comptroller, others as assistant comptrollers. FCC Wants to Take Second Look At Proposed Lubbock Tv Grantee By its own motion, FCC Friday ordered record reopened on application of Texas Tech College, Lubbock, for ch. 5 that city [Government. Nov. 25]. Texas Tech is only accepted applicant for channel and holds favorable initial decision. Commission ordered further hearings to determine: Whether Texas Tech is legally qualified to operate, as well as own and construct proposed station, "including commercial as well as noncommercial operation thereof"; the "full facts and circumstances" whereby KDUB-TV and KCBD-TV, both Lubbock, agreed to donate funds ($30,000 each) to college for station, "with special reference to whether the applicant would thus, by agreement, understanding, or otherwise, be precluded from carrying commercial tv programming"; full facts and circumstances of dismissal by C. L. Trigg of his application for same facility "including, but not limited to, an account of the expenses incurred by Trigg for which he was assertedly partially reimbursed, and the source or sources of the $25,000 paid to Trigg [by Texas Tech]." Comr. Robert T. Bartley dissented and voted for conditional grant to Texas Tech; Comr. Richard A. Mack dissented. In announcing decision, Commission denied request by Western Tv Co. (which had filed unaccepted application for ch. 5) that Texas Tech application be dismissed or, in alternative, record be reopened and Western be made party to proceedings. New Appointees Announced For RAB Plans Committee Six station operators named Friday to serve on plans committee of Radio Advertising Bureau by committee chairman Donald W. Thornburgh, WCAU Philadelphia, and RAB President Kevin B. Sweeney. Newly chosen: George Comte, manager of radio-tv, WTMJ Milwaukee; Joel H. Scheier, president-general manager, WIRY Plattsburgh, N. Y.; Robert C. Wolfenden, general manager, WMEV Marion, Va.; Robert Covington, vice president-managing director, WBT Charlotte, N. C; Norman Knight, president, Yankee Div. of RKO Teleradio (WNAC Boston), and Harold R. Krelstein, president, broadcasting subsidiaries of Plough Broadcasting Corp. (WCAO Baltimore, WCOP Boston, WJJD Chicago, ALLEN BENGSTOM, formerly in NBC station relations, appointed general manager, WTRY Troy, N. Y. WILLIAM T. ORR, production head of all Warner Bros, tv series, elected vice president of company. WILLIAM ZERWECK, vice president, Norman, Craig & Kummel, to Warwick & Legler, both N. Y., in similar capacity. GRANT M. THOMPSON, vice president and member of operating committee, elected director of William Esty Co., N. Y. WMPS Memphis). Messrs. Comte, Scheier and Wolfenden assume committee responsibilities immediately, others Jan. 1. Also joining committee as representatives of their respective networks are: Ray Eichman, ABN; Louis Hausman, CBS; Sidney Allen, MBS, and George Graham, NBC, all New York. Committee meets Dec. 5 in New York. FCC Approves Cowles Sale To Peoples, Other Transfers Among sale approvals announced Friday by FCC: • WNAX Yankton, S. D., and KVTV (TV) Sioux City, Iowa, sold by Cowles Broadcasting Co. to Peoples Broadcasting Corp. for $3 million. Peoples, a subsidiary of Nationwide Insurance Co., owns WGARAM-FM Cleveland, WRFD Worthington, Ohio. WMMN Fairmont, W. Va., and WTTM Trenton, N. J. Cowles family also owns outright or has interests in KRNTAM-TV Des Moines, WHTN-AM-FM-TV Huntington. W. Va., WCCO-AM-TV Minneapolis and KTVH (TV) Hutchinson, Kan. KVTV is on ch. 9 and is affiliated with ABC and CBS; CBS-affiliated WNAX is on 570 kc with 5 kw. • WBFM (FM) New York sold by former U. S. Senator William Benton and H. E. Houghton (as part of Muzak Corp.) to J. D. Wrather Jr. and John L. Loeb. WBFM is part of Wrather-Loeb $4,175,000 purchase of Muzak [Program Services, Sept. 23]. Approval conditioned on Messrs. Wrather and Loeb disposing of their minority interest in DuMont Broadcasting Corp., which Nov. 13 was granted Commission approval for purchase of WHFI (FM) New York (not yet on air) from Fidelity Radio Corp. Stock sale must be consummated before Dumont fm goes on air. Mr. Wrather is president of KFMB-AM-TV San Diego and KERO-TV Bakersfield, boih California, holds construction permits for tv stations in Yuma, Ariz., and Boston and owns Lone Ranger, Lassie and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon program series; Mr. Loeb is a member of the New York brokerage firm of Carl M. Loeb, Rhoades & Co.; Mr. Benton is co-founder and former partner of Benton & Bowles. • KORC Mineral Wells, Tex., sold by multiple-station owner J. Elroy McCaw to Action Broadcasting Co. (David B. Klutgen, president) for $45,000. Station is on 1140 kc with 250 w. Page 10 • December 2, 1957 Broadcasting