Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

RADIO NETWORKS ON THE REBOUND continued million in net billings for 1958. Only last week, Mr. Roberts told a news conference in New York that the network is "sold out" through Dec. 3 1 of this year [Closed Circuit, Nov. 25]. As further evidence of Mutual's "upbeat," Mr. Roberts said the network will add two hours of programming to the schedule at the beginning of 1958, at which time it also will institute a rate increase. The expansion in the broadcast day from 17 to 19 hours also ties in with another development at Mutual, Mr. Roberts said, referring to a new arrangement with the Don Lee network whereby these stations will become direct affiliates of Mutual. The extra two hours after midnight (EST) will enable Mutual to service west coast stations, particularly, during an advantageous time period. The contract with Don Lee, which is expected to be signed shortly, will provide that Mutual pay the cost of telephone lines (amounting to about $250,000 per year), Mr. Roberts said, with Mutual retaining 90 minutes per day of its own programming to stations and supplying the outlets the remainder of the day. He stressed that Mutual will not be buying Don Lee, but the arrangement will facilitate station clearances, enabling Mutual to place an expanded amount of its programming at the disposal of the stations. Mr. Roberts said the expanded broadcast day plus the rate hike will open up additional sources of revenue for the network in 1958. It will add two hourly newscasts and possibly service and sports programs in the added 12 midnight-2 a.m. period. The network currently operates from 7 a.m.12 midnight. The amount of the rate increase is expected to be at least 10% but, according to Mr. Roberts, has not been worked out as yet. Mr. Roberts told Broadcasting: "It is now nearly five months since I first became interested in network radio operations — particularly those of the Mutual Broadcasting System. And today, as president of the network, I find my original feeling well fortified by station, listener and client responses. "Network radio definitely is on the upbeat. Mutual has well demonstrated that fact. But Mutual has done it by providing a network radio operation with which stations can live profitably and practicably. "Our original philosophy about network broadcasting has not changed one bit. We are determined to give our stations the kind of programming most practicable for their local or regional schedules. "We are adding additional station service programs. For example, the Story Princess — first new children's show on Mutual in five years — is strictly for station sales. It's a week-night show that starts Monday (Dec. 2). We're planning station service shows giving latest details on financial news coupled with Wall Street closing prices. We've got the Kate Smith show coming up Jan. 6th, half of which stations sell for themselves, and we're starting to add to our sports calendar, with the annual NorthSouth All-Star Shrine football game Christmas night first on the schedule. We're Page 30 • December 2, 1957 checking our stations now for the Wednesday evening boxing matches. "Most importantly, however, we know that Mutual is now operating in the black. Before we took over the network had a $150,000 monthly operating loss. We're gearing ourselves to a possible $14 million net in 1958 — and I mean, net." Mr. Roberts declined to estimate Mutual's billings for this year, but they are reported to be in the neighborhood of $7.5 million. He expressed the view that Mutual will show a "slight profit" for the five months of operation under his management. Since last August, Mutual has signed contracts with such major advertisers as Lever Bros. (Pepsodent and Dove soap) through Foote, Cone & Belding and Ogilvy, Benson REVVING UP FOR '58 With Mutual "sold out" on its network availabilities through the end of 1957, Sales Vice President Sidney P. Allen last week announced that new orders beginning in January were being signed and expressed "extreme pleasure" at the identity of early advertisers. He pointed out that an advertiser new to Mutual — ColgatePalmolive Co. through Shaw Adv., Chicago — had signed for a large order on a 52-week basis, for Sportsreel with Bill Stern, starting Jan. 2, at varied times. The product will be Instant Shave Cream. For the first 13 weeks, C-P will sponsor the show on Tuesday and Thursday from 7:30-7:35 a.m. and on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30-8:35 a.m. For the next 26 weeks it will sponsor the program ten times weekly, covering both the 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. periods, then reverting to the former schedule for the final quarter of the year. On top of the Colgate buy, Mr. Allen announced that Pharmaceuticals Inc., through Parkson Adv., New York, would sponsor a year-long campaign on the Gabriel Heatter five-minute news broadcasts on Tuesday ( 1 : 301:35 p.m.) for Serutan and on Wednesday (7:30-7:35 p.m.) for Kreml hair tonic. Mr. Allen stressed that Kreml had not used Mutual since 1946, Serutan since 1949. & Mather; P. Lorillard (Kent and Newport cigarettes) through Lennen & Newell; H. J. Heinz Co. through Maxon Inc.; General Foods (Jello) through Young & Rubicam; R. J. Reynolds Tobacco (Camels) through Wm. Esty; Sterling Drug (Fizrin) through Compton Adv.; Quaker State Oil through Kenyon & Eckhardt; American Home Products (Anacin) through Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Bayles; Bab-O through Donahue & Coe; General Motors (trucks) through Kudner Adv.; Benrus (watches) through Lennen & Newell; Chrysler Corp. (cars and trucks) through McCann-Erickson; Carter Products through C. L. Miller Co.; Pharmacraft Co. through J. Walter Thomp son; Colgate-Palmolive through Shaw Adv.; Pharmaceuticals Inc. through Parkson Adv. What is particularly heartening, according to Mr. Roberts, is that many of the advertisers never before had used Mutual and others had been sponsors who had not utilized the network in five years or more. Present advertisers who had not used Mutual at all in the past include Heinz, Chrysler, Quaker State Oil, Reader's Digest Assn.. Florists Telegraph Delivery Assn., Liggett & Myers and Colgate-Palmolive. Sponsors who signed for a return to Mutual after an absence of five years or more include Lever Bros., General Foods, Sterling Drugs, American Home Products and Pharmaceuticals Inc. (see separate box, this page) . Under Mutual's "swap" sales approach with stations, the network keeps revenue from the sale of 110 five-minute newscasts weekly plus adjacencies, five 25-minute mystery and adventure series weekly, three and one-half hours of its option time devoted largely to religious broadcasts and one-half of the sale of special shows, such as sports and the new Kate Smith Show. The stations keep revenue from the sale of 110 other five-minute newscasts and adjacencies, any of the recorded music programs it may sell, five 25-minute mystery and adventure series weekly and one-half of special shows. NBC RADIO NBC Radio is far from cautious, predicting "great days ahead" for it and for network radio generally. The excitement at 30 Rockefeller Plaza has been generating throughout the year, hastened by the terminology of Matthew J. Culligan, NBC vice president in charge of the network, who already has bequeathed "imagery transfer" and "hot line" to the industry. Last week, for instance, NBC laid claim that advance billing for March 1958 was already "in excess" of $14.8 million gross; its billing last March — at the time — was $14 million. Business on NBC this past year was brisk and bullish, with considerable increases being registered toward the end of the year. Top spender this year was Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., for Viceroy and Kool cigarettes (Ted Bates & Co.), which spent $3.5 million gross on hourly newscasts. Runner-up was Bristol-Myers Co., for Bufferin (Young & Rubicam), which placed Bufferin alongside Viceroys on the newscasts to the tune of $1.7 million gross. Other spenders, their agencies and schedules: American Motors Corp., for Rambler, through Geyer Adv., $1.1 million gross on Monitor; Gillette Safety Razor Co., through Maxon Inc., $905,000 gross for Friday night's Cavalcade of Sports; General Mills (Wheaties, Cheerios, Betty Crocker), through Dancer-Fitzgerald-Sample and Needham, Louis & Brorby, $729,000 daytime participations; Pabst Brewing (Blue Ribbon beer), through Norman, Craig & Kummel, $535,000 on Monitor, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco (Prince Albert, Camels), through William Esty, $676,000 on News of Broadcasting