Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

FILM CONTINUED traded for last season, costing $43,375 per episode, accounted for $3.3 million, it was learned. The 26 Blondie strips at $27,500 per episode pulled in $715,000. The 30 Telephone Time programs produced through Passing Parade Films Inc., an affiliated company, accounted for approximately $1.4 million of gross income. (This past year, too, Roach Productions turned out six as-yet-unsold pilot films that cost roughly $30-50,000 each. These include Pulitzer Prize Playhouse, Jacques and Jill with the husband-and-wife team of Robert Sterling and Ann Jeffreys of Topper fame; The Joe Dimaggio Show, The Bette Davis Show; The Ben Blue Show, and Women of the West. These and two others now are being screened by advertisers and agencies.) In terms of syndication, for the 52 weeks that ended last Aug. 31, 16% of the company's gross revenue came from properties sold to stations and local advertisers. Among the properties it syndicates are 126 My Little Margie episodes (through Official Films); 130 Trouble With Father (formerly Stu Erwin) films (also through Official); 69 Public Defender episodes (through Interstate Tv); 98 Racket Squad shows (through ABC Filmed Syndication); 35 Screen Directors Playhouse programs (through RKO-General Teleradio); 12 Charles Farrell shows and 26 Blondie programs (both through California National Productions). • Margie, contracted to run through 1962 on a syndicated basis, earned $2.7 million during its May 1952-April 1955 CBS-TV run and to date has earned an excess of $820,000 from syndication. Racket Squad, which made the company $1.5 million during its May 1951 -October 1953 CBS-TV network exposure, since then has pulled in close to $2 million from syndication. After deduction of costs (production as well as studio overhead), Margie has earned $683,000 net profit before taxes and Racket Squad $2 million net profit before taxes. • In the seven syndicated properties, Roach reportedly has a guaranteed income over the next few years of roughly $2.4 million, of which about $1.1 million was realized as of Aug. 31. Mr. Roach and his underwriters point out, however, that in the cases of Margie and Racket Squad as well as other properties accounted for on his credit ledger, actual earnings are not fully reflected in the report made to the brokers because of prior commitments. Both series were produced before the organization of the present company. Furthermore, Mr. Roach sold a 50% interest in Margie to finance production costs; in the case of Racket Squad, he sold the distribution rights to Rabco Tv Productions Inc., a Roach-affiliated company that is owned jointly (50-50) by Roach and ABC Film Syndication Inc., AB-PT Division. • Rabco during the 1957 fiscal year earned $63,431.74 for the Roach company from rental of studio facilities and "services" in connection with ABC Film Syndication's Code 3. In addition, Rabco owns 39 Passport to Danger episode starring Cesar Ro mero and also owns The Forest Ranger, a pilot film. (The two other affiliate companies — Passing Parade Films and R&M Productions — contributed approximately $270,000 in gross revenue for the 1957 fiscal year, all of this coming from Telephone Time.) • On its two present network shows. Roach hopes to make a fairly substantial gain once they are placed into syndication. During the first year of syndicating 76 Gale Storm Show episodes and 30 Telephone Time programs, Roach thinks it can realize a profit before taxes of at least $2,000 an episode or a total of $212,000. Additionally, the company will be entitled to 50% of the $98,000 estimated profit from syndication of the 49 Telephone Time shows owned by Passing Parade — all of which were seen on CBS-TV last season — but not yet available for local distribution since an agreement yet remains to be worked out between Mr. Roach and John Nesbitt, former "storyteller" of the series who controls 50% of the stock on Passing Parade Films Inc. • The contract with California National Productions this past summer for the 26 Blondie and 12 Charles Farrell programs had a combined sales tag of $505,000, and it is believed that Blondie, priced at $12,500 an episode, will bring in $6,250 in yearly income per episode; Farrell, priced at $15,000 an episode, should have an income of $7,500 per episode. • Overseas, Roach is finding additional syndication income. For example, this year the studio realized an estimated net profit of $60,000 from "limited distribution" in Great Britain (via ITA, servicing Associated Rediffusion Ltd.) of 39 Our Gang comedies, retitled Little Rascals. In the field of television commercial productions, Roach has a client list of some 25 advertising agencies and accounts that include the following advertisers: American Tobacco Co., Armour & Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co., Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Co., Gulf Oil Co., Lever Bros., Pabst, Procter & Gamble, Slenderella International, Union Oil Co. and Westinghouse Electric Co. • For the 1957 fiscal year, Roach increased its tv commercial earnings nearly $873,000 to approximately $1.2 million. • Licensing of motion pictures — 47 fulllength features and 1,068 shorts and including such film classics as the original "Topper," "Of Mice and Men," "The Housekeeper's Daughter" and "Captain Fury" — accounted for approximately 6% of Roach's gross revenue during the 1957 fiscal year and between March 1955 and September this year revenues on cinema products totaled $394,636. Anheuser-Busch Buys 'Hammer' Anheuser-Busch for its Busch Bavarian beer will sponsor Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, an MCA-TV film syndicated show, in five states. The firm also bought the program in other markets for its Budweiser beer. MCA-TV said Anheuser-Busch officials signed to sponsor the series 24 hours after seeing the first pilot. States involved in the purchase are Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Iowa. Rettig, Keever Named To Head NBC's CNP Earl Rettig, a vice president and treasurer of NBC. last week was elected president of California National Productions, an NBC subsidiary, succeeding Robert D. Levitt, resigned [At Deadline, Dec. 9]. At the same time, H. Weller (Jake) Keever, vice president of NBC Television Films, a division of CNP, was elected CNP vice president and general manager. The elections were announced by Charles R. Denny, CNP board chairman and NBC executive vice president for operations, who MR. RETTIG MR. KEEVER noted that the firm's "current plans insure a record year of production and sales." CNP operations include tv film syndication (NBC Television Films), NBC Opera Company tours, network financing of Broadway shows and merchandising and licensing for NBC and film syndication shows. At the time of Mr. Levitt's departure, both NBC and CNP sources said a difference over "policy" existed and that Mr. Levitt had submitted his resignation. Mr. Rettig joined NBC in 1950 as television network operations manager after more than 20 years in the motion picture field. In 1951, he became director of tv network operations on the West Coast, then director of NBC's finance and operations in Hollywood. He was transferred on Jan. 1, 1954, to New York in charge of production and business affairs for NBC-TV, was elected a vice president a month later and vice president in charge of tv network services a year later. About a year ago, he was elevated to vice president and treasurer. His motion picture background included studio posts with Fox Studios, studio treasurer and assistant treasurer of RKO and later secretary-treasurer of Rainbow Productions. He joined Paramount Pictures when that studio acquired Rainbow. Mr. Keever joined NBC Television Films in 1951 as a salesman, became supervisor of the central division sales force (offices in Chicago) in 1953, was advanced two years later to national sales manager and was appointed director of sales for CNP in August 1956. Last July, he was elected a vice president. Hewitt to CBS-TV Film Sales Edward E. Hewitt, formerly an account executive with KGO-TV San Francisco, has been appointed manager of the San Francisco office of CBS Television Film Sales, it was announced last week. Before joining Page 50 • December 16, 1957 Broadcasting