Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1957)

GOVERNMENT continued PROGRAM SERVICES William Bray (R-Ind.), calls for the establishment of a three-man commission to study the current use of the radio spectrum, with emphasis on that portion allocated to the military. Several trade organizations have called for passage of the measure and Sen. Potter and Rep. Bray have been active in lining up congressional support. Among other major broadcasting bills pending before the Senate committee are S 1369 (Sen. Magnuson) and S 1437 (Sen. Albert Gore D-Tenn.) — to establish stricter requirements for a political candidate to be eligible for equal time; S 1367 (Sen. Magnuson) — to prohibit broadcasting of horse and dog racing information; S 1577 (Sen. Potter) — to repeal protest provision of the Communications Act; S 1759 (Sen. Magnuson) — increase license periods of broadcast stations to five years; S 2119 (Sen. Magnuson) — to appropriate up to $1 million to each state for educational tv. John Black, a member of the committee's staff, has been assigned to work in communications matters with Nick Zapple, communications counsel who formerly has borne the committee's entire broadcasting workload. Mr. Black, who has moved into Mr. Zapple's office, also will devote some time to proposed aviation legislation. FCC Extends Comments Deadline For Proposal on Vhf Boosters The FCC, acting on the request of Colorado Gov. Stephen McNichols, has extended the deadline for comments on a proposal to authorize low-power vhf booster "repeater" stations from Dec. 15 to Jan. 15, and reply comments from Jan. 14 to Feb. 14. Gov. McNichols made the request on behalf of the Colorado Tv Repeater Assn. Four comments, all favoring the proposal, already have been filed with the Commission. Adler Electronics Inc., prominent in the development and manufacture of translators, urged authorization of the repeater stations but with "many more relaxations in the requirements for establishment and operation than have been proposed." KXLY-TV Spokane, Wash., and KELPTV El Paso, Tex. (under joint ownership), told the FCC it is "unreasonable to believe the Commission can fully eliminate them [repeaters]." KXLY-TV said that it probably has more "so-called illegal boosters using its signals than any other station in the country" and the only feasible solution is to validate repeater stations. While favoring the proposal, the Washington State Tv Reflector Assn. asked the Commission to liberalize its equipment requirements and stipulations regarding onduty licensed operators. The California Co., with oil holdings and several hundred employes in northwest Colorado, also asked that the boosters be legalized. FCC to Review Ch. 18 Case The FCC has put off the Oct. 31 initial decision of Examiner Charles J. Frederick to grant ch. 18 in Baton Rouge, La., to Port City Television Co., pending "further review by the Commission." The grant, which would have become effective on Dec. 1 1, had been contested by Bayou Broadcasting Corp. prior to the initial decision. It is official operating procedure for initial decisions to be finalized 40 days after they are made, though in most cases the FCC requires more time for a review. Rep. Jere Cooper Dies; Headed House Ways & Means Committee Rep. Jere Cooper (D-Tenn.), 64, chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, died last Wednesday in the Bethesda (Md.) Naval Hospital following a heart attack. The 28-year veteran of Congress had suffered what was described as a "mild" heart attack Dec. 4 and was reported to be on the way to a "full and complete recovery," prior to the Wednesday relapse. The death of Rep. Cooper put Rep. Wilbur D. Mills (D-Ark.) in line for the Ways & Means chairmanship, and also to succeed Rep. Cooper as head of the Democratic Committee on Committees, which assigns party members to committees. Rep. Mills is an outspoken foe of tax cuts but has urged correction of certain "inequities." Rep. Cooper had been a member of the Ways & Means Committee since 1932 and became chairman in 1955. He is survived by a brother and three sisters. Stations, Aviation Interests Protest Selma-Montgomery Move Two tv stations, the Air Force and other aviation interests teamed up last week to protest the move of a transmitter location by a Selma, Ala., tv grantee nearer to Montgomery, Ala. The stations were ch. 12 WSFA-TV and ch. 20 WCOV-TV, both Montgomery. They were objecting to the proposed move of the transmitter of ch. 8 WSLA (TV) Selma, Ala., to a point 20-odd miles outside Montgomery. The Air Force, Aircraft Owners & Pilots Assn. and Air Transport Assn., objected to the 2,000-foot antenna height proposed at the new location, claiming it was an air hazard. Arguments in favor and against the proposed move were made last week before the FCC en banc in oral argument. Last year an FCC hearing examiner recommended that WSLA's request to move and to build its 2,000-foot tower be denied. WSLA received its ch. 8 grant in 1954. Firm Asks Stay of CBS Purchase The St. Louis Amusement Co. (former Franchon-Marco Theatre interests) last week filed with the U. S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D. C, for a stay of the CBS purchase of ch. 4 KWK-TV St. Louis for $4 million. The FCC had denied the protest of St. Louis Amusement [At Deadline, Dec. 2] against the Commission's Oct. 23 approval of the KWK-TV purchase. This approval had included relinquishment by CBS of ch. 1 1 KMOX-TV St. Louis to 220 Television Inc., one of three unsuccessful applicants for that facility. PAY TV GETS OKAY IN LOS ANGELES • But hitches may develop • Veto or referendum possible The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, by an eight to six vote, approved the two city ordinances required to put into effect the two franchises for the right to install and operate toll tv closed-circuit systems in the city granted earlier to Skiatron Tv Inc. and jointly to International Telemeter Corp. and Fox West Coast Theatres [Program Services, Oct. 21]. Now the two franchise grantees can proceed to install the cables needed to transmit their toll tv programs from the point" of origin to the homes of subscribers, once the telephone company has agreed at what price and under what conditions it will permit the use of its poles to support the cables needed by the toll tv operators. That is, the two franchise holders can proceed if the council's approval of the enabling ordinances is allowed to stand. Councilman Earle D. Baker, in opposing approval of the ordinances at this time, expressed the view that the mayor might veto such action; another hindrance, considered more likely by most observers, could be a petition signed by a sufficient number of voters to make the franchise grants a subject for a public referendum. Such a referendum was threatened by the Southern California Theatre Owners Assn., which urged the council to delay its vote for 90 days to give Congress time to take national action on pay tv. In a statement read by Julius Tuchler, SCTOA argued that even with immediate council approval, the toll tv operators could not possibly wire the city of Los Angeles in time for the 1958 baseball season, so they would lose nothing by the delay. But should the council approve the ordinances, SCTOA declared, "you offer us no hope but to turn to referendum." (Previous council approval of a contract giving the Los Angeles Dodgers a block of city property for use as a ball park already has been challenged by a petition with enough signatures to force that matter to be presented to the public for decision, so that the possibility of similar action on the toll tv question is much more than an idle threat). Both prospective toll tv operators protested vigorously against being tied to the Los Angeles Dodgers, arguing that while the tv rights to the games might be desirable the program service contemplated for toll tv is much broader than these baseball telecasts. Jerome Doff, Skiatron vice president, and Chester Lappen, vice president of International Telemeter Corp., pointed out that their companies had gone through months of hearings, had complied with all the requirements of the city and had posted $100,000 bonds to guarantee performance, all just for the chance of offering their service to the public, with each family free to decide for itself whether it wants either or both services and then, having been connected, to further decide Page 68 • December 23, 1957 Broadcasting