Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1958)

ADVERTISERS & AGENCIES continued U.S. TV SETS: HOW MANY AND WHERE UNITED STATES STANDARD METROPOLITAN AREAS Inside Outside URBAN AND RURAL RESIDENCE Urban Rural Nonfarm Rural Farm TYPE OF HOUSEHOLD Husband-Wife All Other CENSUS REGIONS & DIVISIONS Northeast New England Middle Atlantic North Central East North Central West North Central South South Atlantic East South Central West South Central West No. of Tv Households (000) Percent of Tv Households Mountain Pacific Total 41,924 26,922 15,002 28,354 9,959 3,611 33,945 7,979 11,355 2,609 8,746 13,098 9,471 3,627 10,827 5,056 2,293 3,478 6,644 1,499 5,145 One-Set 38,507 24,025 14,482 25,730 9,236 3,541 30,912 7,595 10,128 2,409 7,719 12,097 8,549 3,548 10,204 4,760 2,199 3,245 6,078 1,417 4,661 Multi-Set One-Set Multi-Set No. of Tv Sets In Households Total Av. (Mean) 3,417 91.8 8.2 45,592 2,897 520 2,624 723 70 3,033 384 1,227 200 1,027 1,001 922 79 623 296 94 233 566 82 484 89.2 96.5 90.7 92.7 98.1 91.1 95.2 89.2 92.3 88.3 92.4 90.3 97.8 94.2 94.1 95.9 93.3 91,5 94.5 90.6 10.8 3.5 9.3 7.3 1.9 8.9 4.8 10.8 7.7 11.7 7.6 9.7 2.2 5.8 5.9 4.1 6.7 8.5 5.5 9.4 30,030 15,162 31,174 10,732 3,686 37,208 8,384 12,672 2,821 9,851 14,191 10,483 3,708 11,492 5,372 2,394 3,726 7,237 1,585 5,652 1.09 1.12 1.04 1.10 1.08 1.02 1.10 1.05 1.12 1.08 1.13 1.08 1.11 1.02 1.06 1.06 1.04 1.07 1.09 1.06 1.10 Source: Estimates by ARF based on data from U. S. Bureau of the Census. EIGHTY-THREE PERCENT of U. S. households had television sets in January, according to the Census Bureau. The sixth tv set tabulation since 1950 showed a total of 41,924,000 homes with receivers. The figure compares with 39,800,000 (80.2%) in April 1957; 37,410,000 (76.1%) in August 1956; 35,495,000 (72.8%) in February-March 1956 and 32,106,000 (67.2%) in June 1955. The 1950 decennial census showed that 12% of U. S. homes had tv receivers. An increase of nearly 10 million tv homes since June 1955 was shown by the survey, with one out of 12 homes having more than one tv set. The survey was conducted at the request of Advertising Research Foundation and financed by ABC-TV, CBS-TV, NBCTV, NAB and Television Bureau of Advertising. The Census Bureau obtained information on tv sets from 35,000 households in 330 areas comprising 638 counties and independent cities. The probability of error in the 83.2% tv set saturation figure was estimated at 0.4 percentage points. ARF estimated the number of tv households on the basis of the bureau's saturation figures. Concentration of tv households is higher inside metropolitan areas, 89%. By regions, the Northeast leads with 89% tv penetration. Highest multiple-set ownership was found in the Middle Atlantic states. MPAA-TOA's $1.7 Million Acquired by Donahue & Coe Donahue & Coe Inc., New York, last week racked up another $1.7 million in new business as the agency acquired the joint Motion Picture Assn. of AmericaTheatre Owners of America account. The MPAA-TOA business originally totaled $2.5 million of which $850,000 was placed in tv during the recent NBC-TV Oscar telecasts — spent without benefit of agency. (D&C did service middle and end commercials to the industry-sponsored extravaganza. ) Of the $1.7 million, $300,000 will be spent in radio spot — promoting cinema-going— the rest in print and "supplemental activities." D&C, presently servicing M-G-M, Allied Artists and Columbia Pictures Corp. [Advertisers & Agencies, March 24] won out over five other agencies, all with Hollywood accounts: Blaine-Thompson (Warner Theatre, First National Pictures) , Buchanan & Co. (Paramount, Warner Bros.), Monroe Greenthal Co. (United Artists, J. Arthur Rank), Charles Schlaiffer & Co. (20th Century-Fox) and Cunningham & Walsh (Universal-International) . Meanwhile, D&C took over the artwork assignments on Columbia, formerly handled by the studio direct. Columbia a fortnight ago closed its art department, shifting five people to D&C. College Advertising Seniors Surveyed on Views of Industry A survey conducted by the Assn. of Advertising Men & Women last week among 59 advertising honor college seniors visiting New York for "Inside Advertising Week" reveals that a sizable majority share the same views as many advertising leaders on the controversial subject of government regulation of advertising. The college seniors, participating in "Inside Advertising Week" as guests of the AAMW, voted against the Baltimore advertising tax by a 90% to 10% margin. Similarly, 79% of the students voted against a proposal to restrict national outdoor advertising on interstate highways, while 21% favored it. On other topics, 52% of the college seniors felt subliminal advertising would be an effective advertising technique and 48% regarded it as ineffective; 42% rated their advertising courses "excellent"; 37%, "good"; 19%, "satisfactory", and 2%, "poor." For their first advertising jobs, students said they expected the starting salary to range from $4,500 to $5,000 per year. During the week, the students attended a series of luncheons and dinners held by various companies and advertising organizations and heard talks by leaders in the field. Page 40 • April 14, 1958 Broadcasting