Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1958)

GOVERNMENT continued CBS Gets Ch. 4 Okay; Ch. 1 1 Action Deferred I tic FCC last ueck worked out .1 solution in the much-disputed case of chs. 4 and 11 in St. loins. 1 he Commission in effect told CBS it was all right to close its S4 million purchase of ch. 4 KWK-TV St. Louis and at the same time, it put ch. 11. which the network had won in comparative hearing, on ice. The Commission announced that within 60 days following the issuance of a final and "unappealable" order terminating the ch. I 1 court proceeding, the FCC will tell CBS what to do about ch. 11. Late last year, CBS bought ch. 4 KWKTV for $4 million, intending for it to become KMOX-TV. and tossed ch. 11. which it had acquired in a long, drawn out comparative hearing, to one of the unsuccessful applicants, 220 Television Inc. 220 Television then proceeded to make an agreement with two other unsuccessful applicants whereby each will share in owning ch. 1 1 [Stations, Oct. 28, 1957J. St. Louis Amusement Co.. which had dropped out of the hearing over ch. 1 I in i he he I io I that CBS had the contest sewed up. took its grievance to the U. S. Court of Appeals in Washington and obtained a temporary stay against consummation of the ch. 1 1 deal [Government. Jan. 6]. Last week the court refused an FCC appeal to reverse itself, and the stay continues. St. Louis Amusement Co. for its part. last week asked the Commission to declare ch. 1 1 "forfeited" and to deny CBS' request for an extension of time to construct on that channel. The entire ch. 4 and 1 I case is made more complex by the fact that another station sale in St. Louis depends upon its outcome. The St. Louis Globe-Democrat, which has purchased 25.2'7 of KTVI (TV) St. Louis, must wait until the sale of KWK-TV goes through to complete its own purchase. The newspaper owns 23% of the KWK-TV selling group. Babcock to FTC Executive Director Harry A. Babcock, director of the Federal Trade Commission's bureau of investigation, has been appointed executive director of the agency, it was announced last week by FTC Chairman John W. Gwynne. He succeeds Alex Akerman Jr.. who resigned to enter private law practice. In his new post he will coordinate work of the investigation, litigation and economics bureaus in case development and prosecution in addition to directing commission service activities. Mr. Babcock's successor has not been announced. Shift in ch. 13 Contested The New Jersey General Assembly, with the Senate concurring, has adopted a resolution urging FCC to retain ch. 13 Newark as a New Jersey channel. Ch. 13 WATV (TV) Newark is the only vhf station allocated to New Jersey and the only tv sta C-L-U • • * Get it, Smidley . . . EXCLUSIVE! This KIMA-TV with its satellites is not just number one in the market . . . but the ONLY one in the market. Ever see such a neat, one-buy, four-station, three-state package? A big market — over 500,000. A wealthy market — nearly a billion dollars. It's enough to make the average time-buyer do flip-flops. Right, Smidley? Right! Quite a market . . . Eating and drinking.. .$45,1 26,000 Lumber and building materials.. $87, 656, 000 Source; 1957 "Survey of Buying Power" NATIONAL REP: WEED TELEVISION KIMA-TV YAKIMA, WASHINGTON with its satellites KIPR-TV, Pasco, Wash. KLtW-TV, LewistM, Idaho and K8ASTV tphrata. Moses lake, Wash. CASCADE BROADCASTING COMPANY PACIFIC NORTHWEST: MOORE & ASSOCIATES Paee 68 March 3, I95S tion operating in the state. The station was sold, along with WAAT-AM-FM Newark, late last year for $3.5 million to National Telefilm Assoc. and awaits FCC approval [Government, Nov. 4]. The Board of Regents of the U. of the State of New York has asked FCC to delete ch. 13 from New Jersey and assign it to New York for educational use. Reluctant McClatchy Withdraws From Proceeding on KBET-TV An apparently weary McClatchy Newspapers, onetime applicant for ch. 10 in Sacramento, Calif., received permission from FCC Chief Hearing Examiner James D. Cunningham last week to withdraw from proceedings on the application of Sacramento Telecasters Inc., which won ch. 10 (now KBET-TV), for a modification of its construction permit. The KBETTV application is retained in hearing status, however. The Commission grant of ch. 10 to Sacramento Telecasters in late 1954 was upheld by the courts a year later. Shortly after the grant, Sacramento Telecasters received FCC permission to modify its cp by moving its transmitter site and decreasing antenna height. Late in 1956, the U. S. Court of Appeals told the FCC to give McClatchy an evidentiary hearing on its objection to the KBET-TV cp modification [Government, Oct. 22, 1956]. The FCC ordered an evidentiary hearing on "seven narrow issues," according to an unsatisfied McClatchy. The Commission turned down a McClatchy request for a change in hearing examiners. McClatchy had had enough. ". . . [we] will be required to proceed to hearing before an examiner who has no familiarity with the history of this proceeding," declared McClatchy, '"upon issues so narrow as to make the hearing all but meaningless . . . therefore McClatchy . . . extremely reluctantly . . . withdraws." WMUR-TV Gets License Renewal The FCC last week made effective immediately a Jan. 28 initial decision by Hearing Examiner Jay A. Kyle [Government, Feb. 3] and granted the applications of The Radio Voice of New Hampshire Inc. for renewal of license and for license to cover the present operation of WMUR-TV (ch. 9) Manchester, N. H. Television for New Hampshire Inc. had requested a construction permit for a new tv station to operate on ch. 9 in Manchester. In hearing last January. Television of New Hampshire asked for dismissal of its application, stating that it had received no financial consideration for withdrawing. Conelrad Storm System Launched The Conelrad system was used last Wednesday for the first time in Louisiana to warn of an approaching tornado, the FCC has reported. A report on the tornado at Hosston, La., activated Conelrad, which was activated through the facilities of KWKH Shreveport. The special Conelrad emergency equipment in KWKH sent the tornado warning to other stations in the area. Broadcasting