Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

quire a hearing because of the contest and other programming activities. The Commission said it appears the licensee, Eleven-Ten Broadcasting Corp., is not operating KRLA in accordance with programming proposals made when the station was purchased last spring. (Donald R. Cooke, station representative, purchased KRLA [then KXLA] from Loyal K. King for $900,000 [Broadcasting, March 30].) The FCC questioned whether the new KRLA owner intended to fulfill the programming promises and also stated that a review of programming logs for the week Oct. 18-24 indicates that they may have been falsified each day by the listing of religious programming which was not actually carried. On the Perry Allen contest, the Commission said that KRLA has admitted Mr. Allen actually was working for WKWB Buffalo on Sept. 4, when KRLA stated over the air that he could be found in a Los Angeles restaurant. The question thus arises, the FCC told KRLA, whether conduct of this contest constitutes an improper use of facilities inimical to the public interest. (Mr. Allen, hired by KRLA as a new personality, was "found" in Buffalo by Robert Purcell, president of KFWB Los Angeles, a Crowell-Collier station. KRLA at fii st refused to pay the prize money claimed by Mr. Purcell but after lengthy legal wrangles gave the KFWB president a check for $10,000.) A final charge of overcommercialization against KRLA was made by the Commission, which gave the station 30 days to answer. COURT BACKS FTC Tie-in promotions ruled discriminatory The U. S. Supreme Court last week upheld a three-year-old Federal Trade Commission complaint against merchandising tie-in plans used by many networks and radio-tv stations. In denying a petition to review, the Supreme Court left standing a June 4 Third Circuit appeals decision which upheld the FTC's cease and desist order against a group of major grocery, paper, cigarette and soft drink advertisers. The petition to review the appeals court order was made by P. Lorillard Co., makers of Old Gold cigarettes. The government agency charged in a 1956 complaint that these companies discriminated in favor of some customers when they bought time on network merchandising promotion programs (Broadcasting, July 30, 1956). Named in addition to Lorillard were: General Foods Corp., Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co. (New York), Coca-Cola Bottling Co. (New York), Sunkist Growers Inc., Sunshine Biscuits Inc., Piehl Brothers (beer), Hudson Pulp & Paper Corp. and Groveton Papers Co. Attacked were tie-in promotions which worked this way. A network station would make an arrangement with a local retail chain grocery or drug company to display products advertised over the air in exchange for free spots in behalf of the chain over the station. The station would then sell a major advertiser (whose products were carried by the chain) time on a program or spots at regular card rates with the understanding that the product advertised would be given in-store display space. The FTC charged that this constituted a promotional allowance by the advertiser to the chain store which provided the display. This is banned under the Clayton Act which forbids discriminatory treatment of customers. Named in the FTC complaint, but not as defendants, were ABC, CBS and NBC. Merchandising plans identified were ABC's "Mass Marketing" in tv and "Radioizing" in radio, CBS' "Super Marketing," and NBC's "Chain Lightning" The trade commission claimed The Nation's CELEBRATED Most UHF Station Becomes STATION EC-TV ACTlOti PROGRAMS MAXIMUM POWER DUAL FACILITIES Moved from UHF station channel 15 to VHF channel 13 "Nothing Succeeds Like Success." This can very well be the mottoforfabu. lous WVEC TV. For six years a remarkably successful "U" station, WVEC TV this past month became a "V." Trendex shows that it s on ■ts way to becoming "THE" Tidewater station. If it's Sales Action you desire . . . then make Virginia's new ACTION station a "Must." WVEC Represented by Avery Knodel NORFOLK, HAMPTON NEWPORT NEWS PORTSMOUTH VIRGINIA BEACH Q CHANNEL n BROADCASTING, December 21, 1959