Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1959)

INTERNATIONAL Moscow-U.S. dairy program exchange A proposed exchange of radio programs between dairy farmers of Oneida County in New York and those in the Krasnaya region of Russia— 200 miles northeast of Moscow — still is being worked out, according to Gerald Prouty, vice president of WREM Remsen, N.Y. The proposal for exchange of dairy information and a milk yield contest between the two areas was made by Radio Moscow after correspondence initiated by WREM about a year ago and subsequent exchange of tapes. Radio Moscow began airing a series of nine English-language programs to Oneida County via shortwave Dec. 9, twice daily at 7:45 and 10:45 p.m. The American broadcasts will be taped in Russian using WREM facilities sometime after the first of next year and a committee of farmers and agricultural leaders meets this week to decide on their format. Meanwhile, the State Dept. indicated its concern whether the American programs will be broadcast as sent and Mr. Prouty said the department will monitor to assure that they are broadcast by Radio Moscow to Krasnaya dairy farmers. Mr. Prouty said Radio Moscow has assured WREM of this and that the station and Oneida County farmers are being guided by State Dept. advice. The Agriculture Dept., which is not taking an active part in the programs and contest, will furnish whatever agricultural information Oneida farmers need for the series, Mr. Prouty said. Gayer re-elected to frequency board John B. Gayer, consulting engineer of Omaha, Dec. 11 was re-elected a member of International Frequency Registration Board, headquartered in Geneva. The 11-man organization records all frequency assignments and advises nations on appropriate safeguards against interference. A new directive was given board members by the International Radio Conference in Geneva to perform assignments not as representatives of their respective countries but as "impartial custodians of an international public trust." The board also was entrusted with the task of preparing a new international high frequency (shortwave) broadcasting plan as well as establishment of an international frequency list. Other members: Fioravanti Dellamula, Argentina; Alfonso Hernandez Cata, Cuba; Rene Petit, France; John Gracie, United Kingdom; Mieczyslaw Flisak, Poland; Nicolai Ivanovich Krasnosselski, USSR; Noel Robert, South Africa; Tai Kuang Wang, China; Shin Ichi Hase, Japan, and M. N. Mirza, Pakistan. The plenipotentiary conference also adopted a resolution regarding peaceful uses of outer space communications and instructed the secretary-general to inform the United Nations and other international organizations of studies being undertaken in this field (Broadcasting, Dec. 7). CBC answers critics The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has "never succumbed to political or commercial control," Alphonse Ouimet, president of CBC stated at Toronto on December 7. Speaking at a Canadian Club luncheon on the recent criticism of the government-owned broadcasting organization he emphasized that "I know of no intention at efforts to dominate the CBC. Wilful threats to broadcasting freedoms are few and far between. . . . There have been times during the last 25 years when the strong currents which eddy about our democratic life have seemed to threaten some of the freedoms of our broadcasting system. ... I think most Canadians, having seen what has happened in other countries realize that the freedom of their national broadcasting is one of their most precious assets." Seven applicants for tv in Montreal Seven applications for a second Montreal, Que., television station were filed with the Canadian Department of Transport, Ottawa, on November 30. Hearings are to be held next March at Montreal by the Board of Broadcast Governors. Three applications for an English-language station and four for a French-language station were filed with the department. CFCF Montreal, which first applied for a tv station license 20 years ago, along with Sovereign Films Distributors Ltd., and Mount Royal Independent Television Ltd., applied for an English station license. Latter is an investment group, not in broadcasting now, and Sovereign Films has minority interests through other film companies in CHCH-TV Hamilton Ont., and CKLWTV Windsor-Detroit. French-language applicants are CKAC Montreal and its parent newspaper Montreal La Presse, which also applied for a tv station license many years ago; CKVL Verdun, Que., (a Montreal suburb) and United Amusement Corp. Ltd.; Raymond Crepault, majority owner of CJMS Montreal; and Paul L'Anglais, film producer and France-Film, a French-language film distributing company. Canadian tv revenue Canadian national television billings in the year October 1, 1958, to September 30, 1959, totalled $45,723,572, according to the Broadcast Advertising Bureau of the Canadian Assn. of Broadcasters. This is the first such estimate made on Canadian television. It was compiled from reports by Canadian and U.S. station representative firms and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. to an independent auditing firm: Boyce, McCay, Duff & Co., of Ottawa, Ont. BAB sales director Karl Steeves at Toronto, estimated an additional $20 million in local business on Canadian tv stations in the year. He estimated that the third quarter of 1959 will exceed $13 million in commissionable national business. Canadian set sales Canadian television set sales for the first ten months of 1959 totaled 327,632 units as against 338,895 in last year's similar period. Radio set sales were up from 434,432 in the January-October 1958 period, to 482,281 sets in the 1959 period, according to figures released by the Electronics Industries Assn. of Canada. In both cases Ontario accounted for most sales — 124,415 tv sets and 218,718 radio receivers. Quebec province followed with 76,000 tv sets and 115,723 radio sets. Of total radio receiver sales in the first ten months of 1959, 79,860 were portables, and 100,788 were for automobiles. Tv 'co-production' An increase in co-production in Europe is anticipated by Kenneth Herts, president of Herts Lion, a Hollywood tv film production company. Mr. Herts returned to the U.S. last week after signing agreements with a Swedish 63 BROADCASTING, December 21, 1959