Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

Record Details:

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Iso of j d -•li I ' I ;S I ■ : INTERNATIONAL __ COMMERCIAL TV FOR DENMARK Scandinavia’s largest set maker foresees switch soon from present government system “Commercial television in Denmark is inevitable.” So says Peter Laursen, who is on leave from Linnet & Laursen, largest manufacturer of radio and tv receivers in Scandinavia, to study American advertising and marketing. Mr. Laursen is spending his first three months in this country learning agency operations at Hixson & Jorgensen, Los Angeles. He will proceed for a visit of several weeks at NBC’s west coast headquarters in Burbank, Calif., and will then take the three-month executive and market training course offered by the Carnation Co. at its Los Angeles headquarters. After that will come similar courses with Crown Zellerbach Co. in San Francisco, Sears Roebuck in Chicago, National Cash Register Co. in Dayton, Ohio, and probably with other firms in New York. Danish television — and Danish radio, as well — is a government operation, supported by a tax on receivers, of which there are about 500,000. A single tv program service originates in studios in Copenhagen and Aarhus in Jutland and is broadcast by seven transmitters whose signals are within reach of every home in the country. There are five or six hours of programming each weekday: three hours in the evening, two or three in the afternoon, and more extended programming during the weekend, bringing the total to about 50 hours a week. There are a number of U.S. programs on Danish tv, including one western. NBC's Bonanza, Mr. Laursen said, as well as such variety shows as those of Steve Allen, Ed Sullivan and Perry Como and more serious fare like Twentieth Century. These programs are broadcast with their original English sound tracks and with Danish translations printed across the bottom of the screen. As to why he considers it inevitable that advertising will invade Danish tv, Mr. Laursen said that it’s a trend of the times. He pointed to the fact that i commercials are now permitted on tv in Germany and expressed the conviction that they can’t help moving into Denmark. 'And once any one of the Scandinavian countries has initiated commercial television, the others will have to follow. " he stated. He admits he is amazed and sometimes annoyed by the advertising he sees on tv and hears on radio. Advertising for any medical product is prohibited in Denmark and he finds it hard to appreciate the race of two headache powders through a glass representation of a human digestive tract. Some of the “cute” radio commercials strike him as more silly than amusing. And tv ads that try to prove something with demonstrations frequently leave him unconvinced of anything except the credulence of the American public. “Such advertising would produce nothing but laughter in Denmark,” he states solemnly. Mr. Laursen has no doubt of their effectiveness in the United States, however. He is tremendously impressed with the thorough professionalism of American advertising, he says. “It really sells. It’s designed and planned and researched to do a job and it does it with fantastic success.” He’s hoping to pick up some of the American advertising know-how to take back to Denmark and put to work for the set-building firm his father founded. Central American tv group issues rates Advantages of buying into the newlyformed Central American Television Network in five countries on a “spot” basis were outlined by ABC’s International Div. and CATVN officials in twin Mexico City and Chicago sales presentations to internationally-oriented agencies, and advertisers during the past fortnight. Coincident with the presentations, produced by the ABC-TV Sales Dept., was the introduction of John H. Mitchell, formerly vice president of KGOAM-TV San Francisco, as CATVN manager. Stephen Mann, formerly with Intercontinental Services Ltd., is sales manager. The network, formed last February and owned jointly by Central American Stations and AB-PT Inc., also issued its rate card No. 1, effective May 1. Agencies and advertisers were told of marketing and population booms, concurrent with lifting of import barriers, affecting TG-BOL-TV Guatemala City, Guatemala; YSEB-TV El Salvador, San Salvador; HRTG-TV Tegucigalpa, Honduras; YNSA-TV Managua, Nicaragua, and Televisora de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica (operating as of last week). Together the CATVN area claims about 50,000 sets, with predictions of a rise to about 55,000 by July 1. CATVN claims it will reach over 34,000 homes during an average minute in peak viewing time — or over 184,000 viewers. CATVN added it has arranged to market new American-made 17-inch sets about one-half current cost. ABC is placing capital, manpower and operational experience behind CATVN. Operationally, network and local station time procedures will prevail for the network, whose stations are not presently interconnected. They will receive Warner Bros, properties ( Maverick, 77 Sunset Strip, Cheyenne, etc.) and Bing Crosby tv specials, according to Mr. Mitchell. Others participating in the presentation were Donald W. Coyle, vice president in charge of ABC’s International Div., and Jack Singer, ABC-TV Sales Dept, who noted that many top agencies are adding or expanding their international offices. Officers were named last week for ... a fully transistorized, batteryoperated, portable tape recorder of network recording quality. AMAZING OPERATING EFFICIENCY . . No other recorder can do the job of Minitape. Where you go, Minitape goes, with its own power and precision recording unit in one compact aluminum case. Minitape weighs only 13 pounds and equals the finest AC-operated units in recording quality. • Automatic volume control by transistor amplifiers holds constant full recording level from lip distance to 10 ft. • Flat frequency response to 10,000 cycles at 7Vi ips. • 2 hours continuous recording on one charge. Lifetime nickel cadmium battery. Write for prices and specifications , BROADCASTING, May 16, 1960