Broadcasting (Apr - June 1960)

grossed $50,000 on its first run and $20,000 on its second, would be getting $2,600 for two runs and with the royalty plan in effect instead of the present residual payment system, the second run is much more likely to be made, producers say. They assert that the high residual fees paid to writers, actors and directors discourage reruns of tv films in most cases by pushing their costs beyond that which the market will bear. They point to The Untouchables , which is being shown in Australia but has not been rerun in the United States, as an example. And they also stress that their royalty offer covers the gross from abroad as well as at home. The producers note that if they begin with paying 3% royalty fees to the writers, they’ll he forced to make similar arrangements to pay perhaps 2% to the directors and maybe 9% to the actors (on the rule-of-thumb basis that the cost of the cast of a tv film show is three times the cost of the script), or a total of 14% of the gross. Add distribution costs of 35-40% and half of the gross or more is gone, leaving half or less to cover all production costs and the producer’s profit, if any. Along with the disappointment that the writers’ strike is still on, four and a half months after its beginning last Jan. 16, there appeared to be a degree of relief among producers that the writers did not accept the royalty plan. What the writers appear to want is the producers’ proposal for an immediate increase of 10% in minimum and 5% more after two years, the pension fund provisions and all the rest of the offer, plus a percentage of the foreign revenue as included in the Ziv-UA agreement before it became unstuck. As May draws to an end, the producers can see fall and the start of a new tv season just over the horizon. Finding themselves with no programs in the can and no scripts to start actors acting and directors directing, it seemed clear to many Hollywood observers that the producers are ready to meet any reasonable demand the writers may make. And that the producers’ definition of “reasonable” is becoming broader day by day. Coverage offered The Montana Broadcasters Assn, is offering on-the-scene coverage to radio stations of the National Governors’ Conference which will be held at Glacier National Park June 26-29. It’s expected that the conference will have strong political overtones, since it comes just before the national coventions. Canada’s Prime Minister John Diefenbaker will add international overtones, when he makes the featured address. Don Weston, prize-winning Here are the next 10 days of network color shows (all times are EDT). NBC-TV May 30-31, June 1-3, 6-8 (11-11:30 a.m.) Price Is Right, participating sponsors. May 30-31, June 1-3, 6-8 (12:30-1 p.m.) It Could Be You, participating sponsors. May 31 (8:30-9:30 p.m.) Ford Startime, Ford through J. Walter Thompson. May 31, June 7 (9:30-10 p.m.) Arthur Murray Party, P. Lorillard through Lennen & Newell and Sterling Drug through Norman, Craig & Kummel. June l, 8 (8:30-9 p.m.) Price Is Right, Lever through Ogilvy, Benson & Mather and Speidel through Norman, Craig & Kummel. June 1 (9-10 p.m.) The Perry Como Kraft Music Hall, Kraft through J. Walter Thompson. June 2 (9:30-10:30 p.m.) Summer on Ice — 1960, Brewers Foundation through J. Walter Thompson. • June 3 (9:30-10 p.m.) Masquerade Party, Hazel Bishop through Donahue & Coe, Block Drugs through Grey Adv. June 4 (10-10:30 a.m.) Howdy Doody Show, Continental Baking, Nabisco through Ted Bates. June 4 (10:30-11 a.m.) Ruff and Reddy Show, Borden through Benton & Bowles. June 4 (7:30-8:30 p.m.) Bonanza, RCA through Kenyon & Eckhardt. June 5 (8-9 p.m.) Music On Ice, sustaining. June 5 (9-10 p.m.) The Chevy Mystery Show, Chevrolet through J. Walter Thompson. June 6 (10-11 p.m.) The Steve Allen Plymouth Show, Plymouth through N.W. Ayer. June 7 (8:30-9:30 p.m.) The George Burns Show, Hudnut-DuBarry through Lambert & Feasley. news director of KGVO Missoula, Mont., will head the news team giving reports to subscribers through collect telephone beeper calls. The reports will be available three times daily, lasting approximately two minutes each. The MBA charge will be $5 per call. The complete schedule or any portion can be ordered. In addition, special service calls on specific governors will be available at $15 per call. Interested stations should contact Dale G. Moore, P. O. Box 1405, Missoula. Convention reports Highlights of this summer’s two major political party conventions, packaged into hour-long daily reports suitable for broadcasting before the start of the next day’s proceedings are being offered tv stations by Convention Merry-Go-Round, 1960. Available on either tv tape or 16mm sound-onfilm, the programs will run 52 minutes each. They will combine segments from a full video tape of the official proceedings, plus analysis, commentary interviews and behind-the-scenes reports by a group of commentators headed by Drew Pearson as editor-inchief and including Stewart Alsop, Robert S. Allen, May Craig, Roscoe Drummond, Jack Anderson, Marquis Childs, Irv Kupcinet, George Dixon, Ralph McGill and Quentin Reynolds. Tele-Record Services will handle production of the programs, with Leonard Shane as producer. Production schedule calls for editing and assembling to be completed within 30 minutes of the close of the day’s convention session and to be recorded on tape within the next half-hour. Tape copies will be ready for shipment within 2Vi hours of the session’s conclusion. Illinois AP awards WGEM-AM-TV Quincy topped the list of station awards presented by the Illinois Associated Press Broadcasters Assn, at its annual meeting in Champaign May 21. WGEM-AM-TV were cited for the “best cooperation” in supplying AP with news. The awards follow, with places indicated in parenthesis: (Metropolitan — Chicago) — Best regularly scheduled news show : ( 1 ) WBBM-TV; (2) WBBM; (3) WGN. Best regularly scheduled farm show: (1) WGN; (2) WLS; (3) WBBM. Best regularly scheduled sports show: (1) WBBM; (2) WGN. Best special events coverage : ( 1 ) WGN-TV; (2) WBBM-TV; (3) WGN. Best documentary program : ( 1 ) WBBM-TV; (2) WBBM; (3) WNBQ (TV). ( Non-Metropolitan ) — Best regularly scheduled news show: (1) WSOY Decatur; (2) WTAX Springfield; (3) WVLN Olney. Best regularly scheduled farm show: (1) WVLN. Best regularly scheduled sports show: (1) WVLN. Best special events coverage: (1) WTAX; (2) WVLN. Best documentary program: (1) WLPO LaSalle. Texas news awards United Press Broadcasters of Texas has announced awards in news categories for the past year. KONO San Antonio won first place for the greatest number of stories contributed for that station’s population group and for the best news story. KELP El Paso filed the best feature story, with KONO second. KOPY Alice was runner-up for the best news story. KILE Galveston; KMID-TV Midland; KWRD Henderson, and KCYL Lampasas won for the greatest news volume for their population groups. KCBD-TV Lubbock took the award for the best newspicture submitted to UPI with special achievement and enterprise awards going to WFAA-TV Dallas; KBOX Dallas; KTBB Tyler; KILT Houston, and KXYZ Houston. 66 (PROGRAMMING) BROADCASTING, May 30, 1960