Broadcasting Telecasting (Jan-Mar 1960)

INTERNATIONAL NINE IN LINE FOR TORONTO'S CH. 9 Hearing scheduled to see who gets the Toronto vhf goldmine Toronto's second vhf television station is on the hearing block, and there are nine bidders. Canada's Board of Broadcast Governors will meet March 14 in the Oak Room of Toronto's Union Station for a hearing to determine which applicant will get the valuable ch. 9 facility. The week long session will also hear applications for power increases for several Ontario tv stations and applications for French language tv stations in northern Ontario. Currently, CBLT (TV) is Toronto's only tv station. It is owned by the government's Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Applicants for the competing tv facility are all groups of financial interests. Most have radio station or newspaper affiliations. The Bidders • CFRB Toronto, and CKEY Toronto, are each applying individually for the one remaining vhf Toronto channel. CKFH Toronto, is a member of Baton Aldred Rogers Broadcasting Ltd., an applying group which includes the evening Toronto Telegram, film distributor Paul Nathanson, and radio-tv commentator Joel Aldred. The evening Toronto Daily Star, through its editor-in-chief, Beland Honderich, is an applicant, as is the morning Toronto Globe & Mail along with the British-owned Odeon Theatre group. The magazine publishing house Maclean-Hunter Ltd., Toronto, and the British Associated Television Ltd., have formed a syndicate for an application. The Southam Newspaper chain, with an interest in CHCH-TV Hamilton, Ont., is applying for the Toronto license along with financial interests represented by Brazilian Traction Co.'s president Henry Borden. Spence Caldwell, advertising agency and film distributor in Toronto under S.W. Caldwell Ltd.. has lined up 50 financiers to help him in his application. British Granada Television, is associated with a group of Canadian financial interests and the Canadian television comedy team of Wayne and Shuster, in an application. Other Matters • CBC is requesting a French-language television station license for Sturgeon Falls. Ont., with a French-language satellite station at Sudbury, Ont. CFCL-TV Timmins, Ont., wants an increase in power from 18.5 kw video and 9.25 kw audio to 100 kw video and 50 kw audio on ch. 6. CHCH-TV Hamilton. Ont., is seeking a power boost from 150 kw video and 90 kw audio, to 325 kw video and 182 kw audio on ch. 11. with antenna to be increased from 654 feet to 1,175 feet. CKTB St. Catharines. Ont.. wants a daytime power boost from 5 kw to 10 kw on 610 kc, and CHVC Niagara Falls, Ont., is asking for a power increase from 5 kw to 10 kw on 1600 kc. Fifty radio and television station licenses will come up for renewal. Their cases will be publicly heard. This is the second time in a year that the BBG has held such renewal hearings. Canada's fiscal year is April 1 to March 3 1 . and station licenses run for three or five fiscal years. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is applying for a satellite tv station to CBUT (TV) Vancouver, B.C., at Courtenay, B.C. on ch. 7 with 625 watts video and 375 watts audio, and antenna 454 feet above average terrain. CBC is also asking for a ch. 9 station at Nelson. B.C., with 560 watts video and 280 watts audio power and antenna 1.002 feet above average terrain, to operate as a satellite to CBUAT Trail. B.C.. itself a satellite of CBUT (TV) Vancouver. W. B. Parker is applying for a 1 kw station on 570 kc at Maguse River, Northwest Territories. Canadian unions unite A national council of broadcast unions has been established under the Canadian Labor Congress at Ottawa, Ont. The new council consists of the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists, Toronto. Ont.; National Assn. of Broadcast Employees and Technicians, Russians have an even taller story Russia is planning to build the tallest man-made structure in the world — a tv tower in Moscow. This is the information Richard E. Jones, vice president of WQTE Detroit, says he coaxed from behind the Iron Curtain after nearly four months of work. The coaxing was aided by accident, according to Mr. Jones. Initially, he sent a list of 20 questions about Red radio to the Soviet Embassy in Washington. He got no appreciable results. But, by accident, Ed McKenzie, WQTE d.j. and a former radio engineer, tuned in on Radio Moscow and heard the station reading and answering some of his questions. The tape he made of that monitoring was broadcast on WQTE Saturday, Feb. 20. According to Mr. McKenzie, the Russians, in answering questions concerning Red tv, said that they were planning to build a tv tower 1,667 ft. high with a restaurant and two observation platforms at 1,312 ft. This would make the structure somewhat taller than the Empire State Building (1,472 ft.). The building will be of reinforced concrete and is apparently part of a seven-year plan to add 100 new Russian tv stations, a report from WQTE stated. Other information culled from the broadcast: The Russians have symphonic music, weather reports, news broadcasts, dramatic plays, records, children's shows, cartoons and educational programs on their radio and tv networks. They broadcast on short wave, long wave and medium wave, have an experimental tv color transmitter and have no sponsored programs '"aimed at profit from advertisers." They do not have ratings for programs, but "hundreds of thousands of letters are taken into consideration." They play few records, but tape recordings are popular. According to Mr. Jones, other questions of the original 20 are to be answered on a later program. These questions are concerned with whether the Russians have stereo sound, use old movies on tv and which sports are popular. "We believe this is the first direct exchange of information between a Russian and an American radio station," Mr. Jones said. 80 BROADCASTING, February 29, 1960