Broadcasting Telecasting (Apr-Jun 1962)

spots on WTAL Toledo. They were effective and he wound up as owner of the 50 w station. Call letters were changed to WSPD, symbolic of the gasoline brand. In the spring of 1928 WSPD was putting out 250 w and became the eighth member of the young CBS network. That's how Storer Broadcasting Co. began. The next station was WGHP Detroit, which later became WXYZ. The Storer group has kept growing, acquiring more stations and entering larger markets. Radio-Minded Plumber ■ The first commercial of WIP Philadelphia was on behalf of Hajoca Plumbing Supplies. The sale was made on a Gimbel's department stores sales slip, just like selling a pair of shoes. WMAQ Chicago, NBC o&o station, recalls its origination of its first commercial network program starting in March 1925. The station presented a series of concerts for Victor Phonograph Co. over an improvised hook of 22 stations. It joined NBC in January 1927, moved to CBS the next September, and back to NBC when acquired by that network. The details are a bit vague but the message was eloquent when WHAS Louisville signed its first sponsor, a Chicago tobacco firm. The advertiser offered three free cigars for response Popular sponsored program of the early 1920's was the "Ray-o-Vac Twins" on WJAM Cedar Rapids, forerunner of today's WMT. The "twins" were Ross Wildey (I) and Billy Sheehan. to his spot announcement. The second week he wired, "For God's sake, quit." WHAS explained, "He was swamped." 56 Hours a Week ■ WHN New York went commercial in 1932, but not very commercial. Then in 1934 Sam Faust, still at WHN, started selling. Adam Hats bought 56 hours a week for a full year in 1934. Afterward it became a regular sponsor for many years. Mr. Faust's first sale was to Chauteau Martin Wines, a sponsor that has remained on WHN 28 years. He recalls the time a kid named Judy Garland was given a tryout on the WHN Amateur Hour. Audience reaction was wild. Judy took it from there. WWJ Detroit, which made its debut in 1920, acquired a sponsor in February 1922 after the Detroit Symphony had broadcast a concert. "Thereafter, all remaining concerts during the season were broadcast, and the series was sponsored by the Detroit Bank," WWJ recalls. Expressions of appreciation and contributions came from distant areas, including Cuba. The business side of broadcasting at one station was described this way: "WJAG (Norfolk, Neb.) remained strictly a news and public service projection of the daily newspaper of Gene Huse (Norfolk Daily News) until February 1926, when the increasing cost demands of his avocation created a necessity for accepting commercial revenue." Many of the station's records were lost in a flood. Mr. Huse, who died in 1961, had operated experimentally as early as 1912. The first advertiser was Carberry Seed Co., 1926. Eight others were signed in 1927, including Ryal-Miller Chevrolet. Buchanan-Thomas, Omaha agency, was the fourth sponsor signed. Church Sponsor ■ When WNBH New Bedford, Mass., moved into a flossy hotel suite in 1925 its owner, Irving Vermilya, started looking around for some way to pay the bills. One of the first to agree to buy time was the local Unitarian Church which had been originating a program several years. The program is still on the air. "Advertising snowballed and we balanced the books, and more," Mr. Vermilya said. The first sponsor on KGW Portland, Ore., was an infantry captain who had a polo saddle for sale. That was in 1925 — the first and last commercial for quite a while. The first big client was Standard Oil Co. of California, which paid $100 a spot for six spots. The first rate card listed spots from $1 to $100 a minute, offering a tremendous discount. A florist account has been on since the mid-20s. Still on KGY Olympia, Wash., is Mottman's Mercantile Co., which started in 1927. Back in 1924 Earl Glade sold an hour to Salt Lake Knitting Co. for KSL Salt Lake City. The tag was $60. The outstanding event in the early history of KNBC San Francisco, then KPO, was the payment of $2,500 to Reinald Werrenrath to sing a performance sponsored by Southern Pacific Railroad. Hale Bros, department store once owned KPO but early records indicate no attempt was made to publicize this ownership. talk about total reach! It takes a big station with big reach to wrap up the big Cincinnati market — a market busting at the seams and spilling over into more and more counties every year. Your H-R salesman will show you that big WCKY tents the market like a cover, reaching over 4,000,000 homes in 16 States at a pennies-perthousand cost! Nielsen and SRDS prove that no other station delivers so many homes for so few dollars. wcky* radio 50,000 WATTS • CINCINNATI LB Wilson Inc., Affiliate: WLBW-TV, Miami, Florida 140 BROADCASTING, May 14, 1962