Broadcasting Telecasting (Oct-Dec 1963)

AGREEMENT NEAR ON ARTISTS' PACTS SAG-AFTRA differences with employers have narrowed NOTHING LIKE IT IN BROADCASTING— anywhere • anytime anyhow! "50-50 CLUB" in color on WLW TV and WLW Radio 12 NOON -1:30 MON. thru FRI. the show with the Lyons share of talent I Ruth Lyons— the modern American Radio-TV phenomenon— has led her smash "50-50 Club" program through its merry paces every weekday at noon for 17 years on WLW Radio and 15 years on WLW Television, the last 6 in color. The show also includes a talented cast, all stars in their own right. Brainy newscaster-lawyer, Peter Grant; vocalists and recording artists— Bob Braun, Ruby Wright, Marian Spelman, Bonnie Lou, with Cliff Lash and his orchestra. Such an array of talent on a local show is certainly unique in broadcasting! Another Crosley Broadcasting Bulls-eye! CROSLEY COLOR TV NETWORK WLW-T WLW-D WLW-C WLW-I Television Television Television Television Cincinnati Dayton Columbus Indianapolis WLW Radio— Nation's Highest Fidelity Radio Station CROSLEY BROADCASTING CORPORATION a subsidiary of Avco The possibility of reaching an agreement shortly on new contracts between the performers union and advertisersagencies and the TV-radio networks was strengthened last week as negotiations took a bright turn with areas of differences narrowing considerably. Optimism ran high at the annual meeting last week of the Association of National Advertisers in Hot Springs, Va. (story page 66) where a report circulated that an agreement, at least in principle, might be reached by last Friday (Nov. 15) when current contracts with the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists and the Screen Actors Guild were scheduled for expiration. Union and management sources in New York agreed that "considerable progress" has been made in the past week, but were doubtful that a settlement could be effected for at least another week. They stressed there were still "some pockets of differences." They acknowledged that indications were strong that the expiration deadline would be extended pending the course of future talks. To speed up contract negotiations, union and management have set up special committees, each of which is tackling a specific part of the proposed codes. Neither management nor labor sources would divulge contract details. Presumably both sides have made concessions from their original demands, under which the unions had sought fee increases over the 1960 codes and management had countered with proposals that SAG and AFTRA called "regressive" (Broadcasting, Oct. 21). Another clue pointing to a no-strikeyet attitude on the part of labor is that the West Coast branch of the Screen Actors Guild will consider strike authorization for its negotiators at its annual meeting in Beverly Hills, Calif., today (Nov. 18). Previously, AFTRA and the New York branch of SAG had vested their representatives with the right to call a strike if necessary. The progress that has been achieved during the last week takes on special significance because only 1 1 days ago when AFTRA received strike authorization, its representatives in New York criticized sharply the industry counterdemands under discussion at that time. One AFTRA spokesman charged the industry demands amounted to a 30% reduction from the codes formulated in 1960. In the ensuing give-and-take, management undoubtedly has offered some additional concessions and the unions have relaxed their demands. Both SAG and AFTRA are negotiating with an advertiser-agency committee for a pact in the TV commercials area. AFTRA is negotiating separately with the networks and transcription companies in the recorded radio commercials and programs areas and with networks for staff announcers contracts in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and for network newsmen and by network owned and operated stations. Nielsen reports 12% radio listening rise The A. C. Nielsen Co. reported last week that summer radio listening in the average U. S. radio home in 1963 increased by 12% over 1962. The data, which was compiled from the Nielsen Radio Index, shows that during summer 1963, the average radioequipped home spent an estimated total of 22 hours and 35 minutes a week listening to family-owned radio sets. The comparable 1962 figure was slightly more than 20 hours. During this past summer, according to Nielsen, battery-portable listening accounted for 9 hours and 7 minutes or 40% of the total, an increase of 40% over the summer 1962 figure of 6 hours and 30 minutes. Auto-radio usage was up from 4 hours weekly in 1962 to about 4 hours and 39 minutes. Nielsen said line-cord receiver listening declined 8%, as compared with last year and accounted for 8 hours and 49 minutes, or 39% of the 1963 total. Nielsen noted that since approximately two-thirds of battery portable listening occurred at home, there was an overall increase in at-home radio listening, which reached 15 hours in the JulyAugust study. 'Money Talks' violates code Money Talks, a 15-minute radio series produced by Profit Research Inc., violates the National Association of Broadcasters' code of time standards, the NAB last week told subscribers. The NAB last summer (Broadcasting, July 1) cautioned subscribers that some of the programs, delivered by PRI president Sidney Walton, had commercial time as high as nine minutes. Code maximum for a single-sponsorship quarter-hour is three minutes. Further examination, NAB said, revealed that the show has not been revised and "all programs in the series . . . are considered to be in violation of the code." Profit Research owns winf Manchester, Conn., and recently bought kbon Omaha (Changing Hands, Nov. 4). 66 (BROADCAST ADVERTISING) BROADCASTING, November 18, 1963