The Exhibitor (1953)

EXHIBITOR 7 TOA, Allied Heads To Meet On Problems American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres , Inc., Bows As FCC Okehs New York — United Paramount Theatres and the American Broadcasting Company announced last week that the consumma¬ tion of their merger is being effected immediately following authorization of the Federal Communications Commission. Cer¬ tificates of incorporation were filed soon after the Washington announcement in Albany and Dover, Del. Leonard Goldenson, UPT president will head the new company, to be known as American Broadcasting-Paramount The¬ atres, Inc. The merger is taking place through an exchange of common stock of ABC for a combination of preferred and common stock of the new company, with ABC stockholders of 1,689,017 shares receiving 608,047 shares of $20 par preferred and 666,717 shares of common in the new company. Common stock held by UPT stockholders will remain unchanged. The company will operate the owned radio and television stations in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, in addition to the nationwide ABC radio and television networks. The Balaban and Katz-owned TV station in Chicago was sold to the Columbia Broad¬ casting System for $6,000,000 under the FCC rule that no network may operate more than one station in any one city. Theatre operations of the new company will continue to be conducted on a de¬ centralized basis by subsidiary regional companies. Goldenson promised the public improved radio and television programming on the ABC network, and Robert E. Kintner, who will continue as president, American Broadcasting Company, said that the net¬ work now has the weapons to compete more effectively with other radio and television companies. NCCJ Lauds Leaders New York — Dr. Everett R. Clinchy, president, National Conference of Chris¬ tians and Jews, announced that seven leaders in the field of communications will be honored at the “Brotherhood Week” dinner tomorrow (Feb. 19) . The list in¬ cludes Walter D. Fuller, Curtis Publishing Company, representing the magazine field; John Golden, legitimate theatre; William Randolph Hearst, Jr., newspapers; Danny Kaye, entertainment arts; David Sarnoff, radio and television and Spyros P. Skouras. motion pictures. Trade Toppers Honoring Zukor New York — Presidents, board chairmen, and top distribution executives of every company in the industry will serve on committees named by Variety Clubs In¬ ternational for the Adolph Zukor Jubilee Dinner which will be held on March 4 at the Waldorf-Astoria in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the opening of Zukor’s Union Square Penny Arcade. Officers of the merged company, other than Goldenson, president, are, from UPT, Walter W. Gross, vice-president and gen¬ eral counsel; Edward L. Hyman, Sidney M. Markley and Robert M. Weitman, vicepresidents; Robert H. O’Brien, secretarytreasurer; Simon B. Siegel, comptroller, and James L. Brown, assistant treasurer. UPT board directors are John Balaban, A. H. Blank, Robert B. Wilby, John A. Coleman, Charles T. Fisher, Jr., E. Ches¬ ter Gersten, Goldenson, Gross, Robert L. Huffines, Jr., William T. Kilborn, Wal¬ ter P. Marshall, O’Brien, and Herbert Schwartz. ABC directors joining the new board are Edward J. Noble, Kintner, Earl E. Anderson, Robert H. Hinckley, and Owen D. Young. Kintner and Hinckley will serve as vice-presidents of the new company. The FCC ruling that authorized the merger also held that Paramount con¬ trolled Allen B. DuMont Laboratories, Inc. DuMont and Paramount Pictures will be limited to the licensing of five TV stations between them, rather than the five each they desire. The decision is effective im¬ mediately, but all parties have 30 days in which they have the opportunity to request a hearing. The Commission renewed authorizations covering DuMont’s television stations WDTV, Pittsburgh; WTTG, Washington, and WABD, New York. The decision also granted the transfer to the new merged Company of six AM, six FM, and five TV stations, KECA, KECA-FM, and KECATV, Los Angeles; KGO, KGO-FM, and KGO-TV, San Francisco; WENR, WENRFM, and WENR -TV, Chicago; WXYZ, WXYZ-FM, and WXYZ-TV, Detroit; WJZ and WJZ-TV, New York, and WSMB and WSMB-FM, New Orleans. Fox, Philly, Robbed of $6,724 Philadelphia — The local Fox was robbed of $6,724 over the weekend when a masked gunman held up five employes in the office, and fled. Manager Harold L. Brason, assistant Maurice Goldberg, and three aides were the victims. UA Regime Celebrates Second Anniversary NEW YORK — United Artists will mark its second anniversary since its reorganization today (Feb. 18) with a “round-the-world” management conference by telephone. Participating will be President Ar¬ thur B. Krim, from Hollywood; Arnold M. Picker, vice-president, from Lon¬ don, and from New York, Robert S. Benjamin, board chairman; Matthew Fox, partner, and William J. Heineman and Max E. Youngstein, vice-presi¬ dents. Starr, Snaper, Myers Confab Due Within Two Weeks; Arb., 3-D, Wide Screen Under Scrutiny At Conference New York — Alfred Starr, president, Theatre Owners of America, last week re¬ ported at a press conference that he expects to meet with Allied’s Wilbur Snaper and Abram Myers within the next two weeks to discuss the subjects of arbi¬ tration, three-dimension films, and proc¬ esses, and other industry problems. He stated that TOA had no intention of attempting to present an arbitration plan of its own to the Department of Justice, preferring instead to continue to try to work things out within the con¬ fines of the industry, and not “calling the cops”, as he put it, on trade practices especially if there is a chance that some sort of arbitration plan can be evolved. As far as third-dimensional films or wide screen films are concerned, he em¬ phasized that there is a definite need for standardization acceptable to the public and exhibitors, one that won’t throw the latter for a loss, and one that can be in¬ stalled and used within present confines of most theatres. He felt that the entire problem should be resolved before the year is out. On the subject of drive-ins, Starr foresaw prob¬ lems in this field in getting wide screen projection installed due to a physical set-up which differs from four-wall sit¬ uations while 3-D, too, may come in for some study here due to the extreme need for bright light in picture presenta¬ tion. He labeled the 3-D mix-up a “freefor-all.” Starr revealed that following meeting with Allied officials, he was going to visit Europe, specifically Spain, Greece, Italy, and Turkey, on a combined business and pleasure trip. NT Reports $544,697 Profit New York — Consolidated net income after all charges of National Theatres, Inc., and voting subsidiaries for the quarter ended on Dec. 27, 1952, was announced last fortnight as $544,697, or 20l cents per share on 2,769,486 shares of stock out¬ standing. The first quarter of the current fiscal year, this is the first quarter of opera¬ tions since NT was organized as a sepa¬ rate company to operate the theatre busi¬ ness formerly conducted by Wesco The¬ atres Corporation and Roxy Theatre, Inc. Net income after all charges of Wesco and subsidiaries and Roxy combined for the quarter ended on Dec. 29, 1951, was $373,948, equivalent to 14 cents per share on National Theatres, Inc. "Brotherhood Week" Clicks New York — Sol A. Schwartz, RKO The¬ atres president and national chairman, amusement industry’s participation in ob¬ servance of the NCCJ’s “Brotherhood Week,” Feb. 15-22, announced last week that more than 900 film and legitimate houses in the New York area were mark¬ ing the event. February 18, 1953