Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin (1960)

CANADA'S TDLL-TV TRIAL WILL IT BE BOOM OR BABTLESVILLE? What's What in Etobicoke? by Clifford R. Bowers Barney Balaban, the leading force behind toll television, recently told the stockholders of Paramount Pictures that the company's "theatre-in-thehome" system (Telemeter) is meeting "very encouraging" response in its Canadian trial. "Subscribers," he said, "are signing up for the services at a rate that is beyond our expectations." An entertainment weekly reported in early December that 13,000 homes in the Toronto, Ont. suburb of Etobicoke had been wired for tollvision. That story quoted Eugene E. Fitzgibbons, president of Trans Canada Telemeter as saying that the area, which Toronto's Telemeter headquarters has a potential of 40,000 homes, was already 70 percent sold. What is the actual situation in Etobicoke? Film BULLETIN asked me to get the lowdown, and here it is, direct from the scene of the latest attempt to put over the toll system. I don't know what Balaban's expectations were, but our sources revealed that at close to the year's end Trans Canada Telemeter (a subsidiary of Famous Players Canadian Corp.) had signed up only about 1,000 Etobicoke residents for the pay-TV experiment, only about 100 lead-ins had actually been dropped to the houses, and no Telemeter units had been installed as of Dec. 17. As for that trade paper story about 13,000 homes already being wired by Bell Telephone, a spokesman for Famous Players explained to Film BULLETIN that the overwhelming majority of persons inquiring about the experiment expressed favorable comments— and even acceptance in principle— about pay-TV at a reasonable cost — but that's all. Truth is, the going in Etobicoke has been slow and cautious. There is no concrete evidence as yet whether this will prove to be the first successful toll-TV installation (there have already been held a dozen failures), or whether it will prove to be another Bartlesville — ballyhoo and bust. The signing in Toronto last August of a cable-laying contract by Famous Players Canadian and the Bell Telephone Co. of Canada received little newspaper coverage, but it drew the full attention of the television and motion picture industries. That signing ushered in Canada's first experiment with wired, subscription television — an experiment which is being hailed by some, panned brothers, but watched by all for its success or failure will doubtless have enormous impact on the future of both movie business and commercial TV as it exists today. Film BULLETIN is concerned with the future of motion picture making and viewing in America. So its questions about pay-TV are based on that concern: Will pay-TV sound the death knell of the movie theatre? Will distributors and their allies become mere ly minor adjuncts of a new television industry? Is pay-as-you-see TV economically feasible? Or desirable? The Canadian experiment which is moving at a shuffle so far comes at a time when the Federal Communications Commission has offered to consider airwave-type tollvision testing permits and the United States is recuperating from the shocks of quiz fixing, payola and rigged TV commercial revelations. It comes also at a time when film distributors report an increase locally in attendance at first-run houses. This is the first upswing since the widescreen innovations gave the boxoffice a shot in the arm four or five years ago. To date the Trans-Canada Telemeter operation in Etobicoke has been conducted with little and no door-todoor canvassing. This correspondent found many who had no knowledge of the experiment and no idea of what pay-TV is, but those aware of it expressed approval. Consumer acceptance in the area which occupies about five square miles of high population density has been based by Trans-Canada Telemeter solely on inquiries. No salesmen have been knocking on doors. The firm had 5,000 explanatory booklets printed and 3,500 have been sent out to those requesting information. Residents of communities far removed from Metropolitan Toronto have inquired about service. A motel on the outskirts of Toronto asked for telemeter service last week even offering to pay line charges if it was made available. About one-third of the necessary 90 miles of coaxial cable has been installed by Bell, and this phase of the operation will be completed by the end of January. The roadblock so far has been the slow delivery of the tele(Contiiiiud on P</t'< 14) Page 8 Film BULLETIN January 4. I960