International projectionist (Jan-Dec 1950)

search. Among moviegoers without Tv sets, movies are favored by 34%, radio by 14%, Tv by 3%. William A. Reed, charter member of Local 310, Atlantic City, and said to be the oldest living projectionist, burned to death at his home on Dec. 19. . . . "Squatting" on Tv channels was cracked down on by the FCC recently when it revoked the permit of the Raytheon Co. because of "excessive delay" in construction. . . . Distributors may put away the crying towels: domestic film rentals for 1949 were down only 1% from 1948 mark, which means a drop of only 10% from the all-time 1946 high. Divorcement of Warner Theaters from producing company sees three important interest vieing for the setup, which Lehman Brothers, N. Y. bankers, having the inside track. . . . Hollywood in 1949 turned out a record number of films classified as the "family" type by the Protestant Film Council. THEATER TELEVISION: WHAT, HOW AND WHEN (Continued from page 14) to a sponsor, but the promoter likewise may sell the theater rights to a co-operative group. The question tendered is whether it is economically feasible for the broadcast sponsor and the theater group to carry the same program. If ' a boxing bout can be viewed on home receivers, there would be no need to attend a motion picture house which would carry the same program. On the other hand, the motion picture exhibitor could integrate the boxing bout into his scheduled evening show and thus offer an added attraction to his patrons. Whether the Tv broadcast of an athletic event would curtail the box-office returns of the theater Tv group, carrying the same sports program, cannot be answered Theater Tv Educational Tie-in A dramatic foretatste of the tremendous educational opportunities inherent in theater Tv was presented when the morning session of the General Assembly of the United Nations were presented instantaneously on the 15 x 20-foot Tv screen of the Fabian-Fox Theater for 4000 Brooklyn, N.Y., junior high school students. The event, representing the first use of theater Tv for educational purposes, made the 4100-seat Flatbush Avenue Theater temporarily the world's largest classroom. The New York City Board of Education authorized release of the 4000 students from their regular classes to witness the historic program. at this time. We have neither the data nor experience to buttress our conclusions. Comparative Income Figures But suppose 10,000 exhibitors were to band together and purchase on an exclusive basis the Tv rights to the World Series. The cost of such exclusive rights could be defrayed by an admission charge to view the World Series. In this connection, there are in excess of 19,000 theaters in the United States; their total seating capacity is close to 12 million; their monthly revenues are in excess of $100 million; their yearly revenues produce a minimum revenue of $1% billion. Compare these figures with an approxi mate $500 million yearly gross broadcast revenues. It is apparent that the Tv theater group could outbid the broadcast industry for the right to exhibit the World Series. Whether there will be competitive bidding between theater and broadcast Tv cannot be determined at this time. Theater Tv does not exist on a local, let alone national, level. We do know that Tv broadcasting, particularly in the East, is one of the factors which has caused a diminution in the box-office returns of motion picture houses. It may well be that theater and broadcast Tv are non-competitive, but certainly the theaters must do something to offset TYPE "HI" TRANSVERTER tj/sifr * DELUXE THEATRES /JvC/* SMALLER THEATRES 1/ Jk DRIVE-IN THEATRES * AUDITORIUMS PLUS FEATURES 5 TYPES TYPE "LV" for Simplex High 1 KW Arcs TYPE "HI" for Suprex Type Arcs TYPE "HIH" for Suprex and Spot Arcs TYPE "MA" for 50-70 Volt Low and High Intensity Arcs TYPE "CP" for 60-75 Volt High Intensity Arcs 1. Velvet-smooth power — no A. C. ripple 2. Cool, quiet performance 3. Safe, slow operating speed 4. Economical, long-life, troublefree operation 5. Modernized, compact, hori zontal design 6. Proved experience since 1906 7. Sealed-for-life ball bearings 8. Designed for specific power supply of each installation 9. Easilyadjusted ballast rheostats Distributed by NATIONAL THEATRE SUPPLY In Canada: GENERAL THEATRE SUPPLY COMPANY MOTORS • THE HERTNER ELECTRIC COMPANY 12690 ELMWOOD AVE. • CLEVELAND 11, OHIO A General Precision Equipment Corporation Subsidiary MOTOR-GENERATORS • GENERATOR SETS INTERNATIONAL PROJECTIONIST January 1950 27