The Exhibitor (1961)

ABC International Firm T o Aid World-Wide TV NEW YORK — The formation of ABC Inter¬ national Television, Inc., as a new whollyowned subsidiary of American BroadcastingParamount Theatres, Inc., was announced by Leonard H. Goldenson, president of AB-PT. Goldenson also announced that Donald W. Coyle, who has been ABC vice-president in charge of the international division, was elected president of ABC International Tele¬ vision, Inc. Discussing the formation of the new com¬ pany, Goldenson stated, “ABC’s objective is to cooperate in and assist with the develop¬ ment of television throughout the world into the successful and effective medium it has become in the United States. Through ABC International Television, Inc., it is hoped that we can make a major contribution toward this end by providing those stations with whom we establish a relationship abroad with every aspect of our technical knowledge, programming, sales, and administrative ex¬ perience.” Coyle, who has been vice-president in charge of the ABC international division since it was formed in 1959, joined ABC in 1950 as a research writer. He was promoted successively to director of research for ABC Television, and then director of sales develop¬ ment and research for ABC-TV in Febru¬ ary, 1956. He was elected vice-president in March, 1957, and became vice-president and general sales manager of the television network in September, 1958. AB-PT already has minority interest in a nurpber of foreign television stations and helped establish the Central American Tele¬ vision Network — the world’s first interna¬ tional commercial television network which is comprised of stations in five Central Ameri¬ can countries — Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Minority interests are also held by AB-PT in VeneVision, S.A., a new TV network in Venezuela, whose key station in Caracas went on the air this past February; in Primera Television Ecuatoriana, S. A., the first com¬ mercial television station in Ecuador; in Tele¬ vision du Liban et du Proche Orient, Lebanon, which is scheduled to begin operations later this year; and in News Limited of Australia, whose TV station interests include NWS-TV in Adelaide and QTQ-9 in Brisbane. Earlier this month, AB-PT signed an agrement with Dicon Difusion Contemporanea, S.A. of Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is scheduled to inaugurate commercial telecasting on Channel 11 this coming June. U-l Unveils Multiple Run DETROIT — For the first time in local mo¬ tion picture history. Universal has unveiled a new policy of booking multiple first-runs as a consistent program on its major releases, playing neighborhood and drive-ins rather than downtown as is currently done. The reasons for the change are understood to be that Universal with the cooperation of many theatres could place a stronger exploi¬ tation campaign behind multiple runs and that they offered a faster playoff than the traditional downtown showcases. Universal experimented with the policy on “The Great Imposter” recently and re¬ portedly found the results so satisfactory that it is releasing a whole group of pictures locally on the same plan including “The Secret Ways,” which is current in 28 out¬ lying theatres. CO slitfing CHARLES DRAKE • VIRGINIA GREY • JULIA MEADE Cecil Kellaway • Beulah Bondi • Edgar Buchanan • Gigi Perreau Juanita Moore -screenplay by OSCAR BRODNEY. Directed by HARRY KELLER Produced by ROSS HUNTER • A UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL PICTURE TKerei res a NEW for your FAMILY AUDIENCES Coming this dmmer! April 26, 1961 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 13