The Exhibitor (1966)

CATV Under FCC’s Jurisdiction Commission Rules All CATV Subject To Its Authority; Asks Congress To Prohibit Pay TV Over Present Cables WASHINGTON, D. C.— The Federal Com¬ munications Commission ruled recently that it possesses legal power to regulate CATV systems, including those which are all-cable, and issued mild regulations. At a press conference, E. William Henry, chairman, pointed out that Pay-TV possi¬ bilities are greatest in the largest cities. It was decided not to permit CATV service, whether microwave or cable, in any one of the nation’s top 100 markets which does not now have such services unless the CATV systems can demonstrate a need at case-by¬ case hearings. The Commission said that CATV’s would have to demonstrate they would not harm any local TV station, particularly UHF, and they would have to reveal “the relationship, if any, of proposed CATV operations and the development of pay television in that market.” The Commission reaffirmed and applied to all cable systems its current rule for microwave CATV requiring CATV’s to carry local stations. In a big concession to CATV interests, it wiped out its current regulation which prevents CATV’s from importing any pro¬ gram which would be carried by the local TV station for 15 days before and after actually carried. Now the local station will get only same-day protection from such duplication, and will not be protected at all if it is to carry a color program in black and white and the CATV would use color. The Commission also refused to issue any blanket rule prohibiting so-called leapfrog¬ ging, or importing programs from distant stations. It said it would consider these in¬ stances on a case-by-case basis where there are protests. Congress was asked by the FCC for “clari¬ fication and confirmation of FCC jurisdiction,” even though it had already asserted jurisdic¬ tion. Congress was also asked to prohibit ori¬ gination of program or other material by a General Cinema Opens Three Theatres in One Day BOSTON — The 92nd, 93rd, and 94th units in General Cinema Corporation’s rapidly expanding circuit opened in three different cities on the same day. The theatres, all known as Cinema, made their debuts in the Boulevard Mall Shopping Center, Am¬ herst, N.Y.; Dalewood Shopping Center, Hartsdale, N. Y.; and Perring Plaza Shop¬ ping Center, Baltimore, Md. Each of the openings was preceded by a press luncheon, cocktail party and ribbon cutting ceremony in which local authorities and home office executives of Bostonbased General Cinema participated. Obscenity Case Continued SPRINGFIELD, MASS. — District Court Judge Eileen P. Griffin has continued a case involving the charge of immoral motion pic¬ ture entertainment to Feb. 28. The defendants, Ronald R. Zerra, manager, and Wilbur Progulska, projectionist, at the suburban Parkway Drive-In, are free under $1,000 bail. A Police Department charge asserted that the drive-in theatre was showing “filthy and obscene” motion pictures. ABC Declares Dividend NEW YORK — Leonard H. Goldenson, presi¬ dent of American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., announced that the board of directors declared the first quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share on the outstanding common stock of the corporation, payable March 15 to holders of record on Feb. 25. CATV system, with such exemptions as the lawmakers might think proper. In other words even though FCC has de¬ cided it has the power to lay down the rules for all CATV systems, it has asked Congress to prohibit pay-TV on the systems; and also make specific provision of how CATV’s should be regulated. Production Code Report Cites ’65 Feature Gains NEW YORK — The Annual Report of the Production Code Administration for 1965 sub¬ mitted by Geoffrey Shurlock, Motion Picture Association of America vice-president and director of the P.C.A., shows that 191 fea¬ ture-length films were approved by the PCA during the year. Of this total, 175 were re¬ leased by MPA A members and 16 by non¬ members. In addition, there were 91 short subjects given Code seals. Ralph Hetzel, acting president of the MPAA, in revealing the statistics on the number of pictures handled by the Code in 1965, said: “It is heartening to note that six per cent more feature pictures were handled by the Code in 1965 than in the previous year. Even more encouraging, however, is the fact that 218 scripts were submitted during 1965, a 12 per cent increase over the 1964 total. Many of these 1965 scripts will come through as completed films in 1966.” All members of the MPAA voluntarily sub¬ mit to the Production Code all films re¬ leased under their companies’ name. The 1965 Annual Report also recognized the passing of Joseph I. Breen, who estab¬ lished the P.C.A. in 1934 and served as its director for twenty years. Also, Milton E. Hodenfield, a member of the PCA staff since 1942, died during 1965. Prior to his associa¬ tion with the P.C.A. he served as a secretary to the late Will H. Hays, first president of the Association. D-l Seeks Twin Status HARTFORD — General Cinema Corporation has announced plans to introduce the “twinscreen” idea to metropolitan Hartford. The company’s 2,070-car capacity Meadows Drive-In, largest outdoor facility in Con¬ necticut, would be converted to two theatres through installation of a second screen. Car capacity on one side would be 1,200, and on the other, 900. General Cinema submitted a variance re¬ quest for Zoning Board of Appeals hearing. Conversion cost was not disclosed. EDITORIAL — Continued from page 3 part of the public, and the entire industry benefitted. Change is both desirable and inevitable, and playoff pat¬ terns certainly have changed over the years. However, where change makes a situation worse instead of better, it is neces¬ sary to examine the facts and to determine whether the indus¬ try is truly moving in the right direction. This is true in the motion picture industry today. Many theatres have moved into first-run status because they merit such consideration. Other former neighborhood situations, however, are being sold first-run films today for no reason other than that they have agreed to participate in a suicidal bidding war. Some are not able to gross in two weeks what an established first-run theatre can take in in a single week. Experience should have taught distributors that they are living in a fool’s paradise when they award first-run films to theatres that can’t possibly gross as much as they guarantee. And yet we see such bidding battles become more and more bitter as desperate men hope for miracles. Imagine a theatre grossing less than $1,000 weekly, bidding for first-run product, and getting such films quite often. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the bubble must burst eventually. It must be deduced that the distributor is seeking to further tighten an already choked product market in the hope that the short-term profit will overcome the long-range loss. Lost in the shuffle and left to die is the exhibitor who gambled his all to provide a first-run theatre as a proper out¬ let for first-run films. We know of a certain distributor who was being choked by a circuit in a key town. The theatre’s position was such that the distributor was receiving the “munificent” sum of $50 for three-day first-run dates. Seeking a competitor for the circuit to provide a means of driving film prices upward, the distrib¬ utor talked another exhibitor into building a first-run show¬ case in the town. Now, that poor sap is in the middle of a bidding war he can’t possibly win and is sitting idly by trying to get pictures from the companies he helped. Film prices now run into thousands of dollars, but because of bidding, he gets the scraps. Is there any other business that treats its customers in this fashion? February 23, 1966 MOTION PICTURE EXHIBITOR 5