Paramount World (May 1958 - July 1962)

17 TELEMETER STEADILY WINNING "ACCEPTANCE ESTABLISHED" SEALS OF PUBLIC APPROVAL Any new product, any new service, any new entertainment, any new publication, relies most heavily on that form of approval known as mass acceptance. Telemeter seems to be winning this very rapidly and in permanent fashion. Batwaan tym (bid 9 Va ACCEPTANCE ESTABLISHED By MARGARET AITKEN J-pARNEY BALA BAN, (Jj president of Paramount Pictures in the United States, has .given a comprehensive report of the pay-television experi-. ment in Etobicoke. Thla ia af special interest to me because earlier this year Mr. Batatas attended the telemeter premiere, which took place in my ceistitheney of YorkHem her. In his report Mr. Baiaban explained that the Canadian company Famous Players, launched ‘t e 1 emeter theatre-in-the-home on Feb. 26 and everyone concerned has been watching it closely ever since. Ums mar Trial must be obvious to any realistic person." the Paramount president reported. "that definite answers on public acceptance will require a longer period of trial than a few months that have elapsed since the opening of telemeter .“ However, notwithstanding the fact that every new gadget has a novelty appeal, “public acceptance of the principle of paying for television programs was endorsed in unmistakable terms whan we inaugurated telemeter in Toronto.” The number of homes In Etobicoke that could be ^wlred are from 12, OW to 13,000 and Famous Players’ ultimate objective was a 50 per cent, saturation— i.e., 6,00.0 homes. Three, month* after the premiere. 5 4D0 subscribes were waitihg for installs, tion of tetetfietef units. So, public acceptance seems to be established, at least in Etobicoke. But how many people will continue to* use their telemeters? That Is a 164 question still to be answered. Summer Daetn't Coufl If subscribers fail to usd the units thety wlH be removed frodi the itomee, al though the summer months of holid iday time are not to be counted in assessing use. A survey was made of Etobicoke household* in which -it was found that 32 per caqt. of tfle adults vere not moviegoer*. Yet, these non • njovie goers tfsed their telemeters a* often' a* the mnvie vlewing families. Atao, local movie houses had -pot suffered from telemeter. So far, the most popular telemeter film has, bedn The Ten Commandments. Fifty per cent, of the potential audience paid a dollar ’to see it, Sink The Bismarck was second and Ask Any Girl, third Peyton Place waa the least pqpnlkr. This column from the Toronto, Ont., "Telegram" has a many-faceted importance. In the first place, this is of newspaper editorial stature. Secondly, it is most definitely upbeat. Thirdly, it appears under the signature of Margaret Aitken, a Member of Parliament in the constituency which incorporates Etobicoke the world's birth place of practical, public-accepted Telemeter. One unmistakable sign of the successful acceptance of Telemeter is the manner In which the top publications of the land are treating the subject editorially. Newest in the parade of praise is the highly regarded Pageant Magazine, which in its October number relates, with pictures, the visit made to Etobicoke by a Pageant reporter, and the emphatic proof found by this reporter of the onward march of Telemeter. Many other celebrated publications have scheduled Telemeter as one of their early subjects for editorial treatment. Marie Torre Reports Pay-TV Going Over Big With Toronto Viewers Beside* topping Tor frothy situation comedies and jazz-up adventure flimi, all good TV executive* are on the watch for development* in "nemesis" medium pay-televisioit . . . and they got an eyeful the other day! The field of observation vu Toronto, where public ac ceptance of the principle of paying for TV programs ha* been Indorsed In unmistakable terms through Paramount's International Telemeter experiment. The latest development in pay-TV in Toronto might well have given the rubberneck*, notably COS. which* eyes In for an optical trademark, bloodshot. Boasting MOO toll television aubsuib * months after its start— 900 srt of the 6.J00 goal for THE YEARs Telemeter company haa suspended ail tales efforts with the explanation that It has all the subscribers tt can handle for the Man* Tort. tain*. , , Outside of Toronto pay-TV has been making news of a nature equally gloomy to Its network opponents. In San Francisco, two companies which hope to bring P*y-TV to California reported progress at a slate legislative committee hearing, and noted "we can get ready to go in a very short time." In New York, Telemeter has made known that the system will be Installed "within the year." and word of this has sparked unexpectedly high Interest Among bits of public reaction recorded at Telemeter was a phone call from a Park Avenue viewer who wanted to know how soon operations would begin and could he be among the first to sign up as a subscriber • What* the hurry?” asked the Telemeter man "Well, I watched television last night, as I do most nights, and I’ve come to the conclusion that pay-TV has got to be better than what we’re getting ‘ Telemeter is beginning s in Tv to be standard news and radio columns of the nation's top newspapers As instance this specie column by the note' Torre in the New York He raid Tr ibune . "WALK LIKE A DRAGON," James Clavell's most interesting production costarring Jack Lord, Nobu McCarthy, James Shlgeta and Mel Torme, won this accolade from The Daily Cinema of London: "...A strong story and good performances by the American/ Chinese players, plus a semi-Western setting, make for a sound general booking..." PTHI ■■■ Two financial wizards are starred on the cover of the July, 29-August 15^Te lemeter Guide issued to Etobicoke viewer*. They are Paramount president Barney Balaban and thrill-master Alftmd Hitchcock with "Hitch" depositing the money (for a viewing of "Vertigo," which was on last month's listing). SEPTEMBER 2,3,4 SEPTEMBER 3,4,5 ■> A WIW T .«..X AT ‘>:00,9>00 A? 6.00, ffiOO, 10: 00 ~ -OUST MMI AT AiOO,«iOO,«iOO,U>tC SHATTERS TOUR EMOTIONS Conspiracy' of Hearts SEPTEMBER 3.4 5B M 8 T I 1 E E ^WCABIf ACROSSIHI < WIDE MISSOURI . . nmm khikow. * ANN CIOESE SOTHERN MURPHY Here are two pages of the August 16-Sept.4 programme, with two Paramount pictures shown. They are "Conspiracy of Hearts" and "The Bellboy." Other Paramount pictures in the two listings reproduced above are "The Rat Race, ""The Buccaneer," "Heller In Pink Tights." This postcard, announcing of Telemeter's spectacular one 'exclusives.' was sent to all of the Etobicoke subscribers well in advance of the football game it advert!: ivertised. Sxclutivtl<f OH TELEMETER WED AUG 10 at t p.m ARGONAUTS VS HAMILTON TIGER CATS CHANNEL SC PRICE $2 00