Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

ECUTIVE VICE PRESlIiEXT s CHARGE OF THE RCA T) AND CHARLES A. DCTAL, VICE PRESIDENT, RIC CORPORATION, AT APLIANCE TRADE DINNER IN SAN FRANCISCO. ION HEAPS WEST Test Point for Vide Because of Problems Region, Folsotn Ills Trade Association. i us ng proved by its wide nt and its ye of major ntions, and toward the uik M. Fol- 'resident in tor Division, ■stern Radio Dinner in ;gust 4, Mr. ind distribu- ation will be of television 1 close atten- h experience he said, the leh about the to operate in and from the ly interesting mid result, sion prospects y, Mr. Folsom already have letion permits One will be ;an Broadcast- er by Associ- ated Brodcasters, Inc., and the third by le San Francisco Chron- icle, to be;ffiliated with NBC." With oly six channels available to the Sa Francisco-Oakland re- gion, he lointed out, six broad- casters ai seeking the remaining three untsigned channels. These are: Twatieth Century-Fox of California Inc., Paramount Televi- sion Prodctions, Inc., the Colum- bia Broadasting System, Don Lee Broadcastig Company, Television California and station KROW. in Oakland. Sizeable^ums are being invested in televisin by broadcasters seek- ing outleton the West Coast, said Mr. Folsoi. Construction figures range as Igh as $691,785, with one applicant lanning to spend $924,- 693 for hi first year's operation. Plans ai well along, he said, for linking Sa Francisco by cable and relays wit all major cities to the North, th East and the South. Although oast-to-coast networks are not exected to be in opei-ation until the ed of 1952, Folsom said, regional liks will supply intercon- necting telvision service for West Coast municipal neighbors at a much earlier date. Then, with the West and the East linked by net- works, national advertisers, no longer restricted to locally origi- nated programs or .shows recorded on film, will be able to present tele- vision programs using talent that would be far too costly for individ- ual station showings. In emphasizing the importance of video's future role as an adver- tising medium, the RCA executive quoted Amos Parrish, noted mer- chandising consultant: "Television is the biggest thing since radio. And it will out-sell radio in selling goods many to one, because it appeals to your eyes as well as to your ears. And the eyes are still the windows to your soul —especially your buying soul. "We don't know and we don't want to know what's in a television set, because we don't understand it. But we do know there is one thing —one of the elements that makes up the future of America—and that means it has no limits. That no- limit element is a combination of excellent reporting, teaching, en- tertaining, selling. This element says in undebatable terms: 'Stop, Listen and LOOK!' And people will not only 'Stop, Listen, and LOOK!'—but they will also buy." Television receivers are rolling off production lines in an increasing spiral, Mr. Folsom revealed. Today more than 500,000 are in the pub- lic's hands. By the end of the year, he predicted, the industry should have produced in excess of 850,000 television receivers. In 1949, the estimated output should be 1,600,- 000 receivers, representing a poten- tial retail business of more than $400,000,000. As its share of this figure, Mr. Folsom said, San Fran- cisco can expect a television re- ceiver business with a retail volume of more than $10,000,000. "Proud as we are of the business stature television has attained," he said in conclusion, "we're even prouder of the many excellent ways in which it has served and will con- tinue to serve humanity with major roles envisioned for it in educa- tional, religious, industrial and military fields." [RADIO AGE 15]