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Television-An Audience of Forty Million Americans By Frank M. Folsom, President, Radio Corporation of America. TELEVISION'S popularity in 1950 mounted with such ex- panding vigor that by year-end this new art and industry had outdis- tanced the progress of all of its previous years combined. As 1951 bowed in. the New York metro- politan area alone had more than 2,000,000 sets with an estimated viewing audience of 8,000.000 men, women and children. Within two years—from January, 1949, to this January—television receiver circulation had increased twelve times. This means that across the Nation today, television brings its magic charm into 10.- 000,000 homes to entertain and in- form an audience of approximately 40,000,000 Americans. During 1950, the public backed its appreciation of this new broad- casting service by spending a billion and a half dollars for sets—an amount exceeding by more than 100 per cent its purchases in 1949, tele- vision's third and best postwar year. To meet these demands, television manufacturers expanded facilities wherever possible and stepped up production schedules to such an extent that in a single month more sets were made available to the public than during the entire year of 1948. Theatre television, with giant projections of special events on screens of motion picture houses, began to spread across the country in 1950. Installations of RCA Vic- tor's new system were made in a number of cities, including New York, Boston, Washington, Chicago and Los Angeles. This was believed to form the pioneering basis for an independent theatre television net- work which would supplement regu- lar film fare with special offerings to attract the public. By year-end one large theatre chain was plan- ning for installations in 71 theatres [6 RADIO AGE] FRANK M. FOLSOM from Yuma, Arizona, to San Fran- cisco. RCA Victor's 1950 line of home television receivers led the market in popularity. Eighteen models were offered, including three with 121/2-inch picture tubes, eleven with 16-inch tubes and four with 19-inch tubes. During the year, nearly 70 per cent of the total RCA Victor production was devoted to sets with 16-inch tubes, the overwhelming choice. Television Operations Expanded The greatly enlarged television audience spurred broadcasters to superlative efforts in extending net- works and improving programs. For instance, when the present con- struction plans of the National Broadcasting Company are com- pleted, NBC's investment in televi- .^ion will be between $35,000,000 and $40,000,000. Plans call for the ac- quisition of more top talent and the start of morning network program- ming as the number of sponsors increases. NBC's commanding lead in all phases of television broadcasting is expected to increase as 1951 pro- gresses. The plan is to provide entertainment of such quality and variety that increasing numbers of set owners will be attracted to the NBC network. At the same time, efforts will be made to provide the finest cultural and informational progi-ams. A TELEVISION TRUCK IS SWUNG ABOARD A FREIGHTER DESTINED FOR SOUTH AMERICA WHERE THE MOBILE UNIT WILL AID IN EXTENDING THE APPEAL AND VARIETY OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS.