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

have been produced at the rate of 2,000 a month. RCA has made and delivered four thousand 15-inch color television sets. By the end of this year, NBC will be colorcasting two programs a week from New York and a third from Burbank, California. In addition, NBC is planning a series of especially produced 90-minute shows, "Spec- taculars in Color," to begin in September. NBC expects to have 60 stations on its network equipped to transmit color programs by the end of 1954, covering 60 per cent of all homes in the United States. During this year and next, RCA believes the demand for color sets will exceed the supply. According to these estimates the industry should be able to sell about 50,000 sets in 1954, several hundred thousand in 1955, and a progressively increasing number each year there- after, adding up to a total of approximately 10 million color sets in use five years from now. Government Orders RCA sales and services to the Government were reported at $55 million in the first quarter of 1954. This was approximately 24 per cent of RCA's total volume of business for the quarter. Shipments to the Government for the full year of 1954 are expected to be substantially more than last year. RCA international business continues to increase in volume and profits, said General Sarnoff, adding: "The results for the first quarter of 1954 exceeded those of the first quarter of last year and the outlook is bright for continued improvement. Overseas, RCA prod- ucts and engineering are helping to strengthen the security and economy of nations friendly to the United States. "We continue to be the leader in supplying tele- vision equipment in the world markets. For example, in Latin America RCA has supplied 60 per cent of all the TV broadcasting stations now in commercial operations." Home Appliances RCA's recent entry into the manufacture and sale of home appliances, by adding air conditioners and home ranges to the line, has proved to be a sound financial move for the Corporation as well as for dis- tributors and dealers. General Sarnoff reported. He said that this business was profitable in 1953, and that for the first quarter of 1954 RCA sales of these home appliances were 75 per cent greater rhan for the first quarter last year. In discussing research and invention. General Sarnoff said: "Since its earliest days in 1919, the Radio Corpora- tion of America has followed a continuing policy of carrying on scientific research and development. The inventions and improvements resulting from this work have been made available to competitors and to industry in general. This is done on a uniform basis through patent licenses that are liberal in scope and at very low royalty rates compared with the value of these inven- tions. The royalty rates are less than one per cent of the usual retail price. "RCA has previously granted to others several hun- dred patent licenses and the majority of them run to the end of 1954. By mutual agreement, these licenses can be extended for a further period of years. A sub- stantial number of these license agreements have been signed and extended for a period of five years beyond 1954. In view of the great value to our licensees of their right to use the inventions covered by these licenses, we feel confident that by the end of this year substantially all of the remainder will also extend their agreements." There are few, if any, industries in America as highly competitive as the radio-television industry, General Sarnoff declared. "Three thousand radio broadcasting stations now are on the air, and by mid-year 400 television stations will be in operation," he said. "In many of the principal cities of our country already there are more radio and television stations than newspapers. For example. New York City has twenty- eight radio stations, seven television stations and only nine English-language daily newspapers. Chicago has twenty-six radio stations, six television stations and only four daily newspapers. Los Angeles has twenty-one radio stations, eight television stations and only five daily newspapers. Even in Washington, D. C.—the Capital of our Nation—there are only three daily news- papers, while there are sixteen radio stations and four television stations. "The number of manufacturing companies in our industry is also most impressive. Manufacturers of radio sets, 110; television sets, 75; electron tubes, 60; phono- graph records, 200. "There are about 2,000 wholesale distributors; 100,- 000 retail dealers, and 20,000 service shops handling these products. "In this young and vigorously competitive industry approximately one million people are now employed. "Here is an outstanding example of how the Ameri- can system of free enterprise provides opportunity for small as well as big business to prosper and to grow. In this, as in other industries, the organizations most likely to succeed are those which have efficient manage- ment, maintain good relarions with their employees, operate on a sound financial basis, manufacture good quality products at the lowest cost, sell them at reason- able prices, and render the best service to the public." 30 RADIO AGE