The radio annual (1956)

Looking Into Syndicated Television By WYNN NATHAN Vice President in Charge of Sales, MCA IN THE aura of claims from other sources that the syndicated television show business is slipping, I think it is good for us to look back on the past twelve months and see if these claims have any foundation. Of course, I am most familiar with the exceptional progress of MCA-TV Ltd., Film Syndication Division, during 1955, but I am sure that most of the larger distributors have experienced the same trends that we have. 1^ 1^ iV 'During 1955, our company added six new series to the 26 properties we already distributed. These additions included 123 Gene Autry and Roy Rogers Western films, never before seen on television; 3& of the new "Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal" program, adapted from the famous Lloyd C. Douglas novel; 104 "The Adventures of Kit Carson," which were sponsored on the network for four years by the Coca Cola Bottling Company and first run in over 200 markets; 39 'Headline" shows, starring Mark Stevens, ..nich played on the network as "Big Town" and 76 of the very successful network series, "The Ray Milland Show." With these additions, the list of stars appearing regularly in syndicated MCA-TV programs has greatly increased. The talent role now reads like a "who's who" in show business, including Gene Autry, Ralph Bellamy, Charles Bickford, Rod Cameron, Preston Foster, Alan Hale, Jr., Paul Hartman, Louis Hayward, John Howard, Guy Lombardo, Thomas Mitchell, Ray Milland, Roy Rogers, Mark Stevens and Bill Williams. ■ir i^ i^ Sales wise, 1955 was the biggest year ever experienced by our company. To name a few of the success stories that were to be found in the past twelve months, we sold "Soldiers of Fortune" to the 7-Up Bottling Company for 150 cities; 26 more shows were added to "Waterfront" making a total of 78, and they were placed in over 200 cities. 'Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal," in its first six months on the market, was bought in more than 140 cities; sales of the Roy Rogers and Gene Autry Western films passed the three million dollar sales mark in less than 2 months; and so on down the line. Each and every show we handle did well in 1955, and the sales were getting stronger as the year drew to a close. Rating wise, syndicated teleshows proved time and time again that they can compete favorably with any locally produced or network show. Such ratings as: 40.9, Videodex, Pittsburgh for "Guy Lombardo"; 39.0, Pulse, " New Orleans for "City Detective"; 44.2, ARB, Norfolk for "Pride of the Family"; 45.8, Pulse, New Orleans for "Famous Playhouse"; 37.6, Videodex, Grand Rapids for "Man Behind The Badge"; 40.5, Pulse, Charlotte for "Waterfront"; 34.4, ARB, Pittsburgh for "Doctor Hudson's Secret Journal" and 40.1, Videodex, Toledo for the "Ray Milland Show" substantiate this claim. i^ ik i^ Also during 1955, Revue Productions added 78 more anthology films to their large catalog of half hour dramas. With this added product, any station in the country can bolster its line-up of programs to meet the most rigid demands. 1955 was also a year for expansion in our company itself. New officers were opened in Tampa, Fla. and Indianapolis, Ind., and two new regional offices were opened, Dallas and Cleveland, and were staffed by one of our V.P.'s. A publicity department was added in New York and California better to service our clients with after-sales promotion. The prospect of enlarging our foreign markets was examined, and an International Sales Manager named. Plans were formulated for more complete representation in Mexico City, Rome, and the Orient. With well staffed offices already established in Canada, England and France, MCA-TV will continue to be able to give complete coverage to the entire world. i^ i^ i^ Other advancements of our sales plans, oxecutive responsibilities, after-sales services, merchandising division, and all phases of our operation, were many and varied. To name them all would take much more space than I have been alloted or you would care to read. However, I think it is sufficient just to say that 1955 was very good to us, and 1956 looks even better. I don't think syndicated television is slipping one iota; in fact it is stronger now than it has ever been, and it is our hope that our 70 salesmen and 30 offices at MCA-TV have had a part in bringing about this situation. We promise you we will do everything in our power to continue this advancement in the coming year. 71