Radio annual and television yearbook (1954)

TV Film Distribution Looks To Record Year By MICHAEL SILLERMAN Executive Vice President Television Programs of America TV film distribution in 1954 should reach an all-time high. The phenomenal rise in the use of TV film by advertisers, both national and local, indicate the highly accelerated trend toward film. According to the latest figures of the NARTB, the average hours of film programming exceed the average live hours. This success of TV film may be attributed to a combination of many factors, namely: the advertiser has more flexibility with TV film; the film operation cost less and it permits the advertiser the opportunity of getting better time availabilities. In addition to these factors, the TV syndicators have developed outstanding merchandise programs to support their film series, thus, in effect, when the advertiser purchases a TV film series he also purchases a complete sales campaign including star endorsement, a title buildup and a long list of premiums which will bear the product's name. TPA as well as a few of the other leading film distributors recognized the great value of merchandising to the advertiser and have developed intense promotions and strong merchandising techniques which were more than welcomed by sponsors and the stations. In terms of advertisers results, there are dozens of success stories. Perhaps the best evidence of their value is the length of time some advertisers have stuck with their programs. Even the bluechip advertisers are going more into TV film. The huge operating cost of live network shows are forcing certain types of advertisers to TV film. The market for the TV syndicators is becoming larger and larger. In addition to the fast trend toward film by the national and regional advertisers, there is also the fact that many new stations are opening or planning to open soon. There were approximately 350 stations in 1953 and by the end of 1954 there should be close to 600 stations actively broadcasting. The opening of these new markets and the increase of competing stations, all of which are ready clients for syndicated properties, should result in an improvement in the quality of product. The residuals realized from this expanded market will be put back into production of new and better series. The telefilm business emerged in 1953 as a sound and stable industry. TPA launched its first product "Ramar of the Jungle" with amazing success. In less than three months *'Ramar" had been sold m over 115 markets proving that TPA m a short time had set up one of the most powerful sales organizations in the industry. TPA believes in concentrated selling policy, that is, to only sell one product at a time. We believe that this enables the salesman to become thoroughly acquainted with the product and give a presentation that the advertiser will be able to understand. By releasing only one film at a time our organization has been able to concentrate its efforts on making that one film "click" and by click we mean by doing the best possible sales and merchandising job for the advertiser. All our promotion efforts, all our services are aimed at this objective. 1954 will present a buyer's market in the entertainment as well as in the commercial sense. There is a new type of individual sitting before the TV set in ever increasing numbers. He is the selective viewer. We are gearing all our efforts towards this viewer for our new 52-week series "Your Star Showcase" hosted by Edward Arnold. We screened 345 plays before selecting 45 we considered worth showing. To these we are adding 7 new plays. <: D Looking ahead then, the year 1954 will be one of ever increasing demand for the syndicated product, for program quality, and for specific market by market sales and merchandising techniques. As one of the newest, largest and most imaginative organizations in the field, we at TPA are dedicated to supply some explicit and effective answers to these demands. 1045