Radio annual (1938)

General — Imports of radios and parts have shown a consistent increase in volume and value. Imports of radio equipment are almost totally from the United States. Germany, Great Britain, Japan and the Netherlands furnish very small quantities. Importers of radios estimate that there are in use at present throughout the entire Republic, 250,000 radios. Approximately 120,000 of these sets are believed to be in operation in the Federal District, the others divided among the larger centers of population and country districts. Reception also plays an important part in radio sales which are adversely affected by the relatively poor reception prevailing during the rainy season. As a rule, the rains begin in June and continue up until the month of October. During this period reception is very unsatisfactory. Distribution — Many of the leading U. S. manufacturers of radios and radio equipment have factory sales branches established in Mexico, as a rule, separate corporations organized in accordance with Mexican Law. These branches perform all the services incident to import and assembly and, of course, appoint distributors and assist the latter by every means possible. The' distributors so appointed are, as a rule, organizations who operate independently of the factory and are in fact separate and distinct ousinesses utilizing their own capital. Competition — Possibly 99 per cent of radios_ and radio equipment sold in the Republic of Mexico is of U. S. origin. The greatest share of business is in the hands of 4 or 5 of the leading U. S. makes. At hast 4 of these leaders operate through factory directed sales branches established in Mexico City. A relatively small number of sets is made locally from parts imported from the U. S. and from locally-made cabinets. The domestic manufacture of radio sets is conducted on a very small scale and, with the exception of_ one or two larger plants, by individual electricians. There are two organizations established in Mexico City, "Fabrica de Radios Chapultepec," S. A., located on Independencia 46, and "Radio Industrial." S. de R. L., located on Rep. del Salvador 46, which are perhaps the leaders in the field. Foreign competition in this market excluding that, of course, of the U. S., has come almost wholly from the Philips set manufactured at Eindhoven, Holland. The Philips machine is well regarded but at present is practically out of the market. Programs — The great majority of the 250,000 radios in use in the Republic of Mexico are sets capable only of receiving local programs. Furthermore, a great majority of owners prefer what might be called a national program. However, with the growing popularity of all-wave reception, there is an increasing interest in the reception of United States programs. Practically all of the larger of the U. S. stations can be clearly heard specially during the winter evenings. One of the largest Mexico City stations has recently been broadcasting the national program of a U. S. automobile manufacturing company, which program for the duration of one hour on Sunday evenings has come in over the telephone wires. The type of music adopted by broadcasting companies depends to a great extent on the nature of the product being advertised and the section of the public to which it appeals. Sponsors who merchandise an article cheap in price and of universal appeal find Mexican vocal and instrumental music or modern dance music more suitable. If an appeal is being made for an article which it is thought will find its market among the more restricted cultured and well-to-do classes, then an orchestra selection or classical music or the presentation of a good Spanish comedy might be resorted to. Small stations and sponsors using them cannot, as a rule, afford the services of live artists and consequently, "canned" music is widely used. Even so the result in a program is generally infinitely superior to that which might otherwise result through the use of cheap or mediocre talent. Charges for Talent — Radio stations, as a rule, do not include the services of entertainers in their rates, this being left to the sponsor. Radio stations also reserve the right to cancel any contract if in their opinion the quality of the artist does not come up to the standards of the station. There seems to be no requirement against the use of musical transcriptions, which, in fact, are very extensively used by the smaller stations. Chain Broadcasting — There is no continuous chain broadcasting service at present established in the Republic. Various companies have, from time to time, conducted chain broadcasts but only for special occasions. Actually, it is believed that chain broadcasting would not prove commercially possible since the country has no sponsors desirous of investing the necessary sums in advertising of that description. Transcriptions — For "canned" programs, the necessary records are obtained from United States sources. Operators of broadcasting stations in the Republic who use records to a considerable extent criticize the available records. They state that there is a considerable difference in the Spanish language as spoken in Mexico, Cuba, the Argentina, and other Latin-American countries. They would prefer, if possible, to have the artist who makes the Spanish language records for use in Mexico speak Spanish as spoken in the Republic. This, of course, may not be feasible due to the relatively restricted markets in the various Latin countries. However, it is an objective which should be kept in mind by the producer. Buyers of Advertising Time — Largest users of radio advertising time appear to be breweries, manufacturers of beauty preparations, and cigarette manufacturers. These three industries, whose products cover the Republic, advertise on a national scale and so buy radio time from stations widely scattered throughout the Republic. Sets in Use— 250,000. Stations — 87. © NETHERLANDS General — The number of sets in use January 1, 1937, was 622,228, or approximately 116 per thousand inhabitants. Counting the unregistered sets there is probably a total of 1,000,000. Keen competition and price cutting is causing the radio trade considerable trouble. The demand is mainly for inexpensive sets but the number of people buying higher priced sets is increasing. Cabinet types ranging from 150 to 250 guilders, are preferred. Imports of American radio equipment consist chiefly of parts which are not covered by Philips' patents. This business declined from 529,000 florins in 1935 to 325,000 florins in 1936. During the first 6 months of 1937, however, imports from the United States showed an increase in value over the same period last year. 951