Radio Broadcast (May 1929-Apr 1930)

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< and home economics as there is in broadcasting classical music. This the British Broadcasting Corporation has adequately recognized; in fact, it has probably gone as far in stressing these subjects too much as we have in relegating them to obscure hours. Talks are not compressed into five or eight minutes; they are half-hour lectures, presented by outstanding speakers. They use not only our conventional hour of 10:45 a. m., addressed to women, 3:30 p. m. to women and children, but also such evening hours as 6:00., 6:30, 7:00, 7:25, 8:15, and 9:15 for regularly planned lectures. The presentation of such programs would not appeal to the national advertiser because there is no educational subject which interests a broad cross section of society, and serving only a part of the audience well does not have the good will value of serving a larger part in an insignificant way. The broadcasting companies should make some effort in the direction of educational programs as sustaining and good-will features. "Sustaining" programs, however, have begun to designate fill-in periods which cannot be sold commercially rather than any effort to embellish the radio fare. A close scrutiny of available educational features from all stations serving the more-populous radio areas does indicate that a fairly broad range of subjects is discussed before the microphone, but this is done in such a disorganized manner and at such hours that the listener who concentrates upon two or three stations for his program service hardly has occasion to know that there is anything of an educational nature on the air. The newspapers have taken to publishing programs in a rather sketchy and uninformative manner so that they serve as but little more than a reference guide to those already familiar with the nature of the features offered. A dealer might serve a useful purpose by sending a regular bulletin to his customers and prospects giving in some detail the educational features which the listener in his territory has available through his radio receiver. This information, conscientiously collected, would have a surprising amount of sales appeal not only among highbrows but among all classes of listeners. The desire for self-education is strongly inherent throughout the American public as anyone familiar with the enormous enrollment of correspondence schools from all classes of society can testify. Local Dealer Associalions In most cities of less than a hundred thousand population, the number of dealers is too small to warrant a local dealer's association and the mutual problems which such an association might discuss are hardly suited to cooperative action. But, in larger cities, there are many fields for useful cooperation. Local man-made interference can be tackled effectively by such a body; cooperation with local broadcasting stations effectively maintained, trade abuses corrected, and delegates sent to national conventions of dealers so that the whole community may be benefited by their report. This department would welcome correspondence with successful local dealer associations in order that their experiences may be made of benefit to other communities which have not yet appreciated the potential value of a local dealer organization. International Program Exchange The recent trip through Europe, taken by Merlin H. Aylesworth, president of the National Broadcasting Company, can be counted on to produce some significant results in international broadcasting. While the technical problems must first be solved, the value of the impetus given by personal contact of the leaders in broadcasting on both sides of the water is certain to spur on the efforts of the engineers. C. W. Horn, recently appointed general engineer of the N. B. C, is encouraging technical progress in the same manner that Mr. Aylesworth is cementing the executive relations of the two principal broadcasting systems of the world, the N. B. C. and the B. B. C. There is a romantic tinge to international re-broadcasting which is certain to increase the market for radio receivers in both countries. European Radio Population Grows Continued increase in the number of licensed listeners in European countries is indicated by statistics for the years of 1927 and 1928. The total number of license holders rose from 5,897,000 to 7,163,000 or 21.4 per cent. The British total, on January 1, 1929, was 2,684,941; the German, 2,635,537. The following is a tabulation of the number of licensed radio receivers per 1000 inhabitants: Denmark Sweden . Great Britain Austria . Germany Norway . Hungary U. S. (estimated) 1927 57.05 54.68 56.91 47.79 33.49 22.9 10.41 1928 76.42 63.47 59.48 53.31 43.92 22.9 20.1 68.1-90.9 New powerful broadcasting stations are likely to make significant changes in several European countries during the next year. The estimated number of radio receivers per thousand population in the United States lies between 68.1 and 90.9, per thousand, according to the enthusiasm of the statistician. If he is trying to estimate the market for receiving sets, it is the former figure; if he is trying to sell radio advertising, it is the latter. The smaller figure, however, is probably very much closer than the latter. — E. H. F. t JULY • 1 929 • #137