Radio daily (Oct-Dec 1949)

Section of RADIO DAILY. Friday. October 28, 1949 — TELEVISION DAILY is fully protected by register and copyright B. B. ANTI-TRUST ACTION ENDED I TELE TOPICS "CAMOUS JURY TRIALS,'' on DuMont, ' is showing signs of successful adaptation to the visual medium. When it first went on the air a few weeks ago it was almost devoid of action, with the cameras picking up almost nothing but the various witnesses testifying from the stand. As a result, it was all talk, with very little to hold the eye. This week, however, several flashbacks were used as well as a bit of action that occurred out of court during a recess. The result was a vastly improved production. Script this week concerned a boxing handler falsely accused of killing a fighter during a bout. The material was there, but the characters didn't quite develop and the court action was loaded with legal inaccuracies. Sam Raskin was entirely believable as the handler, and King Older and John Griggs were equally efficient as the opposing lawyers. Others in the cast were Winfield Hoeny, Sally Gracie and Joseph Downing. . . . Sponsored by the Local Chevrolet Dealers Association, show does not employ film commercials because the producers feel it would disrupt the courtroom atmosphere. Instead, announcer Ron Rawson, on camera, delivers a pitch for Chevvy service. Scripted this week by Al Ostrow, program is a Transamerican package. Charles Harrell directs for the producer and Frank Bunetta for DuM. • A LLEN FUNT, producer of "Candid Camera," is negotiating with Official Films for non-theatrical, non-TV distribution of his ad lib footage. Funt has made several additions to his staff, including Chan Buck, formerly with "Preview," as field supervisor; Ray Hall, formerly with CBS, as chief editor; Susan Lampman, treasurer; Russell Harknett and William de Dufour, sound engineers. Arthur Florman is chief cameraman. . . . WFIL-TV has received the TV award of the Art Directors Club, of Philadelphia, for camera work and overall production on the Paul Whiteman TV Teen Club and the WFIL-TV Newsreel. The reel, incidentally, scooped the press this week when it broke a story about the coming boost in coffee prices. William Driscoll is director of the newsreel. • A NEW WRINKLE in automotive sales •*» has been cooked up by a Chicago Chevvy dealer. Firm has signed for a weekly half-hour show on WGN-TV during which two cars will be auctioned off to viewers. Cars will be shown on the air with list prices covered until the auction is completed and the car is sold. If the car goes for more than list, the buyer will pay only the top price and not the full amount that he bid. There will be a tenminute time limit on each sale so that it will be possible for cars to be knocked down for less than list. Jack Gordon is auctioneer, and Don Cook will direct. Don Lee Veepee Sees Color Many Years Off Hollywood— Don Lee's KTSL is. ready for a quick changeover to color when color is ready for the public, but that goal is many years away, 'Charles L. Glett, vice-president in charge of tele, said here on his return from the FCC hearings in Washington. "Don Lee wants color, invites color and looks forward to color but is now satisfied that it will not be .practicable for some time to come," Glett said. "We are now devoting our full efforts to the blackand-white plans which were held in abeyance pending developments in color telecasting. Full steam ahead on them is our 'immediate course of action." Responsible for this same general attitude among those present at the hearings, he said, are many factors among which is the time element, even assuming that the FCC aporoves color after the current hearings. The various administrative, mechanical, legal and political entanglements involved are complicated and would consume considerable time before color would be fully emerged from the laboratory to consumers. Nonetheless, he added, television will not be completely at its peak until color is added. Some demonstrations in Washington were eyeopening in their beauty, he said. Hooper's Top Ten (Network-Sept.) Texaco Theater, NBC 73.7 Godfrey Friends. CBS 39.8 Philco Playhouse , NBC 37.7 Stop The Music, ABC 37.7 Colgate Theate:, NBC 34.9 Suspense, CBS . 34.3 Chev. Theater, NBC 32.7 Fireside Theater, NBC 30.9 Morey Amsterdam, DuM. . . 29.5 Crusade Europe, ABC 29.1 Stowman Cites Gains For TV Advertisers Philadelphia — Kenneth W. Stowman, sales manager of WFIL-TV, told the Television Association of Philadelphia this week that the cost of video advertising has decreased during the last two years, despite higher rates adopted by TV stations. He based his statement on figures which show that the cost to the advertiser per thousand sets is considerably smaller now than it was in October, 1947, and October, 1948, because of the rapidly growing number of television set owners in the Philadelphia area. Stowman compared present and projected rates of Philadelphia's three stations with those of a year ago. He also compared with rates of October, 1947, when only two of the stations were on the air. WBKB Signs 53 New Accounts, Sees Black Ink This Year Chicago — John Mitchell, general manager of WBKB, who has stated publicily that he plans to put the station in the black by the end of this year, reiterated that stand yesterday in announcing that 53 new clients have been added to the station's fall roster of new business. The new biz, he said, is an indication in Chicago of a "developing client market (which) is the best news we have had in the past three years of operation." He added: "Hundreds of new, local clients seem to have discovered the medium overnight. This influx of new business, in addition to the ever-increasing activity on the part of national advertisers, is the surest sign we have had yet that television can meet its high operating costs and become a profitable operation." Last year WBKB had 51 clients for the entire year. This year the station already has 106 clients, including 35 national program and spot advertisers; and 71 local program and spot advertisers. The 53 new clients added in the past month exclude network programs. "Several television operations have announced lately that they are in the black," Mitchell said, "but these have been small stations, or stations affiliated with AM operations. When a large operation such as WBKB with no AM affiliation begins to make money in a major, competitive market, that will be a significant day for the industry It takes perhaps 200,000 sets in a large market to bring a station around that long-awaited profit corner." Chicago's latest set figure, as of August 31, announced by the Electric Association was: 185,275. Clears Way For Full Telecasting Of Ball Games (Continued from Page 1) tions of unreasonable restraints in the conduct of this business, and in enabling the public to see and hear games of their choice without unreasonable restrictions, McGrath said, and stated that he hopes the new rules "will eliminate past restrictive practices and will greatly broaden the opportunity for radio and television stations to carry games of major league clubs in territories outside their respective home territories." Anti-trust chief, Herbert Bergson, emphasized, however, that the antitrust division "will continue to follow closely the radio and television practices of baseball and may take appropriate action if it should appear in the future that the broadcasting and telecasting of baseball games is being unreasonably restrained." Complaints had been directed principally against a major league rule requiring each major league club to refuse to permit the broadcast or telecast of its games at any time from a station located within 50 miles of the ball park of another major or minor league club without the consent of the other club. This veto power was frequently used to prevent the broadcast in their home territories of ball games played by other clubs. The Justice Department said yesterday that "under the revised rules each major league club is free to determine whether or not rights to broadcast or telecast its games shall be granted or sold at any time and in any area, without reference to any other club, major or minor, except during the time the other club is actually playing a game in its home park or is actually telecasting one of its road games. Expect Decision Today On Color-TV Tests Washington Bureau of RADIO DAILY Washington— The FCC pondered the knotty TV problem yesterday but failed to come up with an answer. There was no official statement, and it appeared that there was no unofficial determination as to what to do with RCA's request for a two-month postponement in the comparative demonstrations slated for November 14. Radio Daily was told that Commission members were to sleep on the question and try to agree on some course to follow today.