Radio today (Sept 1935-Dec 1936)

"MILLION DOLLAR PROGRAtflGO WITH EVERY SET WE SELL" * FOOTBALL next to opera, drama next to concert; all of it mixed with comics, not to mention news. The current broadcast season bothers with them all, expensively and one by one. Kadio dealers will be glad to know that today's air bills exhibit more smash pull than at any time in ether history. Scores of old favorites have resumed their air shows during last month and this; new stunts in programming have also appeared to panic the fans. There are enough plus features on the dial to double the public interest in new and finer sets. Listeners rush back to their receivers for such stars as Eddie Cantor, Fred Allen, Phil Baker, Helen Hayes, Jack Benny, Walter Winchell, Burns & Allen, Nino Martini, Nelson Eddy, and others. Seasonal newcomers among the regular features are Fannie Brice, Ethel Barrymore, Edward Everett Horton, Joe Penner, Fred Astaire and Charles Butterworth, and assorted other names from the celebrity lists. Frank Hawks pilots a new feature on MBS. All-time cards Jack Benny and Mary Livingstone. Many a set will be sold and serviced again this season as a result of Major Bowes' amazing handling of his amateurs. Now on the CBS network and further inclined to do the unexpected, the Bowes hour and the fate of its odd artists will continue to rate first for thousands of listeners. Good Will Court on NBC will stand a deal of plugging in radio stores. Its stunt treatment of persons in trouble will sell many an indifferent prospect on consistent listening; it happens to be a feature to which people will listen even if they claim to dislike it. A less expert approach to the broadcasting of human woes would be recognized as artless and cheap, but this is in skilled hands. It has its share of roominghouse emotion but the taut atmosphere of the thing is often relieved by laughable items. Variety of orchestral music on the air will be the final reason for set sales in many cases, particularly among the younger folk. H the dealer starts out to keep a list of the popular orchestras on the air, his job will be a big one. Specifically he will find that the name of Andre Kostelanetz will attract many, and that Shep Fields is a good one to mention. Horace Heidt has a special radio significance because he is currently sponsored by StewartWarner. However, the season opened with dozens of other celebrated batons cutting the air, and the dealer has only to sell the names according to local tastes. Set salesmen will find considerable interest in how a No. 1 tap dancer registers on the air. It is no news that Fred Astaire has opened a regular broadcast series in which his tapping is heard; he has an enormous following and will be another important reason for listeners lingering around their receivers. Of course his songs are there too, with the music of Johnny Green and the comedy of the dead-pan artist, Charles Butterworth. Jolly business of introducing big time guest stars to the radio audience at announced spots will continue full Marjorie Whitney, of NBC's King's Jesters quartet. 16 Nino Martini and Andre Kostelanetz on CBS. blast on several big broadcasts. Dealers find that this style of programming lends itself well to sales promotions of a short-time nature, and to personalized selling. Interest must be worked up after the program announcement and before the broadcast. Notably the Kate Smith hour, Rudy Vallee, the EGA Magic Key, Lux Radio Theatre, Hollywood Hotel, Shell Chateau and Camel Caravan will go on springing celebrities. Lux started off with Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable on the same bill and radio men the country over were able to use an awakened interest in the guest practice. General Motors concerts, the Ford Sunday Evening hour, Magic Key and several others are inclined to include guest stars of serious quality, such as Gladys Swarthout, Rosa Pontile, Leopold Stokowski, etc. What these programs do along this line during the present season will mean Plenty to dealers. Dealer use of football broadcasts to seU and service more sets has already receded a current test. Since Yale made the front pages of the nation by selling the broadcast rights of its home gridiron clashes, even the nonsportive homes of the country began to believe that there must be some genuine entertainment and excitement in following the entire football season by radio. Hence dealers have used the air schedules to good advantage and will continue the good work into the pro season in January. Couple of extra quality voice tennis on the air have stirred up some real interest in new singing combinations in the ether. Lanny Ross singing with Helen Jepson on the Show Boat feature, Nelson Eddy matching notes with Francia White on the Vicks broadcast would make a musical evening for any listener at all intrigued by exceptional melodic effects. Opening of school meant the opening of a certain new set market for radio salesmen, as usual. American School of the Air, the huge educational broadcast series, went back on CBS and convinced many a serious Rosemarie Brancato, hit singer on many NBC spots. Phil Baker, coast-to-coast comedian on CBS. October, 1936 parent that a good receiver was actually of first importance, Walter Damrosch's Music Appreciation Hour on NBC resumed early this month with an estimated audience of 7,000,000 school children. Any family with youngsters in it is now of decided importance to the radio dealer, as the season boasts of more on the air for children and more ohildren on the air. Youthful entertainers Bobby Breen, Mary Small, the Penney Kids and others are developing an exciting drag on the dial. Iiih rest in all NBC program schedules is now heightened by the addition of many special broadcasts as part of the web's Tenth Anniversary celebration. Dealers will be able to u e these extras as part of their Fall selling plans, up to Nov. 15, which is the climax date. Use these features in selling your sets. Each of the programs is worthy of your finest receiver — reason enough for the sale of your best instruments. 17