Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1962)

Film Two mid-west commercial producers offered observations last week on significant shifts in tv selling approaches. Lincoln Schuerle, who has just opened Film-Makers in Chicago, finds the trend away from the announcer-salesman technique and toward non-verbal, musical, dialogue, live action and animation. Fred Niles, who has communications centers in New York, Hollywood and Chicago, sees a new emphasis on more belie vability, sparked by both FTC action and public demand. According to Niles, advertisers are producing fewer commercials per account but spending more money on the production value of each. He also sees more thorough research of commercials tied in with a marketing plan, agencies requesting creativity in production instead of in the area of an additional situation idea, and medium and smaller agencies relying on the producer's creative staff for ideas. Reason for this: a growing interest in coming up with award-winners as well as commercials that make the grade at point of purchase. MGM-TV is readying for January release a new group of 30 post1948 features. Titled 30/63, the new film offering includes "The Blackboard Jungle" and "Silk Stockings." The company's first two film packages are now approaching the 100 mark in total station deals. Allied Artists Tv points to some station success stories involving the 48 Bowery Boys features. Some instances: • KGO-TV, San Francisco, programs the films Wednesday 5-6 p.m. and has jumped to first place in this time slot from fourth in the market. ARB September reports show that station with a 10 rating and a half-hour share of 48%, double the combined rating of all three competitors. • WCCO-TV, Minneapolis-St. Paul, (Sunday, 10-11 a.m.). September Nielsen index gives the station a quarter hour share of 67%; all three other stations earned a combined share of 25% per quarter hour. Financial rc|M>r(: Consolidated net earnings of MCA Inc. for the nine months ended 30 September amounted to $9,197,000 or $1.87 per common share. In addition, there was a non-recurring item of $2,097,000 or 16 cents per share, making a total of $2.33 per share lor the nine-month period. New properties: ABC Films is releasing in early December a new daytime strip called "Girl Talk," featuring Virginia Graham interviewing guest personalities. Sales have been made in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco . . . MGM-TV is making available for local telecast this Christmas a one-hour special in color (ailed "Christmas in the Holy Land." It stars Art Linkletter and his family in a filmed pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was originally telecast over CBS TV in 1961. Sales: United Artists Tv's "Leave It to the Girls" to 14 of the top 25 markets and a number of smaller markets . . . Allied Artists Tv's "Cavalcade of the 60's" Group I features to KVAL-TV, Eugene; KHQ-TV, Spokane; WRDW-TV, Augusta; KENS-TV, San Antonio; and KONA-TV, Honolulu. PEOPLE ON THE MOVE: Jack E. Rhodes to northeastern district sales representative for Warner Bros, tv division . . . Stanley Jaffe to assistant publicity manager of Seven Arts Associated . . . Gary Ferlisi to station relations manager of TV Stations, Inc. Station Transactions The general manager of KAZZ (FM), Austin, Tex., Homer Griffith, has filed an application with the FCC to purchase the station from Audioland Broadcasting. Griffith is heading a group called Mid-South Broadcast Enterprises in the transaction. Associated with him are Irvin and William Hinds and other members ol the Hinds family. One instance where the FCC and the NAB are definitely on the same side of the fence involves CATV interests in Wyoming. The industry association has filed a friend of the court brief with the U. S. Court of Appeals backing FCC's decision of last 16 Febuary which denied the application of Carter Mountain Transmission Corp. to build a microwave radio system to feed CATV systems in Riverton, Lander, and Thermopolis. Feeling of both FCC and NAB is that grant of the application would result in the demise of KWRB-TV, Riverton, and thus would not be in the public interest. ^ we like to put facts "out in the open' before we recommend Hundreds of satisfied clients in the past have depended on Blackburn's clear anahsis of the facts on chan^in» markets before entering into media transactions. Protect your investment, too; consult Blackburn. BLACKBURN & Company, Inc. RADIO • TV • CATV • NEWSPAPER BROKERS NEGOTIATIONS • FINANCING • APPRAISALS WASH., D. C. lames W. Blackburn lack V. Harvey loseph M. Sitrick RCA Building FEderal 3-9270 CHICAGO H. W. Cassill William B. Ryan Hub lackson 333 N. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Illinois Financial 6-6460 ATLANTA Clifford B. Marshall Stanley Whitaker |ohn C. Williams Gerard F. Hurley 1102 Healev Bldg. lAckson 5-1576 BEVERLY HILLS Colin M. Setpa C. Bennett Larson Bank of America Bldg. 9465 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, Calif. CRcjtview 4-8151 SPONSOR/26 November 1962 65