Sponsor (Apr-June 1964)

SPONSOR-SCOPE April 20, 1964 Where are people ready to speak out against pay-tv? Opponents of pay television have apparently taken a vacation, at least from standpoint of making themselves heard. New York chapter of Academy of Television Arts & Sciences had to call off last week's (16th) planned panel discussion on "To Pay or Not to Pay," due to "lack of names willing to speak out" against pay-tv. Slated to have presented case for subscription tv were AFTRA exec secretary Donald F. Conaway and John L. Pinto, gen. mgr. of RKO General Phonevision Co., currently conducting pay-tv test in Hartford. Moderator was to have been Washington Post tv editor Laurence Laurent. In calling off panel, chapter told members: "The forum has been postponed until further notice due to the unavailability at this time of guest panelists willing to speak against tollvision." BBC turns to Cuba in seeking source of program revenue Seems the British Broadcasting Corp. can't find enough buyers for its products in the free world. It has now ventured into Cuban market. BBC last week signed contract to sell to Cuban tv service 30 programs, including four feature films, a cultural series, and documentaries on travel, adventure, and research. Venture's in line with British government's policy on trade with Cuba. Colgate, Con. Cigar each put $8 million into ABC nighttime Colgate-Palmolive and Consolidated Cigar shape up as two of the biggest supporters of ABC-TV next season, with each reported to have earmarked nearly $8 million in the network's nighttime schedule. Colgate previously spent most of its web tv budget on NBC. Consolidated Cigar has been a prime user of ABC. Report on smoking boosted ad outlay by cigarette-makers Surgeon General's report on smoking, in addition to booming sales of regular and little-size cigars, also resulted in increased advertising expenditures from cigarette manuacturers hoping to offset report's effect. Among them, P. Lorillard Co. said its first-quarter advertising this year reached record levels. Company noted this was done "in the full knowledge that commitments of this magnitude would sufficiently affect our already-depressed earnings" for first three months of 64, which were "down substantially" from last year, along with sales. Lorillard President Morgan J. Cramer adds, however, "it has already been proved sound by . . increased sales in April.'" He points out company's sales reached "low point in February . . . turned upward in March . . . and so far in April are ahead of corresponding '63 period." Cramer also reported "gratifying gains" in sales of all of I company's non-cigarette products (smoking and chewing tobaccos), with sales of | its little cigars for '64 first quarter already exceeding category's sales for entire year of '63. In addition, he announced new filter-tip. king-size little cigar. Omega, goes on sale this week in Metropolitan N.Y. with distribution to follow in New England, the Midwest, West Coast, and then rest of U.S.; York Filters charcoal granule cigarette introduced in March is "doing nicely in its initial (test) markets;" York nonfilters are being withdrawn; there are "no plans to relinquish" non-filter Old Gold Straights; ■'accelerated diversification investigations" are under way. Wrinkle-removers' face-to-face fight in tv marketplace 16 Tv looms as battleground for new wrinkle-covering cosmetic field which, if it fol1 lows classic case of all-purpose liquid cleaners, could mean millions more in ad revenue. Cleaner market, built b\ tv, didn't exist until late '50s. is now $100-| million business. Latest to enter wrinkle field is C'oty, which began tv push Apr. 13 and will spend some SI million annually for product — 75% of it in spot tv. Helenc Curtis was first out. _r