Sponsor (Oct-Dec 1964)

PROBING THE CURRENTS AND UNDERCURRENTS OF BROADCAST ADVERTISING the programing system. According to Kemp, no one agency could afford the project he has in mind, and, anyway, he's convinced that the suggestions from muhiple media experts in such an undertaking would he far better than the tiiinking of a single agency. So far none of the agencies Kemp has talked to has put anything on the line. and audience doubled. In appraising the NFL audience picture, this economic factor should be noted: the cost per commercial minute has almost doubled since the 1963 season. The following football audience comparison, with the number of games measured shown in parentheses, is based on September-October NTIs. ARB's overnight radio push ARB is now reaching out for radio dollars on the overnight front as well as through syndicated monthly market reports. It's the first time the ARB has gone after overnight radio survey business on a broad scale. Rate cards were made available last week to stations, rep and agencies. Most survey orders require five days notice. A twoand-a-half-hour survey of a station's programing, with an allotment of 500 coincidental phone calls, can be had, for examlpe, for $145. ARB looks on the overnight radio as something that can be easily fitted in with its tv enterprises. ABC-TV time rates up 5 percent ABC-TV last week rushed through a time rate increase for nighttime, to take effect immediately (December 1 ). If you take into account the network's complicated discount setup and the varied rate scale for prime time segments, the hike distills down to around 5 percent. As is the custom of the business, current advertisers are protected for six months. The network's plans for a daytime increase seems to be hanging fire. Is tv football on the toboggan? Probers into the wherefores of program category trends may have an item for research in the apparent drift-off in football viewing. Judging from initial returns, the sport isn't doing so well this season. Compared to 1963, both the NCAA and the AFL games show audience losses. The slide is somewhat softened by the circumstances that the NFL games are coming out a little better than the previous season. But the NFL gain is paltry when contrasted to the huge leaps in popularity right through the 1961, 1962 and 1963 seasons. Between 1961 and 1963 average tune-in 1963 SERIES AVG. RATING AVG. HOMES NCAA <7) 12.1 6,210,000 NFL (7) 14.2 7,310,000 AFL (8) 6.4 3,280,000 AVG. 10.7 1964 5,600,000 SERIES AVG. RATING AVG. HOMES NCAA (7) 10.5 5,520,000 NFL (7) 14.5 7,630,000 AFL (7) 5.3 2,790,000 AVG. 10.1 5,310,000 Note: The drops for the NCAA and AFL, respectively, were 11.1 percent and 15.5 percent. The AFL increase was 4.1 percent. The over-all average decrease was 5.4 percent. Merger effects perplex stations Many stations apparently are not aware of how complex the diversifications of some of the industrial giants have become. This unawareness is brought home to reps when stations balk at having to extend corporate discounts suddenly on two or more accounts with which they had been dealing separately for many years, and, which in many cases, produce products utterly unrelated to one another. The stations, for instance, can't understand why Richardson-Merrill, Inc., which puts out the Vick's line, is now entitled to a corporate discount on schedules from Hess & Clark, which makes medicines for farm animals. Or, Glidden paints and Durkee Famous Foods should come in for a combined discount. A block radio spot discount? Are radio stations' ratecards way behind the times with regards to the specifications of the end rate? Some major stations think that the CWD, or consecutive week discount, as applied to 26week and 52-week spans, can stand adjustment to the realities of today's buying practices. To these stations the procedure of applying the CWD only to advertisers who are on 26 or 52 weeks is too constrictive. It is the advertisers' contention 26 SPONSOR