Sponsor (Nov 1947-Oct 1948)

^^ Unlock Rhode Island mornings — — and step into a wsrmingly proFitable recepdoni It's a million-listener area, a rich area! And here are names to conjure v\ith, ready-made prcstise that pays off. • MARTIN AGRONSKY— Infernaticrally famous ccmmenfatcr prescnfs world news from Washington ddily except Sunday, 8.008.15 A.M. BING CROSBY— A fifteer -minute recorded prorram. Nothing mere need be said. The time is 8.15-8.30 A.M. Monday thru Friday. BETTY GUNNING— — started talking to women in this million-listener erea five years ago. Solidly established. When Bct<y says "buy" they buy! Spots available now end then. Write, wire or phone for rates X«»\v fJ<'vol<i|>iii<'ii(s on SIMI>SOIl sf orios 5000 WATTS DAY & NIGHT WALLACE A WALKER, Gen. Mgr. PROVIDtNCE, The Sherofon-Billmore PAWTUCKET, 450 Main St. Represent,itives: AVERY-KNODEL, INC. p.s (See "Weather Is Cc ft n-etcial," JfCNfCR, Jire 1947, page 13.) Are rrore 2dverti!crs ipcnicring wealhercasts now than Icst year? iVJthtt new developments have there been in wettKer ptcgrfming? Hew pcpular are weather programs with iistereis erd viewers? r Ever) bcdy talks about the weather. That's why the number of advertisers selling via the service type of weather SfX)ts and programs in radio and televisif n has nearly doubled since the last sponsor report. Surveys, such as the recent one made by farm-belt station WBAA, Lafayette, Ind., show that up to two-thirds of the farm housewives listening to hcmemaking progrems want straight, factual weather forecasting included. Their farmer-husbands want the latest weather data too, because to them weather is vital. The perfect noontime farm program, according to \VBAA, would contain two weather forecasts in the hour, as well as news, farming tips, and music. To many a station located in the rich heart of America's farming centers, this is not startling. There are few sizable farm-area stations that don't have regular weathercasts several tirres a day, often from their own weather staffs. Advertisers have found that these farm weather forecasts sell everything from tractors to appliances, and feeds to furnishings. The interest in weather is not confined to farming communities. The sale of Harry S. Goodman's CCNY-prize-winning weather jingles has ji mped frcm 200 markets last year to over 400 today, with a waiting list. Mere than half of this lOO'v^-plus increase is concentrated in large metropolitan areas. Also, big-city stations like WLW, WFIL, WNEW, and others are not content with reporting the U. S. Weather Bureau forecasts in their newscasts or station breaks. WLW (Cincinnati) has Bill Nimmo giving three daily 15-minute platter sessions, Tuesday, Wednesda>', and Thiirsda)', in which he features the latest road information, as well as weather forecasts, news, and music. He does a similar show once daily on Monday end Sunday. The show is promoted in two-color posters by WLW and the sponsor, Buell Air Horns, in 500 all-night roadside eateries in four states, and in dealer displa> s. The sale of air horns to fleet owiicrs, motorists, and truckers is said to have taken a big jump, due traceably to the show. Philadelphia's WFIL has its own weather staff, which prepares and airs several complete weather shows, featuring the latest highway data and motoring tips. New York's WNEW airs a series of spot roundups on weather and highway information for city-dwellers, and includes the weather forecasts, as man>' independent stations have learned to do, in their around-the-clock newscasts. The list of stations programing their weathercasts is increasing. The weather program holds even more promise for the visual air medium. The Daily News TV station, WPIX, scans a Thursda\ night 20-minute show called Week'end Weather. It is typical of man> video weather shows from stations owned and operated b\ newspapers, which are alreadx well aware of the readership value of weather. The ,\Vn'5' own weatherman, ). Henr\ Weber, does a 10-minute illustrated round-up en the weather. Then, the latter half is taken over b\ Anne Dixon, who supplements Weber's analysis with week end tips about weather conditions, highwa>' traffic, and so forth, at nearbv' beaches and resorts. WPIX also schedules weather twice dail> on telecast news. T\' stations, like WPTZ with its vSiomy Week'Cnd, WCAU-TV with its Weather Wise telecasts, and WNBW with its Johnny Bradford's TV Journal, which gives a 5-minute round-up on weather for viewers in the nation's capital, have discovered that vidc^ weathercasts have as much or more appeal than those of radio. Sponsors like Botany Woolen Mills and B.\'.D. have found their telecast service spots on weather to be productive of real sales gains. Whether in programing or spots, weather is one of the least expensive t> pes of television production, and one of the highest-rattxl in terms of \iewership. The same holds true in radio, and advertisers and broadcasters alike are becoming increasingly conscious of these facts. 10 SPONSOR