Sponsor (July-Dec 1950)

Kansas City, has done well in numerous markets for several years. These cowboy songsters drew a 27.4 Hooper in Scranton, Pa. Sponsors include cattle feed makers, bread and cake bakers, drug products, saltine crackers. All-Star Western Theatre is another syndicated singing feature, sold in 40 markets by Harry S. Goodman Radio Productions. Foy Willing and his "Riders of the Purple Sage" appear in 94 half-hour segments, along with guest stars like Tim Holt, Tex Ritter, Smiley Burnette. and others. The Weber Baking Co. in California and Schulze Baking Co. in the Midwest are principal sponsors, use the show in eight and 12 markets respectively. More recently, Foy Willing and the Riders of the Purple Sage have recorded 156 straight musicals lasting 15 minutes each. These are handled on an outright sale basis by Teleways Radio Productions, Inc. in Hollywood. Difference between the Goodman and Teleways transcriptions, besides the fact that one runs for a half-hour and the other 15 minutes, is that the Goodman platters contain drama and guest stars in addition to singing. The Teleways productions are strictly vocal. Once upon a time licensing manufacturers to label their products with cowboy names and thus cash in on the big Western rage was considered merely a "by-product." Not any more. The Bobby Benson operation, for example, thrives handsomely on product tie-ins alone. The New Worker magazine indicates just how business has boomed. Speaking of only one phase of the cowboy accessories industry, it reports: "Five years ago there were fewer than 10 manufacturers of holsters and pistol belts in the whole country, and they were grossing something under $5 million a year. Currently, more than 150 manufacturers are turning out holsterand-pistol-belt sets, and they're grossing around $30 million a year." Hopalong Cassidy licensees, making about 150 items, confidently expect to rake in $100 million gross this year. And the number of items is still growing. These include not just lassoes, hats, shirts, boots, raincoats, knives, and conche shells, but wallpaper, ice cream, bubble gum, cookies, children's beds, soap, and lollipops. Bill Boyd's 5-10% cut will be about $5 million and the retired ex-clerk Clarence Mulford (Hoppy's creator) will pocket an To put your finger on the heart of this great northeastern market . . . WGY's total weekly audience is over 2Vi times greater than that of the next best station in Daytime and at Night. ^rVGY's daily audience is 3 times greater than that of the next best station — 191% greater in Daytime, 211% greater at Night. WGY has 36% more audience in Daytime and 45% more at Night than a combination of the ten top-rated stations in its area. (WGY weekly audience: 428,160 Daytime; 451,230 Night.) (10-station weekly audience: 313,080 Daytime; 310,970 Night.) WGY has the largest audience in every single county in the area at Night and in all but one county in Daytime. WGY has in its primary area. Day and Night, 23 counties to Sta. B's 5 counties, Sta. C's 3 counties, Sta. D's 3 counties. WGY has almost twice as many counties in its primary area as any other station in the area has in its entire area. WGY has 8 counties in its Daytime area and 9 in its Nighttime area which are not reached at all by any other Capital District station. Your best radio buy is WGY Represented Nationally by NBC Spot Sales I CEIIEItAl ELECTRIC STATIOI 11 SEPTEMBER 1950 57