Sponsor (July-Dec 1951)

000 set-owners; at $2.00 per week that provides a formidable budget for buying rights. Second, theatre-viewers and subscriber-viewers (principally the latter) will draw off part of the audience now tied up exclusively by commercially sponsored television. Partially offsetting this loss in audience is the chance that subscriber TV will set off another wave of set buying, thereby increasing total audience for all programs. Third, subscriber television shapes up as a possible competitor for broadcast time. Theatre TV operates on closed circuit (NBC handled the recent Louis-Savold bout as an aside to its regular network telecasts ) . therefore doesn't infringe on any air-time which an advertiser could buy. Subscriber television, however, must either buy time on the established stations or build some of their own. Its unlikely that any of the subscriber systems would build a station just to put on 10 hours of entertainment a week, and the freeze situation makes stationbuilding even more unlikely. Conclusion: subscriber TV will be in there scrambling for availabilities. Q. How soon will theatre TV begin to compete for entertainment and audience? A. It's already begun. Both the LouisSavold fight and the LaMotta-Murphy battle were piped directly to TVequipped theatres. The eight theatres hooked up for the first bout reached 22,000 customers, while the second was viewed by some 27,000 enthusiasts in 11 theatres with many more turned away. Promoters were happy, for theatre TV had added $28,650 to the gross of $116,690 taken in the gate of the LaMotta-Murphy tilt. RCA is the principal supplier of television installations for theatres which, incidentally, cost at least $25,000 all told. The company, sponsor learned, recently booked orders for over 50 such units — which can project images picked up by wire or over the air. Half of these, or 25, were ordered by Warner Theatres. One industry seer predicts 100 TV-equipped movie houses by the end of 1951. Distributed among several cities, the combined patrons of even 100 theatres would mean a minor audience loss. But programwise, theatre television is an active competitor. Q. When will subscriber television get underway full-scale? A. Best-informed opinion — from directors of subscriber TV themselves — is that at least six months and probably closer to a year will go by before anything like a regular operation can gel going. Phonevision just recently wound-up a highly successful 90-day test in Chicago, while Subscriber-Vision and Telemeter are planning tests for this summer and early fall. It looks like late fall will come before the FCC will be able to hold hearings on the three systems. Prospect is for a drawn-out hearing at that, since the FCC will probably still have the TV allocation problem on its hands. Once a decision has been reached on the systems, it may well be another six months before sets can be wired for subscriber use. Look for subscriber TV to get underway commercially not earlier than next spring. Q. What are the differences between the three systems of subscriber television presently being experimented with? FIRST in Georgia's third market Georgia's 3rd market it a buying market. 1950 retail tales exceeded $1)0 million. 1951 will be greater because of the new $600 million AEC Hydrogen Bomb Facilities Plant, the Clark's Hill Dam and Camp Gordon operating at full capacity. AUGUSTA FIRST (power) 5000 W WRDW's powerful 5kw signal dominates the Augusta market, day and night We have figures to prove it. Or atk Headley-Reed for complete informaiion, IRST in selling i power FIRST Hooper-Wise According to the latest Hooper Survey (Dec. '50Jan. '51), WRDW is First in the morning with 34.9%; First in the afternoon with 36.5%; First at night with 37.3%. WRDW hat a 35.5% in total rated periodt. FIRST in the market (oldest station) CBS for Augusta, Ga.