Sponsor (Jan-June 1953)

Reynolds Metals) were to take advantage of the 25% -drop-off arrangement. These were the key findings: • The sponsor of Fibber McGee & Molly could drop the 14 largest TV markets from his NBC Radio lineup and still be within his allowable 25%reduction from a full network. • Although the time costs would then go down about 27%, the show's efficiency would suffer. • In a typical winter season week last year, Fibber's nationwide NRI rating was 10.7, or about 4,580,000 homes throughout the country. • However, a rerun of the Nielsen data — leaving out the 14 largest TV markets — allowed for a rating of 6.0, good for about 2,568,000 homes. In other words, some 44% of Fibber McGee & Molly's audience comes from 14 areas where well over half the nation's video sets are located. NBC has been getting results with calculations like that above. Reynolds Metals currently sponsors the familiar situation-comedy show on what is virtually the entire NBC radio web. Similarly NBC recently sold a full-network lineup to Chevrolet for its Dinah Shore show — principally on the strength of figures which showed that Chevrolet would lose nearly half its potential U.S. audience if the auto firm tried to steer around the big TV markets. What does the total picture of radio strength in all TV areas vs. the non-TV areas look like? ABC Radio provided sponsor with at least one set of answers. Said Donald W. Coyle, that network's manager of research: "We recently tabulated average NRI ratings of half-hour evening commercial shows to determine the breakdown of audiences by TV areas vs. non-TV. It is quite obvious that better than half the audience for the average evening half-hour network radio program comes from TV areas. For this reason, the results are somewhat disastrous when an advertiser seeks an exclusively non-TV lineup." Tbe figures ( for details, see chart, page 29 ) indeed show real strength for all the major radio networks in facing up to TV. In the NRI tabulation, an average for 32 evening half-hour programs placed 49' < of the audience outside TV markets and 51% inside TV. As might be expected, the major radio webs have been quick to promote these facts to network advertisers who might be tempted to buv only outside TV lineups for their programs. Typical of such big-network ammunition are the figures in the chart <>n page 29. They show, at a glance, a picture of cost-per-1.000 evening circulation (homes I of the NBC Radio network. Currently NBC executives are making good use of these figures in persuading network advertisers that big stations in the thick of TV competition are still pulling plent\ of weight with listeners. With reference to the charted figures, which are based on 1952 \l> data, NBC Research Executive James Cornell told SPONSOK: "Along with the cost-per-1.000 data; we show whether the station is in a TV or non-TV city, whether it is in one of the top 25 metro markets, and whether it is a 50 kw. station. As can be seen in the 1952 table, the low-cost stations tend to be in the TV markets, although there is a fairly wide dispersion of these stations. "Closely related to the basic TV angle is the 50 kw. angle. As can be seen, most of the NBC big-city 50.000 waiters are in the lowest portion of the cost-per-1.000 profile of NBC Radio. In fact the 50 kw. stations — which compete with TV in almost every case — almost monopolize the low end of the picture. "The fact is that cost-per-1,000 of evening circulation has decreased from 1949 to 1952 for NBC radio stations in the great majority of TV markets with increases occurring in only a few instances. Incidentally, what is true here of NBC Radio is also largely true of the other leading radio network — CBS. But all the four major radio networks have lately been plugging the cost picture of their largest stations in combating TV. Even Mutual Broadcasting System, which has lately been concentrating much of its sales pitches on how well it does in "Non-TV America," is now altering the range slightly on its network promotional guns. On the first page of a recent network promotion piece, MBS stated: ""In that 15% of U.S. land area within range of television. Nielsen computes 79.000,000 family -hours of TV viewing — and 74.000.000 family-hours of radio listening — in the average day. Even in TV's front yard, ears are indeed active: and Nielsen further reports that the Mutual Network is actually increasing its share of those ears. SPECIAL SUMMER BONUS! KMTV Will Soon Be On the Air With MAXIMUM POWER 100,000 WATTS Shortly after June 1st, KMTV's power boost will be completed. A stronger signal with greater fringe area coverage means a BIGGER BUY THAN EVER for KMTV advertisers ... at no increase in rates! Month after month after month, KMTV has consistently been Omaha's most looked at — listened to station according to Pulse. Place your message on KMTV — the big station with the big audience. Contact KMTV or your Petry representative today. KfflTVDuHr OMAHA 2/ NEBRASKA CHANNEL 3 \ ow R e bres e nted B x EDWARD PETRY & CO., INC. 1 JUNE 1953 61