Sponsor (Jan-June 1953)

10 TV CLICHES (Continued from page 35) sion in terms of territorial coverage — and quite another, in terms of population. To coin a cliche of our own, 'only the rabbit food manufacturer has primary interest in the jack rabbits of Texas.' "Distorting a U.S.A. map to represent concentrations of population (with jack rabbits left out of the figures), and then superimposing TV coverage as we knew it of last June (1952) — television long ago became a national advertising medium for all practical purposes. By June 1, 1953 — 80% of total U.S. families will be within reach of television,' Shurick predicts. Cliche 3. "People wont watch TV after the novelty wears off." "Today," states the CBS study, "families with TV sets give more time to television than to any other leisure interest — and they're watching it more and more." Here are the figures for average set use daily, based on Nielsen Television Index findings: 1950 — four hours, 25 minutes. 1951 — four hours, 43 minutes. 1952 — four hours, 49 minutes. CLEVELAND'S STATION 5,000 WATTS— 850 K.C. BASIC ABC NETWORK REPRESENTED BY H-R REPRESENTATIVES To point up the value of this everincreasing TV set usage, Shurick likes to cite the dollars-and-cents facts concerning 14 half-hour evening shows that have been on CBS TV since November, 1950: "These 14 programs on an average have increased their ratings 38% — and from a 'homes reached' standpoint have increased 206%. What about costs? On the average again, time and talent have increased from $17,116 to $36,110— an increase of 111%. Yet, 'homes reached' during this cost increase have gone up 206%." Cliche 4. "Housewives will never have time for TV during the day." This, as CBS TV puts it, is a "somewhat recent cliche." However, Nielsen research shows that set usage in the daytime has made a gain of 15% (from 61 minutes daily before 5:00 p.m., Monday-Friday, to 70 minutes) in a comparison of October 1951 and 1952 figures. While Shurick freely admits, in his snake talk, that "daytime television has been slower to develop," and points out that "daytime TV today potentially stands full bloom and the low-cost opportunity to experiment has lessened," he adds that "the growth is there — somewhat slower, to be sure, than nighttime — but it is there." Cliche 5. "In the summer, people ivill take a vacation from television." "Radio," comments Shurick, "many years ago awoke one bright, sunny morning to find itself neck deep in the problem of summer hiatus. And taking a summer vacation from radio became an insidious habit that at least CBS TV is doing everything in its power to discourage. For after all the advertiser is and should be basically interested in terms of how many advertising impressions can be made for the dollar — whether it's summer or winter." CBS TV's figures on this score are impressive. An ARB chart in the "Top 10 Cliches" presentation shows the following for 14 year-'round CBS TV shows telecast between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. (period covered: Oct. 1951 to April 1952 compared in chart with August 1952) : Average ratings: For the fall-winter period, 27.5; for the summer, 25.5. Average audiences: For fall-winter, 8,852,000; for summer, 9,826,000 television viewers. This set of figures usually makes agencymen blink. How come, they want to know, can the average ratings of 14 shows go down two points while the average audience increases by nearly a million? CBS TV's answer is this. The steady increase in the number of TV homes is primarily responsible, and this increase is "likely to continue for at least a couple of years at its present rate." Other factors contributing to the seeming-paradox: The number of viewers-per-set on summer evenings is 4% higher than in the winter (2.6 vs. 2.7 viewers). Sets-in-use, as shown by Nielsen, go down slightly in the summer, but the share-of-audience of programs riding through the summer months goes up. This higher share is due, CBS TV feels, to the fact that "replacement shows don't hold up as well as the year-'round programs." Cliche 6. "When the glamor wears off. advertisers ivill drop out of TV." Since there is a turnover of advertisers in the TV medium, and this turnover usually makes trade and consumer press headlines, some people take this cliche seriously, CBS TV feels. But, as Shurick states, "turnover exists in all media. Need it be said that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of clients who advertise one year in magazines or newspapers — and drop out the following year?" "Today," he adds, "there are over three times as many sponsored hours on the four networks than four years ago. In the first week of January 1949, there were 30^2 sponsored hours of TV network time. In the first week of January 1953 there were 100l/> hours — a gain of 230%. The early sponsors are staying. Already there are 15 of America's best-known advertisers continuously on CBS TV for four years and 35 for over three years. "In the 25 agencies with the largest television billings, TV in 1952 accounted for an average of 23% of their overall billings. And in many of these top 25 agencies, television accounted for a bigger share of the over-all billings than any other national medium." Cliche 7. "Television is pricing itself out of the market." This is one of the most-documented points in the new CBS TV presentation, since CBS feels that this "is the cliche of the hour." "The penalty of seven-league growth is the unprecedented expansion in all dimensions," Shurick states, "including costs as well as circulation and values received. During the 1930's. 74 SPONSOR