Sponsor (July-Dec 1954)

ies in grocery stores and other outlets. I Actually, the National Negro Network, unlike most other weh operalions, started out as a program in learch of an outlet, rather than the jither way around. About a year and a half ago, Evans, it that time a Chicago Negro market :onsultant, met with Reggie Schuebel ind Jack Wyatt, then partners in the igency consultant firm of Wyatt & jchuebel, to discuss program ideas for he burgeoning Negro radio market. The result, eventually, was Ruby Valenme, starring Juanita Hall of "Bloody Mary" fame (South Pacific). The first rade anouncement of it, incidentally, was an ad in sponsor's 1953 Negro Radio Section. A number of advertisers showed imnediate interest. On a first-come-firstserved basis, Pet Milk I via the Gardner Vgency in St. Louis) and Philip Morns (via Biow in New York) got the nod. The program producers soon found they had a problem on their hands. Clearing time for the daily quarterhour strip meant a lot of stations would have to juggle their programing around. Not all of them were sure just how to do it, or if they wanted to do it at all. Leonard Evans, acting for the prospective sponsors and for the production team, started to make a U. S.-wide tour of Negro stations to pave the way for the show. It was decided from the start that the show would be placed on a network basis, providing the economy in a specialized market that advertisers get in a mass market. In day-to-day operations, the NNN now works like this: 1. Time sales: Through its sales offices in New York and Chicago, the \ \ \ offers advertisers quarter-hour and half-hour segments on a group of 45 station by means of a Keystone-like transcription service. At the moment, the network is sold on an all-or-nothing basis; there are no "regional" groups available. The one-time price for halfhour segments: SI. 248.25. For quarterhour segments: $729.89. Prices do not include programs. The 15% agency commission applies on net station time. 2. Programing: Although the NNN t merely states in its rate card that "the services of NNN's program department in arranging and presenting programs are available to clients," in practice the | NNN is quite firm about not selling time or programs only. "We are pro 20 SEPTEMBER 1954 viding a special package service, Evans explained to sponsor. "To keep our programing consistent, we prefer to do it ourselves and not just act as time salesmen. Also, we don't encourage the idea of selling programs to I lumajor networks, since we don't want to compete with oui>i-k<-s." In the <a-r of Ruby Valentine, incidentally, the combined talent-recording charges come to a total of about $4,750 per week, which is split by the two sponsors. 3. Station relations: Like most network radio operations, the individual stations make considerably less mone) i alter commissions) on the sale of their time through the W\ than the) would if the) sold it Lo< all) on i spol basis. The payor! foi affiliates, again as it is in the major networks, is in selling adjacencies to lop shows i Mimelimes at a premium price ) . thus bringing the local-vs.-national picture more closel) into balance. A veteran station rep in the Negro Radio field Mated that "most Negro stations have been yearning for years for this kind of prestige advertising, and would do almost any thing to get it." 4. Consultation: The NNN does not IN HOUSTON KCOH sells THE NEGRO MARKET KCOH is the one direct way to reach over 350,000 Negroes in the tremendous Houston retail trading zone — at a cost of only 13c per one thousand Negro radio homes. Houston's ONLY station programmed EXCLUSIVE!. Y to the NEGRO MARKET Here is a market that represents more than six hundred million dollars of Negro spendable income — don't overlook it! Represented by George W. Clark or call Bob Meeker KCOH, Houston KCOH HOUSTON, TEXAS The voice of the Negro in the South's fargest city. 151