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If fiat's happening in Government that affects advertisers and agencies
WASHINGTON WEEK
8c^?ghtM.B9LR The JU8tice Department's suit this week against RCA and NBC is believed to
sponsor publications inc. be only the opening round in a series of court actions over television trade
practices.
The FBI is busy questioning agencies and advertisers on discount structure and other network practices.
Indications are that the Justice Department will hie again against NBC, and others, during the next six months in a suing spree on the industry.
In part, the complaint against RCA-NBC, filed in Philadelphia, charges
• That in the exchange of WTAM and WNBK-TY, Cleveland, for Westinghouse's WPTZ and KYW, Philadelphia, RCA-NBC carried out "an unlawful combination and conspiracy in restraint of trade."
• That NBC effected this exchange by threatening to cancel Westinghouse's network affiliations of stations in Boston and Philadelphia and to withhold affiliations from stations W estinghouse might later acquire.
RCA-NBC in a press statement contended that the suit resulted from jurisdictional dispute between two Government agencies, the Justice Department and the FCC. The FCC approved the exchange of stations in December, 1955.
Contrary to reports published in 1 December \\ ashington Week of tardiness in getting action on the FCC's crash program to aid uhf, the fact is that the industry project backed by five organizations which together compose the Television Aflocation Study Organization (TASO) is picking up momentum.
Dr. George R. Town has been named managing director of TASO, whose member organizations are: AMST, comprising vhi as well as uhf maximum power stations; NARTB; JCET; RETMA; and Committee ofr Competitive Television.
Dr. f own is meeting next week with TASO to complete the budget and finalize basic planning.
Town comes from Jowa State College. He was formerly associate director of engineering research at Stromberg Carlson.
Meantime, AMST has bought two complete units for field intensity measurements in 33 markets during next 12 months.
The 3 December deadline for the filing of arguments with the FCC on the proposal to deinterniix certain selected markets brought lew surprises in the petitions :
• Some established vhf stations which would get more v service didn't like the idea at all.
• Uhf's in the selected markets cheered the proposals, hopeful they would get first crack at these new v assignments.
• Holders of permits for v's which would be canceled if the assignments were replaced with u's were quite perturbed.
Representatives of the public in areas where u's would be substituted for v's claimed, in the words of one petition, that they would be made "second-class television citizens."
Meanwhile, the FCC was giving ample evidence it intends to proceed speedily on these proposals.
The Commission turned down all petitions for reconsideration and cancellation of proceedings and — what is more surprising — even rejected all requests for extension of time.
SPONSOR • 8 DECEMBER 1956 61