Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

7 Telecasting Notes: Rise in TV film sales and ratings in recent weeks is pointed up by fact that increasing number of locally placed film series are now outpulling many a competing network show in same time slot. Some of TV film shows most popular with independent stations are network-syndicated re-runs of top half-hour series which had their first runs on competing network stations . . . Examples of the “pull” of syndicated TV films, from this week’s Billboard and Variety: WOR-TV, in 7-station New York, replaced 8 local shows with NBC film properties Wed. nights, hiked ratings from .9 to 12.7, 2 to 8.1 & .7 to 2.3; in 7-station Los Angeles, KTTV switched to syndicated films, climbed into first, second & third positions in their time segments Sat. nights; Ziv’s I Led 3 Lives on WLWT piled up 47.7 rating in 3-station Cincinnati . . . CBS TV Film Sales reports 300% increase in gross sales for first quarter 1954 over first quai’ter of last year . . . ABC Film Syndication acquires John Kieran’s Kaleidoscope, 104 quarter-hours . . . NBC Film div., which started just a year ago with 2 shows and now offers 14 series, made 1100 individual sales in its first year . . . Specialized education: American Telecasting Corp., Hollywood TV school, now offering 16-week course in “TV film buying,” which it claims is first of its kind in country . . . Nation’s 3 top shows, according to ARB’s first Feb. report, are all on film — I Love Lmcy, Dragnet & Groiicho Marx ... 3 billion “TV home impi'essions” for public sei'vice causes — that’s the record of commercial network TV for 1954, Advertising Council pres. Theodore S. Repplier announced in annual report; TV networks, stations, advertisers and agencies contributed to “16 major campaigns and 18 other causes”; commercial radio network programs delivered 2.5 billion home impressions . . . “Overweight” will be first spring program in widely praised March of Medicine series of special telecasts, sponsored & produced by Smith, Kline & French Laboratories with AMA, on NBC-TV, 10-10:30 p.m. March 11; others will be April 29 & June 24 . . . Cowboys still outrank interplanetary shows with small fry, according to Youth Research Institute, which took poll, found 63% of kids prefer westerns, 27% space shows, 10% undecided . . . National Open golf tourney, never before televised, will be covered by NBC-TV 4-6 p.m. June 19 from Baltusrol (N. J.) Golf Club, using “traveling eye” Cadillac mobile unit, first used at Inaugural Parade, for close shots of golfers in action . . . Radio’s “Mr. Anthony” — John J. Anthony, who broadcast advice on personal problems for 23 years — has been signed by independent KTTV, Los Angeles, for TV series . . . $1000 musical scholarships being awarded each 13 weeks to best young musician appearing on elaborate new Debut on KCOP (formerly KLAC-TV), Los Angeles, which features full concert orchestra whose members’ average age is under 20 . . . $1,756,000 suit filed by actor John Ireland against TV film producers Norvin Productions and TV Programs of America, charging slander and breach of contract; actor’s suit says his contract to portray detective Ellei’y Queen was broken by the studios on grounds he was “politically unacceptable” . . . WDSM-TV, Duluth-Superior (Ch. 6) which began Feb. 23, has set base Class A hourly rate of $250, min., $50 . . . More rate increases: WAVE-TV, Louisville, raises Class AA hour from $750 to $850, min. from $150 to $170; WLWA, Atlanta, adds new Class A A hour of $700, min. $112, effective 8-10 p.m. daily, and raises Class A hour from $500 to $650, min. $75 to $104; WMBRTV, Jacksonville base hour goes from $550 to $600, min. from $80 to $150 for 8-10 p.m. segment daily, $120 for other Class A time . . . Rate reductions: WEEU-TV, Reading, cuts base hour from $250 to $150 & min. from $40 to $20, rates now effective for all time segments; WRAY-TV, Princeton, Ind. cuts hourly rate from $250 to $150, min. $50 to $30. First commercial color cameras were shipped by RCA this week, to NBC and CBS. In latter case, it was first installment on CBS’s near-$l,000,000 order for 12 complete chains. Among others to get cameras before long, though dates aren’t given, are: WKY-TV, Oklahoma City; WBAP-TV, Fort Worth; WBEN-TV, Buffalo; WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee; WCCO-TV, Minneapolis; KTLA, Los Angeles; WDSU-TV, New Orleans. Though some stations are easing into local originations by purchasing slide equipment first, then film, Huntington’s WSAZ-TV plans to start right out with live RCA camei’a — hopes to have it in use by summer. Mgr. Lawrence H. (Bud) Rogers, elated with station’s first pickup of network color — March 5 Bride & Groom — via station’s private 3-hop microwave from Columbus, 0., said he’s going to let development of slide and film equipment shake down a while. Disagreeing with some other station managers, he feels present camera is going to be standard for considerable period. Rogers was particularly pleased to get color job completed this week because RC.A. holds seminar for servicemen in Huntington March 8-9, and he was anxious to supply color pictures of Ding Dong School those 2 days. Number of stations now equipped to rebroadcast network color is hard to determine. Even RCA doesn’t know, because lately it has been shipping portions of necessary equipment — rather than sending out “crash” crews with complete kits as it did for Jan. 1 Tournament of Roses parade (Vol. 10:2). Total stations equipped is figured at 30-40, and NBC re.search chief Hugh Beville last week estimated that 180 would be ready by year’s end. He also predicted that 10,000,000 color sets would be sold in 6 years. Lashing out at radio ownership of TV stations. Sen. Kilgore (D-W. Va.) last weekend wrote Sen. Langer (R-N. D.), chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Bricker (R-0.), chairman of Commerce Committee, urging their serious study of problems relating to “threat of developing monopoly” in communication field. Enclosing article by Washington attorneys Henry B. Weaver Jr. and Tom Cooley which appeared last year in Pennsylvania Law Review assailing FCC attitude on radio ownership of TV (Vol. 9:28), Kilgore’s letter stated: “If radio interests succeed in gaining dominance of TV, further concentration is inevitable, and perhaps it will create something even approaching complete monopoly of broadcasting. ... A single corporation now owns not only several major radio and TV stations, but also a nationwide radio network and a nationwide TV network, while at the same time it is one of the largest producers of broadcasting equipment and receivers and exercises a wide influence throughout the industry by reason of its ownership of numerous important patents. Plainly, such concentration as this poses problems which at a minimum would strain the resources of the Dept, of Justice antitrust div. in addition to any possible exercise of authority by the Communications Commission. And it may well be that existing powers and agencies are simply incapable of dealing with a concentration of such inordinate size and infinite ramifications. . . .” Record 37,000 religious programs were telecast and broadcast last year, according to annual report of Broadcasting and Film Commission of National Council of Churches of Christ in U.S.A. Exec, director Rev. S. Franklin Mack said nearly 1,000,000 viewers and listeners wrote to request religious literature offered on these programs — 4 times the number 3 years ago.