Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

Record Details:

Title:
Television digest with electronic reports
Date:
Jan-Dec 1954
Publisher:
Washington, D.C. : Radio News Bureau
Volume:
Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1954)
Leaf #:
000225
Language:
English
Subjects:
Television broadcasting -- Periodicals, Television -- United States -- Periodicals","Radio broadcasting -- United States -- Periodicals.
Collection:
Broadcasting & Recorded Sound
Format:
Periodicals
Contributor:
University of Maryland, College Park
Sponsor:
LYRASIS Members and Sloan Foundation
Coordinator:
Media History Digital Library
Description:
A weekly digest of brief reports tracking recent developments in the U.S. television marketplace. Published out of Washington, D.C. with much more focus on the retail of TV sets than the other D.C.-based trade paper, BROADCASTING. -- Eric Hoyt, 2015
Date Added:
March 28, 2024
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3 5 MORE CPs, ST. LOUIS VHP GRANT SOON: Way was cleared for Ch. 4 into St. Louis this week as FCC permitted KXOK and Missouri Valley TV Co. to dismiss, leaving KWK free for grant as result of merger agreement (for details, see p. 14). Also in the week's grants was CP for Buffalo's Ch. 2 to Niagara Frontier Amusement Corp., final disposition of affair involving charges of strike application, payoff, etc. (Vol. 10:8). Both St. Louis and Buffalo at present have only one vhf outlet. There were 5 CPs this week. In addition to the one to Buffalo, they went to: Marquette. Mich., Peninsula TV Inc., Ch. 6; Muskogee. Okla. , KTUL (Tulsa), Ch. 8; Gastonia, N. C. . Air Pix Corp., Ch. 48; Seattle, Seattle Construction Co., Ch. 20. One grant was returned — for KITO-TV, San Bernardino. Cal.. Ch. 20. There was also a Canadian CP this week — CHEX, Peterborough, Ont., Ch. 12 — recommended by board of governors of CBC, equivalent of grant. Initial decisions favored: Wisconsin Valley TV Corp., Wausau, Wis.. Ch. 7, and WSAV, Savannah, Ga. , Ch. 3. First came after agreement whereby WSAU dropped out. Owners of WSAU — Charles Lemke (49%) and John R. Tomek (51%) — are to sell station to Wisconsin Valley for $170,000. Lemke is to buy 400 shares of Wisconsin Valley at $100 a share, eventually own 25%. Tomek is to get $15,000 as consultant. In Savannah case, WSAV was favored over WJIV in Examiner Cunningham's initial decision for two main reasons; (1) "Integration" of ownership and management, with WSAV principal stockholder Harben Daniel to devote his full time to station. (2) Single vs. multiple station ownership — with Daniel controlling only WSAV-AM-FM, while WJIV ov/ner E.D. Rivers Jr. owns 4 AMs and has TV grant for Valdosta (Ch. 37). Cionningham also held, however, that WSAV had done some prior TV construction (tower base and transmitter-projection-control room in Liberty National Bank Bldg.). This doesn't prevent it from getting CP, he said, but he ruled that none of the construction could be used when authorized construction starts. (For further details about principals in foregoing grants, see TV Addenda 18-N herewith, and Blue Section of TV Factbook No. 18.) I * # ’ Shift of WHIZ-TV, Zanesville, 0., from Ch. 50 to Ch. 18 was granted this ' week, first case of its kind. Other operating uhf stations have sought to file for vhf and keep operating uhf at same time. FCC turned them down, saying it couldn't countenance "straddling" two channels. It said Zanesville case is different, however, because no other applicant sought Ch. 18. , WHIZ-TV management is convinced lower channel is better, despite FCC refusal i to recognize any difference. Engineers have compared coverage with that of WTAP, |i Parkersburg, W.Va. (Ch. 15), covering same kind of terrain; testing receiver sensitivity, etc., they concluded Ch. 18 is much better suited to Zanesville area. Station won't move immediately to new channel, must yet order equipment. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ That novel newspaper protest of TV grant in Clarksburg, W.Va. (Vol. 10:13) looks as if it's going to hearing, thus delaying construction of WBLK-TV (Ch. 12). Actually, Commission voted to accede to protest this week, told staff to draft hearing order, bring it back next week for approval. Having no broadcast interests and applying for none — thus differing from previous protestants — Clarksburg Exponent & Telegram filed protest against grant, alleging station will cause it economic injury, increase monopoly. Lawyers are wondering if grant of protest would lay any new CP wide open to a successful delaying action by anyone who can show that TV hurts his business — by theatre operators, play producers, concert impressarios — almost anybody. FCC's augmented staff for TV processing is likely to be "unaugmented" come June 30. Hired specifically with extra funds provided by Congress for TV processing for one year, quite a few lawyers and some engineers may be dropped. About 55, including examiners and hearing counsel, were hired on temporary basis and were warned that their tenures may be short. Hearing examiners now have full calendars, with approximately 25 more hear^ ings waiting for examiners. Latest scheduled is for Ch. 9, Dothan, Ala., May 7. 1