Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

(Television Advertising Bureau Planned, pp. 1 & 6 Old Order Changing, But Trends Are Same, pp. I & 12 St. Louis VHF Granted, 3 More Starters, page 2 No Drastic UHF Plans Up FCC's Sleeve, page 3 More Booster Experiments in the Works, poge 4 Pattern of UHF Receiver Circulation, page 5 Color Programs Won't Cost Much More, page 7 Subscription TV — Not Much Interest at FCC, page 9 Transmitter Shipments & Upcoming Stations, page 10 Most Parents Approve TV — Church Survey, page II First Big-Scale Promotion of Color Sets, page 13 J. Walter Thompson on 'Where The Sets Are,' p. Id TELEVISION ADVERTISING BUREAU PLANNED: Success of ANPA's Bureau of Advertising ( it was even host to President Eisenhower for his address during newspaper publishers convention this week) has prompted the managements of an imposing list of top-flight stations to plan a similar organization for TV. They envisage it as a "centrallydirected promotional and educational effort to educate new advertisers to the value of the TV medium" as well as a permanent liaison with advertisers, agencies, etc. They'll call it Television Advertising Bureau, plan headquarters in N.Y. , and propose that it should function entirely separate from NARTB. Group has retained Richard P. Doherty, recently resigned NARTB employe-employer relations v.p., now in consulting practice, to draw up organization plan for initial meeting — possibly at time of NARTB convention in Chicago, May 23-27. Networks weren't represented at quietly-arranged and unpublicized sessions in New York's Biltmore Hotel, April 22-23, where executives representing 24 major stations agreed on necessity of TAB, pledged finances, got pledges of support from other managers. The heads of the major rep firms were present, including Station Representatives Assn. pres. John Blair and managing director T.F. Flanagan. Publisher Norman Chandler. Los Angeles Times, which owns KTTV, urged group to organize TAB, told them ANPA's Bureau of Advertising has proved to be "the most important factor in the development of national and local newspaper advertising." Organizing committee is under chairmanship of KTTV's Richard Moore (see p. 6). OLD ORDER CHANGING, BUT TRENDS ARE SAME: Two major station deals this week — sale of Kansas City's KMBC-TV & KMBC for more than $2,615,000 and Buffalo's radio WGR for approximately $1,000,000 — illustrate again the constantly "changing order" that TV is bringing about in the business of broadcasting. Yet they also prove that basic economic trends are unchanging. Consider: KMBC-TV has been sharing Channel 9 with WHB-TV. equally with a common transmitter but on a split-schedule basis, since operation began last Aug. 1. This week, it was sold, along with KMBC (5-kw, 980 kc, CBS) and satellite KFRM, Concordia, Kan. (5-kw daytime on 550 kc, CBS), to Cook Paint & Varnish Co.. Kansas City. Sale price was $1,750.000 cash, plus assumption of approximately $865,000 in obligations, plus 10-year contract at $25,000 a year under which KMBC foiinder and chief owner Arthur B. Church and his wife agree not to go into TV or radio in that area. Purchasing firm is owner of half-time WHB-TV and radio WHB (10-kw daytime, 5-kw night on 710 kc, MBS), and proposes to merge the 2 TV half-timers, to retain the KMBC-TV call letters, to keep radios KMBC and KFRM, and to sell radio WHB. Ill health of veteran broadcaster Arthur B. Church, who built up KMBC since 1921 as one of the nation's leading stations and won for himself the reputation of being one of the industry's finest operators, hastened this particular deal. Most significant factor is the "merger" of share-time stations, the second involving post-freeze grantees. It has happened in radio through the years; it's 1 COPYRIUHT l»84 BY RADIO NEWS BUREAU