Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

15 Color Trends & Briefs: nbc-tv color mobile unit should provide some of most exciting shows to date — in addition to supplying dealers with choice demonstration fare — as it feeds 15-min. daily inserts to 11 a.m.-noon Ho?ne and 7-9 a.m. Today shows from various eastern cities (Vol. 10:18-19). We can now report actual itinerary, with specific dates, as follows: June 9-10, Chicago — Cloverdale Farm. Cited as a model, typical, modern midv/estern farm operated by alert young couple. June 16-17, Milwaukee — Whltnall Park. Famed for flowers, lagoon, etc. Will include horse show. June 24-25, St. Louis— Visit to fabulous estate of brewer August A. Busch Jr. It was once Gen. Grant’s farm, Is now one of nation’s showpiaces. June 50 & July 2, Columbus, O. — Two different locales. Gov. Lausohe’s mansion and Ohio State Penitentiary, latter to be flrst time TV has invaded any penitentiary. July 8-9, Cleveland and July 15-16, Washington, programs unciGCitiod July 22-23, Baltimore — Trip to Ft. McHenry, where Francis Scott Key wrote Star Spangled Banner. July 23-29, Philadelphia — Two sites. Session at city’s Are school, where house will be burned and flre-flghtlng techniques demonstrated. Visit to Philadelphia Art Museum, which will include displays of such things as old Mummer’s Parade costumes. Aug. 5-6, Boston, and Aug. 12-13, New York, programs for both to be selected. NBC’s color schedule, meanwhile, comprises 6 sessions of Bride & Groom, noon. May 24-26, May 31, June 1-2, Also in the works, to start in color at undisclosed date before fall, is new Tonight, 11:15-1 a.m., similar in concept to morning Today. NBC pres. Pat Weaver points out that Tonight alone would provide almost 10 hours of network color weekly, in addition to the 90-min. color spectaculars (Vol. 10:20). * * • • Third station with live color camera is WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee— other 2 being WKY-TV, Oklahoma City and WBAP-TV, Ft. Worth — but gen. mgr. Walter Damm says he’ll ease into local originations more gradually than others have. He has one camera, plus slide equipment, expects color film chain in late summer. Station has no plans for second camera, he says, “until we’re sure it’s economically justified.” Target date is July 1, when station will start with the “NBC system,” i.e., putting each sponsor’s program on in color once without charge — if program is suited to color. By Jan. 1, this phase will be over and regular once-a-week cooking and women’s shows are contemplated. Color commercials won’t be “injected” into black-&-white programs. “We won’t put on extravaganzas,” Damm adds. “We’ll get those from the network. I’m not making a lot of promises. Some people forget it takes 3 hours to warm up and adjust a color camera. Furthermore, there has been too much color here for us to get away with poor stuff. We’ve had network color here for quite a while. About 15-20,000 people have seen color on the 4 sets we have in our auditorium.” Rates will not be increased for color. Extra charge will be made for color whenever extra production costs are incurred. Otherwise, color and monochrome prices will be exactly same. Says Damm: “If an advertiser comes in here with a color film that can be run through a color film chain without any extra cost to us, he won’t be charged extra for it. Same goes for slides.” Some 200 color set sales in Oklahoma City are reported by WKY-TV mgr. P, A. Sugg on basis of word from distributors. He says that Dulany’s, RCA distributor, says it can’t get enough sets. “They’re a live outfit,” Sugg says. “They don’t just sell a dealer a color set. They give him a package, including theatre seats and the like — real promotion.” Sugg takes great pride in his color schedule of an hour daily, attributing many set sales to amount of programming. He says station crews had been training for color about 8 months and that not a single minute of outages has occurred. Closed-circuit demonstrations are being conducted for clients, and Sugg reports that some of the biggest sponsors in area sit goggledeyed, predicting a “revolution” in TV. Financial & Trade Notes: abc-tv’s second and third quarters aren’t expected to be profitable but outlook for fourth quarter, thanks to new programming, is very encouraging, said American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres Inc. pres. Leonard Goldenson at annual stockholders meeting May 18. Beginning with third quarter, AB-PT also expects theatre business to improve, he stated. Second quarter theatre earnings are following pattern of first quarter (Vol. 10:17), when they were off due to higher film rentals growing out of shortage of feature films, increased depreciation charges due to installation of stereophonic sound and wide-screen equipment, and effects of TV for first time in many smaller cities, especially in South and Midwest. As for radio, he said: “Our confidence in radio is unshaken. It is going through a period of transition as a result of TV’s growth. Nevertheless, there are indications of a reawakened interest in radio.” Philco earnings & sales declined in first quarter — earnings being $2,438,000 (62^ a share) on sales of $113,770,000 vs. $3,401,000 (88^) on $129,058,000 in same period last year and $2,341,000 (64<i) on $84,239,000 in first quarter 1952. Pres. Wm. Balderston declared: “As Philco anticipated, highly competitive conditions have prevailed in the TV industry and it has been necessary so far this year to produce a larger quantity of lower priced sets to meet the competitive situation. By following this policy, the company has increased its share of available business, strengthened its trade position and maintained employment at the highest level possible.” Magnavox earned $2,030,912 ($2.68 a share) on sales of $51,147,940 in 9 months ended March 31, compared to $2,051,578 ($2.70) on sales of $45,008,975 in corresponding period year ago. For 3 months ended March 31, earnings were $358,552 (43^) on sales of $15,227,147, compared to $505,554 (674) on $18,882,725 in 1953 quarter. General Instrument Corp. sales reached record $32,502,305 in fiscal year ended Feb. 28, up 7% over previous peak of $30,407,529 in preceding fiscal year — but earnings declined to $926,903 from $1,275,863. Pres. Monte Cohen attributed earnings decline to slump in TV sales last quarter of 1953 and failure of uhf to come up to expectations. Hoffman Radio Corp. has filed SEC registration statement covering 130,000 shares of 50<f par common, to be offered publicly through syndicate managed by Blyth & Co. and Wm. R. Staats. Standard Coil Products Inc. sales for 3 months ended March 31 were $18,971,300, compared with $26,040,729 same 1953 quarter — reflecting lower volume in TV industry generally. Net income for quarter fell to $406,306 (28^ a share) from $1,737,045 ($1.18). Paramount Pictures Corp. now owns 750,000 shares or 64% of International Telemeter Corp., representing investment of $800,000. Dividends: Storer Broadcasting Co., S7V2 4 on common, 6V4:4 on Class B common, both payable June 14 to holders of record June 1; Hazeltine Corp., 25^ June 15 to holders June 1; Sprague Electric Co., 40^ June 14 to holders May 28; Oak Mfg. Co., 35^ June 15 to holders June 1; Clevite Corp., 254 June 10 to holders May 28; Philco, 40(f June 12 to holders June 1. ■ Oliver Irwin Lewis, 51, chief engineer for the Army Signal Corps engineering & technical div., widely known in the industi-y for his work in electronics, and a leading civilian advisor to the Chief Signal Officer on TV, radio, radar, etc., died May 18 in Philadelphia after an operation. Brig. Gen. Carroll O. Bickelhaupt, 65, retired v.p. & secy, of AT&T and an authority in communications who was with the Army signal sei-vices in both wars, died in Rochester, N. Y., May 16.