Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

3 WEEK'S CPs ALL VHF, UHFs RARE NOWADAYS: Exceptionally active week at FCC produced 4 CPs and 5 initial decisions — all vhf. For year to date, there have been 43 vhf grants, 15 uhf. There are now 192 vhf applications pending, merely 31 uhf. All this week's grants were produced by merger-dropout process, but 2 of the initial decisions went the full route — with hearing examiners actually forced to make a choice among contestants. This week's grants; Phoenix, Ariz. , Arizona TV Co., Ch. 3; Milwaukee, Wis. . Milwaukee Area Telecasting Co., Ch. 12; Minneapolis , KEYD, Ch. 9; Jefferson City, Mo. . KWOS, Ch. 13. The initial decisions: Sacramento, Cal., KCRA, Ch. 3; Daytona Beach, Fla. , WMFJ, Ch. 2; Shreveport, La., Shreveport TV Co., Ch. 12; Henderson, Nev. , Southwestern Publishing Co., Ch. 2; Tulsa, Okla. , Central Plains Enterprises, Ch. 2. One uhf CP was returned to FCC — by WJTN-TV, Jamestown, N.Y. (Ch. 58). In picking KCRA over KXOA for Sacramento's Ch. 3, examiner Thomas Donahue concluded; "We believe that KCRA's showing of close and unbroken identity with the Sacramento community, plus its record of improvement of technical facilities, betokens an insurance of a stable, continuous and progressive service that [KXOA] does not match and that consideration outweighs [KXOA's] showing of superior management." Shreveport case was 3-way fight between applicants who had joined together in novel Interim TV Corp. and got CP for KSLA, operating it jointly until FCC produces final decision picking one over other two. Examiner Fanney Litvin chose Shreveport TV Co., headed by theatreman Don George, over KRMD and KCIJ. She favored Shreveport TV over KCIJ principally because of greater local ownership and community activities, over KRMD largely for its showing of "superiority in the matter of proposed effectuation of programming based on better planned facilities and more definite staff proposals." And she found Shreveport TV superior to other two because it has no TV-radio interests at all. New Phoenix Ch. 3 grantee, 40% owned by ex-Sen. Ernest W. McFarland and 10% by Ed Cooper, ex-Senate aide, now TV director for Motion Picture Assn, of America, aims to be on air by winter's holiday season, according to Cooper. That FCC will have to work to make its final decisions stick when big stakes are involved, was illustrated by lengthy petition for rehearing filed this week by Butterfield Theatres. It had been denied, along with WFDF, when Commission picked WJR, Detroit, for Ch. 12 in Flint, Mich. (Vol. 10:20). Pleased with progress in issuing CPs, Commission was also happy to report granting of first TV licenses since end of freeze — to WBZ-TV, Boston, and KCOP, Los Angeles. And with designation of San Francisco's Ch. 2 for hearing to start on July 9, it has mere 6 cities to be scheduled: Toledo, Orlando (both tied up in Lamb case, see p. 5), Washington, Los Angeles, Boston, Parma, Mich. COMMUNITY TV HOLDS UP DESPITE NEW STATIONS: Up-to-date statistics on community TV antenna systems show more clearly than ever that pattern of U.S. telecasting would have to change radically to produce an appreciable effect on the systems. Meeting for annual convention in New York's Park Sheraton next week, June 14-16, members of National Community TV Assn, assert that their industry-within-anindustry is in pink of health. Returns on our questionnaires to operators, which we sent out in preparation for fall edition of our TV Factbook, support that attitude. Returns aren't yet complete, but it looks as if number of systems increased from 300 to 325-350. Equally significant, average system increased its subscribers from 535 to 728 — a healthy 36% increase in mere 6 months. Year ago, average was 432; two years ago, 199. Curiously, we get almost no reports of systems folding up. One went bankrupt in Astoria, Ore., was taken over by others, is still going. In Florence, S.C. and Dover, 0. , systems did close down — but we know of no others. Community operators had feared that end of freeze, bringing great increase in new stations and extending coverage of old through power-height increases, would provide almost everyone with plenitude of free signals — dooming community systems. New stations have produced trouble in some areas, no doubt of it, but at