Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1954)

7 Big target of the week, at legal level, was CBS. Harry Wilder’s uhf station WTRI, Albany-Schenectady-Troy (Ch. 35) filed protest with FCC asking it to reverse its approval of sale of WROW, Albany (Ch. 41) to CBS commentator Lowell Thomas and associates (Vol. 10:45). WTRI charged that CBS has “secret understanding” to switch affiliation from WTRI when and if WROW gets Ch. 10 allocated to nearby Vail Mills, N. Y. WTRI also charged that CBS shifted affiliations to Gene Autry, “an important member of the CBS talent family,” when he acquired KOOL, Phoenix, and KOPO, Tucson. Then WTRI sailed into CBS’s purchases of WOKY-TV, Milwaukee, and WSTV-TV, Steubenville, asking Commission to hold up sales while it looks into multiple-ownership aspects of CBS’s “family,” including Thomas and Autry. WTRI wasn’t alone in its attacks. Pittsburgh Ch. 11 applicant WJAS asked FCC to dismiss WSTV-TV’s application to move transmitter to Pittsbru'gh, which is part of CBS’s plans for WSTV-TV (Vol. 10:47). Then in St. Louis, where CBS is competing for Ch. 11, its competitors joined in request that FCC let them cross-examine CBS officials in connection with CBS’s recent sales and purchases. ^ ^ ^ A second petition for vhf directional antennas was filed this week, WICC-TV, Bridgeport, Conn. (Ch. 43), also filing application for Ch. 6, petitioned for change of rules “so as to pennit the filing and granting of TV applications, not limited to allocations contained in Sec. 3.606, where the power, tower height, and directional antenna pattern proposed would not result in greater intei’ference to other allocations and grants than they would normally receive from a station operating at the distance and with the maximum power and tower height specified in the Commission’s existing rules.” Petition is similar to that of W'FPG-TV, Atlantic City (Ch. 46), now off air, which asked for DA and Ch. 8 (Vol. 10:33). Facilities proposed by WICC-TV ai’e 2.4 kw and 677 ft. above average terrain. The 60-p. petition analyzes possible methods of alleviating uhf stations’ difficulties, discards cutting back vhf coverage, concludes that case-to-case de-intermixture through vhf directionals is most practical. All WICC-TV’s efforts to build uhf audience have produced about 10% conversion, petition said, despite measures including purchase of converters to be resold at cost to servicemen and dealers. Station says it has deficit of $169,979. * * * * Asking FCC to set aside its first satellite grant to KPKR-TV (Ch. 19), Pasco, Wash. (Vol. 10:45), radio KALE in nearby Richland claimed KPKR-TV violated rules by starting construction 2 days before FCC approved transmitter site. Aiming its fire at “market straddling,” a frequent complaint by uhf stations, WKNX-TV, Saginaw, Mich. (Ch. 57), petitioned FCC to amend rules on antenna locations by providing that antennas must be located within 5 mi. of city limits. Exceptions to this rule would be made only if no stations within applicant’s proposed Grade B contoiu’ objected to the site or if Commission decided after a hearing that rule should be waived. Petitions filed for allocations changes included: (1) Counterproposal by WBEN-TV, Buffalo (Ch. 4) to petition by WBUF-TV (Ch. 17) to add Ch. 8 to Buffalo through procedure involving shifts in 8 cities (Vol. 10:4546). Counterproposal is identical with WBUF-TV’s plan except that it would replace Ch. 8 in Owen Sound, Ont., with Ch. 6 instead; of Ch. 4. WBUF-TV promptly endorsed the new proposal. (2) Request by WJHP-TV, Jacksonville (Ch. 36) for allocation of Ch. 10 to Bunnell, Fla., 65 miles away. (3) Petition by WGCM, Gulfport, Miss., to add Ch. 9 to Gulfport, substituting Ch. 7 for 9 in Hattiesburg. (4) Request by grantee KOKE, El Paso (Ch. 13), that educational reservation be shifted from Ch. 7 to Ch. 13, so it can get Ch. 7. Acceptances of CBS’s new “Extended Market ^ Plan” for small-city stations (see p. 4) were received this week from following: WMSL-TV, Decatur, Ala. Ch. 23); KVEC-TV, San Luis Obispo, Cal. (Ch. 6); WINK-TV, Ft. Myers, Fla. (Ch. 11); KLIX-TV, Twin Falls, Ida. (Ch. 11); WFAM-TV, Lafayette, Ind. (Ch. 59); WBOCTV, Salisbury, Md. (Ch. 16); WDXI-TV, Jackson, Tenn. (Ch. 7); KVOS-TV, Bellingham, Wash. (Ch. 12). Additionally, these stations were invited to join but have not reached decision: WTVY, Dothan, Ala. (Ch. 9); KFXJ-TV, Grand Junction, Colo. (Ch. 5); WJDM-TV, Panama City, Fla. (Ch. 7); WLEX-TV, Lexington, Ky. (Ch. 18); share-time KVOL-TV & KLFY-TV, Lafayette, La. (Ch. 10); WCBI-TV, Columbus, Miss. (Ch. 4); WTHT, Wilmington, N. C. (Ch. 3); KFLW, Klamath Falls, Ore. (Ch. 2); KBST-TV, Big Spring, Tex. (Ch. 4); KVDO-TV, Corpus Christi, Tex. (Ch. 22). Also, one primary CBS affiliate, KTAG-TV, Lake Charles, La., asked for permission to join EMP, even though it was not on initial list receiving invitational letter from station relations v.p. Herbert V. Akerberg. CBS-TV pres. J. L. Van Volkenburg explained basic reasoning of plan as follows: “Since the lifting of the FCC freeze on TV station grants, network TV has been faced by a two-horned dilemma. In order to break even financially on affiliations in the smaller markets, a minimum gross hourly rate at night of $150 had to be established. But this was no guarantee of advertiser acceptance, for CBS-TV found that if the market did not produce enough TV homes circulation to justify even a $150 rate, the station was an affiliate in name only.” Note: One pioneer TV station owner with a new slant on rates is Wilbur M. Havens, WTVR, Richmond. He writes us that he foresees an eventual rate card “of only one line, such as X dollars per thousand.” Rates would be based solely on “certified” program ratings measured against industry-approved county-by-county set circulations figures, but Havens emphasizes that the ratings surveys should be supervised by legislatures in states where surveys are conducted — “something like insurance companies which operate in the public interest, wherein sets of standards are established.” He says this would clarify much of the confusion surrounding conflicting ratings. Report on TV “crime, horror and violence” by Senate juvenile delinquency subcommittee is due within next 6 weeks — since all committees of 83rd Congress are required to submit reports before Jan. 31. In closing hours of Senate session Dec. 2, subcommittee chairman Hendrickson (R-N. J.) urged continuance of juvenile delinquency study by a pei’manent subcommittee. Refeiring to Oct. hearings on TV (Vol. 10:43), he said: “Again, this is a subject of great concern to an overwhelming number of American parents. I know not yet what our findings or recommendations in this area may be, but I am unofficially advised that the TV industry itself, and it is a responsible industry, is contemplating significant research into the effects of certain kinds of programming as a result of our hearings.” Reference was assumed to be to NARTB’s expanded studies and monitoring in connection with TV Code. Color set production in first 10 months was 17,445, of which 2907 were turned out in Oct., reports RETMA.