Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1955)

3 live TV programming. New York Times' Jack Gould, just back from Hollywood assignment, says 250 firms are now engaged in TV filming, their annual business representing some 5000 hours costing $100,000,000, as against a turnout of 200 full-length theatrical films next year (300 hours) costing about $350,000,000. Filming in Hollywood by and for the networks, Gould reports, will total 597 hours for ABC next fall, 552 for CBS, 325 for NBC. Both ABC & NBC, moreover, are reported in position to begin their own film producing in Hollywood, hitherto proscribed by union jurisdictions. What worries the N.Y. fathers is that NBC has 696 hours of live shows also scheduled out of Hollywood next season, CBS 520 hours, ABC 78. Networks will still produce more out of N.Y. , center of the advertising business, but they're terribly cramped for space: CBS uses 19 different locations, NBC 16, including theatres, for audience shows. Only this week CBS' arranged to add old Edison Studio in the Bronx for a new production; it's now known as Bedford Park Film Studio, was opened by the great inventor in 1904, used by D.W. Griffith for some of his early thrillers, has been rented for such shows as "You Are There" and "Men Against Crime." ABC alone is reasonably well centralized in its 66th St. quarters. In fact, it owns whole block between 66th & 67th Sts. and Central Park West & Columbus Ave. As for DuMont , it has excellent modern quarters on 67th St. — but it cuts little or no ice any more as a live network and isn't sure yet whether its new Electronicam system of simultaneously filming live shows (among them, Jackie Gleason's) should continue on a custom-job basis or for its own syndication. Note; Latest Directory of Program Sources & Services, prepared for our upcoming TV Factbook No. 21 lists some 900 producers & distributors of film & live programs and/or services of various kinds related to programming. VITAL STATISTICS OF COMMUNITY TV SYSTEMS: Most complete directory of community an tenna systems compiled to date will be included in our new Fall-Winter TV Factbook. to be delivered to subscribers next month. Returns on our questionnaires have been excellent, and analyzing galley proofs, we come up with these figures* & estimates: (1) Now in operation — 392 systems vs. 302 six months ago (Vol. 10:52). (2) Average number of subscribers — 772 vs. 740. (3) Total liomes served — 250,000-300,000 vs. 150,000-175,000 — reaching well over 1,000,000' viewers. (4) Circulation of 1000-2000 is reported by 38 operators, 2000-3000 by 10, 3000 or more by 10'. One claims 10,150. (5) Pennsylvania remains prime CATV country, having 84 systems averaging 1260 subscribers each — for total of more than 105,000 homes in that state alone. Pennsylvania is also the most mature in terms of community TV, most of its operations being several years' old. West Virginia has shown similar growth pattern, except that towns are smaller; it has 38 systems. Unless boosters & satellites or something else comes up to hamper systems' development, Washington and Oregon might well surpass the other states before long — albeit many of their systems are very small. Factbook will show that Washington has 26 systems, Oregon 15. Note : Armed Forces TV stations, while serving commercially insignificant total of viewers (estimated 75,000-100,000), continue to pop up around the world — the latest being ZBK-TV, Kindly Air Force Base, Bermuda, which began July 4 (see p. 12). Quiet week in subscription TV — incredibly: (1) Exhibitors continue to line up labor groups, getting Albany musician’s local and Memphis CIO Council to resolve against pay-as-you-see. (2) At least 2 major magazines plan articles on subject — Milton Lehman working one up for Saturday Evening Post, Bill Davidson for Colliers. (3) Dealer spokesman Mort Farr, chairman of NARDA, took strong stand against toll TV in his column in July Electrical Merchandising, said it would be expensive, exclusive, confusing — and kill set sales. Receivership was asked this week in Wichita Federal court for KEDD (Ch. 16), NBC affiliate represented by Petry — MCA-TV and Atlantic Television Corp. claiming $5200 & $1400 in unpaid bills, respectively. Managed by Stanley H. Durwood, of the Missouri theatre chain family, who owns 85%, with Wichita Beacon owning 5%, station started in Aug. 1953, claims virtually 100% conversion. At present, vhf service comes from local KAKETV (Ch. 10) and KTVH, Hutchinson (Ch. 12), with KARD-TV, Wichita (Ch. 3) due on air in fall.