Television digest and FM reports (Sept-Dec 1945)

"Chances are that our first year of television will be quite a conglomeration of experiments, ranging from artistic attempts to interpret music visually to a fev/ outlandish exhibitions of bad taste.... But the first clown who tries to mount his camera on my collarbone for a shot of the oboe section v/ill feel the v/eight of an 'atomic* baton which I am now designing for that particularly grim occasion." TIIS TV X5EDIUM: Though the movie moguls generally haven't comprehended television’s potential impact as yet, some of them are watching it intently. Among them a few researchers stand out, not the least being Paul Raibourn, Paramount v.p. in charge of TV, v/ho happens to be a graduate economist as well as an electrical engineering alumnus of Bell Labs. He also is perhaps the keenest enthusiast for TV in the motion picture industry. He sees TV's progress as inevitable, faces the competitive phase realistically, has done some interesting analyzing which he partially revealed at Televiser Magazine's forum in New York last v/eek. Breaking dovm advertiser cost figures for newspapers, magazines, radio, he arrives at these conclusions: 1. That S3 billion a year is now spent on services with w'hich TV will be competitive . 2. That this cost is borne now about 50% by public; 50% by advertisers. 3. That radio sound broadcasting is a more inexpensive and faster growing medium to reach general public than any other. 4. That TV can cost considerably more than radio sound and still not exceed cost to sponsors for the same effect obtained by magazines and nev/spapers since it combines sight, as they do, with the. attention value of soiuid and action, v/hich they do not. 5. That advertising experts estimate ratio in favor of TV all the way from 3 to 10 times in selling value. Assume just 3 times, TV v;ill do an extraordinary job competitively even if costs are up 3 times. 6. That as for getting sets into hands of public, it is fact that in 1929 when radio sound sets cost over S150 apiece more than 3 million were sold, although at that time only million ’was spent on all broadcasting, including programs. You simply can’t stop TV, Raibourn concluded. KEWS VIEWS: Applications haven't been filed with FCC yet, but report from Hollywood has it that Walt Disney Studios contemplate seeking 3 to 5 TV stations in Southern California to specialize in cartoon-type of visual broadcasting, from Disney lot in Burbank. Transmitter site atop Mt. Lowe is said to have been reserved. . . .DuMont is reported to have arranged to relay opening program from its Wanamaker studios, scheduled in December, via Philco's relay system to Philadelphia v;ith projection to audience there over Philco's WPTZ. ... Through an inadvertence, we erroneously referred last v/eek to Philadelphia Inquirer’s purchase of WIP, Philadelphia; it should have been WFIL and its WFIL-FM. for v/hich Publisher Walter Annenberg is paying §1,900,000 and for transfer of v/hich counsel has applied to FCC under nev/ 60-day-public-notice rule. Newspaper, also applicant for TV, proposes to spend additional §500,000 or more on video. .. .Maj . Armstrong calls our attention to the fact that his objection to WFMN's power authorization (Oct. 13 issue) is based on fact that it v/as originally licensed for a 50 kw. transmitter. With an antenna gain of 5, this v/ould give him about 250 kw. effective radiated power, as against the 6 kw. effective radiated power recently authorized. This, Maj . Armstrong claims, is equivalent to reducing the power to 2.4% of what Alpine was licensed for .... Fuss and feathers stories about the Senate Committee on Small Business investigating FCC have nothing to them, says Senator Glen H. Taylor (D. , Idaho), oommittee member who has been doing the "investigating. "... .President Truman will be televised for the first time during his Navy Day address in New York's Central Park Oct. 27, via NBC’s WNBT.