Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1956)

3 UHF FETCHES $820,000; OTHER TRAHSFER DEALS: In the current flurry of station sales deals, it's noteworthy that uhf outlets are often involved — that property values of at least some of the 96 surviving uhf stations seem to be looking up. Witness the recent sale of WINT (Ch. 15) in uhf -only Ft. Wayne area as part of the §10,000,000 Indiana TV-radio package purchases by Whitney (Vol. 12:34) — no separate values placed on the individual stations, however; the $650,000 purchase of half interest in WGBI-TV, Scranton (Ch. 22) by Philadelphia Bulletin's WCAU-TV (Vol. 12:31) ; the $580.000 purchase of WFIE, Evansville, Ind. (Ch. 62) by the owners of pioneer WAVETV, Louisville (Vol. 12:25). Earlier this year, there was also the $225,000 paid out for controlling stock of WAFB-TV, Baton Rouge (Ch. 28) by the Edgar Stern group that owns WDSU-TV, New Orleans (Vol. 12:11). And of course there's the proposed acquisition, stymied by objections from nearby Harrisburg & Reading uhf's, of now silent WLBR-TV, Lebanon, Pa. (Ch. 15) for about $240,000, by Philadelphia Inquirer-WFIL-TV group (Vol. 11:45). This week, a bigger uhf deal than any of these was agreed upon — purchase of WEHT, Henderson, Ky. (Ch. 50) for $820,000 from the Malco theatre group (M.A. Lightman) which owns movie houses in Evansville and in Tenn. , Ark. & Miss. Three-year-old station, located across river from Evansville in what was "uhf-only country" until Rex Schepp's WTVW (Ch. 7) last week elected to chance FCC's avowed plan of deintermixture for area, had a net operating loss of $49,000 up to June 30, 1955 but in its 1956 fiscal year is understood to have operated at a profit, as yet undisclosed. Prime mover in deal, handled by broker R.C. Crisler, is Edwin G. Richter Jr., now local sales mgr. of WTVN-TV, Columbus, owned by the Cincinnati Taft interests. He’s slated to become gen. mgr. and will hold 21.8% of the stock. He induced the Henry S. Hilberg family, Cincinnati, and the family of John R. Clark Jr. . Cincinnati attorney, to come in for 36.3% each. Hilberg is a big meat packer; Clark’s wife is a member of wealthy Buse family which owns Distiller Products, Cincinnati. Another stockholder will be Ernest Felix, management consultant, ex-ABC, 5.5%. Hulbert Taft Jr. is in no way connected with the deal; Richter happens to be employed in one of his stations, which gave rise to rumors of Taft as buyer. Deal provides for payment of $200,000 down and remainder over 7 years. It also includes radio WEOA, Evansville (250 watts, 1400 kc, CBS). * * * * Also on the plus side, so far as the economic importance of uhf stations is concerned, was clearance given this week for more uhf station purchases by CBS & NBC — CBS buying WGTH-TV, Hartford (Ch. 18) for $650,000 from General Teleradio (Vol. 11:28,36,49) and NBC taking over WKNB-TV, New Britain-Hartf ord (Ch. 30) for $606,000 cash plus about $200,000 in obligations (Vol. 11:2,9,19,22,26). Their plan is to make Connecticut River Valley all-uhf so far as their networks are concerned. Protests against these acquisitions, which would have forced them to hearing, were dropped this week by new owner of WNHC-TV, New Haven (Ch. 8), only vhf in area; Walter Annenberg group is quite content to keep this pre-freeze vhf on ABC. In case of NBC, sale had been set for evidentiary hearing after objections not only by old WNHC-TV ownership but by vihf WATR-TV, Waterbury (Ch. 53). Both dropped objections this week. FCC will undoubtedly grant transfers, and both CBS & NBC will get second permissible outlets of their own and commit themselves further to upbuilding uhf. CBS already operates WXIX, Milwaukee (Ch. 19) and NBC has WBUF-TV, Buffalo (Ch. 17), both basic network outlets. HOUSE COMMITTEES WARMING UP AGAIN: Congressional prodding and poking at TV industry picked up a bit this week, now that the political conventions are out of the way: (1) Rep. Evins (D-Tenn. ) issued record of his Small Business subcommittee hearings (Vol. 12:12) which were held last spring in effort to find FCC-industry skulduggery. (2) Rep. Celler (D-N.Y. ) resumed laying groundwork for Judiciary subcommittee hearings due to start in New York Sept. 12. Focal points of Evins’ committee printed record were 8 letters and memos out of the 10-12,000 subpoenaed from CBS. Most important of these was CBS pres. Frank Stanton’s memo of phone conversation with FCC Comr. Lee Aug. 13, 1954. At the time.