Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1956)

10 Telecasting Notes: Sharp rebuttal to critics’ complaints that current TV season is dull and lacking in innovation conies from NBC pres. Robert W. Sarnoff in Nov. 15 interview by New York Herald Tribune TV columnist Marie Torre. “It appears,” Sarnoif is quoted, “there is little recognition of the fact that TV shows, here at NBC anyway, have been improving all the time. Producers' Showcase, for instance, makes great eiforts to provide viewers with the very best talents in and out of TV. Perry Como is a hit this season. Groucho Marx is drawing higher ratings; so are Dragnet and Loretta Young. And Steve Allen’s Sunday show is getting better all the time. I don’t suppose, though, that the season would be less dull to our critics if we beat Ed Sullivan" . . . TV’s big need for this season, according to Sarnoff, was improvement of present program formats, rather than new departures in programming. “We’ve done a lot of analyzing on the subject and we’ve decided to stay with what we’ve got. The forms have been accepted and liked. Now the important thing is program substance. Our interest is to make NBC the No. 1 network and we’re going to do whatever is necessary to provide the kind of programming that maintains vitality in network service, whether it be spectaculars, news shows drama, comedy — all aspects” . . . Sarnoff assailed TV critics who “want to act as program editors and controllers,” adding: “They tell you how and where to spend your money and what your obligations are. I appreciate the criticism when it is constructive” . . . Networks are already working on 1957-58 season, with CBS-TV reportedly considering major change in Sat. evening line-up which would see 3 one-hour shows slotted 8-11 p.m. ; following Jackie Gleason Show at 9 p.m. would be Perry Mason mystery drama series; 10-11 p.m. would be occupied by The Big Record, variety show based on current recorded hits . . . Residual payments to Screen Actors Guild members for reruns of TV films have totaled $2,155,455 since 1954 . . . Huge backlog of potential TV drama material — entries by amateur writers in McFadden Publications’ “true story” contests — is being tapped by producers Wilbur Stark & Jerry Layton in proposed 5-timesweekly 30-min. daytime show under title True Story, with nighttime show based on same material also contemplated . . . TV drama writing as a mature art received boost from Kraft TV Theatre, which Nov. 14 presented $50,000 award — biggest cash prize in literary field — for best Kraft TV script of year, to Wm. A. Noble for his first 60-min. TV script, “Snap Finger Creek,” aired Feb. 22 . . . Comedy writing talent search initiated last year has paid off to the extent that 5 of the 9 young writers placed under contract by NBC are now regularly assigned to major NBC-TV shows, according to program development director Leonard Hole . . . Giveaway fever spreads to Britain: New commercial TV program, The £1000 Diamond Rush, which made debut last week, invites viewers to send in for map which contains answers to clues given weekly by program’s m.c. Winner gets prize of £1000 ($2800) worth of uncut diamonds . . . Another TV playwright “graduates” to Broadway: Robert Alan Aurthur, of the famous Fred Coe stable of TV writers, is author of A Very Special Baby, which opened in N. Y. Nov. 14. ■ In expansion drive, “Friendly Group” (Berkman-Laux interests) is out to buy full complement of stations allowed by FCC, meanwhile stepping up promotion of properties in which they now hold interests: WSTV-TV, Steubenville (Ch. 9) & WSTV; KSWM-TV, Joplin, Mo. (Ch. 12) & KSWM; CP for WBLK-TV, Clarksburg, W. Va. (Ch. 12) & WBLK; radio stations WPIT, Pittsburgh; WBSM, Boston; WPAR, Parkersburg, W. Va. This week, group held press conference in New York, promoting WSTV-TV, claiming Pittsburgh as “bonus” coverage. Continuing increase in TV viewing, based on 3 measurements of Nielsen data, was detailed by TvB this week. Its findings: (1) “In percent of all TV homes tuned per average minute, there were more homes viewing TV in every month this year” (Jan.-thru-Sept.) except during mornings of Feb. and June. “Over-all, for the entire broadcast day, the number of homes using TV per average minute is 18% higher in a Jan.-thru-Sept. comparison of 1956 with the same period in 1955.” (2) For 8 out of 9 months this year, more hours were spent in home TV viewing than in corresponding months of 1955; in 7 of these months, all-time viewing records were established for those months. (3) Average network week end daytime program in first 9 months of 1956 had audience 24% greater than in same 1955 period; average network weekday daytime program, up 21%; average network evening program, up 18%. Gene Accas, operations director of TvB, said special study was undertaken to “clarify current TV viewing trends, and to point out the problems that may be inherent in attempting to analyze national activity by single-market studies of TV today.” Another TvB study, conducted for it by Pulse Inc., compared TV viewing with newspapers, found that 120,450,000 people view TV in average day, compared to 107,250,000 newspaper readers; average individual devotes one hour & 45 min. per day to TV viewing, 34 min. to newspaper. TV newscasts have “tremendous impact” on steadily increasing number of viewers, Sig Mickelson, CBS v.p. in charge of news and public affairs, told TV-Radio News Directors Assn, this week. “TV news is beginning to acquire a distinctive pattern of its own — a pattern which fuses the best qualities of newspapers, radio news broadcasts, the newsreels and its own contribution to news coverage,” he said. “Its future ... is about unlimited.” He said biggest problems are to convince reluctant TV station owners to spend more money to obtain qualified newsmen, to avoid too much dependence on film in lieu of interpretation and to use mechanical devices to tell news, rather than merely to show off gadgets. In latter connection, he commented: “I am still wondering whether we didn’t, for example, make a serious error at the Republican national convention in San Francisco when we permitted ourselves to go chasing off after President Eisenhower on his way to the St. Francis Hotel after his arrival at the airport rather than to return to the speeches . . . The ratings would indicate that the public liked what it got but I still wonder if perhaps we should not have stayed with the story rather than show off our gadgets.” Defending BMI against charges made by ASCAPaffiliated song writers at last September’s Celler anti-trust subcommittee hearings in New York, Tennessee Gov. Clement told WSM’s 5th annual National Disk Jockey Festival in Nashville that he will ask to appear before subcommittee to “tell its members the truth.” He added: “The plot to do away with BMI will also stifle country music. [It] will do away with millions of dollars of income now going into the pockets of people like you . . . Before BMI came into existence, no country music composer or publisher ever received any money from ASCAP.” Meanwhile, BMI submitted supplementary statement to Celler subcommittee pointing out that only 624 of nation’s more than 3000 radio stations are BMI stockholders. For 1951-55 period, it added, CBS reportedly paid $12,920,156 to ASCAP but only $4,581,632 to BMI, while NBC paid ASCAP $11,872,000, BMI $3,824,000. “Network Concept of Tomorrow” will be subject of talk by Ely A. Landau, pres, of NTA and NTA Film Network, at Radio & TV Executives Society luncheon Nov. 21 at Hotel Roosevelt, N. Y.