Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1958)
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10
Two Start and 2 Quit: ABC-TV gets long-needed Pittsburgh outlet with scheduled Sept. 14 start of group-owned (Heai-st 50%) new WTAE (Ch. 4) under exec. v.p. Leonard Kapner, veteran gen. mgr. of radio WCAE and with Franklin C. Snyder as gen. mgr. (for details, see Vol. 14:35). This week also saw a “sleeper” get under way — KWGB-TV, Goodland, Kan. (Ch. 10) hitherto unreported; it picks up programs of CBS-TV affiliate KLZ-TV, Denver (Ch. 7), about 150 mi. away, via 3-hop microwave system, is owned 75% by James E. Blair, 25% by Helen S. Duhamel, owner of KOTA-TV, Rapid City, S.D. (Ch. 3) with satellite KDUH-TV, Hay Springs, Neb. (Ch. 4).
That still makes 532 stations on air (85 uhf) with closing down Sept. 13 of Storer’s Ch. 12 WVUE, Philadelphia (see p. 6) and shutdown Sept. 10 of WILK-TV, Wilkes-Barre (Ch. 34) as result of mei-ger. New WNEPTV, Scranton-Wilkes-Barre (Ch. 16) began operating Sept. 12 with megatvatt power from new 446-ft. tower at site of ex-satellite WILK-TV. WNEP-TV is result of merger of Scranton’s WARM-TV (Ch. 16) and WILK-TV (Ch. 34) under 60% control of Transcontinent TV Corp. and managership of Tom Shelburne. Transcontinent also owns WROC-TV, Rochester (Ch. 5); WGR-TV, Buffalo (Ch. 2), 50% of WSVA-TV, Hari'isonburg, Va. (Ch. 3).
Telecaster Sarkes Tarzian was favored for Ch. 13, Bowling Green, Ky., over George A. Brown, Jr., who heads Kentucky sales of General Shoe Corp.’s Fortune div., in initial decision issued this week by FCC examiner Millard F. French. What tipped scales in favor of Tarzian was long broadcast experience and “mai’ked superiority” in programming plans — in face of Brown’s advantages of local residence, plans to devote considerable time personally to station, local civic participation, diversification of ownership of mass media. Tarzian, Bloomington TV tuner & components manufacturer, owns WTTV, BloomingtonIndianapolis (Ch. 4) & radio WTTS; WPTA, Ft. Wayne (Ch. 21).
Assets of WWOR-TV, Worcester, Mass. (Ch. 14) must be at least $185,000, obligations not over $22,000 (exclusive of nearly $100,000 owed on RCA equipment) , under transfer agreement filed this week by WWLP, Springfield, Mass. (Ch. 22), which plans to revive off-air outlet as satellite (Vol. 14:30). WWOR-TV owners are exchanging station for 20% stock interest in WWLP; Fox, Wells & Rogers investment firm, with 6.4%, will be only WWOR-TV stockholder with more than 3% of WWLP stock, owned largely by Roger Putman and son William, who runs station and has been leader in uhf development.
First community antenna system sold through new CATV brokers Daniels & Assoc., 1115 Mile High Center, Denver, price undisclosed: Bozeman Commu'nity TV
Inc., Bozeman, Mont., from estate of Larry Peay, to Robert Magness, Plainview, Tex., who had sold Memphis, Tex. system to Vumore Co. (subsidiary of Video Independent Theatres). Peay, who died in plane crash this summer, had bought Bozeman system in May. TV Factbook No. 27 lists it with 1100 subscribers.
Two applications for new TV stations were filed this week: For Ch. 12, Wilmington, Del., which is going dark this week (see p. 6), by Rollins Bcstg. Inc.; for Ch. 12, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, by owners of WKJB, Mayaguez & WPAB, Ponce. They bring total applications pending to 96 (30 uhf). [For details, see TV Addenda 27-B.'\
Only CP granted this week was for Ch. 70 translator in Butte Falls, Ore., to KOTI, Klamath Falls (Ch. 2).
FCC Weighs Workload: Pile of major tasks and paucity of skilled manpower took FCC aback this week as it contemplated its internal wox-kings in special meeting, and it embarked on work-flow study to see what can be done. .Particularly overwhelmed is its Rules & Standards Div., which has been handling TV allocations, clear channel problem, daytime skywave, extended hours of daytime AM stations, community antenna-booster inquiry — plus. Also snowed under is Office of Opinions & Review, which writes hearing decisions.
“We’re trying to regulate a huge industry with a tiny staff,” said one commissioner. “Rules & Standards Div. has 10 people; it ought to have 25. We ought to be current on decisions — getting them out 3-4 weeks after oral argument instead of 6-8 months. These delays are the things that hurt our relationships with Congress ft the public.”
Field Engineering & Monitoring Bureau is another horrible example. It has about same number of people it had when there were about 800 AM stations, no TV, no FM, and only fraction of today’s hundreds of thousands of industrial radio licenses. At present rate, some facilities won’t get a routine inspection in 10 years.
When a careful study is completed. Commission hoi>es to deploy its personnel more efficiently and be able to go to Budget Bureau and Congress with well justified request for more funds.
Network Study Status: Climax in FCC’s examination of network practices isn’t expected to come to head for several months, until staff has digested material gathered in hearings which ended July 21 (Vol. 14:30), but there’s expectation Commission will shortly issue as proposed rule-making some of the changes suggested by staff. Among these, it’s said, may be the recommendation that CBS & NBC be required to get out of station spot representation business. Start of rule-making doesn’t necessarily mean Commission is convinced it should adopt changes — but it’s a step toward adoption. FCC has yet to submit to Justice Dept, its findings on option-time & must-buy. This is expected to come in couple months, upon which Justice will render formal opinion on legality of the practices. Its informal view, expressed by anti-trust chief Victor Hansen and his top aide Robert Bicks, is that they are illegal (Vol. 14:25). During network hearings, however, FCC members demonstrated that they don’t consider themselves necessanly bound to agree with Justice.
Border UHF Pact : Details of U.S.-Mexican agreement on allocation of uhf channels within 200 mi. of border were released by FCC this week. It requires numerous changes in U. S. assignments but doesn’t affect any operating stations or grantees. Commission is expected to issue special order adopting the U. S. changes. Following are cities with changes, shown with their final ulif assignments under the agreement: Arizona — Ajo, 19; Bisbee, 54; Coolidge, 36; Douglas, 35; Nogales, 16, 32, 44; Yuma, 22, 60. California — Brawley, 16; El Centro, 26, 48; Palm Springs, 19; San Diego, 15, 27, 39, 51. New Mexico — Columbus, 16. Texas— Brownsville, 26, 44; Crystal City, 44; Del Rio 16, 52; Eagle Pass, 22, 64; Edinburg, 60; El Paso, 26, 38, 50, 62; Laredo, 15, 27, 39; Mercedes, 66; Mission, 70: Presidio, 21; Raymondville, 64; Zapata, 49. Agreement also permits both countries to put Ch. 70-83 stations with 100-watt ERP (such as our ti'anslatorsl, more than 25 mi. from border without notification. Copies of full text of agreement, issued as Mimeo. 63195. may be obtained from Commission: it includes assignments to 60 Mexican cities.