Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1959)

VOL. 15: No. 41 11 Oscarcast Turned Down by Ul: A surprising rejection of movie industry sponsorship of the annual Academy Awards telecast by Universal-International makes a return to commercial sponsorship a definite possibility. Ben Kahane, Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences pres., who said he was sure the industry would again sponsor the event (Vol. 15:40), told us last week that as a result of the unexpected UI action, “It doesn’t look as good.” “UI pres. Milton Rackmil has been talked to and he said no. It surprised & disappointed me,” added Kahane. While UI has given no reason for its action, it’s no secret in Hollywood that the studio’s movie grosses have declined. In fact, UI doesn’t even own its studios anymore, having sold them last Dec. to MCA. In view of the rejection, the Motion Picture Assn, of America producers will meet in N.Y. this week (Oct. 13) to reach a decision on the sponsoring of the awards show. “After that meeting, the Academy will make its decision. We must let NBC know, because if the MPAA isn’t to sponsor, the network needs time to sell the Oscar show for commercial sponsorship,” Kahane said. Adoption of Canon 35 by the Okla. Supreme Court, prohibiting TV-radio newsmen from covering court proceedings with camera & mike, was protested last week by NAB pres. Harold E. Fellows and NAB freedom of information committee chmn. Robert D. Swezey. The ruling does not apply to the Okla. Criminal Court of Appeals, highest appellate body for criminal cases in the state, which in 1958 ruled that there is no basis for distinction among the various types of news media. In separate telegrams to Chief Justice Denver N. Davison, Fellows & Swezey urged reconsideration of the ban. Fellows said that “the experiences with broadcast coverage in your state clearly disprove the basic premises cited in your adoption of Canon 35.” Noting that Canon 35 was adopted on the recommendation of the State Bar Assn., Swezey said that “such a decision is untimely in view of the study which has been initiated by the American Bar Assn, to determine whether Canon 35 should be amended in the light of the actual effect of broadcast coverage.” Ideal network schedule would include only 4 Westerns, bring back variety and stand-up comics and be heavily spotted with prime-time public-affairs programs, decided a panel of TV executives in N.Y. at the Academy of TV Arts & Sciences forum Oct. 5. Selecting the programs from 500 shows presented in prime time since 1950, were William F. Craig, v.p. for TV-radio programming. Grey Adv.; Michael Dann, CBS-TV v.p., network programs, N.Y. ; Rod Erickson, v.p. for TV sales, Warner Bros.; Merrill Panitt, editor, TV Guide & editorial dir.. Television Digest; Richard Pinkham, senior TV-radio v.p., Ted Bates & Co. The programs included Victory At Sea, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts, You Are There, Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre, Lincoln Presents Leonard Bernstein, Phil Silvers Show, Your Show of Shows, Omnibus — most no longer on. Short sponsor-life of network TV shows is the point of a Sponsor study which finds that only 34% of the 53 regularly scheduled newcomers in 1958-59 continued under 1959-60 sponsorship. Most tenacious at holding sponsors were Westerns & drama shows — 7 out of 10 of the former and 2 out of 3 of the latter continuing. The poorest showing was racked up by the adventure category, with all 4 of its 1958-59 newcomers losing their sponsors. Other tenacity rates: suspense-crime programs, 3 out of 13; situation comedy & variety, each with 2 out of 8; panel-audience participation shows, 2 out of 7. Auxiliary Services Financially successful was TelePrompTer’s all-day, 6-city simulcast last week (Vol. 15:30) to help the Govt, sell $2.8 million worth of surplus material cached at 3 widely separated military posts. The closed-circuit TV auction helped the Govt, realize 17% of the cost of the goods against a hoped for 10% return, TelePrompTer said. The telecast — which cost $81,000 — enabled prospective buyers in N.Y., Boston, Philadelphia, Columbus, Chicago, and St. Louis to see (via 26 x 36-ft. projection screens) and bid on surplus goods in Philadelphia, Granite City, 111., and Shelby, 0. Last week also saw Theatre Network TV Inc.’s 20,000-mile closed-circuit broadcast to 50,000 people in 102 locations in the U.S. & Canada. It was put on for IBM, to introduce new data-processing gear to customers. Paramount’s International Telemeter and Jerrold Electronics have signed an agreement whereby Jerrold will engineer, manufacture and install distribution equipment for Telemeter closed-circuit pay TV. Jerrold has designed & is supervising construction of outside equipment for Telemeter’s West Toronto, Canada, project, working jointly with Trans-Canada Telemeter and the Canadian Bell Telephone Co. Jerrold’s participation in the Canadian pay-TV project was first repoi’ted here last June (Vol. 15:26). Add closed-circuit uses: (1) Bronx (N.Y.) Veterans Administration Hospital uses Du Mont equipment to keep constant watch on the condition of patients during cancer radiation treatments. (2) Suffolk County (N.Y.) Air Force Base now uses GE closed-circuit cameras & 24-in. monitors to speed weather maps and conduct weather briefing to pilots all over the base simultaneously. (3) Wright Air Development Center, Dayton, uses a TV camera mounted on the outside of one of the turboprops of a C-133 cargo test plane to relay pictures of ice forming in the engine. Texan Translator & TV Network Inc., the San Antonio company which began manufacture of uhf translators early this year and had planned to string a series of translators into a network from El Paso to Uvalde (Vol. 15:9), has sold its assets & business to Electron Corp., Richardson, Texas, for $17,083. Electron, a manufacturer of closed-circuit equipment, announced it is assuming no liabilities or obligations of Texan Translator. Combination TV system & torpedo-retrieving device will be designed & developed by Vitro Labs, Silver Spring, Md. under a $140,000 Navy contract. The self-propelled unit, monitored by an operator on a surface vessel, will be guided to torpedoes which it will grasp by claws. It has an operating radius of 1,000 ft. in shallow water, 650 ft. at maximum depth. Video-taped Japanese-language instruction is being offered weekly by the U. of Texas to interested students & Austin residents. The instruction is presented in classrooms via closed-circuit TV from tapes produced for a language-teachers’ institute. Drills follow TV lessons. Translator Grants: Ch. 70, Durango, Colo., to Durango TV translator; Ch. 70, Prescott, Ariz., to Tele-Video U. H. F. Bcstrs. “It took the telephone industry 87 years to achieve a circulation of 44 million homes; the radio industry, 32 years; and TV, only 13 years.” — Sales Management. New magazine for long-distance reception enthusiasts, .Journal of TV & FM DX, is scheduled to begin publication next Jan. Editor-publisher: Robert B. Cooper, Modesto, Cal.