Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1946)

there appears to be an extreme disregard of public service responsibilities, a hearing will be ordered on current renewals." In other words, as applied to FM, this is a v/aming that applicants get off on the right foot by filing program promises v/hich they will be expected to perform — or else I 3 K0B£ TV GBiUlTS, 5 mM, DBQ?: Three more TV grants without hearing this week reemphasized FCC's determination to stand by its approval of low-band video, indi : cated anew its intention to issue CPs as quickly as possible to qualified applicants in cities where channel supply is adequate. Meanwhile, 5 more withdrawals of TV applications v/ere made known — one of them the VVestinghouse application for a Station in its home city of Pittsburgh. Wednesday's TV grantees were: Hearst Radio Inc., Baltimore (WBAL), granted Channel No. 11 with 14.4 kw c visual power, 7.3 kw aural power, 458 ft antenna height. (Commissioner Durr voted for hearing because station has been cited for alleged program e deficiencies.) i Radio-Television of Baltimore Inc., Baltimore, granted Channel No. 13 with 31.65 kw visual power, 20 kw aural power, 410 ft antenna height. (This application was filed less than a month ago by newcomers to radio, see i Vol. 2, No. 18.) , ii Albuquerque Broadcasting Co., Albuquerque, N.M. (KOB) , granted Channel No. 2 ‘‘ with 15 kw visual pov;er, 8 kw aural power, 18 ft antenna v/hich will have ■ overall height of 100 ft above ground and 5,240 ft above sea level. (Prin ’ cipal is C. M. Pepperday, publisher of Albuquerque Journal.) '■ Baltimore is only city with mviltiple TV applications where all applicants have now secured grants, the third having been last week's grant to Baltimore Sun ?j (Vol. 2, No. 20). City is allocated 3 channels; 3 other applicants had withdrawn. The week's dropouts, in addition to Westinghouse, v/ere ; WAVE, Louisville, leaving only WHAS on file for that city's 2 channels; WOW, Omaha, leaving none on file for that city's 3 channels; WIRE, Indianapolis, leaving only WFBM Inc. and the William H. Block Co. dept, store on file for that city's 5 channels; and Television Productions Inc. (Paramount), for San Francisco (see story below). Our information is that WHAS and WFBM are also seriously considering withdrawal. Westinghouse withdrawal from Pittsburgh leaves DuMont as only applicant there, though that city is entitled to 4 channels. Whether Westinghouse will drop either or both of its 2 remaining applications — for Boston and Philadelphia — is conjectural. But it is plumping strongly for its ov/n system of Stratovision broadcasting for both TV and FM (see story on next page) and may decide that this offers better possibilities on uhf. (Incidentally, we erred in Vol. 2, No. 19, in stating that Westinghouse was applying for 5 TVs; actually, it had applications in for 3 TVs, 5 FMs.) We erred last week also in listing Chicago as one of 4 cities where channel ' supply exceeds demand and in failing instead to say Philadelphia. The Chicago situation is that it is entitled to 7 channels ; already has one occupied (by Balaban & Katz's WBKB) ; has 2 CPs issued (to NBC and Zenith) ; has 3 applications still pending (ABC, WON, Raytheon). Philadelphia gets 4 channels; has one occupied (by Philco's WPTZ) ; has 6 applications pending (Bulletin's WPEN, Gimbel's WIP, inquirer's V/FIL, Seaboard's WIBG, Westinghouse ' s KYW, and non-radio-owning Daily News) , all scheduled for hearing June 17. ^ 4= ^ Los Angeles TV hearing there this week, with 8 seeking 7 channels (Vol. 2, ; No. 20), v/as being watched with hawk eyes by movie industry, eager to get further inklings on possible impact of TV on their business. Our correspondents report it v;as proceeding slowly, looked at v/eek's end like it would go Into better part of next week. Late Friday, Paramount's Washington counsel withdrew its subsidiary