Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1946)

Umili CODEL’s AUTHORITATIVE NEWS SERVICE OF THE VISUAL BROADCASTING AND FREQUENCY MODULATION ARTS AND INDUSTRY anil rl Reports POBUSHED 1?IEEXLY BY / RADIO HEWS iWSEAfl, 1519 MHHECTICUT AVL H.W.. WASH1H8T0H 8, D.C. TELEPHONE mZWm 2020 • VOl. 2, NO. 52 December 28, 1946 NOW COM2 T32 PATENT SUITS: Year’s end points up one fairly certain 1947 development in radio, involving FM particularly; a rash of patent suits. It’s one of those things no one wants to talk about, yet you can feel its imminence in the air. You can safely bet that refusal of RCA and several other big and little radio manufacturers to' take out FM patent licenses from Maj . Armstrong will not go unchallenged. On their part, it can be assvuned that RCA, et al. , regard their own FM patent positions as strong. Or else they would not be willing to take on so bitter and unrelenting (and financially formidable) an adversary as Armstrong — let alone guarantee (as RCA does FM transmitter purchasers) against patent infringement suits. Not related particularly to FM, but significant to radio as a whole, was tha suit filed in Federal District Court in Wilmington last week by Zenith against RCA, GE and Western Electric challenging certain patents owned or administered by RCA. Zenith’s blanket license with RCA, like those of all other licensees, expires Dec. 31, 1946. Zenith says it will continue to make radios without paying license fees, which generally amount to 2>4% on receivers, minus certain deductions on cabi / nets, etc. It asks court for declaratory judgment of invalidity and non-infringement, heralding long-drawn-out litigation that may test RCA’s radio patent structure — once before target of bitter Congressional and court battles. RADIO'S GOLD RUSH YEAH: Actually, the waning 1946 produced almost as many new standard broadcasting station grants as FMs — 525 AJAs, to be exact, as against 427 CPs for FM. 206 conditionals. So the roster of AtA stations, licensed and CFs, stands at 1,579 as the year draws to end. It was slightly over 1,000 at beginning of 1946. There was a veritable “gold rush" for AM wavelengths during 1946, and the FCC gave them out so freely as to cause deep concern to existing stations. Predictions are still freely heard that 1947 will see big mortality among AMs in communities unable to support so many. Example of profusion of grants is Washington (D.C.) area, which had 6 stations operating at start of year, now has 9, has CPs outstanding for 4 more — and 6 more applications pending. These aside from 10 FMs granted, 2 already operating. Fewer new stations were granted, but probably even more acute economic situation obtains, in such Smaller communities as Durham, N.C. ; Gadsden, Ala. ; Roswell, N.M. ; Fort Smith, Ark. (to mention only a few that got multiple new AMs). As for FM, grants were predominantly to AMers (about 3 to 1). Yet we still count 425 AM licensees not yet applying for FM — among them such 50 kw’s as WINS, New York; WLS, Chicago; KWKH, Shreveport; KOB, Albuquerque; WLAC, Nashville; KVOO, Tulsa; KWBU, Corpus Christ i. And there are still two States — Montana, South Dakota — and 2 territories — Alaska and Hawaii — from which no FM application has been received. THE MOVIES EYE TV ASKANCE: It’s a curious fact that the movies, with presumably the biggest stake of all in TV, have pulled up such claimstakes as they did have and are now conspicuously absent from the budding industry. All that is, except Para fVimrrltrVih 1Q4f5 hv Radio News Bureau