Television digest and FM reports (Feb-Dec 1947)

EMSRSON's $275 TV, LOOKS TO $150: Emerson will place $275 TV table model with 10-in. tube on market in February — cheapest of that size yet. In announcing it Friday, President Ben Abrams looked askance at those producers devoting "an inordinate portion of productive capacity to IV." His reference obviously was to leading producers RCA and Philco, with whose $325, $375 and $395 10-in. units Emerson will compete. Abrams said $275 set will displace company's $375 unit, but only 40,000 will be produced, or mere 2% of its over-all 1948 production (chiefly small radios). He warned against obsolescence, reckoned 2 more years needed to achieve standardised circuits, mass production and a 10-in. direct-view model listing at no more than $150. (By which time, in our view, the 15-in. direct view may render 10-in. as unattractive market-wise, perhaps even price-wise, as the Model T Ford.) TOP MARKET CHANNELS GOINS FAST: Where once they went begging, TV channel availa bilities in major markets are fast diminishing — so fast, indeed, that quite a few aspirants are going to be frozen out. Look over the top 25 metropolitan areas by sales rank (Supp. 19) and compare them with the allocation table (Supp. 18-D) and v/ith our list of grantees and applicants (TV Directory No. 1 and Addenda), and you'll find: a) Grants made or applications pending in all 25. b) Channels all gone in 5 areas (New York 7, Washington 4, Baltimore 3) and presumably also in Los Angeles (7) inasmuch as Don Lee's now experimental Channel No. 2 is being held in reserve pending FCC decision on Don Lee Network practices. c) Supply of channels inadequate to meet demand in 6 cities, where hearings have thus far been ordered: Boston, 8 applicants for 2 remaining channels (9 if you count Providence applicant) ; Cleveland, 4 for 2 (6 for 3, if Akron is included) ; Philadelphia, 2 for 1; Detroit, 2 for 1; Pittsburgh, 4 for 3; Hartford-New Britain-Waterbury, 7 for 3. d) Chicago's pending 3 for 3 will be forced to hearing if one channel is taken away, as proposed (Vol. 3, No. 33) or if anyone else applies. And if you study the next 25 markets in line, you'll find grants made or applications pending in all save these 10 — some of which (like Omaha, Rochester) are known to have applications on the fire: Denver, ranking 26; Rochester, 28; Springf ield-Holyoke , 32; Youngstown, 36; Omaha-Council Bluffs, 40; Worcester, 41; Lowell-Lawrence , 45; Syracuse, 46; Norf olk-Newport News, 47; San Antonio, 50. THE TV CAULDRON STILL SEETHES: Quite aside from the 7 new applicants filing for TV this week (see TV Addenda 1-C herewith), several more very big enterprisers are preparing to take the TV plunge. We hope to be able to tell you all about them shortly, meanwhile can disclose only that 20th Century-Fox definitely has decided to apply for* Channel No. 9 in Boston, where 8 already seek 2 available channels. Big film company once before applied for New York and Los Angeles, but dropped; it's joining tight Boston race at urging of a TV-hot director (a not yet very common genus in movie industry) . As we told you last week, CBS apparently is overcoming its seeming recalcitrance , this week also applied for Boston, proposed spending record $437,375 on plant. CBS even made serious pitch for local interest during demonstrations of TV Copyright 1947 by Radio News Bureau