Television digest and FM reports (Jan-Dec 1948)

ADD KEW ORLEAHS & SAH FRAHCISCO: Put these 2 new TV stations on your on-the-air list : WDSU-TV, New Orleans, and KPIX, San Francisco. They got STAs from FCC this week for commercial operation starting Dec. 18. WDSU-TV has long planned this debut date (Vol. 4:49-50). KPIX began regular all-day test patterns this v/eek, starts formal program schedule Christmas Eve — so for all practical purposes it's now a full-fledged operating entity. Test results, reports manager Phil Lasky, exceed fondest hopes, excellent signal covering whole San Francisco-Oakland area, even cities behind hills originally thought doubtful: Palo Alto, San Jose, Sacramento, Vallejo, Napa, Grass Valley and some distant towns. Thus, 49 stations are now in regular operation. Two more are slated for Jan. 1 debuts — KTTV, Los Angeles, and KLEE-TV, Houston — so that our predicted "nearer 50 than 60 stations by end of year" (Vol. 4:32) wins us wagers from several more optimistic confreres. After these, January should bring forth Pittsburgh's WDTV (Jan. 11) and Washington's WOIC (Jan. 16) — and probably NBC's XNBH and ABC's KECA-TV in Los Angeles, ABC's KGO-TV in San Francisco. We don't look for any others that month, though it's possible one or two may start tests before Feb. 1. KTTV actually started test patterns last Monday, will continue 6 days weekly, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. ; manager Harry Witt reports exceptionally good Channel 11 signals in greater Los Angeles area, reception also as far away as San Diego and Santa Barbara. Houston's first TV, KLEE-TV also started tests Dec. 15, on channel 2, also reports very good results. One new application this week — WCOG asking for Channel 10 in Greensboro, N. C . , saying it will cover tri-city area (Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point). Same interests (Harold Thoms) have also applied for Charlotte. Another competitive bid for Louisville radio properties of Courier-Journal was filed by Hope Productions Inc., 100% owned by comedian Bob Hope. He offers, as did Fort Industry Co. last week (Vol. 4:50), to match Crosley's $1,925,000 bid. Hope states he's worth in excess of $2,000,000 proposes to bring in local interests as minority stockholders. NOVEMBER TV FIGURE IS 122.304; November's 122,504 TV output, just 27,088 more than October's (Vol. 4:47), brought RIAA total for 11 months of 1948 to 705,653, augured year's production of around 850,000. Like November's Thanksgiving Day, December holidays may cut into spiraling figure — but it will be 5-week month. Total postwar TV production, adding up RMA figures, is 890,700; adding our usual 10% to allow for non-RMA, kits, etc. (conservative, inasmuch as non-R’iiA Admiral alone says it's producing at rate of 20,000 per month), we reckon all TV units produced up to Dec. 1 at about 980,000. Thus, Jan. 1 TVs will far exceed predicted 1,000,000. FM November output was 166,701, compared with October's 170,086, doubtless reflecting decline in radio production (Vol. 4:50). All radio units during November totaled 1,116,127, down from October's 1,134,378. RMA's November TV breakdown; table models, 73,234; TV-only consoles, 31,801 (1,984 projection); TV-radio-phono , 17,269 (156 projection), November FM breakdown; AM-FM table models, 55,003; AM-FM consoles, 100,565 (3,807 without phono); FM-only and converters, 11,133. MEANING OF PARAKOUNT-DuMONT DECISION: FCC's reaffirmation of its 1947 decision that Paramount wields control over DuMont (Vol. 3:35), hence that neither can have any more TV stations, can't be construed as slap at movie ownership — though some may interpret it thus. Both are already up to their ears in telecasting (each with 2 stations, DuMont with one more building, thus giving them together the 5 maximum allowed under rules). Both are pioneers who got into field when it begged for enterprisers and investors. Even if there is some Washington sentiment against movie ownership, as there once was against newspapers in radio, it's generally recognized it will take Dept, of Justice action, if not an act of Congress, really to debar movie interests from TV station ownership. What the decision means, therefore, is simply that Paramount cannot compete for the 3 more stations it seeks (in Boston, San Francisco, Detroit), nor DuMont for 2 others it wants (in Cleveland, Cincinnati), unless Paramount gets rid of its 29''^ stockholdings in DuMont. Nothing further along that line has developed since Para