Television digest with AM-FM reports (Jan-Dec 1950)

Television Fund Inc., reporting for quarter ended Jan. 31, lists following stockholdings in its portfolio: Primarily Television (20.5%) — 5000 shares Admiral, 5500 DuMont, 5000 Emerson, 1000 Hoffman, 5000 Motorola, 6000 Philco, 1000 Zenith. TV & Electronics (34.1%) — 1000 Aerovox, 3000 ABC, 1000 American Phenolic, 6000 CBS, 1000 Corning Glass, 4000 Fansteel, 4000 GE, 1300 General Instrument, 1000 P. R. Mallory, 2000 Muter, 2000 Oak Mfg., 2800 Owens-Illinois, 1000 Pittsburgh Plate Glass, 12,000 RCA, 3000 Raytheon, 1600 Sprague Electric, 3200 Sylvania, 5500 Westinghouse. Electronics Other Than TV^ (19.7%) — 4000 American Bosch, 2000 Consolidated Engineering, 6000 Cutler-Hammer, 1000 Fairchild Camera, 3500 General Precision Instrument, 600 IBM, 4000 IT&T, 2400 Minneapolis-Honeywell, 1000 Sperry, 3000 Webster-Chicago. Miscellaneous (25.7%) — 700 Bell & How'ell, 1200 Burgess Battery, 3000 Capitol Records, 5000 Decca, 4000 Walt Disney, 4000 Eastman, 2000 Joslyn, 5000 Loew'’s, 4500 Otis Elevator, 2500 Paramount, 2000 Reliance Electric, 2000 Time Inc., 4000 Twentieth Century-Fox, 2500 United Paramount. Note: New holdings since last report (Vol. 5:50) are Raytheon, Decca, Otis, Reliance, Time, 20th Century; eliminations were 2000 Magnavox, 1000 National Union. TV receiver business accounted for about all of RCA’s nearly $40,000,000 increase in gross sales for 1949, officials indicated in releasing annual report as of Feb. 27. Gross income from all sources was $397,259,020 vs. $357,617,231 in 1948; net earnings were $25,144,279 ($1.58 per share) vs. $24,022,047 ($1.50) in 1948. Of gross income last year, $308,202,199 (77.6%) came from RCA Victor, RCA Laboratories, RCA International divisions (vs. $270,572,505 or 75.7% in 1948); $72,866,510 (18.3%) from NBC (vs. $70,949,218 or 19.8% in 1948); $19,997,079 (5%) from RCAC and Radiomarine (vs. $21,133,728 or 5.9% in 1948) ; and there was loss of $3,806,768 (.9%) on inter-company transaction. Paid out during year was $3,152,800 in preferred dividends, $6,928,604 on common. Earned surplus at Dec. 31 was $94,562,354, up $15,062,875 from earned surplus at end of 1948. Motorola 1949 sales were $81,803,357, profit $5,280,196 ($6.60 per share). No comparisons with previous years are available since reports for prior years were for parent company alone (1948 sales $58,080,236, earnings $3,332,739). President Paul Galvin said it’s difficult to forecast sales volume for 1950 since last quarter 1949 accounted for about 45% of entire year’s TV sales and sales for first quarter 1950 will be more than double $15,200,000 volume for same period 1949. He also forecast 60% increase in car radio sales this year, noting higher percentage of new cars being delivered without radios, resulting in expanding “after market” demand. Final 1949 earnings report on Admiral, released Feb. 21: Profit of $8,239,582 ($4.12 per share on 2,000,000 shares outstanding) on record sales of $112,004,251 vs. net of $3,639,025 ($1.82) on sales of $66,764,265 in 1948. Net worth increased 67%, now $18,024,048. Last quarter 1949 net was $3,608,008 on sales of $34,926,100, Now producing TVs at rate of 700,000 annually, increased plant capacity now under construction assuring “space required to produce 1,000,000 sets this year.” Philadelphia’s WPTZ has revised rate card to make rate for 5-days-a-week program four-fifths 5-time charge, applicable to all programs 5 minutes or longer. In addition, 5% discount is allowed for 26 consecutive weeks, 10% for 52 weeks. WPTZ expects thus to expand daytime commercial business. Omaha-Denver microwave relay will be opened in May 1951 for telephone service, not for TV as reported last week (Vol. 6:7). Troublesome oscillator radiation in most TV sets, w’hich has had industry and FCC engineers worried for some time, is being overcome. GE sets now operate with IF of 40-45 me, rather than previous 21-26 me; these are believed first with changed IF standard to meet receiver re-radiation problem. GE also says video and audio of its TV sets aren’t susceptible to 27.12-mc signals generated by industrial, medical and scientific apparatus (diathermy, heating, etc.). Problem of oscillator radiation was given prominent mention by FCC chairman Coy at House appropriations subcommittee hearing Jan, 30, when he told committee 3200 receivers in Boston-Providence area couldn’t get either Boston’s WNAC-TV on Channel 7, or Providence’s WJAR-TV on Channel 11. Channels most susceptible to such interference where sets have 21-27 me IF are Nos. 7 & 11, 8 & 12, 9 & 13; to lesser degrees, 2 & 5, 3 & 6. Fears were felt manufacturers were eliminating shielding to cut costs, which raised bogey of widespread inter-set interference when country is saturated with sets and stations. Complaints of unfair and illegal practices by TV manufacturers in relation to TV retailers have been carried to Federal Trade Commission, Dept, of Justice, House Committee on Small Business, by Edwin A. Dempsey, executive secretary of recently formed National TV Dealers Assn (Vol. 5:41, 45). He claims manufacturers are enforcing tie-in sales; discriminating in discounts to large retailers as against smaller dealers; permitting wholesalers to sell retail; making different advertising allowances for different size dealers. Investigation into tie-in sales begun last December by Dept, of Justice (Vol. 5:42) has resulted in no action yet. Temporary officers of TV Authority, combination of all performer unions except Screen Actors and Extras, elected this week: John Kennedy, Actors Equity, chairman; Virginia Payne, AFRA, 1st vice-chairman; Margaret Speaks, AGMA, 2nd vice-chairman; Jerry Baker, AGVA, 3rd vice-chairman; Paul Purnell, Chorus Equity, treas. Permanent officers will be elected in next few months. George Heller, ex-AFRA executive, is TVA executive secy. Still wide open is rift between TVA and Hollywood unions over film jurisdiction. FCC denied application for uhf experimental TV station filed by LeRoy E, Parsons and Richard F. Denbo, Astoria, Ore., who proposed to pick up and rebroadcast Seattle’s KING-TV (Vol. 5:49). Held they proposed providing TV service, not technical research. FCC’s critique of McFarland Bill to reorganize Commission, in response to request for comments from Sadowski subcommittee of House (Vol. 6:3, 4,7), among other objections, says bill would unduly restrict its law dept. Telecasting Notes: Army-Air Force ad budgets for recruiting for fiscal 1951, starting July 1, as proposed in testimony before House appropriations subcommittee, would total $2,023,600 for all media, down from current $2,488,000; of national budget, radio-TV would get $636,640; magazines $437,060, newspapers $358,740, posters etc. $159,160 . . . International Shoe Co., St. Louis, reported planning network TV, thru Henri, Hurst & McDonald . . . Standard Brewing Co. to sponsor Cleveland Indians home games on WXEL, which is also sending cameramen to Tucson training camp to film subjects for 16-min. programs thru March-April . . . KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, Feb. 14, started daytime 3:30-5 schedule Tue. 6 Thu.; also began night telecasting half hour earlier at 7 Mon. thru Thu. . . . Bert Lahr signed by CBS-TV for weekly half hour, no starting date yet . . . Joe DiMaggio reported under NBC contract, including TV . . . NBC-TV planning new weekly Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis comedy series starting in March.