Television digest with AM-FM reports (Jan-Dec 1951)

12 NBC Couni of TV Ssis-in-Use by Ciiies As of April 1, 1951 Esiiniates are sets within .1 Mv/m contours (60 ml.), excluding overlaps OlVEST accretion to TV audience since TV sales began swift zoom upwards 2 years ago occurred in March when 423,100 sets were sold — making grand total of 12,171,500 sets-in-use as of April 1, according to NBC Research’s monthly “census” report released this week. This compares with 601,900 sales in February (Vol. 7:12), 593,000 in January (Vol. 7:8). These are the breakdowns (consult individual stations for estimates of number of families within range) : No. No. No. No. Area. Stations Sets Area Stations Sets Interconnected Cities Interconnected Cities — (Cont’d) Ames (Des Pittsburgh 1 250,000 Moines) 1 54,500 Provlrlcncp 1 145,000 Atlanta .. 2 104,000 Richmond 1 74,000 Baltimore 3 292,000 Rorh PiFitf^r 1 79!200 Binghamton .. .. 1 36,200 Schenectady ... 1 152,000 Birmingham .. 2 49,300 St. Louis 1 282,000 Bloomington, Syracuse 2 114,000 Ind .. 1 16,000 Tnlpfio 1 89,000 ■Rn.«;t,nn 2 721,000 TTtira 1 40,700 Buffalo 1 198,000 Washington 4 254,000 Charlotte . 1 68,600 Wilmington 1 62,000 Chicago Cincinnati .. .. 4 . 3 915.000 250.000 Total Inter Cleveland _ 3 454,000* connected ... 81 10,333,600 3 143,000 Davenport Non-Interconnected Cities Rock Island . 2 53,900 Albuquerque — 1 7,900 Dayton .. 2 125,000 /Dallas . 2 113,000 Detroit 3 455,000 )Fort Worth 1 Erie 1 45,900 Houston 1 73,100 Grand Rapids . 1 78,400 Los Angeles 7 900,000 1 63,900 Miami 1 60,000 Huntington .... 1 41,300 New Orleans ... 1 54,400 Indianapolis „ _ 1 124,000 Oklahoma City. 1 84,400 Jacksonville .. . 1 30,000 Phoenix 1 37,500 Johnstown 1 82,200 Salt Lake City. 2 42,600 Kalamazoo — 1 36,200 San Antonio 2 43,300 Kansas City __ 1 115,000 San Diego 1 92,000 Lancaster 1 88,300 San Francisco . 3 179,000 T.anRjng 1 49,000 Seattle 1 80,900 Louisville 2 86,700 Tulsa 1 69,800 Memphis _ 1 83,000 Milwaukee 1 233,000 Total Non Minneapolis Inter St. Paul 2 256,000 connected ... 26 1,837,900 Nashville L 27,100 New Haven . 1 150,000 Total Inter New York . 7 2,300,000 connected Norfolk . 1 64,400 and Non Omaha . 2 72,800 Inter Philadelphia _ 3 829,000 connected _. 107 12,171,500 * March 1 estimate. Figure for April 1 not available until early in May. Bureau of Business Research, Western Reserve University, making audit of TV set figures. Chances of McFarland Bill’s passage (Vol. 7:4-15) appear somewhat improved after hearings every day this week before House Interstate & Foreign Commerce Committee. Separation of Commission and staff (in contested hearings) and easing of stations’ renewal burdens remain most controversial issues. This week, CBS, NBC and Federal Communications Bar Assn, joined rest of industry in supporting most provisions of bill, although CBS supports FCC on separation issue. Committee members have begun to show understanding of problems, and, since bill has come up early in session, some sort of FCC “streamlining” legislation may well result. Senate has already approved bill. FCC .set theatre-TV’ hearing for Sept. 17, issued list of i.=;sues which include: (1) Whether common carrier facilities can’t do job. (2) What frequencies and how much are needed. (3) Whether public needs or demands service. f4) Data on technical and progTam feasibility. (5) Whether, if approved, theatre-TV should be considered as common carrier. Appearances must be filed by Aug. 15. Setting of date comes more than year after FCC said it would hold hearing (Vol. 6:2, 9), will be culmination of exhibitors’ interest in establishing theatre-TV service (Vol. 5:36 et scq). Telecasting Notes: ?ilanuel Alonso, newsreel producer and holder of CP for now Channel 2 station in Havana, reports his station probably won’t be ready for operation before end of year. RCA equipment is being shipped, he states, and building construction will begin in May, requiring about 4 months . . . Projected Storer-backed station in Havana on Channel 7 (Vol. 7:9) is now “up in the air”; decision expected soon whether to go ahead . . . Whether Gen. MacArthur’s May 3 testimony before joint Senate committees will be telecast (he says lie’s perfectly willing), will be determined in day or two . . . Promotionwise CBS took advantage of this week’s Waldorf-Astoria conventions of AP and Amei'ican Newspaper Publishers to put on 4 color TV demonsti'ations, using 17-in. drum receiver, viewed by 250 editors and publishers, some owning Tl’-i'adio stations; shows drew high praise from viewers . . . Closed-cii’cuit TV setup during April 26-29 Greater Portland Industries Exposition, operated by RCA traveling crew under Dick Hooper, gave that Oregon city, one of biggest still without TV, foretaste of eventual service; big Meier & Frank dept, store had receivers operating in show windows and auditorium, besides t’nc 15 sets at exposition . . . Detroit Edison took half hour on WXYZ-TV to telecast employe meeting this week, with company brass appearing and film on firm’s progress featured; it was designed as sort of “report to stockholders” . . . 3Iilwaukee’s WTMJ-TV April 30 moves weekday sign-ons from 12:30 p.m. to 9:30 a.m., which has been Sat. & Sun. schedule since last fall; it adds 15 hours a week to make total of moi’c than 100 hours of telecasting weekly . . . WTOP-TV, Washington, May 15 raises base hour rate from S450 to $550, one-min. from $100 to $120. Peabody Awards went to 3 TV programs this week, while third got special citation for educational value. Jimmy Durante (NBC) got award for TV entertainment. Zoo Parade (NBC) and Saturday at the Zoo (ABC) shared award for best children’s program. Johns Hopkins Science Revietv (DuMont) got special citation as educational program. Special award went to ABC for “resisting organized pressure” and reaffirming “basic American principles” by refusing to cancel Gypsy Rose Lee radio show on grounds she was listed in Red Channels as communist. President Robert Kintner, on assurance from Miss Lee that she wasn’t even a Red sympathizer, refused to bow to pressure from American Legion. Sale of KFMB & KFMB-TA', San Diego (Vol. 6:46) to John A. Kennedy, former Charleston (W. Va.) broadcaster, former publisher of old San. Diego Journal, present 48''/f owner of WSAZ & WSAZ-TV, Huntington, W. Va., was approved April 25 by FCC. Purchase price was $925,879 for IW'/t of stock interest of Jack 0. Gross. Other TV station sales last year: WOIC (now WTOP-TV) to Washington Post, ol'/c, CBS 49f/c, price $1,400,000 (Vol. 6:25); KBTV (now WFAA-TV) to Dallas News, price $575,000 (Vol. 6:4,11); KLEE-TV (now KPRC-TV) to Houston Post, price $740,000 (Vol. 6:13,21); KTSL, Los Angeles, to CBS, price $333,765 plus $228,000 yearly rental of facilities for 10 years (Vol. 6:52). Two applications for TV stations this week, bringing total to 399, were from Noi’thwestern Theological Seminary & Bible School (KTIS), Minneapolis, for Channel 9; Wichita Falls (Tex.) Record Ncivs (KTRN), for Channel No. 6. [For further details about applicants, principals, etc., see TV Addenda IJ-P herewith; for listings of all applications to date, sec TT' Faetbook A'o. 1~’, with Addenda to date.] Milwaukee union leaders complain TV has cut attendance at union meetings as much as bO'/i,.