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

Football is CBS’s greatest color effort to date. It claims 11-station network, East and Midwest, lined up for 9-game series to start Sept. 29 with Penn-California game at Franklin Field, Philadelphia. Schedule is attractive, but CBS suffers same enormous handicap it did when it went commercial 2 months ago (Vol. 7:26) — no sets. Only few dozen appear in prospect, most supplied by CBS. Neither stations nor sponsor are yet disclosed by CBS. A regular sponsor would be CBS color’s first; several advertisers gave system sendoff, but none has bought daily schedule since. As inducement to stations, CBS is footing most bills, offering number of color sets (usually 5) — plus 10% of rate card. At least two of the stations planning to carry football chose to take it free, refusing 10% on grounds it’s bad precedent to depart from rate. In Midwest, definitely planning to colorcast games are: WBKB, Chicago; WBNS-TV, Columbus; WJBK-TV, Detroit. WHIO-TV, Dayton, is said to be “willing.” WKRCTV, Cincinnati, is undecided. Other cities may come in. Reports in Chicago are that Webster-Chicago claims 10,000 slave units in works, that it could make 36 available to WBKB by mid-September, 36 more by Oct. 1. How much demand for color sets and adapters will be created is anyone’s guess. CBS faces mighty tough competition in “free” NCAA schedule to be sponsored by Westinghouse on NBC-TV (Vol. 7:30). The 4 Eastern stations which have carried color feeds from New York give this status report on color schedule: WMAR-TV, Baltimore — Will carry full football schedule if sponsored, “some” games if not. Continues daily 10:30-11 a.m. show. Has had one color set, expects 8-10 for football, 5 to be supplied by CBS. WTOP-TV, Washington — “Probably” will carry all games. Continues daily morning program. Expects “some sets” from CBS for football. WCAU-TV, Philadelphia — To use all games. Has been taking morning program from coaxial, feeding it closedcircuit to 2 receivers in studio. Expects 5 sets from CBS. WNAC-TV, Boston — “Undecided” about football. Now colorcasting morning show. Meanwhile, proi)onents of compatible system are anxious to get on with field testing. Panel 13 (standards) meets Sept. 7, hopes to fix definitely on set of specifications to field test (Vol. 7:32-33). Its findings go to whole National TV System Committee at N. Y. meeting Sept. 18. RCA-NBC resumed its colorcasts in New York this week with 10-10:15 a.m. daily schedule. Larger-scale showings, including public demonstrations, are set for 10-10:20 a.m. Sept. 10-21. RCA, like all compatible system field testers, is handicapped by fact FCC limits colorcasts to periods outside regular programming hours. What with growing daytime commercial schedules, experimenters may soon find themselves transmitting color outside normal woi’king hours only. RCA chairman David Sarnoff renewed his campaign for dual standards — FCC authorization of compatible system alongside CBS’s — with statement this week, reading: “Neither pride nor prejudice, nor politics, nor the private interests of any member of the industry will make the final decision on this vital question. If given the opportunity to do so, the public can and will make that decision. I strongly favor giving the public such an opportunity . . . Only [with dual standards] can the public have the opportunity to see both systems in actual operation, to reach its own decision, and to make its own choice.” CBS’s Dr. Peter Goldmark, in Broadcasting Magazine interview (Aug. 27), said tests using RCA tri-color tube with CBS system have shown that it performs far less satisfactorily than color disc in “every aspect — color, contrast and detail.” He said tube is impractical to manufacture from mass production and price standpoints. Dr. Goldmark’s statement is at variance with informal reports from several other set manufacturers who’ve been using RCA tube in their labs to monitor CBS colorcasts. RCA-CBS competition never wanes, at home or abroad. Both claim great success in TV “Battle of Berlin” (Vol. 7:32). RCA reports that 1,250,000 saw its Berlin demonstations; CBS has brought back “Miss Color TV of Germany.” CBS scheduled surgical showings in Paris; RCA announced 10-week surgical tour starting Sept. 1 — Copenhagen, Catania, Milan, Rome, Turin, Brussels. Telecasting Notes: Riding high on current tide of spon sorships, ABC issued 14-page press release Aug. 29 to report sale of $24,131,000 worth of time ($6,808,000 on its TV network) covering 7-week period to Oct. 14. Some 75% are new accounts, it stated, listing these new TV sponsors: Bona-Fide Mills, Bristol Myers, Brown Shoe, Celanese Corp., Cliquot Club, DuPont Orion Div., Hollywood Candy Co., Jene Sales, C. H. Masland, Sundial Shoe Co. . . . Despite ownership of 5 TV stations, all quite profitable, ABC-TV as network has consistently ranked poor third in TV billings, now looks like it’s approaching sellout status, as have NBC-TV & CBS-TV [for their relative status as of end of July, see PIB billings report, Vol. 7:34] . . . “Abatement of the TV hysteria” is one of reasons given by MBS president Frank White for that AM network’s 7 % increase in billings (to $10,200,000) for January -July period — this despite current radio network rate reductions . . . “Use radio to sell radio” campaigns (Vol. 7:31-32, 34) really under way, with NARTB preparing 15-min. transcriptions to be sent monthly to member stations to use as broadcasts to public — extoling entertainment, news, public service, advertising merits of radio; opposite side of discs contains radio-promoting spots . . . World Broadcasting System (Ziv) also preparing package of “sell radio” promotional material to go to affiliates of its transcription network . . . “Television Square,” WOR-TV’s 47,000 sq. ft. structure occupying nearly entire block from 67th to 68th Sts. between Broadway & Columbus Aves., New Yoi’k, is month ahead of schedule, should be ready for occupancy Dec. 1 . . . Canadian Radio Section, setting forth in text and ads the merits of commercial radio in Dominion, occupies 35 pages of Aug. 27 Sponsor — mostly devoted to AM because “TV in Canada is today in a state of creeping growth” while CBC builds Toronto & Montreal stations now apparently delayed until “fall of 1952” . . . Foreign-language AM outlet WOV, New York, not itself in TV, has unusual tieup with one of its sponsors, Buitoni Macaroni Corp., of New York & Rome, whereby WOV staff under mgr. Ralph Weil will supervise film series to be shot at factory in Italy, titled Continental Holiday with Buitoni, films then used on sponsored spots on TV . . . New York’s WPIX signs up 117 sports events from Madison Square Garden this season, including basketball, hockey, rodeo and dog & horse shows, under contract inked Aug. 31 . . . Louis B. Mayer, exMGM chief, reported by New York JournalAmerican to be planning to enter TV film production with Henry Ford II, Walter P. Chrysler and others prepared to invest $100,000,000 over 10-year period . . . WCBS-TV, New York, has issued Rate Card No. 10, effective Sept. 1, fixing base Class A hour rate at $3750, half hour $2250, 15-min. $1500, one-min. ann. or 20-sec. station breaks $775 — with frequency discounts , . . WMAL-TV, Washington, Sept. 15 raises base hour rate from $500 to $600, 5-min. from $150 to $175, 1-min. from $90 to $120 . . . WHAS-TV, Louisville, has new rate card as of Sept. 1, raising base hour rate from $400 to $500, announcements from $65 to $100.