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

3 For all practical purposes, therefore, year ends v/ith 109 stations whose signals are within range of some 27,500,000 U.S. families (about 62% of the nation's total) already using some 15,500,000 TV sets. That doesn't include Canada & Mexico. Detailed data on all these stations, plus list of the 475 applications for new stations pending before FCC, plus present & proposed allocation tables, digests of station rate cards, tabulations of sets-in-use by areas with market data, TVradio production figures, directories of TV manufacturers, program syndicates, etc. — all will be included in our TV Factbook No. 14, which goes into mails to all our full TV service subscribers shortly after Jan. 15, 1952. [Extra copies, $2.50.] Our 1952 AM-FM Directory, ready about same time and made available to full subscribers [extra copies $7.50], brings to light these facts about growth of radio: (a) AM station authorizations totaled 2410 at end of 1951 (2306 licensees, 104 CPs), only 59 more than the 2199 licensees, 152 CP holders at end of 1950. This indicates rate of increase in number of radio stations is at long last slowing down. End of 1950 compared with 2246 total at end of 1949 ; 2151, end of 1948; 1961. end of 1947; 1579, end of 1946; 1056, end of 1945. (b) Applications for new AM stations were up to 290 at end of 1951 from 259 end of 1950, but applications for new facilities were down to 172 from 224. Dropped during year were 15 licenses, 20 CPs. (c) AM stations in other major North American countries didn't change much — Canada now has 173 (vs. 162 last year), Mexico 298 (276), Cuba 104 (104). (c) FM grantees totaled 654 at year's end, 640 of them on air. At end of 1950, total was 706, of which 672 were on air. There were 58 FM licenses dropped in 1951, and 28 CPs turned in. FM applications virtually ceased coming in, only 7 now pending. Same trend was apparent at this time last year when only 8 were pending. RATES ON THE RISE-NETWORK & LOCAL: TV network and station rates are going up again — despite self-expressed fears in the industry that time-&-talent costs are forcing TV advertising so high that it could price itself out of business (Vol. 7:49). Radio rates pale by comparison, actually are trending downward. NBC-TV's new rate card, effective Jan. 1, 1952, quotes new Class A time on its affiliates (6-11 p.m. ; Sat. & Sun. 1-11 p.m. ) at $25 to $500 per hour more than did its preceding rate card of July 1, 1951 — for an average increase of 9%. Reasons cited for hikes; more sets-in-use, lower cost-per-thousand viewers. A sort of 6-month cycle of rate-raising over last few years has kept pace with TV's meteoric rise to well over 15,000,000 sets-in-use (Vol. 7:51). Whither networks lead, the stations follow — though local rate cards are at lower levels. How local rates are climbing, too, is clearly manifest as we digest rate cards of all outlets (109 of them, including Matamoros-Brownsville) for next edition of our semi-annual TV Factbook (No. 14) due off presses around Jan. 15. The station that hasn't hiked local rates during last 6 months or so is exception; for typical current examples, see item about NBC-owned stations' new rate cards (Vol. 7:51). New NBC-TV rate card shows basic hookup of 41 stations — "available only as a group" — plus others that can be added if advertiser desires and if time can be cleared. For Class A hour, it costs advertiser $59,975, whereas the 36 stations on old basic network cost $31,150. All 52 interconnected stations cost $44,700. The new basic stations added are WNHC-TV. New Haven, at base rate of $900; WOOD-TV, Grand Rapids, $500; KDYL-TV, Salt Lake City, $375; KRON-TV. San Francisco, $1000; KNBH, Los Angeles, $2050. Heading basic list is netwoi-k's own WNBT. New York, whose $4000 up to $4500 is highest of all the increases. Philadelphia's WPTZ goes from $1900 to $2100 and Chicago's WNBQ, from $2000 to $2200. Most other hikes are smaller, e.g., St. Louis' KSD-TV from $1100 to $1250, Kansas City's WDAF-TV from $700 to $800. (For complete listing of all new NBC-TV station rates, see next page). Closest rival CBS-TV hasn't yet announced increases, but its rate card has been undergoing gradual overhaul and new one probably will be forthcoming soon, too