Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

5 NETWORKS LOST at least $3,000,000 on convention coverage, but gained plaudits of press and public for job well done. While sponsors paid total of about $8,000,000 for TV-radio coverage of political meetings, NBC is said to have gone in hole to extent of $1,500,000, CBS $1,000,000, ABC $500,000. DuMont indicated it had also gone into red, but wouldn’t release figures. Unscheduled pre-emptions of regular commercial program time when convention sessions ran overtime accounted for good part of the loss. From networks, we get this breakdown of commercial TV programs cancelled during both conventions: NBC, Republican convention 30 programs comprising 12% hours, Democratic 31 programs, 12% hours; CBS, Republican 27 programs, 14% hours, Democratic 24 programs, 13% hours; ABC, Republican 5 programs, 2% hours, Democratic 7 programs, 3% hours. DuMont figures weren’t available. Ratings of convention “shows” continue to come in. First to compare viewing of GOP and Democratic conventions is Pulse report for New York area, which observes audience for Republicans outnumbered Democrats by more than one-third. GOP convention averaged nighttime rating of 43, daytime rating of 16.5 vs. Democrats’ 32 & 12.2. Pulse survey also indicated, contrary to Hooper and Trendex surveys (Vol. 8:29), that convention ratings were higher than ratings of top programs during peak winter months. It found, too, that more women than men watched Chicago telecasts during nighttime as well as afternoon. American Research Bureau reports that average set was tuned to GOP convention for total of 15.2 hours among families watching convention. Next time they’ll do it differently, networks agree. Billboard asked NBC’s Bill McAndrew, ABC’s Charles Underhill and CBS’s Sig Mickelson what changes they’d make in covering 1956 conventions. They were unanimous in predicting no more gavel-to-gavel coverage. Mickelson and McAndrew wanted to drop the pool coverage, and all 3 felt better timing and shorter speeches were not only desirable but possible. Network Accounts: Prudential Life Insurance Co. will sponsor 10-10:30 portion of Your Show of Shows alternate weeks, alternating with Lehn & Fink (Lysol), starting Sept. 6 on NBC-TV, Sat. 9-10:30 . . . Kellogg Co. (cereal) bought Tue. & Fri. 3-3:15 segments of Art Linkletter’s House Party on CBS-TV, Mon.-thru-Fri., 2:45-3:15, thru Leo Burnett Co., Chicago, completing list of sponsors for that show — with Pillsbury Mills taking 2:45-3 period Mon.thru-Thu., Green Giant Co. 2:45-3 Fri. and Lever Bros. 3-3:15 Mon.-Wed.-Thu. . . . Admiral Corp. sponsoring Chicago Tribune Los Angeles Rams-College All-Stars charity football game Aug. 15 on DuMont, Fri. 9:30 p.m., thru Russell Seed . . . General Foods, starting Sept. 22, will sponsor TV version of radio comedy Life with Luigi on CBS-TV, Mon. 9:30-10, with J. Carrol Naish as star . . . lronrite Inc. (ironers) sponsers Hollywood Screen Test, returning Aug. 25 on ABC-TV, Mon. 7 :30-8, thru Brooke, Smith, French & Dorrance, Detroit . . . P. Lorillard Co. (Embassy cigarettes) sponsors The Web when it returns Sept. 28 during new time on CBS-TV, Sun. 10-10:30, thru Geyer, Newell & Ganger . . . Hotpoint Co. (home appliances) & Lambert Co. (Listerine products) starting Oct. 3 will alternate sponsorship weekly of Adventures of Ozzie & Harriet on ABC-TV, Fri. 8-8:30, thru Maxon Inc. and Lambert & Feasley, respectively . . . Campbell Soup Co. starts Double or Nothing Oct. 6 on CBS-TV, Mon. -Wed. Fri. 2-2:30, with Bert Parks . . . Anheuser-Busch (Budweiser beer) bought 7:15-7:30 period Fri. on NBC-TV for unannounced show starting in fall . . . Westinghouse sponsoring Pick the Winner on DuMont, Thu. 9-9:30, starting Aug. 14. Personal Notes: TV-radio integration at NBC, well under way for past several weeks with top executive reassignments (Vol. 8:25,29), continued this week with merger of station relations staffs under v.p. Harry Bannister. Sheldon B. Hickox Jr., ex-TV station relations director, will head merged department, reporting to Bannister; Thomas E. Knode, ex-TV station relations contact rep, named mgr., reporting to Hickox. Fred Shawn, ex-radio stations relations director, is transferred to unspecified executive post in combined network production dept. . . . Edward P. Shurick, CBS-TV sales account executive, appointed network sales development mgr. . . . Joseph J. Thorndike, former Life Magazine managing editor, and Oliver Jensen, ex-Life editorial board member, named editorial executives of Omnibus, Ford Foundation’s TV documentary series on CBS-TV 4:30-6 Sundays beginning Nov. 9 . . . Hugh B. Terry, v.p. of Aladdin Radio & Television Inc. (KLZ), Denver, early TV applicant, promoted to president, succeeding Harry E. Huffman, new chairman; Gene Jenkins, ex-Avco electronic research engineer, appointed TV station engineering director . . . Bruce Dodge, ex-Kenyon & Eckhardt Inc. TV executive, heads Weiss & Geller Agency’s TV-radio dept., N. Y. . . . George L. Griesbauer, ex-WNBW account executive, appointed sales mgr. of WMAL-TV, Washington, succeeding Wm. Decker, resigned . . . Roy W. Hall, ex-sales mgr. of WCCO, Minneapolis, named CBS-TV sales account executive. Belgium plans to start TV service early next year, with stations at Brussels, Ghent, Liege, Malines and Arlon. After long period of indecision regarding technical standards, country settled on both the 625-line system adopted by most European countries and French 819-line system. A strong reason for 2 systems is fact country is politically divided into Dutch-speaking and French-speaking groups. Even after adopting systems in January, Ministry of Communications was in doubt about workability of dual setup, called in as consultant Donald G. Fink, ex-editor of Electronics Magazine now with Philco. He determined that systems can work side by side, that dual-system sets can be built, came back with this comment: “Your correspondent returned with warm sympathy for Belgium, a country which has learned so well to deal with the toughest of all political barriers, language. And with equally warm appreciation of the blessings we enjoy in these United States.” Film industry, still incensed by anti-trust action filed against 12 movie makers and distributors last week in Los Angeles on charge of conspiracy to keep 16mm films from TV and other non-theatrical outlets (Vol. 8:30), carried fight to White House with telegram by Council of Motion Picture Organizations to President warning nation’s screens may be used to defend industry against govt, action. Meanwhile, New York Times’ Jack Gould criticized suit as follows: “The Washington agency seems infected with the fever that somehow TV has some preordained right to show on its screen anything that it wants without regard to the economic consequences.” Second TV station for Caracas, Venezuela will be designed, manufactured and installed by British Marconi for Television Venezolana S.A., a private firm. RCA is now installing Channel 5 transmitter for non-commercial operation by Venezuelan Govt., scheduled on air in November. Marconi contract provides for some $280,000 worth of equipment, including 5-kw transmitter and mobile equipment. Private station reportedly will be Channel 3 or 4 and is also expected to aim at November debut. Both stations will use 625 lines, 50 fields, 50-cycle current. Dominican Republic’s first TV station. La Voz Dominicana, began telecasting Aug. 1.