Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

7 PsrSOnd NoiSSI Harry C. Wilder, who sold WSYR & WSYR-TV, Syi'acuse, to Newhouse newspaper interests in 1950 and continued as pi'esident, retires this week to devote time to his own radio and business interests, including WELI, New Haven, and WTRY, Troy, N. Y., both TV applicants . . . Telford Taylor, onetime FCC gen. counsel, recently small defense plants administrator, who has resumed law practice at 400 Madison Ave., N. Y., reappointed gen. counsel of Joint Committee on Educational TV . . . Mortimer Watters, gen. mgr. of WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, chairman of new ABC-TV advisory board comprising Kenneth Berkeley, WMAL-TV; Otto Brandt, KINGTV; William Lane, WLTV; Franklin Snyder, WXEL . . . Justin Miller, chairman & gen. counsel of NARTB, presented Federal Bar Assn, award “for meritorious services” at FBA annual dinner in Washington this week . . . Edward J. Noble, ABC chairman, serving as gen. chairman of 1953 Greater N. Y. March of Dimes drive . . . Pat Weaver, NBC v.p., in Hollywood obsei-ving new TV shows, returns Oct. 6 after attending Oct. 4 opening of new NBC studios there . . . Hal Hough, ex-WJZ-TV, named program director of WCBS-TV, succeeding Richard Doan, now v.p. of C. E. Hooper Inc. . . . John Patrick Smith, asst, gen. mgr. of WCPO & WCPO-TV, Cincinnati, in General Hospital there — polio victim . . . Seymour Horowitz promoted to program mgr., WJAR-TV, Providence, succeeding Norman Gittleson, now TV operations mgr.; Manning Tesser promoted to production coordinator . . . Paul Munroe, ex-NBC, CBS and various N. Y. ad agencies, now gen. mgr. of Mid-Continent TV Inc., applicant for Wichita; he’s also TV consultant for Sherrill Corwin, California theatreman and principal in applications for Stockton, Portland, Seattle, & Springfield, 111. ... Fred Kilian returns to ABC-TV central div. as program director after 15 months with Young & Rubicam, Chicago . . . Warren Wade, ex-WPIX, now mgr. of WOR-TV, New York . . . Roy White promoted to studio engineering supervisor, KTLA, Los Angeles . . . Robert Friedheim promoted to v.p., Pierre Weis succeeding him as gen. mgr., World Broadcasting System (Ziv); Friedheim will be coordinator of all Ziv activities in N. Y., handling former duties of Herbert Gordon, now in Hollywood for Ziv . . . Louis H. Wray resigns as sales mgr., KHJ, Los Angeles, to open Denver office for Ziv; he’s succeeded by Terry Mann . . . Ralph N. Weil, gen. mgr. of WOV, New York (AM), to direct TV-radio clinic of N. Y. Advertising Club’s advertising & selling course . . . Cy Newman new TV-radio director of Miller Adv., N. Y. . . . Wm. Spier joins Ford Foundation’s TV-Radio Workshop to produce Omnibus . . . Don Kearney, TV spot sales mgr., appointed national sales mgr., ABC-owned TV stations; Mae H. Dehn named business mgr. of WJZ-TV, New York. Trend to specialized programming by competing networks and large independent stations as method of fighting big-name TV casts of NBC & CBS was further evidenced this week as WOR-TV, deep in red ink, adopted new format concentrating almost exclusively on filmed shows, eliminated news & special events dept., plans to drop nearly all sports and other live shows. Specialization has already been manifested by ABC and DuMont. Former is using news as its specialty, last week announced new all-star news digest program under newsman Louis Ruppel to begin Oct. 9 (Vol.8:38). Latter is now undergoing all-out emphasis on sports programming under Tom McMahon. Retrenchment at WOR-TV spelled bad news for some 60 employes. Among them were news and special events director Dave Driscoll and sports director Bob O’Connor as well as some 30 engineers, some of whom may be rehired next spring when station resumes Brooklyn Dodgers home games under commitment to BBDO. Network TV-Radio Billings August 1952 and January-August 1952 (For July report, see Television Digest, Vol. 8:35) ALL NETWORKS shared in jump in TV time billings . during August, totaling $12,736,521 as against $10,315,067 in July and $9,302,071 in August 1951, according to Publishers Information Bureau report Sept. 26. Their total time sales for first 8 months of this year amount to $111,667,702, which compares with $73,459,488 for same period last year. First-place NBC-TV leads CBS-TV by nearly $10,000,000. August radio network billings also went up for all save MBS, totaling $10,937,244 as against $9,554,737 in July; for the 8 months aggregate radio, at $103,982,740, is about $15,000,000 behind same 1951 period. CBS continues to lead in radio, NBC some $360,000 behind it for the month. ABC alone is running ahead of 1951, both for August and for the 8 months. The complete PIB report: NETWORK TELEVISION Aug. Aug. Jan. -Aug. Jan.-Aug. 1952 1951 1952 1951 NBC ... ..$ 5,618,643 $ 3,359,856 $51,131,144 $33,577,340 CBS 5,105,929 3,734,551 41,720,268 24,238,538 ABC 1,166,169 1,444,593 12,827,324 11,174,614 DuMont 845,780 763,071 5,988,966 4,468,996 Total .... $12,736,521 $ 9,302,071 $111,667,702 $73,459,488 NETWORK RADIO CBS $ 3,991,490 $ 4,440,261 $36,886,518 $47,987,561 NBC 3,338,843 3,808,906 30,400,973 37,537,629 ABC ..... 2,281,852 2.210,352 23,768,234 21,863,182 MBS 1,325,059 1,329,375 12,927,015 11,537,124 Total .....$10,937,244 $11,788,894 $103,982,740 $118,925,496 NETWORK TELEVISION— January-August 1952 1952 ABC CBS DuMont NBC Jan. ....$ 2,020,461 $ 5,074,643 $ 717,148 $ 7,259,307 Feb. _ 2,148,467 5,103,043 748,544 6.813,549 March .. 2,065,052 5,643,123 760,593 7,320,358 April .... 1,699,760 5,641,831 738,926 6,946,751 May .... 1,504,043 5,602,634 775,063 6,822,982 June 1,279,985 5,385,820 749,497 5,794,534* July 943,387 4,163,245 653,415 4,555,020* Aug. .... 1,166,169 5,105,929 845,780 5,618,643 Total $12,827,324 $41,720,268 $ 5,988,966 $51,131,144 ! NETWORK RADIO -January-August 1952 1952 ABC CBS MBS NBC Jan. ...$ 3,301.479 $ 5.161,397 $ 1,699,282 $ 4,357,353 Feb. . .... 3,177,970 4,788,507 1,600,399 3.994,018 March 3.355,715 5,154,077 1,826,527 4,184,074 April 3,244,146 4,943,400 1,681,924 4,078,593 HLay 3,323,092 4,963,794 1,821,571 3,861,882 June 3,001,314 4,629,254* 1,632,977 3,708,014 July _ 2,082,666 3,254,599* 1,339,276 2,878,196 Aug. _ 2,281,852 3,991,490 1,325,059 3,338,843 Total $23,768,234 $36,886,518 $12,927,015 $30,400,973 i Total $15,071,559 14,813,603 15,789,126 15.027,268 12,736,521 Total $14,519,511 13,560,894 14,520,393 13,948,063 13,970,339 12,971,559* 9,554,737* 10,937,244 * Revised as of Aug. 26, 1952. Note: These figures do not represent actual revenues to the networks, which do not divulge their actual net dollar Incomes. They're compiled by PIB on basis of one-time network rates, or before frequency or cash discounts. Therefore, in terms of dollars actually paid to networks they may be Inflated by as much as 40%. Figures are accepted by networks themselves, however, and by the Industry generally, as satisfactory Index of comparisons & trends. a Spot radio cuts aren’t in wind, despite revised rate structures of CBS, NBC & ABC (Vol. 8:33, 36-37), says Sept. 22 Sponsor Magazine, which surveyed stations, national reps, timebuyers — and concluded: (1) Any spot changes will be on individual basis, not national pattern, with some up, some down. (2) Most stations will eventually cut evening and/or raise morning rates, but not soon. (3) Currently booming national spot business will stiffen resistance to proposals for cuts. (4) Simultaneous day-night changes aren’t inevitable, but many stations will make them. (5) TV’s expansion will soon force single day-night radio rate. (6) Rate-card selling, not “deals,” will return as regular formula. If and when cuts do come, stations are expected to avoid discount changes, if possible, to make timebuying easier, not harder.