Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1952)

5 AFTER 9 MONTHS of TV’s most radical program ex periment — the much-discussed Today, with Dave Garroway, Mon.-thru-Fri., 7-9 a.m. on NBC-TV — it’s apparent that enough people will look-&-listen that early in the morning to pay off for sponsor, network and stations. It’s now a fixture on NBC-TV, which in first 6 months grossed some $1,500,000 in participation sales, and it’s paying off for some of 38 stations now carrying it. That’s the word from the network, which started the show last Jan. 14 (Vol. 7:50 & 8:3) with 31 outlets as a “noble experiment” conceived by TV v.p. Pat Weaver, who seriously and loftily averred that it would elevate the “habit patterns” of America. Budgeted at $25,000 per week, show now has staff of 30, has had up to 24 participating sponsors, enjoys American Research Bureau ratings which network claims have gone up to 8, seldom below 6. Best of all, it has confounded the critics, who had predicted a faint future for it. One network owned-&-operated station is reputed to be deriving $4000 a week from sponsorships in the 7:55-8 a.m. cut-in period left for locals ; other affiliates tell us variously that they’re doing all right, though a few haven’t made it pay yet. As we did last winter, when we felt the opinion of hard-headed station owners & managers was worth more than that of columnists, competitors and ourselves (Vol. 8:5), we’ve written station operators again to ask whether show has clicked with audience, whether it is paying off, whether they see good future for 7-9 a.m. telecasting. We wrote to 12 telecasters, got 10 replies. All but one stated the show has clicked; some said they’re doing all right with it already, financially; others only so-so or not so good. All foresaw a good future for it. So far as we can learn, no one has dropped it, no one intends to do so. No one seems to doubt that, just as early-morning radio has been a revenue bonanza, so will early-morning TV. Excerpts from replies: H. Dean Fitzer, WDAF-TV, Kansas City: “One of TV’s greatest program achievements. These are summer ‘dog days’ [August] and for this reason there are holes in the program so far as sponsorship is concerned, but I predict the fall and winter season will reveal a great change in this regard.” George M. Burbach, KSD-TV, St. Louis: “At present we have 51 participations per week sold in Today, with Personal Notes: Staff of new KPTV, Portland, Ore., temporarily managed by owner Herbert Mayer, with aid of his WXEL executives Franklyn Snyder and Tom Friedman, now comprises 22, of whom 18 are local; list includes Russell Olsen, ex-WEWS, chief engineer; Wm. McAllister, ex-RCA Bridgeport, chief transmitter engineer; Frank Opra, ex-WXEL, film director; Charles White, Portland, sales . . . Arthur Scheiner named chief of FCC Rules & Standards Div., succeeding Paul Dobin . . . Rudy Bretz, who helped plan and build WCBS-TV & WPIX and trained staffs of new CBC stations in Toronto & Montreal, has opened own TV programming and production consulting service at Ci’oton-on-Hudson, N. Y.; phone Croton 1-3478 . . . A. H. Constant has resigned as program mgr. of KRON-TV, San Francisco, to become gen. mgr. of new Channel 7 station sought in Denver by Denver Television Co. (Wolfberg theatre interests), now in hearing; Tom Morrissey, ex-KFEL chief engineer, also joins Wolfberg . . . J. Glen Taylor, v.p. of General Teleradio Inc., recently General Tire’s Washington representative, elected to board of Mutual . . . Joseph H. McConnell, NBC president, to represent communications field at Manhattan College’s centennial symposium Oct. 23, devoted to “America to Be” . . . H. Norman Neubert. ex-NBC, joins Lever Bros, as brand adv. mgr. for Surf & Swan . . . E. R. Vadeboncoeur succeeds Col. Harry C. Wilder, retiring (Vol. 8:39), as chief very little turnover; rating-wise, the program is quite satisfactory with an 8 a.m. .3%.” Nathan Lord, WAVE-TV, Louisville: “The program has more viewers than the combined viewing of any other 2 programs between 9 a.m. & noon. If it was not a commercial success, we would have dropped it long ago.” Aldo DiDominicis, WNHC-TV, New Haven: “It definitely makes 7-9 a.m. operation worthwhile.” Willard E. Walbridge, WWJ-TV, Detroit: “It leads all other morning offerings and has in general lived up to its high objectives.” Clair McCollough, WGAL-TV, Lancaster: “It’s worthwhile commercially, both as to network x-evenues and local sales.” Frank Fogarty, WOW-TV, Omaha: “I think Today will be here tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the day after that. It is appealing to high-calibre TV viewers. As you probably know, the program is sold at a low rate [but] I am sure it pays our overhead for the early morning operation but doubt that network revenue has yet l’eturned us any profit. To date, we have had little success with local time sales.” Kenneth Hance, KSTP-TV, St. Paul: “We are pleased with the show. It does make 7-9 a.m. operation worthwhile even with the limited income we receive from each NBC participant. Sales of our local portion have not come up to expectations, but I blame this on ineptness of our selling force.” Leslie H. Peard, WBAL-TV, Baltimore: “Today has clicked with our audience, but it’s no great smash. We just about break even, with most of the income from the network. We have made few local and national spot sales in the program. Despite this, we believe it has an excellent future for the long pull.” Robert E. Dunville, WLWT, Cincinnati; WLWC, Columbus; WLWD, Dayton: “It has not clicked with our audience. Our 7-9 a.m. commercial operation was better before the advent of Today than it is today, but we operated from 7:30 a.m. pi-ior to the inaugui'ation of the network program. In spite of this, I see a good future for the operation of commercial programs from 7-9 a.m. Whether Today is the answer or not is something that only time will tell. My personal opinion is that NBC is doing a good job [but] literally doing it the hard way. which is bound to result in the typical network confusion.” executive of WSYR & WSYR-TV, Syi’acuse . . . Tom Hicks, ex-Dancer-Fitzgei'ald-Sample Inc., now pi*ogram mgr. of WDSU & WDSU-TV, New Orleans . . . Norman S. Brett named DuMont Network sales promotion mgr. . . . John Boyle, TV director, WAVE-TV, Louisville, named TV-radio director in adv. dept., Reynolds Metals Co.; successor is George Patterson, program director . . . W. T. Dowding, ex-J. Walter Thompson Ltd. radio mgr. and onetime RCA engineer, named engineering director; J. M. Savage, exBBC, named TV production coordinator of S. W. Caldwell Ltd., 447 Jarvis St., Toi-onto . . . Richard D. Johnson, exNBC, named TV-radio operations supervisor, Illinois Institute of Technology . . . Julius Cohen rejoins George C. Davis engineering fix-m after 9-month tour of duty with Signal Coi-ps . . . George Duram, ex-C. E. Hooper Inc., now media director of Geyer Adv. Inc., named v.p. in revamp of old Geyer, Newell & Ganger agency . . . C. Richard Evans, v.p. & gen. mgr. of KSL & KSL-TV, Salt Lake City, an engineer who supervised the TV constnxction, has been appointed v.p. & gen. mgi\ of KGMB, Honolulu, holder of CP for TV, and its companion KHBC, Hilo; stations are pai-towned by Honolulu Star-Bulletin, part by Mormon Church, with J. Howard Worrall as president . . . Charles H. Singer promoted to chief engineer of WOR & WOR-TV, Newland F. Smith director of general engineering, in changes effected by MBS engineering v.p. Earl Johnson.