Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

4 city quick TV service. According to C-of-C representatives, Estes said he would — for $25,000. Later on, he did dismiss his application, "apparently because he had been told by his bankers to do so." (3) Estes’ partner Sha w filed for the channel same day Estes dismissed — using "an exact duplicate" of Estes application as far as financial, engineering and programming information was concerned. (4) Shaw application says he's worth $1,000,000, has net income of more than $100,000 annually after taxes. FCC investigators seriously doubt it. FCC manifestly felt it had Shaw dead to rights, so didn't hesitate to throw out his application so summarily and to publicize the details when he failed to respond to its letter. It's regarded as first big object lesson. Most "strike" applications — and there are a lot of them, no doubt of it — are far subtler. Commission doesn't have enough investigators to nail them. But as time nears for hearing, and strike application principals know they must face some fierce cross-examination, they begin to get cold feet. #1 # sjs In Denver "laggard" case, KIRV got CP last Dec. 2, was supposed to complete construction by May 17. Commission wrote grantee June 17, pointing out: (1) No construction was started, no equipment ordered; (2) KIRV's application for more time to build says it will sell stock which would result in transfer of control ; (3) Principals , who say they've had to attend to other business, comprise Mrs. Irving Jacobs, whose husband died shortly after CP was issued, Sam & Morris Sigman. Whether KIRV has been dilatory or not, anyone would hesitate about building uhf station in Denver. City has 2 vhf on air, 2 more coming after hearing decisions, plus an educational vhf allocation (applied for), plus another uhf grant. STEPPED-UP PACE OF COLOR PREPARATIONS: Next week is another important period in color — what with Sen. Tobey's Commerce Committee due to see RCA's latest color pictures June 22 and NTSC's main committee holding meeting June 24. Also contributing to the quickening tempo was this week's action by FCC, waiving rules to permit NBC to feed compatible color ito entire network 'during any sustaining program. RCA expects almost all Senate committee members, with their wives, to attend demonstration in Washington's Sheraton Park Hotel, with program fed closed-circuit from New York. Senators will undoubtedly follow pattern of everyone else, including House Commerce Committee members (Vol. 9:16), and come out singing glories of color. NTSC meeting will have draft of final standards before it, but members are likely to want week or two for study before taking final vote. As of today, we can find no one who dissents from the technical standards proposed; approval, when it comes, is expected to be unanimous or nearly so. Question of when to petition FCC with set of compatible standards appears much less controversial than it once did (Vol. 9:22). Though RCA plans to file by July 1, and NTSC chairman Dr. W. R. G. Baker once thought NTSC would need 3-4 months more, it now looks as if only a few weeks separate the two. Dr. Baker says that he was deliberately conservative in his last estimate but that field tests have gone so beautifully that everything should be wrapped up by July or August. Regardless how many corners FCC cuts in conducting color hearing, no one sees how it can come up with final decision short of 5-6 months. Thus, differences between RCA and NTSC are expected to become insignificant. Whether whole affair will take more than 5-6 months depends on nature of opposition to new standards, if any. If opponents do appear, they'll have tough time persuading FCC to conduct long hearings. NBC is stepping! up color promotion on all fronts, its executives stressing color in virtually all speeches, statements, etc. Now that FCC has given it permission to route color through entire network, campaign will be intensified. In addition to the 26 affiliates who have signed "color clauses" (Vol. 9:22-23), 13 more were reported this week, bringing total to 42. With NBC's 5 owned-and-operated stations, they include virtually all major affiliates. For this week's, see p. 14.