Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

11 Financial & Trade Notes: Reflecting TV boom, par ticularly in tuners, Standard Coil Products Co. reports 83% gain in earnings, 64% boost in sales for first 6 months of year over same period last year. Pres. G. E. Swanson states in semi-annual report: “During the past 6 months the TV industry has experienced its greatest growth since the advent of this new medium of communication. With the opening of new telecasting stations across the country the demand for new sets should remain high for some time to come. We are hopeful that our TV business for the remainder of the current year will continue at the present peak level.” Earnings for first 6 months were $2,736,431 ($1.86 a share) after taxes of $4,012,000 on sales of $49,450,324, compared to profit of $1,490,547 ($1.01) after taxes of $1,614,759 on sales of $30,081,049 in same 1952 period, and $1,042,725 (710 after $1,130,000 on $19,651,584 first 6 months of 1951. $ ^ ^ Zenith Radio, said to be pushing Motorola for 4th position among TV manufacturers, reports record earnings of $2,776,190 ($5.64 a share) in first 6 months, more than double profit of $1,336,357 ($2.71) in same period year ago. Sales were $82,207,174 vs. $46,925,511 same 1952 period, pres. E. F. McDonald Jr. saying first-half TV sales increased by more than 150% over first 6 months last year. For second quarter ended June 30, profit was $666,729 ($1.35 a share) on sales of $34,308,401, up from earnings of $253,115 (51(5) on sales of $21,170,179 same 1952 period. Profits were reduced by $1,000,000 flood damage in June to Wincharger Corp., Zenith subsidiary at Sioux City, la., a Missouri River town where flood insurance is unobtainable, report added. [For financial summaries of TV’s Big 4 — Admiral, Motorola, Philco, RCA — see Vol. 9:33.] Webster-Chicago Corp. reports record sales in first half of 1953, up 73% over same period in 1952. Earnings were $354,973 (78 1 a share) on sales of $13,301,570 compared to loss of $272,432 on sales of $7,674,945 in first half of 1952. Pres. R. F. Blash, in semi-annual statement, credited greater demands of TV industry as a primary cause of increased volume. Dividends: Indiana Steel Products, 37%tf payable Sept. 10 to stockholders of record Aug. 25; Zenith Radio, 50(5 Sept. 30 to holders Sept. 11; Oak Mfg. Co., 35(5 Sept. 15 to holders Sept. 1; Standard Radio A & B, 10(5 Oct. 18 to holders Oct. 9; Clevite, 25^ Sept. 8 to holders Aug. 28; Radio Condenser Co., 5^ Sept. 21 to holders Sept. 1; Sprague Electric, 40tf Sept. 14 to holders Aug. 27. Sparks-Withington Co. 1953 fiscal year report, due in Sept., will show sales exceeding $27,000,000, up $7,000,000 from fiscal 1952, with backlog of about $20,000,000 in defense orders, according to pres. John J. Smith. Competition of TV was cited this week by a Charlotte, N. C. drive-in theatre operator in petition to U. S. Supreme Court to void city ordinance requiring theatres to close 6:30-9 p.m. Sundays. He points out that Charlotte’s WBTV shows motion picture films during those hours, contends “there is now a life-and-death struggle on the part of those who exhibit motion pictures in theatres to survive the competition of the TV stations.” Industry group named by Defense Secy. Charles E. Wilson to overhaul military accounting and reporting system is headed by Charles P. Cooper, ex-AT&T v.p. and director. Twelve-man committee also includes GE v.p. D. L. Millham. More than 200 patents, most of them electronic, have been made available for public use without charge or royalty by Westinghouse. They’re included in new list of 6009 free public patents, available from U.S. Patent Office. WOR-TV was back on air as we went to press, following 3-day blackout caused by strike of 160 IBEW engineers against General Teleradio, which began Aug. 18. TV operations were resumed at 6 p.m. Aug. 21, with supervisory personnel. All programs were back on air except Brooklyn Dodgers’ home baseball games (Lucky Strike & Schaefer Beer) which were transferred to WABC-TV for rest of season. Only minor interruptions to AM programs resulted first day as supervisory personnel rushed to Carteret, N. J. transmitter to keep station on air by using standby facilities. Union charged General Teleradio was forcing engineers to “double up” on job assignments; management charged union with “featherbedding”. Federal mediation officials have scheduled new meeting Aug. 24 in effort to settle strike. Another strike has been keeping New York AM station WEVD off air since Aug. 16, IBEW engineers walking out in dispute over pay increases — ironic because WEVD was named for Eugene V. Debs, Socialist labor leader, and was dedicated to cause of labor. Wholesale DX-ing in TV-less Winnipeg is reported by Canadian electronics parts distributor and radio ham (VE4TJ) Albert C. Jebb, of Factory Products Ltd., 88 Arthur St., Winnipeg. In one day he picked up 20 stations, has logged total of 42, some as far away as Dallas and Atlanta. He uses 7-in. Motorola and 10-in. RCA table models, 50-ft. tower with Electro-Voice Tenna Top booster and Decimeter DM1 booster and dual stacked 5-element yagi and vertical coaxial antenna (homemade). Among the stations he reports he has logged, some for 5-6 hours at a time: WBTV, Charlotte, N. C. (1300 air mi.); WFMYTV, Greensboro, N. C.; WSYR-TV, Syracuse; WCBS-TV, New York; WPTZ & WFIL-TV, Philadelphia; WDAF-TV, Kansas City; WKY-TV, Oklahoma City; KFEL-TV, Denver; WJAC-TV, Johnstown, Pa.; WSAZ-TV, Huntington; WMAR-TV, Baltimore; WSM-TV, Nashville; WMCT, Memphis; WDAY-TV, Fargo. To make theatre-TV presentations more attractive to theatre owners, these moves were revealed this week by 2 different theatre-TV syndication firms: (1) Box Office Television Inc., which is offering Notre Dame football games and Harlem Globetrotters basketball games to theatres (Vol. 9:28), announced it will assume most of financial risk of theatres showing the events; its terms are 50% of proceeds, with no advances or guarantees, and it will pay AT&T and local line charges. (2) Theatre Network TV Inc., which will theatre-televise Sept. 24 MarcianoLa Starza heavyweight title bout (Vol. 9 :32) , has arranged with RCA and General Precision Lab for theatres to rent theatre-TV equipment for the evening; about 20 units are said to be available. Aid to subway safety in N. Y. via recorded announcements of TV stars imploring riders not to “crowd, shove or push” will be instituted in few weeks by City Transit Authority. Plan is to broadcast, via public address system in crowded stations, spot safety announcements by TV stars who would identify themselves and station before reading message. Idea is brainchild of A. A. Schechter, ex-NBC & MBS news & special events chief, now head of A. A. Schechter Assoc., 250 Park Ave., hired by transit authority to promote subway patronage. ABC-TV & NBC-TV agreed to cooperate; CBS-TV refused for time being, and DuMont deferred decision. Julius G. Aceves, 65, partner in N. Y. electronics consultant firm of Amy, Aceves & King, died Aug. 18. A student of Dr. Michael Pupin at Columbia U, Class of 1913, he served as his assistant there until 1927, was coinventor with Ernest V. Amy of multiple coupler system for master radio antennas for apartment houses, hotels, etc. He was a bachelor.