Television digest with electronic reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

Record Details:

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4 date is scheduled for Sept. 27. Transmitter is RCA. Tom Evans-Lester Cox project (each 49.5%) has E.K. Hartenbover as gen. & commercial mgr. ; Clarence Breazeai, asst. mgr. for both TV & radio; S.R. Tremble, program director; Ken Heady, production mgr. ; Karl Troeglen, technical director. Base rate is $750. Rep is Katz. WILK-TV, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. (Ch. 34) got video portion of its transmitter on air Sept. 7 & 8, then ran into transmission line trouble and signed off until end of week. Audio didn't work due to klystron trouble, but that also was soon remedied, and gen, mgr. Tom Shelburne states station was deluged with phone calls commenting favorably on video signal even though no advance announcement was made. Good reception as far away as Northumberland, Pa., 65 mi. southward toward Harrisburg, was reported and excellent reception in Scranton, 20 mi. to north. Area already has uhf outlets in both Wilkes-Barre & Scranton, is regarded as uhf-only territory. GE 12-kw is used, with 250-ft. Truscon tower on 2140-ft. Penobscot Summit, 4 air mi. away. Networks will be ABC & DuMont. Base rate is $250. Rep is Avery-Knodel. WKLO-TV, Louisville (Ch. 21) began testing with 12-kw GE transmitter evening of Labor Day, Sept. 7, first uhf in city with 2 pre-freeze vhf outlets. It will run daytime test patterns all through Sept., going commercial next month. Antenna is on 730-ft. Bald Knob. Joe Eaton is gen. mgr. ; Russell Pirkey, sales mgr. ; Jack Everbach, program mgr.; D.C. Summerford, technical director. Networks will be ABC and DuMont. Base rate is $250. Rep is O.L. Taylor. ONE CP, MORE UHF ASSIGNMENTS PROPOSED: It would have been a week without CPs, first of its kind since end of freeze, had not a final decision come through granting KOA Ch. 4 in Denver. There were 2 initial decisions, which should become final before long — WDSM, Duluth-Superior, Ch. 6; WERC, Erie , Pa. , Ch. 35. Week also saw 2 more vhf CPs go by the boards, Texas oilman M.B. Rudman dropping KNDK, Minot, N.D. (Ch. 10) and KBSM, Bismarck, N.D. (Ch. 12), saying he'll keep KRHT, Billings, Mont. (Ch. 8). That makes 15 CPs turned in since lifting of freeze. In effort to obviate a flock of hearings, speed grants, FCC suddenly proposed allocation of 55 uhf channels to "tight” cities where the competitors are now headed for hearings. In some cases, move may prompt filing of more applications, again tieing things up — but chances are that quite a few grants will result soon. In separate allocation proceedings. Commission also finalized and proposed other channel changes. (For list of cities and channels, see p. 7 and TV Addenda 17-J.) KOA grant has quite a history. Examiner Cunningham had proposed to grant KOA if it paid off $1,250,000 note held by NBC, deciding that NBC would control the station otherwise. Then, after examiner's decision, competitor KMYR agreed not to prosecute its application further if KOA paid it $125,000 for expenses incurred in hearing. Comr. Hennock dissented. KOA is controlled by 2 groups, one headed by actor Bob Hope, other including Denver Mayor Quigg Newton. Principals hope to beat the weather on Lookout Mt., get on air in 8-10 weeks. WDSM, Superior, owned by Ridder publishing family, was awarded initial decision by Examiner Sharfman after competing Lakehead Telecasters dropped out under option to buy up to 49% of grant. In Erie, WERC got Examiner Huntting's initial decision after Civic TV Inc. dismissed. WERC has agreed to pay Civic $6750 for expenses and take $2250 option on land held by Civic. Commission also scheduled more hearings this week, to start Oct. 9: Topeka, Kan. , Ch. 42; B inghamt on , N . Y . , Ch. 40. WOR-TV goes off air for indefinite period after close of telecasting Sept. 13. Now in fourth week of strike by IBEW engineers (Vol. 9:34-36), General Teleradio pres. Thomas F. O’Neil announced N. Y. station would take this “opportunity to plan the physical transition of WOR-TV from our North Bergen [N. J.] transmitting site and our 67th St. studios to a consolidated new operation in the Empire State Bldg.” WOR-TV is negotiating with “several other TV and related entertainment production organizations” for sale or lease of old studios when station moves to smaller quarters on 83rd floor of Empire State Bldg. Strike against station has also caused work stoppage by IBEW members working on Empire State installation, and station’s moving day appears to depend on settlement of strike. O’Neil said WOR-TV expects to resume operations about a month after settlement. He denied persistent reports that TV station, said to be deep in the red, is up for sale. “We have no intention of selling it,” he said. “We are going to try out some new program ideas, but they’re still on the drawing board at present.” Radio WOR, Mutual flagship, continues to be operated by supervisory personnel during strike.