Television digest with electronics reports (Jan-Dec 1953)

5 Network Accounts: First of Robert Sherwood’s 9 TV plays, for which he signed 6-figure contract last fall (Vol. 8:48), will be presented by NBC-TV Dec. 29, 8-9 p.m., under sponsorship of Miller’s Beer, thru Mathisson & Assoc., Milwaukee. A comedy titled The Backbone of America, it originates from new studios at Burbank, Cal., with all-star Hollywood cast. Second Sherwood play, on which Miller has taken option, will be presented around Easter . . . Swift & Co. (Pard dog food) to sponsor Kukla, Fran and Ollie on NBC-TV, starting Dec. 20, Sun. 3:30-4 p.m., thru J. Walter Thompson; program moves from 4 to 3:30 so as not to adjoin Zoo Parade, 4:30-5, sponsored by competing Quaker Oats (Ken-L Ration) ; unsponsored Excursion moves from 3:30 to 4 . . . Kelvinator signs as 4th and final sponsor of Omnibus on CBS-TV, starting Jan. 3, Sun. 5-6:30 p.m., thru Geyer Adv. ; other sponsors are American Machine & Foundry Co., Scott Paper Co., Greyhound Bus Co. . . . General Mills (Sugar Jets cereal) to sponsor Barker Bill’s Cartoons on CBS-TV, starting Nov. 18, Wed. & Fri. 5-5:15 p.m., thru Wm. Esty Co. . . . Realemon-Puritan Co. (Realemon juice) to be co-sponsor, with American Home Products Corp. (G. Washington coffee), of Tue. & Thu. segments of John Daly Show on ABC-TV, starting Dec. 8, Mon.-thru-Fri. 7-7:15 p.m., thru Schwimmer & Scott, Chicago . . . Snow Crop frozen foods renews TV-radio sponsorship of 10:15-10:30 portion of Arthur Godfrey Show on CBS, Mon.-thru-Fri. 10-11:30 a.m., thru Maxon Inc. ... 2 more sponsors for NBC-TV’s 7-9 a.m. Today: Minnesota Mining & Mfg. Co. (Scotch tape), 9 partic. starting Nov. 24, thru BBDO, and S.O.S. cleanser, 12 starting Nov. 23, thru McCann-Erickson. Bitter ASCAP-BMI feud flared anew this week as group of 33 composers and songwriters filed $150,000,000 anti-trust suit against TV-radio networks, record companies and music publishers and asked dissolution of NARTB and BMI. Long list of defendants includes ABC, CBS, RCA, NBC, MBS, Storer Broadcasting Co., Columbia Records, as well as NARTB and BMI. Plaintiffs, calling themselves Songwriters of America and claiming to represent 3000 authors and composers hurt by alleged monopoly, charged defendants control BMI through NARTB and use control to give preference to BMI music while limiting broadcasting of non-BMI music. Plaintiffs, all said to be ASCAP members, include Ira Gershwin, Dorothy Fields, Virgil Thomson and Gian Carlo Menotti. BMI pres. Carl Haverlin called charges “rehash that ASCAP has been making for years and has never been able to substantiate,” added BMI actually broke up songwriting monopoly. More discordant notes were heard in broadcast music field when All-Industry Local TV License Committee voiced opposition to ASCAP proposal that TV stations renew blanket license agreements under present terms for another 4 years. Committee called proposal “unilateral action by ASCAP,” advised stations not to be hasty in signing up. Yale’s WYBC-TV, country’s only campus TV system (closed-circuit), started out in the black when it made debut last week, reports Nov. 9 Newsweek. At cost of $25, it put on 2-hour variety show for which sponsor Pabst paid $725. Sponsor Magaine contributed $3000 DuMont vidicon camera (Vol. 9:43) and talent included Morey Amsterdam, Jerry Lester, Gene Rayburn. Students rigged up 20x20-ft. basement studio “soundproofed” with mattresses and blankets, employed aluminum foil for reflectors, piped sound via WYBC radio, and cameraman covered lens with hand when scenes were shifted. Says Newsweek: Picture quality was “like that of an old English movie and the sound was reminiscent of The Jazz Singer [but] it was a honey of a show.” Students plan 2 halfhour shows weekly, costing sponsors $50 each. POLICIES of ad agencies and networks toward uhf stations are being felt out by new Ultra High Frequency TV Assn, in series of discussions now being held in New York. Exec. secy. Melvin A. Goldberg has talked with some of the networks, is now embarking on series of talks with leading agencies to get their viewpoints, and perhaps get in a few licks for the uhf operators. Assn. pres. Lou Poller of WCAN-TV, Milwaukee, is participating in some of these interviews. It hasn’t been announced yet, but purpose of interviews is to pave way for big meeting in New York to which all uhf station owners will be invited. Two-day meeting probably will be held in next few weeks, is slated to explore all common problems of uhf operations. Station owners, whether or not they are members of assn., will be asked to give their ideas on what goals, policy and program of organization should be. Assn, plans to invite representatives of networks and leading agencies to address group, and answer questions and gripes of station operators. Results of preliminary conferences with some network representatives were said to have been “quite favorable.” Increasing popularity of theatre-TV football presented by Box Office TV Inc. — which showed sharp pickup after first flop Oct. 17 (Vol. 9:43) — prompted N. Y. Herald Tribune syndicate’s TV-radio columnist John Crosby to journey to a Brooklyn theatre for a look-see. He was impressed by spirited audience of Notre Dame “subway alumni,” and reported: “Notre Dame has been the greatest thing to happen to these theatres since double features. [The] management charges $1 for a seat on the main floor and $1.50 for the balcony — and is doing turnaway business.” Encouraged by success of its Notre Dame presentations after their halting start, BOTV laid plans for nationwide and regional theatre hookups, renting portable TV equipment to movie houses. Meanwhile, Theatre Network TV Inc. announced it will use CBS closed-circuit color projection with 5x6-ft. screens at Dec. 4 NAM meeting in New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. New low-priced TV film camera is now getting final use tests by Dage Eelectronics Corp., Beech Grove, Ind., as counterpart of inexpensive Dage vidicon studio camera. It uses multiplexing device which can accommodate up to 4 projectors for rapid switchovers, fades, etc, adds about $300 to the $4200 price of standard Dage camera. It will be announced by Dage in week or so as giving film reproduction “equal to conventional film cameras for less than one-third the price.” Camera used is interchangeable with live studio model, can do service as spare studio camera. Meanwhile, GE announced $235 “image box” for use by TV stations to televise films and slides on emergency basis if film camera gear fails, using regular studio camera. Power increases: Crosley’s WLWA, Atlanta (Ch. 11), has ordered 50-kw transmitter from Standard Electronics, to permit increase to full 316-kw ERP in Dec. Contract contains guarantee that transmitter will operate properly on color TV. RCA Nov. 9 shipped 25-kw transmitter to WEWS, Cleveland (Ch. 5). GE Nov. 6 delivered 12-kw amplifier to KSTM-TV, St. Louis (Ch. 36). WB AY-TV, Green Bay, Wis. (Ch. 2) this week turned on RCA 25-kw transmitter, increasing ERP from 5.74 to 100 kw. Briefer revenue-expense reports to FCC by broadcasters, contemplated by Commission for some time (Vol. 9:41), were proposed in rule-making initiated this week. Commission also proposed to delete entirely its Schedules 10-A & 10-B — Employes and Their Compensation. Though basic revenue-expense data would still be collected, FCC proposes drastically reduced requirements in new Form 324 and proposes to drop preliminary report Form 324-A altogether. Comments due Dec. 7, counter-comments Dec. 17.