Variety (Jun 1935)

Wedneuday, June 5, 1935 A D I O VARIETY 35 WAX RULES AUSTRALIA FCC's Washington Hearings Washington, June 4. Five applications for better facUUIes and new transmitters received final okay last week from the Fedeval Coniniunications ComnilSHion. Kew atatlona will be at Newport, R. I., and Del Monte, Calif., former, owned, by S. George Webb, using the 1200 channel with 100 watts night and 250 days, and the latter, owned by Richard Field Lewis, using 1210 •with 100 watts. Commlsh overruled Examiner George H. Hill on the Newport application, and .sustained Examiner R. L. Walker on the Cali- fornia plea. Sustaining Examiner R. H. Hyde, commlsh granted renewal license to WBBZ, Ponca City, Okla., which operates on, 1200 with 100. Permission was given WDZ, Tuscola, 111., to shift frequency from 1070 to 1020, and Increase df.ytlme power from 100 to 250 watts; KFH. Wichita, Kan., i-eceivcd permission to boost juice from 1 to 5 kw days; and WGCM, Mississippi City, Miss., \vas granted authority to change frequency from 1210 to 1120 and to increase power from 100 nights and 250 days to 500. Several applications were denied, including that of KGBX, Springfield, Mo., tor extension of special authority to use 500 watts on 1230; KFRO, LonfevleWf Tex., and KGKR, Tyler, Tex., tor special authority to operate extra time. Batch of applications slated for examiners' hearings Included: WJE.T. llagerstown, Md., frequency change from 1210 to 1230, and increase power from 100 to 250 night and 500 days; Herbert L. Blye, new station at Unlontown, Penn., on 1420 with 100 days, and second transmitter at Lebanon, Penn., on 1240 with 250 days; W. T. Knight, ,Tr., Savannah, Ga., new station on 1200 with 100; morida West Coast Broadcasting Co., Tampa, Fla., new station on 1370 with 100; Black Hills Broadcast Co., Kapld City, S. D., new station on 3 370 with 100; Brown Radio Service, ochester, N. Y., new station on 030 with 250 days; and three applica- tions for renewal licenses. Guthrie Turned Down Commish" denied request of Guthrie Broadcasting Co., Guthrie, Okla., for new station on 1200 with 100, sharing with WBBZ, Ponca City, Okla.; and the plea of Mueller Amusement Co., Seguln, Tex., for new station on' 1500 with 100. Dismissed request of East Texas Broadcasting Co., Dalla.s, for new station on 1500 with 100, sustaining Examiner Walker. New applications filed during the week Included: WLBL, Stevens Point, Wis., Increase power from 2>,4 to 5 kw; KEHE. Los Angeles, Callit., change power from 500 night and 1 kw day to 1 kw night and 5 kw days; Waycross Broadcasting Co., Waycross, Ga., new station on 1200 with 100; L & S Broadcasting Co., Waycross, Ga., new station on 1210 with 100; KTAT, Fort Worth, Tex., change frequency experimentally from 1240 to 570 and use 500 watts nlcht and 1 kw days Instead of 1 kw unlimited time; KVI, Tacoma, Wash., increase power from 1 to 5 kw days; WEAN, Providence, R. I., increase power from 500 to 1 kw davs; WEBC, Superior, Wis., increase power from 1 kw night and 5 kw days to 5 kw night and day; Rees T. Evans, Bremerton, Wash., new station on 1420 with 100; Harry H. Culver, Beverly Hills, Calif., new station on 710 with 500 (facilities of KMPC, Beverly Hills); WASH, Grand Rapids, Mich., increase power from 500 to 1 kw; WSMK, Dayton, O., Increase power from 200 to 250; and WOOD, Grand Rapids, mcrease power from 500 to 1 kw. m OF mm. . E. Bennett, President of Commercial Stations Trade Assn., Explains De- pendence of Australia Upon American-Made Ra- dio Discs OPENING UP NBC May Divert Dance Music to One Chi Outlet Chicago, June 4. NBC locally becoming quite cramped for bands during its late hour remote control pick-up .ses- Bionsdue to the Jiuslclans Union sit- iiatlon In New York and tlx; heart- breaking competlsh for remote pickups in this city among the five r;idio outlets. So much so that the network ofliccs hero have about de- cided to stop away from dance band pickups at night. Are now working on a plan whereby only one of its two outlets will carry the dance orchestra remotes while the other station will branch out Into variety programming entirely away from dance music. This move also follows the click of script sustainers at night, prov- ing to the satisfaction oC the NBC moguls here that tliere is a goodly portion of the listening audience which would rather listen to some- thing other than continuous dance music between the hours of 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Shows which have proved this to N13C'are such a;< the 'HooFinghams' and particularly 'Lights Out,' the local my.stcry show which has spread out over the net- work-. NBC will likely delegate the straight dance music to \VM.\Q and will build-up the variety shows on WENR. It arks (he first general move made by radio to step aw;iy from the traditional dansapation in the late evening time. XBC also has angles which may vosvilt in spbnsor.ship at the late periods for tliese variety shows where the straight dante pick-ups prevented any such sponsor.'ship. WSGN'S UNION TROUBLE Five Panelmen off Payroll—Work- ers Charge Violation Birmingham, June 4. Union trouble broke loose at WSGN last week when five union operators were dismissed and two- non-union men hired in their place. The operators' union re- quested a si)ecial meeting of the Birmingham Trades Council to dis- cuss the alleged violation of a con- tract by Ormond Black, president of the station. Trouble is reported to have grown out of a refusal of the op erators to accept a wage scale be low thai set by the union. WGST, Atlanta, Okays 1. B. E. W. Labor Pact Atlanta, June 4. Station WGST has voluntarily signed a labor contract with Jnter- national Brotherhood of Electrical Worl;ers. despite the Supreme Court ruling. WGST had protract- ed NRA coiilliction over unioniza- tion of employees. Six panelmen are affected. WJTb has not boon approached by IBKW, according to Manager Sieve Cisler. Not reported If IBEW will .-^eolc union contract with WSB, 50,000 waller, owned by Atlanta Journal. Casa Loma Off CBS Charles Lung will) l\is nm-voi.'c in-ograin swilches fruin Kll.) to ICl'AC, I-iis .AnL;"l''s. ;asa Loma hand is not r(]ncwing its booking contract with the CHS Artists Rurcaii when the current .'igreoment expires Kept. 30, 1!)35. Combo has been iiaylng a commis- sion, ^O'^o for the Camel program and -iVc on oiip-nlghters, to Ihe net- work for two years. For the current year Ibe ar- :-angoment will liy S(|/t. have niiMiit I" Columbia iiluiuf. $10,000 from read dates and ? l.i'''n frrr.ii ibe i.-oniiii<.'!cial. John Watt, English Broadcaster, Amazed at Split Second Timii^ Return of more prosperous times in Australia plus the acceptance by the Antipodes of American-made wax programs opens up a vast field of radio development. This Is the opinion of A. E. Bennett, president of the Australian Federation of Broadcasting Stations and Station 2GB, Sydney, who is In New York for about a month from Australia. Fact that American plots, accents, actors and zip are popular overseas .simplifies the advertisers program problem in Invading a far-away mai-ket. Bennett cofnpared the widespread use of American transci-Iption pro- grams in his country with the way U. S. films have swept Into favor In Australia. Radio listeners now arc accustomed to and even demand American voices, productions and players heard In transcription pro grams much the same as they look for them In pictures. Australian's commercial stations (so-callcd class B) use about 50-50 between transcription programs and broadcasts of live talent, according to Bennett. Reason for this is the current dearth of local radio talent. He regards the high quality of transcription programs made in the United States as one of the prime reasons for the growth of commer- cial broadcasts-in his country. Not only have these American- made wax broadcasts made possible more business for the privately op- erated Australian stations, but their use has prompted local station pro- ducers to raise the standard of their programs and to develop native tal- ent. Bennett pictured American transcription programs as educating radio audiences to higher entertain- ment and prompting the station ofTl- clals to enter into active competi- tion with the U. S. wax broad- casts. Only B% of American transcrip- tion programs are not suitable for use in his country, Bennett has found. Bennett Is buying program series for his own station and 14 others. Australia has 60 commercial broadcasting stations while the gov- ernment controls twelve. Formerly about 75% of the listening radio audience tuned in on the federal Federal Housing Admin. Charts Spot Campaign Federal Housing Administration Is going spot broadcasting to tell home owners about the funds available to them and how to get some for btiilding and repairing purposes. Bi'tinswick is ttirnin^ out the 15-minute discs and the booking Is being done by George t. yanderhoffcr, the FlIA's chief of radio ballyhoo. Music Publi.'-hers Protective As- sociation last week waived its right to fees for music used In the discs when Brunswick applied for a license to cover el^ht of the pro- posed transcription serle.<!. stations. But a recent survey re- vealed that only about 25% go for the government operated programs, while at least 75% now arc listening to commercial broadcasts. Bennett figures that there arc ap- proximately a million radio listeners at the present time out of Aus- tralia's 7,000,000 population and avers that there has been a 33% In- crease In radio owners annually for the last three years in his country. A positive check Is possible because every radio owner must pay the post office department a license fee of $4 annually. Because Australia Is the one na- tion In the world which has pri- vately owned stations operating in competition with government sta- tions, Bennett pointed out that a striking comparison was possible in the popularity of the cultural and commercial types of programs. He estimated that the average 15 minute program in Australia costs about $40, the actual price depend Ing, as In the V. S., on the popular ity and scope oi. the station. Eric Colm.an, a brother of Ronald Colman, Is chief announcer for 2GB, his Sydney station. Although looked on as a neighbor- ing country, entirely different con ditions prevail in New Zealand, ac cording to Bennett. Radio listeners thero have to depend entirely on government owned or propaganda stations. Latter designation is made because they arc operated by indl viduals or organizations for their own purposes to a great extent. No commercial announcements are al- lowed on either type of station. As a result of these conditions. New Zealand radio owners have to depend on outside broadcasts for the bulk of their entortjilnment. Al- though New Zealand is only 1,200 miles from Australia, best reception Is obtained from broadcasts origi- nating in California. KFI, Los An- geles, ho rated as being the station most frequently caught by New Zealanders. U. .S. methods of radio timing to the split second, are bloody mirac- ulous, according to John Watt, in.c. and air producer for British Broadcasting Corporation, In New York for a first squint at major etherizing. Where Great Britain permits its comics and warblers to llnl.sh a gag or song completely be- rore signing off, throwing in a few o::tra minutes for good measure. .■America's sharp scheduling has the visiting director all agog. He's never seen a.iything like it. 'When I get back I'm going to try my very, very best, and insti- tute a new timing procedure simi- lar to over here. There's no reason why an entertainer should run over his bally allotted time, to complete joke or pun,' the Britisher ex- claimed. Another thing which he wants to speed up after two days of solid lis- tening in on N. . stations is a brisker rehearsal schedule. Eng- land casually takes Us Itme to pre- pare a program. Average prepara- tory time Is seven weeks. Tho fastest he's ever turned one out is n 15 hours befm-e the gong started. And then It nearly killed the blimey cast. British programs generally run a full 60 minutes, and are more in'' the variety line with an array of assorted acts. Names building over there now are Clapham & Dwyer, M.abel Constandouras and Anlna Winn. Edith Day Big Musical comedies on the air are favorite programs with British dialers. Edith Day (the original 'Irene') has built herself Into a top- notch BBC star through her ethtr- Izcd re-enactment of her stage roles. Monday night (3) Watt got a slron:; taste of U. S. timing when XBC staged his 'It Seems Only Yes- terday' playlet, right to the min- ute. It ran 60 minutes with no time over for any extended speeches. Watt appeared under his own narrie, relating the tale as certain dra- matic portions were acted. He got his Ideas for the story from Ameri- can films. 'Someone told mc to listen In on Joe Penner Who is he? I must look the chap up. Rather!' Watt said in exiting. hside Stuff-Radio E. Lester Mullcr, who last week stepped down from o i<; of president of the Baltimore City Council, now Includes among his activities as plain citizen a weekly appearance before mike at Wt^AO spieling off the com- mercial copy on program sponsored by firm In which he is financially interested. Firm has opened and Is publicizing a new cemetery located In south- western suburb of town, and MuUer Is treasurer of company. Weekly half-hour program has been taken on WCAO to plug and sell the burial lots. John S. Young, NBC announcer piloting the Major fiowes amateurs on their peraonal appearances at the Albee, Jii-ooklyn, ;.n(| r.-ilricc, .Vcw York, ad libs about Crossley Reports in a manner which sc'crns to lake it for granted that tho public is cognizant of this Intra-tr.ide ':br.":klng service. Some of the radio chatterers have u\?o taki the Crossley Reports In casual manner. Air .Sports, new radio .service idea concocted by I'libliciiy Associulcs, hopes to be underway by June 1, supiilying racing rcsulls, cic., to stations hut starting date depends on stations''support. W.MC Xcw VntK', h;u- Ijcon mulling proposition for exclusive riglils in Ihe .\'fw VniK'uica. Clem McCarthy Is to handle the splf liiig. Ji'ij.'idi n.-~ti"i .vome 11 AN HOUR SET IN CHI Chicago, Juno 4. NBC locally has finally decided about Its rates on WMAQ ard WK.N'Il and on July 1 will boost the chiirgos on these two stations to a 5600 ceiling. Thl.i will generally mark the pa- rade of all the key outlets in CM- cago to at least the $000 mark. On Aug. 1 the Columbia station, VVBH.M, will join the procession and hike lt,4 charges to the six C notch. CIJ.S outlet has been ready with Its charge uplift for some time but ha.s been waiting for the NBC rates to get set. Besides t:BS has been .'inxloiiH to clear through tho sum- iiior at Its present scale and start its new rale structure with the fall sea.son. Other two stations which "> arc In the blg-llino category on rates are WLS, the Prairie Farmer station, and WCJ.N'. the Trlbime out- let. WCN will likely wait until Sept. ;it letiHt b'-fore changing Its tariff setup, walling iiiilll It's en- sconced in its new .jOO,000 studio 'i)Ulldiii«. Dale Wimbrow on WJZ ]);l\<: Wimbrow returns tomorrow Ci) to WJZ, .\( w Voik, for <i M(m- ilay- Wednesday - l'"ri<l;)y scries, 6: ?,',. i;: 5 |);rii. KDST. *.i?ri<; ^I;;li^JM reel ril ly liclil Lid.