Variety (Jul 1939)

Wednesday, July 26, 1939 RADIO VARIETY S3 British Sports Nix Tele Ix>ndon, July 25. Battle between sports promoters and British Broadcasting Corp. Is in its tensest stage, as demonstrated by fact that radio web was unable to touch the HarveyrMcAvoy and Doyle-Phllllps fights from the White City. Previously BBC has taken commentaries on practically all the big prizefights, and recently scored some of its best television points with transmissions of these; the classic Boon-Danahar battle, In fact, did more to put the visual programs on the map than most other events **Becent Armstrong-Rodericli fiasco, when only a handful of cash cus- tomers showed iip, set the pendulum swinging the other wayi and General A; C. Critchley, controller of the Harringay Stadium set this at the door of radio and television, particularly as rights had been sold for big screen rediffusion In theatres. Equally significant is that even the newsreels were unable to get coverage of yesterday's events, believed due to dissatisfaction of the promoters at the terms offered. BBC is said to have gone its usual modest limit. STAGE PLAYS TELEC AST IN ENGLAND — . -- -London,-July 18. Television Is going for drama in a big way, and current weelc has full- length plays in the program six days out of seven. Frequency is guided in part by recent probe of 4,000 home viewers, who showed up strongly for this class of entertainment, 93% fa- voring actual play or variety hook- ups from theatres, 83% marking in full-length drama from the studio. Current series has a relay from the Garrick theatre Thursday night, when revival of 'The Desert Song' goes out on the ether in its entirety. Same day's matinee will be used by television engineers as dress re- hearsal. Also telecast will be Wendy Hiller, making her first showing gince the 'Pygmalion' film, playing title role in 'The Fame of Grace Darling,' heroic yarn of a lighthouse keeper's daughter who performed brilliant rescue work during a storm. Play, aired Sunday and for repeti- tlon Frid ay afternoon, runs two hours. Sports Telecasts (Continued from page 1) making one of ■'the'TonRest" straight sessions transmitted by Bri- tish Broadcasting Corp. from its Alexandra Palace studio. Also on week's schedule are 'In- quest,' by Michael Barringer; 'Gal- lows Glorious,' by Ronald Gow; and 'Sheppey,' by. Somerset Maugham. Casts invariably Include many prominent West End names, drama- tie personae. of present group using such as Henry Oscar. Hilda Hreve- lyan, Mary Glynne. Viola Lyel, Ma- rie Ault, Louise Hampton, Aubrey Mather and Kynaston Reeves. advised in their antagonistic attitude toward it, just as. they were when they fought the era of sound pic- tures. "~ 'As I view it, sporting events will be televised on a' sustaining basis with promoters, television transmit- ting companies and the""theatre- going public sharing the cost. Spon- sored broadcasts, as is the general practice in present-day radio, would be the wrong method for us to use. The public wants to see top-notch hockey games, football matches, ath- letic contests, etc., and will be will- ing to pay to sit in a theatre ring- side seat if they cannot actually at- tend such events. We intend to get our proper share of such televised programs and if we can share in theatre admissions it will automatic- ally solve the problem of sponsor- ship." NBC officials admit having been turned down on the fight but are not Inclined to blame Jacobs or Madi- son Square Garden which has co- operated with NBC heretofore in making the six-day bike races and the Baer-Nova fight available with- out any charge. Since there is no commercial income from television programs- possible at this time, NBC admits it is not in a position to pay anything for the privilege. NBC likewise concedes that pos- sibilities for televising forthcoming big fights are slim, but denies that long-term contract was discussed with Jacobs and Col. John R. Kil- patrick of the Garden, or that such a proposition received a blanket turn- down. Sheffield, England, Asks BBC for Television; Birmingham Has Track London, July 25. First municipal authority in the U. K. to 'demand'-television facili- ties Is Sheffield, where the City Council passed unanimously a reso- lution calling the British Broadcast- ing Corp. to establish a transmitter In the locality.; View expressed in debate was that any city which failed to get early service was going to be left, because vision had gone so rapidly forward. Motion was sponsored by a mem ber of a local kinema "board, who urged council should offer to put down some part of the nece.'sary financing as an inducement to BBC to build. Backing of local Chamber of Commerce and business organi' nations Is also being sought. Unofficial indications still show Birmingham as first section of sticks ' ^ be equipped, with Manchester next, meaning Sheffield is not like- Jy to see television in less than i couple of years. OLDEST SUSTA'NER? Mormon Tabernacle Choir Hasn't Missed a Cadenza Since 1928 . Salt Lake City, July 25. Tabernacle Clioir of the Mormon church last week clocked its 10th anniversary as a coast-to-coast sus' tamer originating at KSL and fed M» CBS. Richard L. Evans has pro duced and announced the radio broadcasts since 1928. Choir is dl reeled by J. Spencer Cornwall. Locally It is believed this is the "Idest continuous sustainer on the •iir today. ROGER PRYOR TO M.C. NEXT GULF PROGRAMS Hollywood, July 25. Good Gulfs Screen Guild program will undergo three changes for the fall resumption. Show gets a new ecmee in Roger Pryor; a change in producers from Adrian Samlsh to Joe Hill, and a fresh tag, Gulf Screen Guild Theatre. . George ^urphy was not available for the second series, as the deal with Metro was for one quarter. Tom Lewis of Young & Rubi- cam is here to get the program start- ed and then turns it over to Hill, who hns been dispatched here from Y. & R.'s New York office. BROADCASTERS, HLM MEN, PUBUSHERS MAY BE FAVORED SONS OF TELEVISION Paul Minor of WSUI, University of Iowa, added to the announcing staff of KSO-KRNT, Dcs Moines. Conn. Station Requests Permission for Visio Hartford, July 25. WTIC has made application to the Federal Communications Commis- sion for permission to build a tele- vision station at the site of its trans- mitter in Avon.' Understood that a transmitter of 1,000 watts maximum power will be constructed. Further plans await the action of the commission. Costs, date of op- eration etc.,. are In the dark. LAYOFFTELE FOR AUGUST .NBC puts a stopper on the major part of its live television shows for the month of August Network will use only three short live shows per week, each at noontime. Rest of air- ings will be film. It's to allow for repairs to the studios and start preparing for fall programs. Also vacations of tele staff men will be gotten out of the way. Home Sets to Increase Bnt Theatres Not Menaced, English Conference Told London, July 17. Major C. H. Bell read a paper on television at the Film Conference at Blackpool recently, taking the view that within the next five years 5,00,000 home receivers will be In use in Great Britain. He did not, in the face of this, think the picture house managements need have any partiC' ular fear of it interfering with their receipts. It is estimated thait soniethlng like $30,000,000 will be spent in the in' stallation of receiving sets In the cinemas throughout England. The estimated cost of Installation to in- dividual exhibitors would be be- tween $5,000 and $10,000, and it is understood sets can be rented for about $40 a week. The problem, according to the Major, is to receive high class service that would draw people to the theatres, and recommended that exhibitors retrain from equipping their houses with large screens un- til a definite basis was arrived for dependable programs. He advocated that television licenses be Issued by the Postmaster-General at a cost based upon the seating capacity of picture houses, so as to enable the patrons of even the smaller establish- ments to benefit by these exhibitions. Percy Deutsch Very III Percy Deutsch, president of World Broadcasting transcriptions, is seri- ously ill in New York with pneu- monia. ■ HeValHarkness-Pavilion. FCC Committee Promoters Licenses Likely ^Formulating Ideas — Quick-Profit Not Liked — Zone Restrictions on N. Y. (NBC) TELEVISION July 26 12 noon—June Hynd. Betty Green on Children's Fa.shions, 12:15—Film, 'The Call ol Ha- waii.' 12:45—George ' Ross, Broad- way columnist. 12:55-1—Newscast. 8:30-10:30 p.m.—.'The Dude Ranger' (film), with George O'Brien, Irene Hervey. July 27 12 noon —Arnold Conslable Fashion Show. 12:15—Film, 'Venice.' 12:45—Alice Maslin. Wray Meltmar, 'Make-up Magic' 12:55-1—Newscast. 8:30-9:30 p.m.—'Hay Fever,' by .Noel Coward, with Isobel Elsom, Dennis Hoey, Wesley Addy, Virginia Campbell, Low- ell Gilmore, Barbara Leeds, Carl Harbord, Florence Edney. July 28 12 noon—Sue Read, songs. 12:15—Film, 'Brittany.' . 12:45—To be announced. 12:55-1—Newscast 8:30-9:30 p.m.—Albert and Jo- sephine Butler, James- G. Mc- Donald, Lucy Monroe, Pinky Lee. July 29 8:30-10 p.m.—Film feature, 'Carnival of Flanders,' in French with English subtitles. USE TELEYISH FOR PUBUOTY VALUE Camden, N. J., July 25. KSTP, St. Paul, Minn., has made a deal with RCA here for the Installa- tion of television demonstrating equipment similar to that at the N. Y. and San Francisco fairs. It consists of an electronic camera which picks up Images and carries them by special cable to a number of standard home receivers a short distance away, Stanley Hubbard, KSTP prez, plans first to put the equipment in the station's studios. Later it will be moved to outlying districts to give Minnesotans an opportunity to see what New Yorkers are getting via ether. RCA, which exhibbed the cabled visio at the NAB convention last week, got several other bites there from station ops for purchase of visio equipment Similar Installa- tions may be made in other parts of the coi'itry. It is understood KSTP paid only part of the actual cost, for Its equipment,' RCA underwriting a portion of the expense to drum up Interest - -- — • Daytime Special Events Not Important Television Aid To Theatres, SezRowson London, July 18. Forecast that big screen television in theatres will not show up as a commercial matter so long as show- men are tied down to rcdiffusing topical events mostly during the morning and afternoon stanzas is made here by Simon Rowson, trade ing out at a through charge at the lowest minimum of $25 a week per theatre. Many national occurrences like the Derby, Oxford-Cambridge boat race, Wimbledon tennis- champion- .ships, royal processions and what have you, hold session during the daytime while ^he millions are not free to attend. Only way of holding them back would be for television analyst and market researcher. Mati-, the I cameras to film the events and re- ] produce them later in the day, but this would conflict with the news- nee attendances throughout United Kingdom yield an aggrcsate of around 500,000 admissions, which is not enough, when the normal pic- ture program has to be paid for as well, to justify costly expenditure in installing television equipment work- reels, and therefore is not likely to be recommended by the trade. Average .>:2le oI tickets weekly thvoui^hout U.K., Rowson calculates, is 23,000,000, varying from around 30,000,000 weekly during the late fall and winter to 15,000,000 in midyear; a variation of between three "houses' weekly in summer to six in winter. Daily admissions in summer approxi- mate to one full house oh Satiu-days, and nearly half a house other, week- days. Thus admissions on a mid- summer day might drop to as little as 2.000,000 for the entire country, cf which three-fourths would attend after six o'clock in the evening, leav- ing halt a million for the matinees and probably coasiderably less at any stated time at which an event was being televized. Winter figures might show up belter, but there aren't so many shows to lelevlze at ■ po.wible under that period. '' j this kind Washington, July 25. Preferential categories may be ret up by the FCC in seeking to estab- . lish a definite licensing policy for television operators and minimize the chance of tongue-in-cheek pro- moters to carry on stock peddling activities by means of visual broad- casting perinits. Novel step dis- cussed last week by the Television Committee,' following adoption of the report urging a flexible set of principles as the best way of ad- vancing the art, would have the ef- fect of interpreting the vague 'pub- lic interest, convenience, and nece.*!-: sity' phrase according to the quali- fications of prospective station own- ers. At the same time, po.^sibilily of a monopoly would be limited and room left for future expansion. The course which is likely to be recommended to the full CommI.<=h in the fall Involves laying down in advance a. set of varying require- ments for different types of individ- uals Interested in exploiting tele- vision. Without making promises in advance, the FCC probably will an- nounce that preference Is to be given certain groups of applicants and. that number of permits will be restricted. What has been sugi;ested is adop- tion of a statement that in granting requests for visual privileges pref- erence will be gTven to broadcast- ers, motion picture interests. ncw.<;- papers,.and manufacturers of radio equipment, with all others-taking their chances on ability to show su- perior qualifications and belter prospects of rendering desirable service to the public. Basic idea is that these groups already are gen- erally experienced in providing en- tertainment and information to. largo groups of people and have a show- manship sense and feeling of re- sponsibility that naturally fits them to carry out obligations involved in an experimentation ticket Zone Principle The Commlsh Is likely to dust off the old zone principle of allocation —or a variant with less rigid out- lines—to minimize confiicts and se» that all areas are assured video serv- ice. This would mean some sort of formula fixing the number of plants in the principal geographical areas or the exact distribution of fre- quencies to different sections of tha country. Probably it would be sup- plemented by a tacitly-understood rule that only, a certain number ol assignments would, go to any city- say not over two or three permit! in one metropolitan area—rnd a« unofficial table of mileage sepnra* tlon between stations that, in' con. junction with the other limitations^ would discourage multiple owner- ship and Insure a maximum dfegrco of competition. There is somo thought of preventing any operalor from holding more than one ticket, although It may not be set down on paper. ■ '. — - - Untried Berlons In establishing preferential sched-.^ ule, the Commlsh may well put at the top of the li.st Individuals who wjsh to try out the upper frequen- cies which have not been exploited so far. This could mean that with the number of assignment.<i restricted In a certain snot the person inter- ested in exploring the uncharted parts of the spectrum would enjoy better pro.sjjects than a local rival seeking to use berths \Yhich already have been tested. Underlying thought behind such an approach Is to reduce the danger that Individuals chiefly interested in quick profits would gain a strangle- hold. Remembering what happened in rural broadcasting, members of the Commlsh wish to do everything possible to Insure that first comers will have a prooer appreciation of their public obligations. With the number of places for television plants even more "strictly limited tban-in the sound field. It is imoira- tive rto make sure no Ponzl's tie up precious resources. Individuals whose chief motive Is to build up a station which can be .sold tor a h?nd- .some profit or to attrs-t aKcnIion to some other commodity nr .«-?rv- ice will be discouraged rs msirh a general ci'odn cf