Variety (Dec 1944)

Wedneedaft December 20, 1944 RADIO If STATION PRICE CURBS Carrying 1)r^ Too Far . The boys around the Biow agency figure It was bad enough that they couldn't get a rating on the Englander mattress-show,/"We Who Dream," while it was stiU on the air. But when a rating for the pro- . gram Is dreamed up out of - whole cloth and It doesn't do better than «. 2.5, well—the Blow gang feels it's got a justifiable squawk. Especially when they're billed for the dream-rating. It happened when the Cooperative Analysis of Broadcasting (Cross- ley) ratings for November came through early this month. Although the Englarider CBS show folded on Oct. 13, on. page 4t of'th* report appeared the 2.5 rating for "Dream." The Blow agenoy Im icratchinf Its collective head In bewilderment and the only thing they're sure of is thaL CAB won't collect on the bill. . . Rll^ Coke Biz Seen (^ing 0 The Blue Window Into Mutual's bp The.Blue, already liit with a mid- rift punch by way of recent cancel- lations representing $3,500,000 lass in revenue, is reported due. for an- other major clip with the departure Of. its two Coca-Cola shows to Mu- tual.- It's just about in the bag for MBS to get Colce's Morton Downey daytime across-the-board show and the ' six-nights-a-wiEek "Spotlight Band" series. Coke officials, together •with reps of its ad agency, D'Arcy, were meeting on the question, over the weekend, in Atlanta, Coca-Cola's home town. Coke's billing on the Blue is $4,000,000 annually, making it the web's largest account. However, the bi?: in store for Mutual amounts to much more than tliat, being given at about $5,250,000. Boost is due to the fact that Mutual is delivering a greater number of stations. Dowiicy will probably wind up on a chain using practically all of Mutual's 240 •fliliales, with "Spotlight" not far behind. Mutual has been pitching for the ehbw for several'montlis, even be- fore Edgar Kobak became its pre.>;i- dent. It is declared that Kobak has taken no direct action to urge the sale, despite close relationships with Al Steele, D'Avcy N. Y. topper, but It's obvious that Kobak's presence at Mutual hasn't hurt. Meanwhile, coke has been plenty rankled at the Blue's "hypo'' approach in which, the sponsor was asked to bolster the nightly band series in quest of liigher iating-s. Tough Time U Sell ' On top of the solar plexus punch represented by the $4,000,000 rev- enue loss, departure of Coca-Cola Soses terrific sales problems for the lue.- It means that with the 9:30 p.m. .spot open nightly. Blue sales- (Continued on page 24) SSnatra Lands Cosmetic Client Frank Sinatra change's sponsor- ship from vitamins to cosmetics without the loss of a single broad- oast, moving back into his old Wednesday night spot on CBS op- posite Eddie Cantor. New client is Max Factor, whose only previous in- terest in radio has been spots on local ?nd Mexican stations. Swooner ends Wb Vimms series Christmas night •nd goes for the makeup kit Jan. 3. _Deal with Factor was initiated by 9arry Witt of CBS and followed Jhrough to consummation, by Music Corp. Understood the package ■tatids the cosmetic manufacturer 113,500 a week. "Taient setup remains Snchanged but Bob Brewster, pro- ucer, and Rick; Vollaerts, head Writer, both on the J. Walter TJiompson staff, will have to be replaced. Bill Goodwin will be the Announcer. ■ OEIFFIK BUYS GBDTIN Philadelphia, Dec. 19. Alexander Griffin, WIP-Mutual fewscaster, has been lold to a new |Don«or locally. Bankroller Is Griftin ■noe Polish. #.^J;"^ by Benningha'm, Castleman Sc Pierce. FAOIMAN EASING UP DropR KxtracnrrlCDlar Load for • While St Doe's Order Clifton Fadiman is taking things easy for the next couple of months at the insistenc!« of )iis doctor. Jle'll continue with "Info Please" and a couple of other commitments but has cancelled out a numt>er. of .proj- ects; Inquiry at Writers' War Board, of which Fadiman was one of the founders, discloses the fact that the critic-emcee is temporarily absent from all his committees. Friends state it's nothing geriouis, mostly nervous exhaustion, Fadiman has earned a rep during the war of being a dynamo of energy in all sorts of activities. Ed East & Polly Dropping Blue ladies Seated' "Ladies Be Seated," half-hour Monday through Friday audience- participation stania featuring Ed East and Polly oh the Blue, is drop- ping off the web. Program has been, heard'in the 2:30-8 p.m. ilot for more than a year. East last week (13) gav< the net- work two weeks notice «n aanc*fl|- tion, declaring that he feelt wltii h'is outside dates and hia morning show on the same web, ha had mora work to do than ha could handle. . Blue sales force had strong inter- est in the show right do WW to the time East signified his desl.re to bow out. Earlier this year, l^rocter ti Gamble reportedly was on point of taking over sponsorship, but Instead bought "Glamor , Manor" for Its 12-12:30 p.m. across-the-board niohe. Show to succeed "Ladles" not yet chosen. > ■yesterday (19), the Blue convinced East to continue with the stanza for at least a couple of weeks beyond the original Dec. 27 quitting date to allow a last minute drive to sell the show, or, at least, to find a suitable replacement stanza. Fanners' Chi Conyention OKs Political Harangues, Clear Channel Status Quo Chicago, Dec. 19. In. a resolution passed ; by the American Farm Bureau Federation at their convention here last week, they condemned any restrictions .''of the right to criticize acts of pub- lic officials by radio broadcasts, and stated that the fearless dissemination of new^i by radio must be continued unimpaired. Resolution also stated that clear channel broadcasting, fre« from in- terference, is invaluable to rural America as a source of hews, in- formation and entertainment. Delegates urged no reduction in the number of clear channel statldni and no limitations of clear channel broadcasting. E TOP COIN DEALS Washington, Dec. 19. Sale of 82 radio stations sioce Jan. 1 for a total of more than $10,- 000,000 has brought to a head a prob- lem which Congress: must solve within the next year. It's the question of whether sta- tions are in a runaway inflation, and whether some of the cost is paid for the frequency, which is against the law. . Coming up sonie time in 1945 are a series of public hearings at which broadcast leaders will be invited to testify, and when Congress will de- termine whether FCC should let na- ture take its course or whether it should crack down, as recommended by Cprhm. Clifford J. Durr last sum- mer. Rep. Clarence J. Lea, chairman of the House Committee on Interstate and 'Fbreign Commerce, is already preparing to conduct such hearings to determme whether new legisla- tion is needed to curb station prices. Lea admits frankly he does not know the answer. . He says he will not make up his mind on what should be done until every interested party has a chance to appear before his committee and say his piece. On the Senate side, similar hearings are ex- pected. Perhaps no man in Congress is more interested than Rep. Richard B. Wlgglesworth (R., Mass..) who has been running a one-man camr palgn for the past half dozen years to oreate a firm yardstick on which to base the sales prices of stations. Darr Blew Lid Off It is Durr, however, who really made things hot last July 18. when he blew up in a bitter dissent on the sales prices of four stations, claim Ing the. prices were, all out of the line with the real values of the properties. A week later, FCC dumped the baby In the lap of Con- grass. The oommlssion sent identical letters to Lea and to Sen. Burton K Wheeler. (D., Mont), .chairman of the Senate Interstate Commel'ce Committee. . FCC listed 23 sales ap- proved since the beginning of the year for a total of more th^ $6,700,- 000. In many Instances, the sales prices were for controlling interests and not for 100% of the stock. The oommlssion pointed oiit that these (Continued on page 24) 10-YR. OLD GIRL lASCOTFOft SINGER CBS is providing ' the midwest radio tenor, Danny O'Neil, with a novel format for his flve-nights-a weak quarter-hour at 11:15 p.m. pro- pram In the shape of a 10-year old "mascot" impersonated by Lorna J can. She will appear-on the program as a kidlwith a crush on the singer. El- wood Hoffman, of the web program writing division, dreamed up the stunt and is provWing the continu- tles. CBS build-up for O'Neil is under the supervision of Larry Puck, director of popular miisic for the web. Prior to his stint in the Navy, O'Neil had created quite a following via WBBM, Chicago. NBC Tells Agencies fnhe Renewals~~ WiD Be on Web's Terms; Storm Brews Over Tick and Choose' BombshdB *Boy Meets Dene Woods* Switching to Noon Spot . Bob Johnston-Dene Woods musical program, "Boy Meets Girl," goes full-network sustaining on the Blue in the,ll:45-12 noon slot Mondays .through Fridays... beginning Jan. 1. Shlhs to steady daytiinie stanza, after several weeks of thrlce-weckly 10:15- 10:30 p.m. airings. Program will replace the Jack Berch musical across-the-boarder, which boiws out for Kellogg's, D£C. 29. Samtsirhc Yrrem * Enterprising N. Y. . radio press agent had a Christmas gift backfire on him last week. The p.a. covered the field by send- ing desk calendars to radio cds and station toppers suitably . stamped with the recipient's name in nice, gold letters. . Kickback came when one of the network publicity directors unwrapped his calendar and dis- covered with the first gander that his name had been mis- spelled. Calendar wound up right in the wastebasket. • O.K.—Spell it backwards. New Rei Blue Patches Up Morale Chinks Intensive efforts by Blue web top- pers to patch up undeniable chinks in the organization's "morale wall," occasioned by 'the exit march of veepee Ed Kobak and others, ap- parently have achieved the desired result, according to trade circles. Junior execs and others, who a few weeks ago, couldn't be enthusiastic because of bad attacks of jitters, now are reported back to normal and sold 100% on the new regime. Reportedly paying their new pro- gram toppers some of the biggest salaries in the network field, the Blue currently is in the process of examining payroll reports of Its en- tire program staff, and expects to put wage increases through for ma- jority of its writers, directors and producers, with the approval of the War Labor Boar(}, before Christmas. Doors to the offices of Chet L,a' Roche, operational head of the Blue; Hubbell Robinson, Jr., v.p., in charge of programs; Adrian Samlsh, nation- al production mgr. and Bud Barry, program operations topper, have been thVown open to all members of the network production and pro- gramming atafl in a concerted effort to do away with "red tape" and needless waste of time. Responsibilities of all department heads have been clearly defined, with kinks in operational procedure now ironed out. Toppers have zipped open the money bags for an indefinite period, in moves' to get talent on the 4ir that will build up rating on current and future Blue shows. . Affiliated stations have been informed of the entire program and general objec- tives of the web, and plan to go along with N.Y. headquarters right down the line under the new regime. The industry is looking for plent.ir of repercussions in the wake of . a' letter which NBC has just sent out to all agencies handling web com- mercials which, in eflect, serves no- tice that hereafter NBC will resei"ve the right to pick and choose itt shows, and that the bankroUcrs bet- ter be pretty good boys in furlhcr programming dealings with the net- work. Move already has some of the agencies doing a burn but the'im- mediate reaction is regarded as nothing compared to the fcclintj that's expected to develop. It's all part, of the NBC avowed pattern to hypo its programming schedule, although prexy Niles Trammel! had previously put himself on record that there would be no bludgeoning' of sponsors in the process and the whole thing would eventuate oh a cooperative basis. . Latest move, however, is in the form of an edict that hereafter NBC will reserve tlie right to terminate all contracts for the purchase of network time; that hereafter there will be no automatia renewals and that NBC wants to see what the client has to ofler before the web commits; .itself to any further acceptance. , ^ NBC letter states it will have the right to terminate contracts at the end of 13-week cycles, and concludes that notice of termination in no way ' means that the net is not appre- ciative of past business and desirea continued association . "on network terms and conditions." Behind the sweeping edict is seea a. move to woo top-spending clients and resarva those valuable StL& tima segments for the boys, with th* most capital. 'GAIETIES'TREK EAST CUES CAST SHAKEUP "Gaslight Gaieties," variety show starring Beatrice Kay'and Michael O'Shea, heaii-d on NBC 8-8:30 Satur- day nights for Teel dentifrice (P&G), shifts east from the. C^ast starting with the Jan. 6 program. Miss Kay will continue as star of the show, .but understood that O'Shea, because' of film commit- ments, cannot trek east, and will drop out. Charles Dant's orch will be succeeded by, an eastern radio musical crew, probably Ray Bloch, who does several other shows for the Blow agency, which handles the ac- count. Al Rinker, prodiicer,' con- tinues, but reported that agency cur- rently is searching for comedy writ- ers in N.Y,, planning to hypo show with more comedy material. Calumbiis.—James O. Yerian, for 12 years promotion manager of WBNS, has joined WELD, Cql^mljus, first FM stotlpn,_inithe:'.Sjjiin"e/'ca- pacity. ChestiesCanV Satisfy AFMers N.Y. local 802, American Federa- tion of Musicians, and Newell-Em-. mett, agency for Chesterfield, hav» beeti in the throes of agreeing upon a scale of pay for post-broadcast per- formances by Ted Steele's.*orchestra. Talent on this show provides a 30-minute show for the . studio audience after each night's orig- inal and repeat broadcast, and ap- parently the extra pay usually de- manded by. a band under such rir- cumstances was forgotten. Since the fiisl show, only five musicians and Steele have played the extra half- hours. 802 lalte last week asked a 'price of 117 per man for the 23 • musicians in the band and the same on the repeat show, or $14 per evening per man. Chesterfield thinks this is too high, since it is paying the men on the basis of a half-hour while they actually perform only. 15 ifiinutcs during, the broadcast itself (802'9 radio scale calls for $14 per man per half hour or any fraction thereof). New 'Inner Sanctum' Will Invite Celebs to Drop h, Chat With Itaymooir "Inner Sanctum'.s" switch from._ Colgate to Liptpn Tea on Jan. 2," when it moves into the Tuesday night CBS time currently occupied by Burns & Allen, may cue a nevr- gimmick on the show, with Hi Browifl owner of the whodunit package,, currently huddling -witli Y&R agency execs oh the .idea. —. Plan is to work into the script each week a different cclcb of the Broadway-literati set to portray himself, ;nbt as an arm-chair detec- tive but as an integral part of thq continuity. Thus efforts will be ma(l« to line up such guys as Clifton Fadi- man, Billy Rose, Moss Hart, Christ»« pher ■ Morlcy, George S. Kautmav et al.-