Variety (May 1946)

WVriwariay. May 8, 1946 ItABIO 31 Some Regionals Make More Money, Claim Clears, Fighting Revamp Washington. May 7. |n an eflforl to dynamite 'he idea tluil I Mo bitilime clear channel oul- Jci» arc gobbling l| P 811 ,! ' e P^odts in radio.'the clear channel radio (.von|j lias unleashed a study of earn- ings ot 7(i3 tulltime outlets' pointing proudly to the fact that several re- gionals topped the .earnings- of some clears- Study, the first of its kind, vas introduced here at FCC hearing on lIn: clear-channel radio service. Bulwarking the push for super- power, .the study claims'that popu- lation ol city in which a station is located, network affiliation a.id the. fivqucnry on which it opeiaies are all as important if not more im- portant than the power of the sta- tion ilseir. Meanwhile, despite the formida- ! 1-B's had higher income than the blc.showing (>r a dozen clear channel lowest 1 -A clear, and all but one outlets to dale, insiders fake the : have higher net time sales, But big view thai FCC has already made up question, still unanswered, is how its mind to modify the present clear I does take or majority of the' .clears channel setup this year. Thev pre- j compare with other stations diet a duplication of at least some. FCC figures have generally spotted the tnke of (he clear channel outlets ; as way ahead of other stations for akw power on the 1330kc channel could be matched by a similarly located outlet in Hartford, Conn., only with lO.OOOkw power. Less, impressive was the clear channelei-.s' case that other stations were getting an equal share of the pie. Study showed that 63 stations of all izes had higher net time sales than the clear, with the lowest take. But no figures could be marshalled to disprove that the bulk of the big- tiirie outlets outdistance' other oper- ators. Study also came up with fact that 137 stations of all classes had greater broadcast income than the lowest clear. The 50kw stations, operating as 1-B stations on clears, also bite off a good hunk of the radio pie. Here, the study shows that all of the 50kw ■ol tIn- favored channels, .but beiiovi' FCC will stop short of recurring re- location or the biglime stations out- „, e ,. 0lintl . v as a wh , side the plush-markets. The lull -extent, of coverage "given, by NBC and CBS o. & o.'s and affil- iated clears will be seen more clearly hi the July session of the hearing. FCC last Friday (3> subpoenaed "listening maps" of coverage given by the -major web stations. Action followed requests of Andy Haley, counsel for ABC, who is anxious to show duplication of NBC and CBS programs in the same area, leaving oilier towns completely, uncovered. ABC is plugging for a reallocation of ihe clear channels to knock out duplication. Detroit vs. L. A. Highlights ' of" the clear-channel groups "earnings" study were: One of, most important factors in amount,of dough realized by a radio operator Is population and location or town in which he operates not necessarily power of hi.; station. For example, study disclosed that the seven Detroit stations had'aver- age lime sales of $0,000,000 in 1944. while Los Angeles' 14 outlet.- chalked up an average of only $0,000.0(10. Both lime sales and" broad- cast income drop as population de- creases, the study reveals. The nelwork-owned clear?-biggest .money : makers on the air had bigger time sales and income lhaiv the in- dependently owned 1-A 50 kilowal- ters. 01' lop earners among the clear chanuclei's., first four are net o. & o.'s. while of first 11 money- makers, seven are net-owned. For all; classes of stations, two biggest takers for the entire country are clears operated by a major web. Third biggest earner, incidentally, is an independent 1-b slu'ion. operating with ;>0kw on a clear channel. Clear channelers emphasized that regional outlets are not adversely alVected by operation of 50 kilowat- ters in (lie same community, since the lower powered wallers in such towns .show approximately the same nel time sales and total broadcast income of regionals in cities without 'competition from the biglime sta- tions. However, the reverse is true for the really bigtime markets rang- ing from a half-to a million popula- tion, where the regionals suffer by comparison with equi-powerer! sta- tions in the second string towns. Better Below Stations—regardless ol their power —on the lower radio bands generally fare heller in terms of take than those on. the higher frequencies. Better daytime coverage in the downstairs radio spectrum accounts for (he difference, it was testified. Stations — regarless of power — with nel affiliations are way out ahead of the indies in broadcast in- come and time sales. At the same time.. NBC and CBS affiliates show tip better than stations tied up with either ABC or Mutual. In some cases, figures showed thai 5kw outlet with a major web contract made as much dough as. a-'SOUw . indie. T)ill'erenee in radio transmission* in various parts of the country was also cited in support of some sta- tions' oul-oT-line earning.-." Point was made that, to gel the same cov- erage jn Connecticut as is possible in North Dakota, the east coast sta- t'on would have t<f"have several lime- ilu- power. For example, cov- erage ol a . No. Dakota station ol Was It an Omen? Washington. May 7.' Strange coincidence added dramatic force to the testimony of WLS. Chicago, the "prairie farmer" station, at the FCC clear channel hearings last week. As WLS farm director Arthur Page was describing the station's "fire prevention" services to farmers and newscasters during the 1934 Chicago stockyards fire, smoke rolled into the hearing room", and sirens of a half-dozen engines sounded. Hearings were promptly recessed under a police escort. Seems that a motor in the building's ventilating system got overheated, but the fire soon died of its own accord. Page resumed the stand later. B'nai B'rith Kudos For Sportscasters Assn. The Sports Broadcasters Assn. will come in for tribute from the Cinema Lodge. B'nai B'rith. at the Hotel Astor on Tuesday (14'). The sportscasters will be cited for their efforts to promote American demo- cratic principles in the elimination-, of all references to color and creed in their broadcasts. , Bill Slater. Assn. prexy. will be presented with an honor scroll by Jack H. Levin, president of the lodge. Italian Nets Merge; Factions Still Feuding With Fascist Tinges Deep Rome. April 30. The two Italian radio networks. Radio Italia and Radio Audizioni that virtually ho coordination has yet been possible in the operation Of Italian radio. And. in the opinion Italia, have recently merged, but no - of most observers, no solution of this improvement whatsoever has re- sulted either in the type of person- nel or in the quality or programs. Even the merger itself, actually, is more a matter of form than of .substance, because practically all the causes.ol.dissension between the two managements are still unsolved and more troublesome than ever. deadlock will be possible until the vet-to-be-elected Constituent Asserh- . bly changes the juridical status of Italian radio. As tilings now stand. RA. I. is owned" partly by the Stale and part- ly by former Fascist bigwigs, through a*number .of' holding com- panies. Fascist -influences are still The merger was accomplished by a deeply and widely fell in Italian compromise, whereby the two outfits ; radio. M. Donati, Fascist manager were combined into one administra- 1 " r . Radio Naples, dismissed and live unit with Iwo ..programming tie- ; led by the Allies, has been rein- partments. one for the north and one sl «led as a regional supervisor. M. for the south The new name is RA. I. so that the name is that of the northern group. Radio Italia: while the ini- tials are those of the' southern one. Radio Audizioni Italia. Head of RA. I. is now I. Carrara, formerly manager of the northern outfit. Av- vocate Ressini. ex-chier or southern radio, remains in charge of programs ' eculive. for the south. This is the official version of Ihc Razzi. Fascist programs director of Radio Rome, also expelled by the Allies, is back on the job for the whole of southern Italy. M. Pug- licse. drama , chief in the good old times, dismissed by the Allies for having been a Fascist hierarch since the rise of the Regime, is back as drama consultant'and unofficial ex- Albany.— Louisa Ryan, formerlv facts. Actually. Carrara and Res- of U. P. in New York Cilv. has sini are continuing their feud, so ! joined the State Radio Bureau: It takes two to make an argument. There's no argument, however, over the popu- larity of the "Mr. and Mrs." show heard each Sunday afternoon at 2:30 over WGN. The rating history of this program is convincing proof of what can be done locally by combining an entertaining program and WGN. "Mr. and Mrs ," sponsored by the Sealy Mattress Company, started out in November of 1945. Its first Hooperating was a very respectable 4.7 . . . subsequent ratings have been 5.4, 6.2, 7.9 and 8.4. This is further proot that a radio advertiser covers the nation's second richest market best with a good show on WGN. A Clear Channel Station ... ... Serving the Middle West CHICAGO 11 ILLINOIS 5*.M* Watt* 72 On Your Dial MUTUAL BROADCASTING Eftft.ra Sate OBca: 2tt Bait 42ad Street, New York U.S. Y. Watt Caatt: fcdwmxd S. Tnuoi Cm.. Hum Bulldla*. Saa Fraacbc*,Cal.