Variety (May 1946)

Wednoday, May 29, 1946 RADIO 27 COSTS DIP ON NEW PACKAGES Radio's New Opportunity The situation as frontpaged In last week's Variety whereby a round dozen of the top 15 shows on the 1036 Hooper Parade were still the people's choice In 1946, pretty much wraps up the story of radio today. Which Is hardly conducive to a long, healthy life for radio. Over the last half of the past decade it was a case of the spon- sors, burdened with tax money, wanting the bestest for the most- est. Prices for top names spiraled to unprecedented highs, and there was little time or desire to experiment with new and creative Ideas, or to explore the unknown for new personalities. The agency boys were riding along on a 15% crest and the net- works, proudly flaunting their SRO signs, were too busy raking In the coin. comes now the era of the low-budgeted show and time avail- ability on the networks. For the first time in years, the oppor- tunity is ripe for real programming. With the top coin sponsor splurge that inevitably led to big name shows out of the running, a show will have to stand on its own. New techlques, originality, new faces and voices, creative courage, new Ideas all down the line—these are the drawing cards that should replace the trled-and-true of the bonzana age. The webs can—and will—move sponsored "fringe time" shows into vacated "cream" segments, which would still leave ample half-hours for tryouts and for many a sponsor to take a flier into low-cost programming. The talent is available. Many new ideas are, too. But for the first time the agencies and the networks find themselves In a position where they have no al- ternative but to give the new and the untried a chance. Many duds will fall by the wayside. Yet, without the vision and cour- age of trial and error, the next season In radio is likely to result in cheaper and smaller editions of present shows. Unless the network and programming boys reconstruct their thinking it's very likely that the 1956 Hooper bests will reprise the same old names again. And in that case, radio will have missed the boat. Powerful 16-Newspaper Combine s Bid For Ad Coin Real Threat to Radio Radio is facing the toughest .fight-t it ever had for its share of an at feast temporarily shrunken total na- tional advertising dollar. A group of 16 newspapers, including some of the most powerful in the country, and representing every major mar- ket in the U. S. A., has banded to- gether to wage an intensive campaign for more national advertising in their sheets. Curious angle of the transaction is the fact that, of the 16 newspapers, all but two are directly affiliated with broadcasting stations. .Regardless of this strong radio tiein, however, no secret is made, though the formal announcement says nothing about it, that the pur- pose of the group is to take the ad- vertising pitch away from both ra- dio and national circulation maga- zines, and try to get more national advertising business for the daily newspapers. The group is even using a radio term in its very title, calling itself the American Newspaper Advertis- ing Network. When word of the or- ganization's formation reached ra- dioites in New York last week, there were reports of a "fifth" network , about ready to go on the air. How- ever, that's not it. ANAN, using "network" in its title, is a straight newspaper deal. The organization was formed after a survey, lasting nearly a year, (Continued on page 46) Harris-Faye Land Sunday Fitch Spot * Hollywood, May 28. Phil Harris and Alice Faye will take over spot currently held by Cass Daley for Fitch on Sunday over NBC, starting this fall. - Pair will portray selves in family comedy series and will have Jack Benny guesting intermittently from preced- ing niche. Contracts will be drawn up for signing before week ends and show gets away in September. Harris as bandleader and Miss F aye as film star were okayed by Niles Trammell, Benny and Ameri- can Tobacco. Fitch is still shopping around for NBC summer program. Dick Powell continues for company on Mutual for summer and into new season. Rating*—Off the Chest Paris, May 28. The French are getting radio- conscious, and the daily press is frequently frontpaging sugges- tions for complete reorganization of the present set up and pro- grams. Also featuring census, "they take to show what type of broadcasts their readers prefer.. Dr. Toulouse, leading French psychiatrist, insists that scientif- ic audience tests be taken. He claims to have perfected a ma- chine which by recording alter- ations in breathing when sus- pended on listener's chest, auto- matically reveals which, part of the program impresses him most. CURRENT TREND By GEOBGE BOSEN The era of the $15,000-$20,000 budgeted shows is fading from radio much sooner than was anticipated. During the inflationary war years, when the bankrollers were spending tax money anyhow, they considered It, for the most part, an insult to their appreciation of showmanship values if the agencies showed them anything less than a $10,000 produc- tion. Today the tale has reversed itself. The agency's, big selling point is low-cost talent-production layout. True, the Bennys, Hopes, Aliens, Cantors,; etc., with their top coin operations, will be around for a long time under the present the-rating- is-the-payoff system of weighing U. S. broadcasting values. And where there's a key show biz per- sonality involved, the asking price will probably remain on a high level for some, time to come. But taken as a whole, it's the package that, hews closer to the $5,000 scale that's going to command greater respect and attention from here on—as already evidenced by some of the agency deals currently in negotiation. Just what that will do in terms of bolstering the radio programming picture is something else again. The ingenuity and application of creative effort on the part of the agency boys will have a lot to do, it's conceded, with answering the question. Spots Dance On Despite the $10,000,000 retreat by sponsors of top-budgeted network productions, there's been little evi- dence thus far that spot announce- ment billings have been affected. In fact, the agency in the No. 1 posi- tion in the spot field, BBD&O, says there's been no perceptible "-change in the picture—nor is any antici- pated. With advertisers less concerned today with the prestige value of radio, and becoming more interested in its sales impact at lowest possible cost, feeling in general is that the spot technique will attract more and more sponsor coin from here on in. CBS Old Vic Saga An Uneven Tale, But Show Goes On Is There Room for Four Major Webs? 'Curtain Time Move Poses Query But MBS, ABC Have Aces Up Sleeves . So Free &. Easy . Looks like the fun is just be- ginning. George Washington Hill, the American Tobacco tycoon who is said to be the inspiration for the central character in Fred- eric Wakerhan's lampooning of the ad agency business, "The Hucksters,". is reported to have passed along, the word that he doesn't want to catch any em- ployees reading or discussing the book. Which has cued one agency's gagster's comment: All secre- taries at Foote-Cone-Belding agency and American Tobacco Co. have been told to turn in their Womrath cards. 'Playboys' Like To Eat Too, Are Busy Beavers Now While the advertiser in radio, the agencies and the networks were not totally unprepared for the antici- pated pulling-in-of-the-reins and the wave of commercial show cancella- tions, the reshaped broadcasting pic- ture has come as something, of a shock to a number of the "studio playboys" around New York. These comprise a large segment of the actors and writers in radio who. through the war years had pretty much the upper hand in their deal- ings around the networks.. There were many actors, for example, who would only 'take commercial shows and looked with scorn upon sustain- ed. Today they're all over the sus- taining lot—and glad to get back. Also symptomatic of the changed conditions is the attitude of the "de- mand actors" who over the past few years were asking—and getting—' "conflicts." Because one date inter- fered with another show, they were excused from participating in full rehearsals. Today "conflicts" are gradually fading out—it's either show up for rehearsal'or else. ..i I WJZ Apron String Tied to ABC Net On the theory that a network is no stronger than, its local station, the trend of late has been to set up the N. Y. flagship stations of the major webs as autonomous operations. It was particularly evident for a long time at WOR, the Mutual "nerve center" in New York, and at WABC, CBS' N. Y. flagship. And WEAF's autonomy a's an operation distinct and separate from NBC has blos- somed into full maturity in recent weeks; But the seeming inauguration of a reverse technique at WJZ in its re- lation to ABC network has occa- sioned some eyebrow raising in trade circles. It would appear, on the surface, from .economies that have been effected on the New York station, that the trend is toward lessening the station's influence as an autonomous setup. There's talk in some quarters that politics with- in the organization, in addition to economies, has been one of the motivating factors. Columbia Workshop's presentation this coming Sunday' (2) of the Old Vic Theatre Company has been at^ tended by considerable difficulties. First came the decision by the com- pany that, because of illness and fatigue, it could not go through with the original schedule of four 90- minute broadcasts. That opens series on June 2 with "Richard the Third." On this date, Laurence Olivier, it developed, had a "conflict" with a previously and separately negotiated date to appear on the Reader's Di- gest commercial—same day—same network. That threw out of gear tho whole rehearsal schedule set up for Old Vic, and necessitated re- arrangement of CBS studios and fa- cilities. The executives of CBS had pre- viously cleared studios, engineers and other assistance for approxi- mately 20 hours of rehearsal per broadcast. This is extremely long by ordinary standards, but CBS consid- ered it logical in view of the un- familiarity of the Old Vic Players with American radio, and in view of the'90 minutes of air time. The changed plans resulted in cancellation altogether of "Henry IV" Parts One and Two, which were originally to have been played. The two pieces now to be given the radio audience, "Richard the Third" and "Peer Gynt," are part of the London but not the special New York reper- tory. Olivier plays Richard and Ralph Richardson appears as the Earl of Richmond in the Shakes- pearean piece, while Richardson j (Continued on page. 4G) Only a Seasonal Slump for Indies ; While the networks have taken it on the chin through at least $10,- 000,000 worth of oancellations, it would appear that the indies around the country are not feeling anything but the usual seasonal slump, with promises bright for full billings. A check of a number of outsland ing station reps in New York, as well as indies in the metropolitan area, shows that cancellations in or expected are about normal for this time of the year. Some national business has been lost but, in the main, local retail advertising has been holding up. The bigger indies in the N. Y. area are auditioning a number of shows for late summer or early fall place- ment and many of these new pro- grams, as one indie's sales vecpec expressed it, "are being given a ride at a potential sponsor's cost." Network affiliates around the country, affected by the cancellations on their webs, are turning to the transcription field, with the result that sellers of platter shows are reporting a pickup in their business too. 'This is one case where the big fellows .are doing the worrying, while'all's serene in our ranks," said one local station rep. Mars Candy, which sponsors "Cur- tain Time" in the Thursday night 10 p.m. slot on ABC, is cancelling itself off the web, with reports that NBC has cleared better time for the show. The move is seen in some quarters as the initial seque of commercial programs from ABC and Mutual, to the two "wartime SRO" webs, now that choice time segments have opened up. It's reported, in fact, that CBS wouldn't at f.H be averse to grabbing some of the business that, of necessity, moved into ABC and Mutual slots because NBC and Columbia time was unavailable. Some even venture the belief that, perhaps for the first time since each of the four major networks moved into the big business columns there may be an imminent test ' as to whether, under normal business con- ditions, there is room for four net- works in the commercial program- ming picture. Such reasoning, however, appar- ently doesn't take into consideration several factors that augur too well for the future of both Mutual and ABC. In- the case of Mutual, it's an acknowledged fact that the web has in Edgar Kobak *he industry's No. 1 salesman, as reflected in his past year's wrapup of increased bill- ings and many national sponsors. Nor does it take into considera- tion the fact that ABC' is in the choice position of now enjoying the payoff for some smart and in- genious programming tactics engi- neered during the war years in fortifying itself with a number of lucrative properties, notably in its daytime sked. Such sock b.o. at- tractions, over which . the web has complete control as "Breakfast Club," "Breakfast in Hollywood," Bride and Groom," Al Pearce, which is on the verge of sponsor- ship, etc., proyide a bulwark for ABC that bespeaks a business-as- usual era. NBC Hesitates As Sponsors Linger NBC finds itself going through a 'marking time" period, with the re- shaped programming schedule for next season, as result, being held in abeyance. That's primarily due to the fact that, while such shows as the General Electric "Hour of Charm" and the Westinghpuse Sun- day afternoon stanza, etc., are headed for cancellation, the spon- sors have only informally served notice of giving up the time, with no signaturing as yet. In recent weeks a flock of spon- sors now occupying marginal time have put in bids for the choicer seg- ments. But rather than And itself in the middle of an awkward situation, NBC has been forced to hold off on any commitments. 'Backwards'Backs Off That Sat Night Slot, But Stooge May Go Up The Jimmy Edm'undson (Professor Backwards) Saturday night NBC show is going oft on June 15, upon expiration of his contract! The Ed- mundson show returned to the air a few months back with considerable fanfare, the network having had high hopes of wrapping it up com- mercially. However, report is that NBC has been disappointed in the audience returns. Unusual angle about the whole thing is that a new show may be developed around the program's ' comedy stooge, Bernie West,