Variety (May 1946)

Si TKLEYISIOX-nADIO Wednesday, May 29, 1946 28-Hour Sked Too Stiff for Tele, May Seek Okay for Stagger System With television struggling against odds lo make progress in the wake of strikes, shortages and other re- conversion difficulties, it's believed thai the FCC will again postpone imposition of the 28 hours per week programming schedule, slated lo be- come effective July 1. As originally set up by the com- mission: the rule was lo lake elVecl last Nov. ].'At.that time, the Tele- vision Broadcasters Assn. petitioned the FCC to waive the decree unlfl July 1. pointing out that reconver- sion was progressing much more slowly than originally thought. TBA. it's learned, is now preparing mother petition to ask for a second postponement, which will probably iui'ludo provisions for some form of graduated basis. By permitting lelevision to follow a course similar to early radio, when broadcasters were allowed to air whatever shows they desired for as long a period every day as they could, it's believed that tele sta- tions will have a chance lo find themselves before going ahead full force. TBA will probably ask the FCC lo decree something like 10 hours of weekly programming for the first several months' a station is on the air. Schedule would then be gradually increased, with ils number of broadcast hours depend- ent on how long the station had been in operation. Bit; Town Status Quo Under such a system, the stations thai were broadcasting before the war in metropolitan areas such as N. Y.. Chicago and Los Angeles might be asked to go ahead with the 28 hours ruling on July 1. If no more equipment is forthcoming by that time, however, it's probable that they too might get an cMension. Hardship lhat would be invoked on tele broadcasters by the imposi- lion of the rule at this time is evi- denced by Ihe situation in N. Y. WNBT. NBC's tele outlet, is present- ly on the air more than any other siaiion. broadcasting live, remote and It 1 in shows seven nighls a week. All this, in addition to ils remote tele- casts of baseball games, still totals less than 20 hours. WCBW (CBS>. with remote equipment only in Madison Sq. Garden: and WABD iDuMonli. with no remote equip- ment whatsoever, are following a far less extensive .program. . All three stations, however, are laying plans lo hypo their schedules as soon as conditions, permit. Con- sensus is probably expressed in the words of Worthinglon . Miner, WCBW station manager, who de- clared thai the CBS station planned to "do as much as our equipment will permit, without lowering the standard of production lo a ridicu- lous extent just to fill air time." Teleratings? Thompson agency chiefs ar» already beginning to think In lerms ot Hooperatings for tele- vision. Agency has received two let- ters ot commendation thus far for its new "Hour Glass" pack- age, sponsored bv Standard Brands over WNBT (NBC, N. Y.) on Thursday nights. While admitting* lhat such returns would give almost a minus rat- ing on the Hooper basis of cal- culation, .the execs are plenty- gratified lo know that at least somebody had tuned into the show. ONE OP AMERICA'S OUTSTANDING MM LATEST SONG HIT > "VOU STOLE MY HEART" PUBLISHED BY HARMS. INC. MARK WOODS GOES ALL OUT IN VIDEO PLUG Hollywood. May 28. "Television i.s the greatest me- . medium of entertainment in the ' world," was statement made here j last week by Mark Woods. ABC prexy. He added the web was pre- 1 pared lo spend "a lot of money" on video if a license to operate here is ! obtained .out of current FCC hear- ! ings. Such a venture would be part i of general expansion of ABC. which ' includes floating of new $15,000,000 j slock issue on Big Board in N. Y. j ABC is now scattered all over Hollywood, but Woods said situation ; will be remedied as soon as Gov- '. eminent permits erection of one ; new. adequate building. Prexy also ; revealed that web wants to operate- j FM stations in San Francisco. De- troit. Chicago.. Washington and N. Y. | Woods left here yesterday (Moil.) I to check network operations in San Francisco. STAUFFER DUE ON COAST Hollywood, May 28. Don StaufTer. veepee and director of radiojor RuthraufT & Ryan, due in from N. Y. tomorrow (Wed.) for slay of at least one week. Exec will be bringing to local office inTo on clients' radio plans for next season and also will check pro- grams emanating from this point. Disk Jockeys to Benefit Tele Via fix, Recorded Soundtracks, Sez Lewis Disk jockeys, who have success- fully heckled both their sponsors' products and their audiences • over the radio tor many years, will have a definite place in the television scene, according to present video program directors. Concensus of the programmers is that the record- spinner will come into his own when, i lie FCC-imposed regulation that all stations must broadcast a minimum of 28 hours per week comes into ef- fect on July 1: With their rtlm supply virtually cut of? by James C. Petrillo's recent ban against the Hollywood producers making any pix for television, broad- casters wilt be hard put to fill the 28 hours with live and remote shows. Disk jockey on television, if he's to assume the same full schedule he presently has on radio, must be an extraordinarily interesting person- ality and be favored with a face the viewing audience won't lire of too. easily, according to the program chiefs. Robert Q. Lewis, jockey on WHN, N. Y.. indie, has already come up with a formula to transpose his art lo the new medium. Formula con- sists of a library of film featuring name bands, but with the music recorded, rather than run on the sound track, since the AFM has not yet banned the use of recorded music on video. It's possible. Lewis be- lieves, lhat recording companies might produce the band films in order to hypo their juke-box and re- tail sales via plugs over the video show. Announcer would appear on the screen in between the lilms to plug his sponsors' product, or would run films containing info on how the product is made. Animated version or a singing commercial would also fill the bill, according to Lewis. Realizing that video audiences might tire of watching bands go through their routines for hours on end. Lewis thinks the jockey could also run in other lypes of pix. such as short travelogs, thereby turning his show into a variety program. Daytime shows, however, would comprise mostly music, for the bene- fit of the housewife, chief afternoon listener. WE SALUTE SOME FAMOUS DADS ISiSr snooks' WDr) and— WABD Rolls 2d Studio; Stresses Technical Growth Above Programs Second of the three WABD. Du- Mont television studios at Ihe Wana- maker slore, N. Y., has been com- pleted and. was slated to begin operation last night (Tuesday 1 with telecast of Doug Allen's "Thrills and Chills" show. Located to the left of the large Studio A. which teed off several weeks ago. the new studio is small- er, equipped for two-camera opera- tion. 11 will probably be used mostly for one-set sIhjws. interviews, etc. DuMont engineers are currently workinx on the third studio, which is expected lo be ready in a few months. Opening of the new studio C offers wide possibilities for further video experimentation, according to Du- Mont execs, because it's possible to shift from Studio A to the smaller sludio merely by manipulating the controls. Use of two studios should be especially good for audience par- ticipation shows, in which a gag race or other gimmick could be going on in one sludio while the technical di- rection switched over to the other studio for a commercial, special an- nouncement, etc. System should greatly accelerate the tempo of such shows, it's pointed out. Steadily-progressing development of DuMont's broadcasting facilities points up the company's thesis that DECISION NEXT WK. ON LaG. LIBERTY CARRYON Whether F. H. LaGuardia will con- tinue with his Liberty mag sponsored ABC network gabfest. Sundays at 9:30 p.m.: beyond expiration of his first six months. June 30. will be de- cided sometime next week. Contract specifies the possibility lhat the show may be dropped for six weeks during the summer lull, and Warwick ft Legler agency rep- resenting the bankroller may exer- cise that stipulation. If LaG. is.drop- ped for six weeks after June 30 he won't be able lo pick up for at least three months. As head of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, he will be attending a . series of UNRRA conferences scheduled to slari in Paris in Au- gust, then he will probably make a tour of famine stricken countries at least in Europe. • The former N. Y." Mayor's local , Sunday noon spot, on WJZ (ABC flagship^ will continue- regardless however. The contract with tha't sponsor. June Dairies, is for « .straight Tour-year period. When LaG. >s out of the country, he will select a substitute to pinch-hit for him and may fill part of the time with plat- ters'sent in from foreign countries. Minneapolis — Lee L. Whiting. former general manager of WDOY here, will become associated with the-Lloyd William Nelson ad agency June 1. A former newspaper adver- tising 'man. Whiting resigned his WDGY past last month. NBC Search for Spark In Program Production Cues Adams' Promotion Tin checkout of Wynn Wright as national production manager at NBC to head his own package-freelance directing operation, and the as- cendancy or Bob Adams into the spot, climaxes a long time two-way feeling of dissatisfaction. Wright has been regarded as a valuable pro- duction director, backed by many years of radio-theatre know-how and similarly reflected in many of the sock NBC productions. However, it was the feeling of the network brass that the job should be sparked by a blending of administra- tive-creative talents. Adams has been developing new talent at the web. grooming the "Honeymoon in New York" stanza, and the Jimmy Edmunson ("Pro- fessor Backwards" i show on which Ihe web had pinned commercial pos- sibilities but which didn't pan out according to formula. Adams also developed the new Robert Merrill - Frank Black summer replacement for the RCA show. Web feels that he can invest the production job with the sought-for spark. Arch Robb. night program man- ager, has been upped as asst. produc- tion manager in charge of operations of Production Dept., newly-created post Hackett Also Resign* Walter Hackett. NBC producer, resigned this week to go into free- lance scripting and directing. He took back from the station "Tales of a Wayside Inn," half-hour drama which he originated, and'the show is now in the hands of agencies for fall sponsorship. it'll be better off in the loo« rim by spending money now to improve its equipment, rather than to improve shows. Just as in radio. DuMont chiefs say, the audiences will listen to an individual rather than to u sta- tion. By spending money and cxperi. mentation time now, wheh Video's audience is* limited through a scar- city of sets, in learning the limits and possibilities of equipment the company will be better able to pro- vide better programs in (he future execs declared. ' Par in Frisco Bowout Hollywood, May 28. Withdrawal of Paramount from San Francisco application for tele- vision leaves only six applicants for sextet of available channels in Bay City. Possibility now is that hear- ings will not be held, unless another application is made. Remaining firms who want video channels are ABC. Dorothy Thack- rey, Don Lee, Hughes Tool Co., As- sociated Broadcasters and Chronicle Publishing. Co. S. F. Hearlnr* Set Washington,. May 28. FCC yesterday (27) ordered a con-, solidated hearing, July 15. on bids of seven companies for San Francisco's six video channels. fcvevy Weed sta- tion is a sales winner for the advertisers it serves. And •)Vced and Company's Haft of i rained representative! wins many rusts in the radio time selling derby for all their clients, all year long. Mill STATU! lirilSHTWIKI Ntw Ttrk • tattn • CMuk • Ntrett • Sm h