Variety (Sep 1946)

WedneBclay, Sepleinber 25, 1946 TELEVISIOIV 41 2d CBS Mill Enters Black-White Washington, Sept. 24. A second CBS affiliate liopped aboard the low-band television bandwagon last Thursday (19) when FCC handed out a permit to the Louisville (Ky.) Times and Courier- Journal, licensee of WHAS, to set up a $150,000 black-and-white video station. The first Columbia ainhate to •desert the CBS high-frequency color, television school was the Dallas (Tex.) Times Herald, licensee of KBLD, which got its black-and- white video license the fu st vi;eek in September. Both stations are 50 kilowatt basic CBS outlets, who apparently decided to risk ..their chances on the present-day type of video trans- mission rather than hold off until the CBS or .some other system of of color tele becomes commercial. On the other side of the fence WTAG, Worcester, Mass., another CBS alliliate, dropped its black-and- white tele application early this summer, with the explanation that it was waiting tor color. At same time, FCC last week handed out one of the first video permits to be ■ tised for norjrcommercial video operation. Grantee is Iowa State 0)llege of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Ames, Iowa. Ghi Agencies and Clients To Get Full Tele Briefing In R&R-Sponsored Meet Chicago^ Sept. 24. To inform client and agency ac- count executives of: developments and new trends in television, and to show how advertisers are taking ad- vantage of the new medium, first in a series of television symposiums is slated for Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 16 and 17, in Ruthrauff and Ryan offices here. Meet was orig- inally set for Sept. 18 and 19 and ; is being brought about in conjunc- tion with the Electric Association of Chicago, who recently completed the groundwork for a campaign to es- tablish Chicago as a top ranking television center. Delay was brought about to per- mit the agency to take advantage of National Television Week, spon- sored by TBA and the TBA con- vention, When they intend bringing the latest information and 1947 video plans to personnel and clients. Willi national advertisers signing long range contracts and set manu- facturers allocating at least 20% of their production to the Chicago area, the symposium has developed top Interest. One of the principal reasons for the symposium, is to present a clear and factual picture of the new me- dium to prospective users of tele- vision. . ■ Par's Raibourn to Head TBA Awards Committee Paul Raibourn, Paramount vee- pee, prexy of Television Productions and a board member of the Tele- vision Broadcasters Assn., has been named chairman of the TBA awards committee, which will decide win- ners of the TBA awards of merit this year. Awards, for outstanding contributions to the technical and commercial advancement of video, will be' presented at the forthcoming TBA convention, scheduled for the Waldorf-Astoria, N. Y., Oct. 10-11. Others on the awards committee include Walter Howie, American Weekly editor; Eric Hodgins, edi^ torial veepee of Time; William J. Nichols, This Week editor; Edward Barrett, Newsweek exec director- F. R. Lack, Western Kleetric vee- pee; Charles Butterfield, AP radio editor; Dr. Alfred N. Goldsmith, In- stitute of Radio Engineers veepee^ and Paul J. Larsen, board member and chairman of the tele committee of the Society of -Motion Picture Engineers, .v Denver—Vick Chemical, through Morse International agency, is spon- soring "Shorty, Sue and Sally" in three quarter-hours per week on KLZ, plugging all products of the company. Shows are live and fea- ture ''saddle rockin' rhythm" west- ern music. Paris Delegates Now View Conference on Video Sets Installed by French Govt. Paris, Sept. 24. Delegates to the Paris Peace Con- ference are now enabled to watch proceedings on the screens of tele- vision setSj installed in the ancient Luxembourg Palace by Radio Dif- fusion Francai.se. System works similarly to that , employed at Hunter College^ N. Y., during the United Nations Security Council meetings, when tele sets were in- stalled in the press lounge. ' Video sets with a 12x8 inch screen were placed in the salon outside the main conference room, where dele- gates can sit and watch the pro- ceedings : in comfort,; French radio system is using a 450'rline picture for the event, indicating that French experiments with the 1,000-line im- ages have not yet been developed sufficiently ' for working purposes. Telecasts are still on trial, but if they prove successful, several more sets will be installed for the benefit of the working press. Considerable difficulty was en- countered at first, since . a special antenna had to be constructed for the thickwalled palace. Difficulty was overcome, however, and the dele- gates saw their first telecast last Friday (21), which was transmitted from the Eiffel Tdwer, highest point in Paris. FashiiHis Enter Video As Agency Takes On Towers Charm' Via ABC Marking the first time in television that an ad agency has taken over sponsorship of a show, with the clients coming in later on a partici- pating basis, the Chernow Co., Inc., has signed with ABC television to bankroll the "John Robert Powers Charm School" for 13 weeks, start- ing; Oct. 3. Shows will be produced by ABC over WABD (DuMont, N. Y.). Price the agency is paying for the show was not disclosed. Most of Cherijow's 106' clients ar« fashion manufacturers and the agency had more than $1^500,000 in ad billings! last year. Agency reps pointed out that the fashion industry ranks next to the automotive industry as the largest advertiser in the country but^ for obvious reasons, has never gone in much for. radio. New show, they said, will give fashion advertisers, a chance to se^ what video can do for them. . In line with this, Paul B. Mowrey, national director of ABC; tele, de- clared that "it's my firm conviction that the fashion industry will ber come one of the top spenders in television." Mowrey pointed out that the visual aspects inherent in Video should make the medium a natural for plugging fashions. Under terms of the deal, three of the. agency's clients will take over on a participating basis each week. Show, with Powers and some of his models in the cast, has been on a sus- taining basis over WABD for the last two weeks. Format follows the sain© lines as the "Powers Gharm School'' radio program, with ■ the • .model ■. agency chief and his mannequins demonstrating tips on grooming, cosmetic application, etc., for the benefit of women listeners. Harvey Marlowe, ABC television production chief, will continue as producer of the show. Royal Editing Book on Tele New book on television, with conv tributions by. most of the NBC video staffers, is slated for early publica- tion by McGraw-Hill. Edited by John F. Royal, NBC exec veepee over television, the book is titled "Television Production Problems,", Most of the chapters consist of adaptations from lectures given dur- ing the televi,sion workijhop course at Columbia University last year.. AH Chi Tele Time Sold Under Pro-Rated Sked Chicago, Sept. 24. Response to new rate card based on the ^number of sets in use in this area has sold out all available commercial time on Balaban & Katz television station WKB, it was an- nounced last week' by Bill Eddy, station director. . . '. Since the number of receivers in • the areas govern both rates and com- mercial time allocations, WBKB execs, claiming they're holding out *or only the best of sponsored shows, are still keeping a high percentage of time open for public service pro- firams, Eddy said. Meanwhile, con- fabs with prospective national spon- sors -.indicate an extension of time schedules. Relay Snafues Telegrid Telecast of the Army-Villanova football game last Saturday (21) by WNBT (NBC, N. Y.) underwent a forced cancellation through the in- ability of NBC engineers to get a relay system in working order be- tween N. Y. and West Point in time for the game. WNBT substituted the Yankee-Athletic baseball game, played at Yankee Stadium, N. Y. What arrangements were made with the sponsor of the football game, Goodyear Tire & RuSber, was lot disclosed. Next skedded Army game is with Oklahoma on Saturday «8) and NBC hopes to have the relay system installed by then. BASIC MUTUAL A COWLES STATION WOL "THE VOICE Of WXSNINOTON" Represented nationally by THE KATZ AGENCY, INC. quarter hours of NEW local busihes»-^ll on a 52- week basis—^were signed up by WQL in the thirfy- day period ending August 15. Proof positive that 5000-watt WOL is first choice in the nation's seventh- largest city with local odvertis^rs, whose odvertising has to ring cash registers quickly and economically. Profit by the preference of these on-the-spol sponsors—^get WOL avail- abilities from Katz today.