Variety (Jul 1948)

WedncMlay, July 28^ 1948 BAJHO US BIG SPENDERS'WEB JOCKEYING CBS"Rii^ It Agam' With vacationing at its peak, the slump in home listening has hit such a state of doldrums that the telephonic giveaway shows on the networks are finding it tough going reaching contestants. It's particularly true of the weekend shows, such as GBS' "Sing It Again" and Mutual's "Three for. the Money," both heard Satur- day nights, and to a lesser degree with ABC's Sunday night "Stop the Music," although hy 8 p.m. Sundays a large percentage of the weekend vacationers are back home. It's not lust a case of failing to find stay-at-homers who are list- ening to the radio; worse than that, nobody answers the telsphone. It's reported, in the case of "Sing It Again," sometimes it's neces- saty to put in 10 telephone calls around the country before any- one answers. Oddity, too, is the type of letters'the webs are receiving from listeners. One guy in Florida protested to CBS, in ttiC case of "Sing": "What's the matter you never call a Florida number? YOtt might think we've seceded from the union." " A woman in Fort Worth, Tex., squawked: "How come all this discrimination? You call Dallas and never give Forth Worth a tumble." fmcy's $1,352,11 K-FP<^«tf For iB'dcasts Makes Ifim Rictust Sngle Hollywood, July 20. + The deal Walter Winch ell signed wiGi Kaiser-Frazer last week makes liim the highest paid single in show business history. For two years, or exactly 90 broadcasts, he will be enriched by $1,352,000. And should the sponsor decide to tele- vise him, that figure will take a considerable hop. Winchell goes under K-F spon- sorship Jan^ 2 next after he has ■wa^eid up his commitment with Andrew Jergens Co.; and holds the same Sunday night time. Contract signatured last Thursday, (22) by WW and WUliam H. Weintraub, negotiating iVr the sponsor, calls for, $650,000 the first year and $702,000 the second. For the first 45 weeks" he will be paid approxi- mately $14,445 per broadcast and that's net to him as there are no deductibles by agent or agency. He gets seven weeks off in the summer and is permitted eight broadcasts from Florida. In fact, Winchell got everything he wanted includ- ing complete control of his broad- cast material except on items that might be considered on the fringe of libel, at which time attorneys wiU be called in to pass judgment. Both ABC and Kaiser-Frazer will maintain a hands-oif policy as re- gards c^sorship and just for safe- ^'s sake the sponsor will Idemnify botli ABC and WW against any possible libel action with an in- surance policy of $1,000,000, Deal was negotiated by Wein- traub, head of his own agency, and Winchell in Hollywood. Robert Kiatner, executive veepee of ABC, was the third party as Winchell is under direct contract to the net- work, which guaranteed him $520,- 000 a year so as'to hold its ace pro- gram. Kistnef was advised of the negotiations by long distance phone. Owen D. Itmg Ob ABC Board Owen D. Young, retired indus- trialist and original board chair- man of RCA, was elected to the board of directors of ABC yester- day (Tues.)^ board chairman Ed- ward J. Noble announced. Young becomes the eighth member of the web's board. _ Industry tycoon headed RCA's board from its organization in 1919 to 1929, lata: was chairman of the executive committee of RCA and of the advisory council of NBC. He was veepee of General Electric unbl 1922, then board chairman until '39, a position which he re- sumed briefly during the war. Younrs election to the ABC board is seeii as adding a'solid fig- ure in the field of capital to the* W(rt»s topranks at a time wiien the n« wist scrape up heavy dough to «any out its extensive TV commit- This Is wOR WOR, N. Y., execs noticed how effectively Anne Wagner, phone switchboard operator at the station, pronounced the station call letters in answer- ing calls. She didn't put much accent on that common W but she bore down: plenty onihe OB. Result: instructions have gone, out to all WOR an- nouncers to speak the callJet- , tcrs on the air "with a rising inflection." Hooper To Hike C. E. Hooper is calling in the trade press today (Wed.) to unfold plans for incorporating his U. S. Hooperatings (projectables) into his twice-monthly program rating service—at a hike in fee'to sub- scribers—starting next Jan. 1. He'll break the news to subscribers in the "Highlights'' accompanying the Pocketpiece to be mailed out,this weekend. Whole-project, it's understood,.is contingent upon industry accept- ance, but it is intimated that Hooper has sampled industry reac- tion to the proposals sufficiently to be assured of a go-aj^ead. The projected ratings are expected to be issued only periodically, per- haps semi-annually or quarterly, but certain "continuous" features" also will be offered. Hooper also will release, as added underpinning for his pro- posals, results of five comprehensive analyses on basic statistics of his operations, such , as findings on oc- cupations, incomes, family sizes, etc. • Amount of Hooper's proposed rate hike is under wraps and whether all four networlcs^ will go for it is problematical, since CBS has been reported considering let- ting its Hooper Subscription go. It was just a year ago, July 1, 1947, that Hooper doubled his network bills, upping CBS' and NBC's from $9,000 to $18,000 annually, and ABC's and Mutual's from $7,200 to $14,400. He pleaded greatly in- creased operating costs, saying his operation was running more and more into the red. 'Voice's' Larynx Cost American Tobacco $83^ Hollywood, July 27. Frank Sinatra's larynx backfired Friday night (23) and it cost Amer- ican Tobacco $8,300. With all hands on deck at studio center for commercial film to plug Luckies, swooner called to say he had trouble with throat and asked for week's postponement. - Bill for talent was $8,300 which had to be written,'off against an $18,000 budget fojr film. TISKST FOR iSKSr . Regardless of what, television holds in store for the program bankroller, right now the sponsor is concerned with solidifying his hold in radio. The average night- time network sponsor is plunking down from $750,000 to $1,000,000 a year in time and talent (with the Benny^AUen—Hope—etc., bigtime productions representing a $1,500,- 000-$2,000,000 yearly time-talent nut), and he's primarily concerned with getting'maximum results from that kind of'an investment. That's the motivation behind the constant jockeying that's been go- ing on in recent weeks, particularly among the NBC and CBS program clients. The shifting in pro- gram schedules (see separate chart) and acquisition of new properties and personalities by such outfits as General Foods, Procter & Gamble, Colgate, etc., are designed to strengthen their position in ■radio. It's the reason, for example, why P&G, with radio billings of $20,- 000,000 a year, has established a firmer beachhesd in the comedy sweepstakes by buying Red Skelton. It accounts for the revamping of the Colgate program- ming roster and its purchase of. the Sunday night 9:30 time on CBS, with indications that it will acquire the CBS-buUt "Our Miss Brooks" situation comedy. It explains the' recent General Foods program maneuvers, with its new 60-minute Friday night CBS parlay of Jack Carson and the Goodman Ace "Mr. Ace & Jane" show. It accounts, toOi for Camel cigacets going on a spending spree and bringing. Jimmy Durante back into the B. J. Rey- nolds camp. Further reflecting the "getting- the - bcstest - for - the - mostest" at- titude of the radio bankroller today has been the wholesale jockeying for new time segments which, for example, changes drastically the complexion of the Friday night rosters on both NBC and Colum- bia. This reshuffle now finds Eddie Cantor (Pabst), Jimmy Durante and Skelton bracketed in the Fri- day NBC lineup along witli P & G's "Life of Riley" and "Ford Theatre" upping its budget and. making a bid to dominate the dramatic field with its Friday night CBS 60-minute show. Kaiser-Fra.ser's ,heavy plunge into radio, with its' bankrolling of Walter Winchell, and the Electric Companies' sponsorship of the new Helen Hayes series on CBS are cited as evidence that the so-called heavy goods clients' continue to re- gard radio as a vital and potent medium. This despite wholesale moaning of an alleged slump in radio and show business generally. The top spenders in radio appar- ently don't share the pesamism. LADY ESTHERS^ TOP-BUDGETED Wm Chicago, July 27. Lady Esther, which dropped "Screen Guild Theatre" last-season after sponsoring the series for sev- eral years, is again shopping for a radio show. Understood the cos-, metic firm is looking for a major program, preferably a star opera- tion on which it could hiing a "glamor" advertising campaign. Ruthrauff & Ryan, agency on the account, is beating the Hollywood bushes for a suitable buy. In giving up "Screen Guild" and relinquishing its potent Monday night time spot on CBS last season, Lady Esther indicated it intended concentrating on space modia in future. UJS. Army Yields to Mere£th, Pays HimOffon'RollCaHVNBCFadeoiit Tempus Fugits Hollywood,^uly 27. It wasn't so many years ago that the public was reading about FDR's favorite grand- children, "Sistie and Buzzie." Recent prints carried the news of Sistle's marriage and now the other member of the White house act, Curtis BooseweJt Boettiger, gets into the act via radio. Latter is learning the ropes as assistant producer of ABC's ''Bride and. Broom." Exec'h»de CSS' ToKOVCwmmuid The CBS high command has set- tled on the executive from with- in the network's ranks who will take over the management of KQV, San Francisco, but the designee won't be disclosed until the Federal Communicatiion Com- missions has okayed the purchase of the station from the Ralph Brun- ton interests. The report that the job was go- ing to Arthur Hull Hayes, pres- ent gen. mgr. of WCBS, the web's N, Y. release, was described as "away off base," even though Hayes and the missus, while on a recent visit to Frisco, looked the housing situation over. The quest, it was explained, was made in, be- half of the intended appointee, since one of the major problems of the network in transferring execs was finding a place for them to live. Deal on KQTSr entails acquiring the remaining. 55% of the station's stock. Web figures that the FCC approval on the sale of its WTOP, Washington, to the Washington Star, will come through at about the same time. Frigidaire Eyes Kyser Frigidaire Division of General Motors is showing interest in the new Kay Kyser show being pro- jected for the fall; Kyser, whose Saturday night NBC program has been cancelled by Colgate, Is revamping the entire format and building the new show to embrace talent scouting. Burgess Meredith last week took on the U.S. Army, Music .Corp. of America, NBC and N. W. Ayer agency single-handed and came' out approximately $13,000 richer. It all started when the NBC production dept.j after four broad- casts of the U. S. Army-sponsored Thursday night "Roll Call" show, which Meredith emceed at a re- ported $1,500 a week, decided Qtat the program needed streng^ening.^ It felt that Meredith, despite bis talents, just wasn't the right per- sonality for the show and sug- gested that he withdraw. Meredith, in turn, pointed to a 13-week con- tract and insisted that the network fulfill its obligation. The Ayer agency, which handles the Army account, then stepped in and suggested thai the show be moved to the Coast, with Dor- othy Lamour to head up a new cast and format. Again Meredith stood his ground and said that cither he be paid off or sent out to the Ccrast along with the show., By this time the Army itself, it's reported; was jg^ttiqg munQred and through the auspfces n{ MCA, which handles Meredith, tried to persuade him to bow off and chalk the whole thing up as one of those things. But Meredith refused; he had nine weeks to go on the contract and insisted on being paid- Every- bodji concerned decide4 to call off the whole, thing, with the show fading after last Thusesd^y^ (22) broadcast: Meredith was jMiid off. StasterswFl 4 Tfa^' Tryonts In Ecmee Sweepstidies ' Johnny Olsen, Bill Gar^n.'Jay Stewart and Jack McElroy, are slated to try out' for the emcee spot on "Breakfast in Hollywood," from which Gary. Moore has re- signed. Each of the four will handle the show for .several Asys during the two weeks starting Monday (2). Jay Stewart will do the Monday and Tuesday (3) broadcasts and Olsen is flying out to Hollywood Monday (2) to' m.c. the next three programs. Gargan and McElroy, who is the announcer on "Bride and Groom," will split the stibse- quent week's show between them. It will then be decided which of the quartet gets the job perma- nently. Olscn's' trip will necessitate his withdrawal 'from his various New York radio stints and-the "Door.? way to Fame" telecast on WABD for that week. WOR's Siesta Format Nigbttime Pace Not For Daytimers, Listener Pulse Shows These are enlightening days around WOR, N. Y. The station recently began taking its own pulse via invitations to listeners to write in their frank comments on the Mutual key's programs. Some of the results to date: All daytime programs have been ordered to slow down their pace. Femme dialK'S complained about the "express train speed" of most shows. They said they didn't get half of what was said; news was read too fast, too, etc. Station execs have concluded that night- -time pace is not for daytimers. . Quiz show emcees have been ordered to cut out asking women contestants if they live alone. Listeners think it's too much of a tipoff to burglars and mot^stets; 'VtTashington, July 27. FM broadcasters invested more money during the first quarter of this year in transmitters, studio equipment and antennas than did television or AM broadcasters, ac- cording to the FM Assn. FMA declared that FMers pur- chased $2,854,662 worth of equip- ment for new sttttibn operations^ with tele interests spmiding $1,- 682,015 and AM broadcasters $1,> 179,014, FMA executive director Bill Bailey said: "Manufacturers' sales figures are good evidence that FM is looked upon in the radio indus- try as, radio's future. Of the total broadt;ast equipment sales'reported by the Radio Manufacturers Assn., FM stations accounted for 49.9%, television for 29.4% and AM for 20.7%. These are dollar-volume figures." . • Bailey added: "As we view, the future of radio we see a three-fold service: FM for sound, replacing AM because it is better; television for visual broadcasts, which might be termed the rotogravure or feature section, and facsimile for the printed word and picture." i^'s HAYM£S' mm Benton & Bowles agency, last week cut a-45-minute audition pro- gram with a musical comedy idea, starring Dick Haymes, for sub- mission to the Assn. of American Railroads, one of its accounts. Also .spotted in the audition were Mar'- ion Bell and an orchestra batoned by Al Goodman. Musical used for the audition was "Roberta" with Haymes doing the m.c. as well as the lead. Format calls for booking male stars for parts beyond Haymes' vocal scope whenever such musicals deem it advisory, with Haymes confined on such occasions to an m.c. role. Test platter was'produced at the . Ritz theatre, N. Y.„ ABC studio. The time of the pro-am, when and if accepted, bas not been, deter* mined. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ^