Variety (Dec 1948)

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We^newlayf December 1, 1948 RADIO- 2S 17 NO IHREAT TO N Y. AM INDIES Radio With 2 Pairs of Pants What started with Barney's "calling all men" plugs in the early 1930's has burgeoned into a $500,000 annual double-breasted bo- nanza for the New York indie stations. Other men's clothing out- fits, taking their cue from Barney's radio success story, have since entered the airlanes to add their advertising shekels to the total Indie take. But even more phenomenal: than the indies' take is wlut thesf have given to this majbr source of revenue. In at least three cases, the metropolitan stations can claim sole credit for making their clothing chain bankrollers into paying businesses. Beginning with Barney's, which expanded its downtown N. Y. shop into a national institution via heavy air plug dosages, the list of radio- croated clothiers currently includes the Robert Hall and Prcntis companies. Ripley Clothes is another outfit which owes a large share of its trade to its airlane advertising. Robert Hall clothes has come to the fore in a startling spurt during the past year as one of the fastest growing companies, re- flecting its heavy splurging in radio commercials. Already spend- ing well over $250,000 in the metropolitan area alone, it has re- cently expanded its spot campaigns into 50 different out-of-town niavlv'ets and has opened over a half dozen new stores in Chicago. Tlie Robert Hall company's advertising strategy is based on total saturation. Through the Sawdon Advertising agency, it buys, vir- tually without discrimination, available spots and programs at all times of the day, spreading out over a number of radio outlets in a single area, In New York, WNEW, WMCA and WOV divide the major part of the $250,000 melon. Barney's, however, continues- to depend exclusively on the spot announcement technique which nurtured it from its modest be- ginnings. Slightly tapering off from its peak radio spending, Bar^ nej's, through Emil Mogul ad agency, is shelling out about $100,000 annually over several metropolitan stations The, Prentis company, through Hirshon-Garfield, stands alone in accenting the disk jockey shows. On WNEW, where it's paying about $100,000 annually, the company is bankrolling six segments \\oeklv on the Martin Block show. Ripley, which shells out about $50,000 yearly on WNKW throuRli Bobley ad agency, goes in for buying as many random programs as its budget can stand. . , ; Nov. 30 Hooperatings Walter Winchell 27.7 Jack Benny 23.3 Lux Radio Theatre 22.5 Fibber St Molly 21.8 Bob Hope 20.0 Phil Harris 20.0 Talent Scouts 19.2 My Friend Irma 18,0 Fred Alien lt.7 Duffy's Tavern 17.3 Edgar Bergen 17.0 Mr. D. A 16.9 Stop the Music 16.9 Suspense 15.7 Deniitl$ Day 15.2 Nighttime Stars Into Soap Opera Set As TV Changes Program Patterns • Trend-l^appy radio is heading-f ulto a new cycle. More and more big name shows are infiltrating daytime logs which less than a year ago were programmed almost solidly with soap, homemaker and audience participation stanzas. -Latest manifestation of.. the SPG Wins ABC Hacks MFORSYRS. In face of the television boom in th« metropolitan are« over the last two years, the New York AM in- dies are holding .up firmly with* no sign of an early knockout. Far from being groggy, the leading in- dies are still operating with a healthy and undiminished margin of profit. Both rating and billing- wise, video has as.yet failed to nick the standings of the N. Y. inde- pendents in any appreciable man- ner. A cross-sectional survey of indie executive opinion reveals that the local outlets expect to operate on a business-as-usual basiSi despite, the growing spectre of TV, for the next five years at least. Beyond that, they'll wait to see what hap-1 pens. i xVt WNEW, the top grosser | among the metropolitan indie sta^ | tions, general manager Bornice j Judis said "we haven't felt a thing," referring to the TV erup-1' tion. Pulse measurements of local | radio rating.s during the past year 1 1 has disclosed no marked shifting i l ot' dialers from one medium to the ! I other to scare bankrollers out of-i I the AM market. According to , I WNEW sales manager Ira Herbert, the station's gross for this year will , I certainly equal, and probably ex-' ceed, the fat take for 1947. j Local radio execs pointed out ^ I that most ol the sponsors, who are I now taking a fling in TV, are alio- ■ , caling extra funds for this purpose I in their budgets. Tliere will: be no I ' move on the part of any bankroller . perties so it can bid separately' for to place all their advertising eggs the tele outlet, in one TV basket for some time, Palest round in the battle be tween the, lawyers was a petition Nets Claimed Pressuring AffOiates For Spots in TV as Well as Radio Beefs Pile Up On Thackrey Lump Sale to Warners Washington, Nov. 30. Warner Bros, deal to acquire video and radio stations owned by Mis; Dorothy Thackrey in Los Angeles and San Francisco is un- dergoing baptism of legal fire with pcti tions being.. bandied. back and ^ forth between- willing package tween network and the station, the Washington, Nov. 30. Networks are putting pressure on their affiliates to take over spot sales representation not only in radio but also in television, station rep ' Witnesses ; charged yesterday (29) at the opening of the FCC hearings on agreements between nets and affiliates for the sale of national spot advertising, and other -■ commercial time. More than a score, of -reps and network execs were on hand to testify, during hearings expected to last a week. The hearings, held before the Commission en banc, resulted fronv a complaint filed by National Assn. of Radio Station Representatives alleging the tie-in agreements bet tween nets and affiliates in sale of national spot time are in violation .' of FCC regulations. The Commis- sion .is attempting to, determine:, whether these agreements restrict stations in meeting their public responsibilities and whether its chain broadcasting'rules Should be ' amended. " ' " , ' Appearing as first wit,)les$ Mon- - : day (29) for the recently formed NARSR. H. Preston Peters, prexy of Free & Peters, cited Rayve Shampoo, Vicks, National Biscuit and Wildroot as accounts in which spot and network broadcasting are : in competition for advertising, ap- propriations. He testified that in relations be- buycr and Ed. Pauley's Southern California Television Co., which wants the FCC to unlump the pro= Hollywood, Nov. 30. Screen Publicists Guild was cer tified by the National Labor Rela tions Board as collective bargain' , t^^^^ t°rLfsffl -^:£iALSJZ.^t. it was predicted.. When television can supply the same market satura- gj^^ j ^ ^^^^ ^y Mrs. Thackrey and tion as AM radio at about the same | virarners jointly in opposition to a ''*l!L.!!l!"A'„^li„^^*l'?^., ^'^''^ I request by Southern Cal to induce FCC to reconsider its approval of ment workers- at CBS. Negotiations between the guild ot course, has been heard for years, fore In a show of his own worrying, the execs agreed. I • Minor Biz Fall-Off Bert Lebhar, WMGM sales man- ager, did concede that video was causing-some fall-off in business.; "But it's only minor," he said. Leb- har declared that a few small ad -an eerie hour as 9:45 a.m., when I his Vacuum Foods quarter-hour is heard on WCBS, N. Y. Kay Kyser, Fred Waring, Don Amoche, Kate j Smith, Arthur Godfrey are others] •ntrenched in the daytime picture, i There are indications that other I w.k, radio entertainers soon will forsake the night air for daytimers of their own. " | Feeling in industry circles is thatj tele, as it gains momentum, will i make increasing inroads into niglU- j time radio audiences. Radio's big- time nighttimers, the belief is, sooner or later may be forced to concode the fattest part of the ■after-dark audience to the video camp, capitalizing on tele's more elaborate productions and to a de- gree on its sheer novelty. Thus, radio pundits foresee ra- (Continued on page 34) at such i pending the certification. FCC To Carry WORLCaseTo H^hest Court Washington. Nov. 30. Overi-ulod by the U.S. Court of Appeals last week on its revoca- tion of the license of WORL Boston, the FCC will carry: its case to the Supreme Court with con- rj,^^^^ plienomenon Oper- fidence its action will be upheld, [ ^^^j, ^j^j^ indirectlv, he said, but V.\i!iETY learned. The Commission .^j^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ account executives has 90 days in which to hie for ^^^^^^^^^^,3^^, ^,1^^^ possibilities. 1 paokage sale (KLAC and KLAC TV in L. A. and KYA in Frisco) to ■ the film company. Pauley's I a,rguinehts to persuade the Gom- rmissidn toC break up the package, • . , , • * u 1 said Thackrey-Warner, puts "very vertisers, "who have no right to be I strained construction" on the pol- in television at this stage, were i adopted by FCC when it ap- spendmg coin in IV that ordinarily ; pj-o^ed lump sale of Crosley broad- would be going to local radio. , casting and manufacturing proper- Lebhar stressed the paradoxical ■ Cincinnati to Aviation Co. point, however, that the indie sta-1 (y^ygo) The Avco: decisioni" Thackrey- reciutres only that tions will temporarily profit from a specific stage in TV's eventual' emergence as the top commercial! v i a.- t ^t, n »rti,1m nf the lirlanps When the ^^^^'^ ^'^ * separation of the pur- mafo? advertisers begin knock ng , cl^^^e price between broadcast and fTff their bietime AM „etwOTk' non-broadcast properties. Accord- fow^t^ far'^^ro.■ htS iiJ'f .,the Comm™^^^^ they will net selects the advertiser, estab- lishes the rates for time, terms and conditions'and that the; station must deliver time up to 50% of its op- erating hours, including the best hours for size of audience. The sta- , tion has:limited power of rejection; he said, apd receives as revenue (Continued on page 32) pealed' or modified Avco in restat- ing what has been evident from the outset—that no rule or regula- back this : move up by heavy AM spot programming. But tlie bonanza \\ill only last, he said, until they are confident of video sales impact. Another TV factor now at work against AM radio. Lebhar said, is IV- its absorption ot the ad agencies': JNOV.-Ulit. "tAR Georgia Flood Waters Take Atlanta Indie Off Air for Full Day Atlanta, Nov. 30, High waters of Peachtree Creek flooded transmitter of WQXI, At- lanta indie, on Cheshire Bridge Road, and caused station.to go off the air at 1:25 p.m. Sunday (28). Bill Walters, station's chief en- gineer, earlier had . reported to studio in Buckliead. Atlanta suburb, that creek was rising and trickling into his bailiwick, but stuck to hiS: post until swirling waters reached depth of three feet. He then pulled all switches while Bob Corley, pro- gram director, made the announce- tion or decision or statement of j ^g„t that station was being forced (Continued on page 34) Chi Trib,N.Y. News Bond On Radio-TV Tightens In Directorate Exchange Washington, Nov. 30. Chicago Tribune and New York Dally News last Friday (26) tight- ened the bonds between their radio and television properties, via an exchange of directors. : : : Added to the board of WGN. the Trib's 50,000-watt Mutual outlet in Chicago, were F. M. Flynn, presi- dent and general manager of the News, and president of WPIX; Eichard B, Clark, executive direc review. • The lower court's action, by a two to one vote, in reversing FCC's order of April 21, 1947, against WORL. was similar to a previous ruling in the case ot WOKO, Mbanv, N.Y. The Commission went to the highest tribunal in the (Continued on page 34) (Continued on page 34) IN FM SET OUTPUT Washington, Nov. 30.^ Novelnber and December FM re- Ed Kobak Radio Head For Brotherhood Week off the air using; appropriately, "Slow Boat to ::ehina:" as his, baefe- ■ ground mu.sic. ■■■■■.,:;;■:■■'■■.■■ " WQXI transmitter is located in flats on banks of creek, with its ground wires in creek, and 10-incli rain of past five days made raging torrent out of normally docile stream. WGST. Mutual outlet , . J -It t I here, has its transmitter within ceiver production 'will top any of igtone's throw- of WQXI pOwer I the previous monthly figures," ; plant, but it is located on high Everett L, Dillard, president of ! ground and safe from creek waters o matter how high it rises. Using rowboats for transporta- ABC Guild Airer, CBS Documentary Unit Cited ithe con"" ntdl FM Network and i no matter how high it rises. i WASH- ;:',, I last w«k. Washington, predicted .^^ ,»qxI crew, under Walters' 1 supervision, returned to transmit- Chicago, Nov. 30. "Theatre Guild on the Air," bankrolled by U. S. Steel over the , rj,,,g steady increase in FM set', ter house and made necessary re- ABC net, and CBS documentary ■ output in the past four months, pairs, enabling station to get back unit copped top honors from the j.^fleded in the October report of I on air at sign-on time Monday (29) National Council of Teachers of ^^^^^ Manufacturers Assn., .English as "the best literature on ; pjUj^^jj said, should be of interest , I the air" during the 1947-48 iLScat 3^ygj.jjgj„g ^gg^pigg Ijggjjusg it Edsar Kobak. Mutual prexy, will [ school year. , , shows "the rapid acceleration in Farnsworth Liects chairman the Brotherhood Week | Awards vvere forma ly anno^^^^^^ audience which FM is Fort Wayne, Nov. 30. - - here <27 > a't^^^^^^^^ ^ Nicholas has been elected Tn kudoina the (3ui"d show Dillard cited the RMA report of chairman of the board of directors M « ;H„^«tnrs felt It did the mo^t FM set production of 170,086 units of FarnSVvorth : Television, and f^Xr listeners' understTd- 'during the four week work month .Radio-- ■■<»ri».,.|B«!«ft«n| - JesSft.;?,. to furthoi listeners unoerswna October, a gain of 24% over I McOarg«>J*Sl8n64."W»ta» I yea tor oT'the'Daily News; and Robert, Feb. 27. L. Coe, vice president of, WPIX Added to the board of WPIX, NCCJ e Radio Committee at the request of Nelson A. Rockefeller, general chairman Sponsored by the Na- tional Conference of Christians and Jews, Brotherhood Week this ar extends from Feb. 20 through morning. the News video station in New York, wore C. M. Campbell, treas- urer ot the Tribune and vice presi- dent of WGN; and Frank P. Schreiber, treasurer and station manager of WGN and WGN-TV. Announcement was made here by Louis G. Caldwell, counsel for tht stations. ,((..,. further listeners' iiig and appreciation of our lit- , erary heritage and to awaken a All (I S stations will be sent greater love of good writing." t kits of one-inmut. and 1 Besides rating praise for its doc- spots station breaks, lumentary unit, CBS al.so drew, en: nd a double-face 16- comia for a "superb stafl: of writers the September weekly output, as will also continue to serve as presi evidence o£ a trend to climbing I dent, a post he has held since 1939 30-socond live scripts in'rh • i^cm-rfeaturm^^H^^^^^ producers," which was aided As in iLt years, the Advertis- shows singled out for commenda- ing Council also is gi^l "wrS" TolV'Xd Theatre and'-Studio durtion "n°Oaobe7exceedrd^eU^ currently a Washington allor- port to Brotherhood Week observ- lold,_ Foid iheaire ana siuu y^^.^^ ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ sales. Adding RMA non-member production and television sets in- corporating FM bands, he esti- mated the actual overall total of sets with FM reception capabili- ties produced during , October at probably 210,600. Dillard added that FM set pVo- Charles II. Buesching, Fort Wayne banker (president of Lin- coln National Bank and Trust Co.) and Burton A. Howe, New York Citv, resigned from the board. Newly named to the board was Abe Fortas, formerly Undersecre- tary of the U. S. Dept. of Interior I ance.