Variety (Dec 1948)

Weftneschy, December I, 1948 ilT N. Y. PRICE WAR ON TELE SETS Hoopers Top 10 TV Shows With the fall and winter television programming now rolling In higli, the liv« studio shows are apparently copping the major share of the audience. Latest Hooperatings for November reveal not a single sports pickup among the top 10, Vaudeo is still high, with Milton Berle's "Texaco Star Theatre" and Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the^own" In the one-two spots. Following are Hooper's top 10 sponsored TV shows in the N. Y. metropolitan area: Program v., . Texaco Star Theatre Toast of the Town We, the People Small Fry Club (Thurs.) Amateur Hour Kraft Television Theatre Chevrolet Tele-Theatre Americana Bigelow Show NBC Symphony Educators Eye Remote Control TV Experiment at Dobbins School Philly Philadelphia. Nov 30. A group of 14 educators, operat- ing as a subcommittee of tlie Na- tional Education Assn's. depart- ment of secondary teacliers, will study the television system now being operated as a classroom function at the Murrell Dobbins Vocational School in this city. Operated by remote control, the Dobbins setup sends educational and informative video programs to 15 separate TV reproducing units in' Classroom. GI students and pupils majoring in radio at the Dobbins School built all of tlie equipment used in the system- Antennae and cables were strung by the students. Donated and surplus TV parts were used and the reproducing sets were given to the school by a manufac- turer. Lawrence J. Lipp, radio and television coordinator at Dobbins, and Ben Polin, an instructor in the radio-TV department, sponsored the idea. -i "A setup such as we have here j is practical for hospitals, apart-1 ment houses, hotels and other i pubhc buildmgs, because it elim-1 mates the need for individual an- I tennae and receivers," Lipp said Harry Ruby humorausly countelt "/>on'f r About Tele- vision —^i^'.'* J :ly A Passin;^ Fad Thafs Here ta Slay" ,..■*..,*■ ■■*■ one of tki many . fcataret In »ht 43d Anniversary ISiimber of Due Soon UNDER TABLE SALES MOUNT Flock of N. Y.-Midwest Gbmels, 21 New City IMs on AT&T Agenda '.television set dealers and de- partment stores, confronted with persistent squawks from customers on the high price of receivers, have started an all-out price war in the N. y. meti-opolitan area. Manufac- turers, with no intentions of trim- ming prices because of the con- tinued high, cost of component parts, have to date been unable to stop the price slashes, even on price-fixed articles, because most such deals are. made, under cover. | Situation. Is a. paradox in'several aspectSj since receivers are still being bought and installed at the rate, of 1,000 daily. Distributors ad- . mitj however, that the increase m rate of sales has. fallen off in the 1 last several months, indicating that > a near-saturation point has been reached at the present price levels. :| Thus, while manufacturers claim there is no need for price cuts be-; cause of the current tube shortage I and other factors, dealers have I been willing to take a cut in price I in order to achieve a more rapid tiinuiver of sets. ; ■ Faced with indie dealers mak- 1 ing undercover sales, department have recently announced i th^ . HiEirry Sosnik fivm. Hi« Intld* en Scoring for Television in the Vpeoming 43d Anniversary Number of WPIX Envisioning Black Ink in 2 Yrs. With a decision on allocation of time to the various television net- works on the east to midwest coax- ial cable still pending before Amer- ican Telephone & Telegraph, the phone company disclosed plans this week to expand its networking fa- cilities within the next two years to link 21 .additional cities to the 13 now connected by relays. Expansion will include the open- ing of additional channels on the main routes of the two links now in operation. Even more impor- tant, however, are plans to provide for five, channels between Phil- adelphia andCleveland, the east to midwest terminal points^ Thusi by the end of 1950, tlie impasse created by five different webs bid- ding for virtually the same thing on the single existing link should be overcome, with : one channel available for each broadcaster de- siring it. A. T. & T. was forced to halt negotiations for time on the calile last week when none of the broad- casters would budge from his original demands for. time alloca- stores . , ^ , I tlohsr. Phone company decided tdi ^^?P''« P^J'"!*^"',. "^^'^ sVoi-k out a sharing arrangement o - , e N. Y. Daily News WPIX is up ^ its own and expects to announce its openly a 10% reduction on non-, tor sale, B. M. Flynn, prez and gen-, decision as to who will get what price-fixed sets. In addition, Macy's eral manager of the News Syndi- ■ time by the end of this week, this week came out with its own cate Co., declared this week that Present expansion plans will set, especially manufactured fori'"", oner has been made to buy carry the cable in two years only the store by Hallicrafter's. Named I WPIX and no one has offered the 1 as far west as St. Louis and Madi- the "Artone," the feet is listed at station or any part of it for sale $239, marking the lowest price yet In fact, Flynn told Variety, the established: for a 10-inch table 1 model. DuMont Policing Among the - manufacturers only DuMont has been able to police GM's $1,000,000 lone Ranger Tab News belfeves it will be able to son. Wis., so that its extension to the Coast won't: come until some ' time after that. By the end of its dealers sufficiently to prevent i mount. According to Flynii, the the price cuts. Even brand names p^iy discussions with Par have sight a break-even point for the ; 1950, A. T. & T. plans to have in tele operation within the next year- operation five channels each be- and-a-half to two years. | tween N. Y. and Boston, N. Y, and Station had reportedly been of- \ Washington, Philadelphia and fered to both Metro and Para- — - such as RCA and Pbileo are being sold under the table at less than list price; DuMont is in an espe Clev#ah^. Glevelahd and Chicago; and Detroit and Toledo. Two C^ , nels now link Chicago and St. been in relation to a cooperative 1 Louis. theatre tele venture and the pos- sibility of opening up Par features cially advantageous position in this I f^j. yj^eo transmission. respect, since it has far fewer deal ers than the others. Sales chief Ernest A. Marx has threatened to Cancel the franchise of any dealer cutting prices,, thereby achieving stability for DuMont sets- Manufacturers claim that not only have they no intention of cut- Flynn admitted frankly thai the station's losses during its five-and^ a-half months of operation have been far in excess of what was originally considered- He declared, (Continued on page 32) Hollywood. Nov. 30. General Mills Foods has set up! At present the cost of installation |a $i,000,000 budget for a series of to otlier scliools throughout the j.'Lone Ranger" television pictures. ,,city would be too gi-eat peal is being set here by George uuij- .mv<= o..^, ....^•...^ | _„ -....^ vrTlirAnir 1 "t'ler cities scheduled to On the sixth floor of the school, 1^. Trendle, owner of the "Lone! ting prices but that they may be rROSLEY OHIO NETWORIV I by the end of 1950 a a master control room has been 1 danger " and Freddie Fralick for 1 forced to up their prices even more ■ iiu.nw ^^^^^ ^^^^ Haven W set up with three television rc-'the filming of 26-half-hour pro- if the cost of components continues | TA TAIfF ^HAPF FFR 1 one for each of g,.ams "Ranger" airs for Cheenos, to mount. Some manufacturers, | 1 u 1 nlVti OIUU It 1 liU. 1 — ■ '- '' ' such as RCA; while, not trimming I list prices onVcurfent models,, have initiated lower prices by '.turning ceivers installed the three Philadelphia stations, a General MUls Product,'On stand Connected to the receivers are a |a(,£( jajjo. series of push buttons, :Which are 1 _, , „jv anrl Vi-ilirk arp disfuss - m turn connected by cable to the ; J't-^ll'a^'fp.^iduitn with S a new line of receivers to sell 16 reproducing units. fiiTn nnkprs here now Deal is ex-1 for less. Each of the master receivers has (n l,e c onsmn^^^ While 'the price war to date has its antenna adjusted to pick up the , ^^^'.^'l /° 'ot' tlTS fims ' been confined to the N Y. metro- signal of its one particular station, ^ug^e have been no decisions made ' Politan area, nianufactunns are »5-^i.i?s«r'"',s S V"f;n,sixr^E'!hri"ix,^r:,p»^^^^^^«... sometlling goes wrong ^Mth any "^t*-"f ? ' °Rai^^"er'' r^i^^^^^ Point is reached in them. Broad-1 Crosley. one of them. If a teacher wants 1 hich has been''airing for 1 casters, meanwhile, are not averse I Corporation plans an eventual the class to see a certain video lPi"K' , ' all he mu.st do is send a i^^e Pa^t ye<"'> Columbus, Nov. 3D. Crosley Broadcasting Corp. m- tended. television network will be* come a reality Feb. 1 when WLWC, Columbus, and WLWB, Dayton, are slated to begin operations, accord- ing to Robert E. Dunville, vice Largest new area slated for cov- erage lies south of Toledo, where it: is planned to install three channels: between Toledo and Cincinnati via Dayton.: Two more, channels will also be placed in operation be- tween Dayton and Louisville, via- Indianapolis. On the Coast, two'; channels will be ■operating between Los Angeles and San Pranciseo. I Other cities scheduled to bo linked are Provi- ■ Wilmington; V Rochester, Madison, Hartford,-, Reading, York Ilamsburg, Johns- town, Pittsburgh, Youngslown, Erie, Akron and Fort Wayne. Hodges' Ch'field Pact On Baseball Cues Exit From Camel Cage-casts program,: r - - Sportscaster Russ ' Hodges, con-* to" uiie'price war, since it mean.s five station Web "based on the home , tinted with contracts from two that more sets are being sold, ■ studio, WLWT, at Cincinnati. Other ' competing cigaret firms, has been note to the control room and at' Mills entry into film TV PrO". ^vhich in turn, provides them with ; stations are planned for Indian the appointed hour the operator , grams marks the second large scaie {jgttgj. toverago for commercially- apolis and Louisville, presses a button and projects the money deal ^°^f svonsarvA -^huus requested program into the class- and the tourth telepic order from ; " room The teacher can regulate the, any souiw An^^^^^^ .... sound and the brightness of the is gned a $1,000 000 pact witl Ma^^^ p j j^n's [ggitgr ImTe. Tsimnar s=U i^.o^-si^U-Reaim Pro ductule eration at Dobbins for transmitting radio and.- recorded programs to classroom^, ABC-TV'S GOT THE DAYTIME URGE, TOO ABC television may be the next network to launch a full schedule of daytime programming, foUowr ing the financially successful ven- ture into the daytime hours by WABD (DuMont, N. Y.K As the first step in its operation, WJZ-TV, key N. Y. flagship station of the ABC web, will conduct closed circuit demonstrations next Monday (6)", Tuesday and Wednes- series of video pix based on the classics of literature. NBC and | Jerry Fairbanks have inked con-j tracts whereby Fairbanks is mak-1 ing films for Veb with the aid of) their coin. Both parties will par- As another indication of Cros- ley's stepped-up activity in central- Ohio television, the corporation an- nounced that James Leonard, who will resign from WSAI, Cincin- nati, Dec. 1,; will be general man- ager of the Crosley video outlet ;to narrate radio broadcasts of the jn Columbus.- Brings Thompson East To Finish CBS-T^ Pix Patricia Morison's cast presence, Columb us has already beg un, ticipate in the moiiey gained when ; "Kiss Me Kate." the new Cole | pix pull a purchaser. CBS has put rehearsing out-of- TLJ* 'TJpvJ-J-n MaHnPp' iMP?«?„''J.-.r/Vr'l:'"„^f Kdd e town, necessitates HarUn Thomp- tHl S leleVISIOn Malmee ^fieldjob. foz'ced to drop his .scheduled play- by-play on 40 college; basketball games to be aired during this fall and winter by CBS-TV from Madi- son Sq. Garden, N. Y, ; Basketball, games are being bank- rolled by Camels. Hodges last week was handed a five-year pact N. Y. Giants' baseball games over Construction of WLWC north of '^^J^^'^^^J J'l^'^' field.s'.: With both ciggie outfits definitely averse to his working foir both firms, Hodges, naturally ac- the more lucrative Chester-. based on "The Cases of Eddie .- |: » .■■ n ,• n t Drake" on a straight purchase plan, son and his IMPPRO to shoot ber, /^ngy^gf (q Daytime ISeeiS' Places him on the CBS-TV basket- part in four of the ''Cases of Eddie , r-h- ' ■ is -in "'^'^ pickups and, in so doing, be- Drake" series in the east. Thomp-j . . . ^"'^ago. jnov. ju. ; comes one son's Independent MoUon Picture; Producers Releasing Organization KTSL's Twofers' Hollywood. Nov, 30. Chicago. Nov. 30. ^^^^ 3^.^)^, Squawks from dealers and tele Uportscasters now working in video, set owners over the lack of day- Allen ju.st completed covering the 'reducers Releasing urganud 10. Columbia Univ. football games and TWO television sho.s get aiHng, -klng^^l3^hal^hour Jea^^^^^^^^ [red tn. (29r with U.e sllrt of ' - -w doing the dog shows from T VT-5T fnrtheDrice-^'^'" CBS television. Miss Morison, leiieeu mu.a. wiuu u.c ^v^ ithe Garden, as iwell.a^^^^^^ over Don Lees KTbL lor tne pwce- j^^g ^^j, Haggerty and The- ^ two-hour, six-a-week ''Television nig^t lights ove^ tte of one. Station has set a deal with odore Von Eltz, is in the entire Matinee" on WGN-TV. Show has . - :./.:.:■ : , , J FHward Finnev to teevee an actual ] series. Paul Garrison directs and as participating sponsors Philco. PL^I-. IrtJn, IfTTV ' day of a show tentatively scheduled I f^""'"'".^^^^^^ DuMont, Admiral, Motorola and rneips JOin» IV1 1 v fOt bankrolling by Bohacks, chain , ' ^laygy^ for his' The 30-minute three-reelers, av- Hallicraftcrs, plus distriJjs for Hollywood, Nov 30. of N. Y. groceterias. Format of 1 J.'J*^.!:" " ' eraKing around $10,000 each to Crosley, RCA-Victor and General | Stuart Phelps is joining Tinies- the show is being kept under coyer I „ „-T,or fil^ director make, are shot in 3,>m for CBS. Electric. Mirror-CBS t e 1 e v 1 s i o n station, but, if it proves successful in the Don Hme, K'TSL wm oii^^ Thompson retains the 16m and 8m Series will be the first afternoon KTTV, as director of sports an4 off-the-air demonstrations, WJZ-, has "'^de arrange^^^^^ fi m' rigMs The H^^ Roach Studios are tele programming here, apart from special events after leaving similar TV will adopt it as the first step ney to n»7„ *7„/^^f;Yt the fol- used on the Coast. Thompson has Saturday football, since the end of .rapacity at Don Lee. in a full daytime schedule. ^ ' reduced to 16m and play ["* j^' ; ^^^"^"^t^jo ^.^ile east. He the baseball sea.son. To lessen led Phelps will handle the Rose Bowl Web officials emphasized that owing week. Statio^ brought seve„''ansvver.MinU east ink stations, have .Jjeen operating .football game ^^;hich marks KTTV'l the idea is still In. the preliminary to make'Sereentest « ^'.?^^hiin 1 between'six p.m. and "miAiight.■ opening day of telecasUng.