Variety (Dec 1948)

32 TEUIVISION - RADIO Weflnesdny, December 1, 1948 Nets Under Fire on Spots Continued from page 25 i from the network an amount repre- senting a substantial discount from the rate paid by the advertiser., Xhls inakes the network, in effect, a "quantity buyer" of the station's time, he asserted, Peters cited an NAB survey in 1946 which, he said, showed that netwoFkv commercial programs in Kovember o£ that year comprised 46% of the total commercial time on the average aitiliated station and more than 50% on many sta- tions. He introduced' charts showing that national, spot advertising has grown from $13,800,000 in 1934 to an estimated $99,000,000 in 1948. ' In 1934, he said, spot was only one- tliird, as large as network time sales while today it is three-quar- ters as large. . Dang'er of /Vndue : Control' Tracing the history of network representation:in sale of spot time, Peters showed that 29 stations are now represented by nets and al- though they comprise only 3% of the stations tabulated by the FCC: in 1946 they did 22% of the spot - business. He said the dangers of net representation of affiliates is. Undue control over station time and: rates. Peters cited WRVA, Richmond; war, Charlotte, and WAPI, Birm- ingham as affiliates whose rate cards conform closely to that of CBS; owned and managed stations. He said that Westinghouse stations represented by NBC for spot sales follow the NBC rate pattern, in- cluding WOWO, Ft. Wayne, Ind., 9n ABC affiliate. Eugene ICatz, exec v.p. of the Katz agency, second witness, told the Commission that networks op- tion time is now two-thirds to nearly 100% of all television op- erating time, leaving much less time than in sound broadcasting for the profitable IochI and national spot business. He said that current video net- work aff iliation contracts.«hDW that the nets are trying to control na- tional spot advertising on the. sta^: tions as well as network time, that the nets are trying to get complete control of station rates, and that they are making local and spot rates higher than the same adver- tisers mu.st pay the nets for the same facilities. Bess — Continued from pace Sit as the award to the Woil-Hartley combo, : : Thus . enters '■ into its closing stages"the most protracted duopoly case. in radio annals,, with Arde. Bulova, who also owns WNEW, in the process of disposing of WOV for more than five years.. Bess, who formed General Broadcasting Corp.,- abouti a year ago, in his bid to acquire WOV, bowed out of the picture with the simple statement: "General has previously entered into lengthy e.xtensions for the consummation of its. contract for the purchase of WOV. In the intervening time, the business situation in the radio field has Changed substantially. Furthermore, the time when this deal may be Gonsummated is still indefmite.: It is therefore deemed inadvisable, as . a matter of ; busi- nGs.s discretion, to enter into any furthex- extension of time." In an elaboration ; on Monday,: Bess said he couldn't see any per- centage in hanging around another yfcar for a decision,, that with tele- vision's emergence' he' questions ' of wisdom of buying WOV for $850,- 000. Whether or'not he'll continue with WiilB, he says, he'll know "after Dec. 15.*' Heller, Jaffe to Coast On Co-op TV Control ■ As part of the proposed merger setup in the eastern talent unions, George Heller and Henry Jaffe went to the Coast this week for huddles with heads of the Screen Actors Guild on details of a coop- erative television jurisdiction ar- rangement. Besides holding pow- wows with SAG officials, they'll see' local execs of the American: Federation of Radio Artists on the Coast and, en route back, those in Chicago. Heller, now national executive- secretary of AFRA, is slated to be- come executive head of the merged actor unions. Jaffe, now counsel for AFRA, the American Guild of Musical Artists and the parent or- ganization, the Associated. Actors tt Artistes of America, is figured the probable: choice as counsel of the consolidated groups. Although SAG is not joining the other affiliates in the merger, it is cooperating with them in the mat- ter of TV jurisdiction. WATV Spreads Its Wings After a week's delay, Bremer Broadcasting's WATV (Newark) finally had its new RCA six-wing antenna installed last week. Sta- tion, after a three-day shuttering, took the air again Tlianksgiving Day (25) and,' according to engi- neering veepee Frank Bremer, WATV's signal is already being received "with a far greater degree of satisfaction than heretofore." Operating with its original an- tenna; the station had been stymied through inability to obtain suffi- cient - coverage, with many set- owners, particularly across the Hudson in N.Y., complaining either of weak reception or of no picture at all. Now, according to Bremer, WATV should be able to "utilize fully the 60,000 watts effective radiated power authorized by the FCC." He declared the station should now be received within a j 40-mile radium of the transmitter , site in West Orange, N.J. WTI6 ^9u\ W. Mormey, Vico-PrM.— Am. M«r. WTIC't IO,00(t Wallar JahniM, Aniftaiit —^Sh- Mfr. r*prMtiil««l MtlMMlly by Waadl ii Cm. Tele Review ss'^ontinued (torn pate 30: as the point'that six out of 12 acts were vocalists. Compared to the two holiday shows of network ra- dio, the tele entrant on NBC's mid- west web of seven stations was a poor third. Wendell Niles «,■> emcee lacked the spark that might have galvan- ized the bill.' After an opening rou- tine that was standard model Coast celeb, he relied on straight introes, overworking "wonderful" as an ad- jective; Don Prindle, publicized for co-emcee choresi was missing.' So, too, without explanation, were Robert Merrill, a tele transcription of Toscanini and the NBC Sym- phony, and Dinah Shore, who re- cords for Columbia. Show, originating at the Masonic Temple with guests on stage in formal garb,: got off to a brisk.start via roller skate twirls of Juanita and Her Champions. Standard vaude acts fared better throughout than diskers, with the exception of Jane Pickens and the Deep River Boys, each registering in choice style. Eddie Arnold, Helen Ryan, and Jack La throp were passive, but Eve Young projected bounce. • Dick and Gene Wesson were as- sets to the bill, even though their tele impact was lesS'than what they settle for with on-the-spot auds. Betty and, Jean Keane ^went over- long, since tap terpsj vocals and celeb carbons already had been hit. "Kukla, Fran and Ollie," the WBKB show with Burr Tillstrom's puppets and Fran Allison, came as welcome relief from the mounting mass of vocals despite the fact that almost one-third of their lO-minute feed from Chi also went to singing. . Next to closing was held down I excellently by Bill Robinson, whose | classic soft-shoe terplng slirred surfeited viewers. High point was his cane-clutching turn as a bent- backed oldster with the Deep River Boys. Latter group wrapped it up in top shape, .Toe Mulvhill vvas impressive in voicing commercials, illustrated by pictographs adhering to what was apparently velvet or velour. Tech- nique, used by RCA-Victor on its election night show, is simple-and elfective when sparingly presented, but ends up a boi'e in a two-hour span. Baxl. WBKB s Top Share Of Chi Audknce Chicago, Nov. 30. Ratings on Chi's four tele sta- tions, released by Jay & Graham Research on tlie basis of dairies in' 450 tele homes, give WBKB th* largest share of audience during the week of Nov. 1-7. The Balaban and Katz. station was credited with 36.7%, as against 29% for WGN- TV, 24% for WENR-TV, and 10.3% for WNBQ, which Is in its experi- mental stage. ;: Expansion of Jay &. Graham "Videodex" ratings to New York and 11 other TV cities is under way. Firm, the first in CJii to enter tele research exclusively on a con- ' tinuing basis, began field work here this summer. Local clients include CBS, J. Walter Thomp- son, Foote, Cone & Belding, and Roche, Williams St Cleary.'' Max Liebman TV Show Seen Set for Jan. Bow The Max Liebman TV show, which'is on the verge of being signed by:.;Admiral as a replace- ment for its- current ''Welcomo Aboard," will not go on the air un- til the coaxial cable to the midwest is completed around the first of tht year. The Liebman variety show has virtually been selected by the Ar- thur Kudiier agency, and comple- tion of the deal lias: been described: as a "matter of commas." WPIX Continued from p.ige 27 i liowever, that WPIX will keep go- ing regardless, and is prepared to protect its original investment bv sustaining the losses until the black | ink is Sighted. Pointing out that" .some of the station's personnel had been hired less than a month be- fore WPIX took the air, he said it niiglil perhaps have been better to delay the opening until about September. Taking that September dale as the point at which the sta- lion aclually began functioning, he declared revenue has almost tripled since then. "We must continue to operate on a tnal-and-eiTor method until we discover how to make the station succesilul," he said Flynn adiiiil- led the station has a tough nut to crack in convincing advertisers of ilie advisability of using a local outlet, as against networks, but pointed-out that the percentage of .spending in the N. Y. metropolitan area i> nnicli larger than that in- dicated by the population. According to the News' prez, lo- cal stations such as WPIX will be in « particularly advantageous po- sition eventually by being able to (•onal all the local sports and spe- Lial e\eiils that the major networks uoii'l be able to carry because of their commercial web commit- meiUs. Inclided in tliis category would be the big league baseball games, all but championship prize fights, etc But, while WPIX will piogram as much sports as pos- sibly. It will striva for progiam- mihg balance.'' Adler's Telepic Pact Hollywood, Nov 30. lyai ry Adler, harmonica virtuoso, has signed a five-year contract with Paul Gordon, head of concert Films, to- star' in an unannounced number of pictures and at least six telepix. '.■ •, ■■... .:. First-film under the contract will be a': :50-minut« featura titled "Larry Adler if playing Tonight." It will b* distributed by Morris Saphler. '■'::. ": . '■ .. Was he prophet or poet who wrote of music, almost two centuries ago, "Theft is in souls a sympathy with sounds.,. tha ear is pleased...and the heart, replies;i."? We think William Cowper. was both;' For he foretold with uncanny accutacj why advertisers on WQXR do so welf^^ Good,inusic,selective1y programmed and constantly beamed, brings them a choict- audience of more .than half « million New York families . ;. lovers of 'good things who havt also the means to buj them. So constant art these listeners ta WQXR that no other station in thisbig^ gelt and richest of all market! rtachel them so effectively. Day in, day out/'thf ear is pleased.;. and the heart replici." A thought worth pondering if your tastel' run to poeti.., or. to profits. Rerlna, Sask.—Don Cakes, of CFAC, Calgary, Alta., has Joined CKRM, Regini, as commercial manager. H» gucceeas Bruce pirie; now commercial manager of CkRC, Winnipeg. mNOWQXR-FM RADIO STATIONS OF THt NEW YORK JIMU