Variety (June 1950)

TELEVISION Washington, June 20. + Chairman Edwin C. Johnson of the Senate Commerce Committee slapped back at FCC Commissioner E. M. Webster today (20) for indi- rectly charging him with setting a timetable for reaching a decision bn color television. Webster sold in a speech yesterday (19) in At- lantic City, N. J., before the Amer- ican Taxicab Assn, that statements by certain individuals indicating a decision by early fall have given ^io consideration to the physical capa- bilities of commissioners to digest ings. - Webster referred to those “who have been kind enough to set lip a suggested timetable, and schedule for the Commission.” Johnson told Variety' he doubted that Commissioner Webster "is classifying me as the kind but ir- responsible little helper, but if he is, I would remind him; that he bet- ter read the utterances of members of the Commission if he desires to pin down the origin of the color: decision timetable.. I have made no predictions with respect to it, but I have repeated statements of Chairman Wayne Coy, Commis- sioner George Sterling and others," Webster, in speaking of the "stu- pendous job" of making a decision on the color issue, told the taxicab convention:; ‘-Decisions Of this mag- nitude are just hot made over night.. There are those~and inci- dentally they do not have any re- sponsibility under the Communica- tions Act—who have been lund enough to set up a suggested time- table and schedule for the Com- mission which, if followed, would mean a decision early this fall. Now, none of them has apparently given any consideration to the physical capabilities of the individ- ual commissioners and the staff to digest the record, study the matter thoroughly, discuss it among them- selves, and render a formal deci- (Continued on page 35) Bill Farrell's Chi Chicago, June 20. Singer Bill Farrell has been signed for a half-hour Monday night video stanza over WENR. Farrell will sing and emcee the variety-patterned show, which will run for 52 weeks starting Aug, 7. Stint will be sponsored by Tele- tronics of Chicago, and there’s a pos- sibility it may become network, in which case it would be co-op spon- sored. Wedneedayt June 21, 1950 FORMS Lou Walters, operator of the Latin Quarter, N. Y., has formed a tele packaging agency, Television Creations, Inc. Martin, Goodman will be Walters* sales rep. Walters is expected to package a Latin Quarter revue based on his N. Y. cafe. In addition, he has signed Carl Tirain, who has worked in films, songwriter Phil Charig, choreographer Natasha Kamerova, and arranger Georges Kameroff. the voluminous record of the hear-I Should Farrell have any theatre or night club dates during the 52 weeks, which is likely, he'll have to fly to Chi Monday nights to do the show. Young, & Rubicam has taken a long-term option on the newly-audi tioned Bert Parks TV musical stan- za, designed as a major daytime TV showcase on a three-times-a-week basis, Clients most prominently mentioned as potential bankrollers are Borden’s Bristol-Myers and Hunt Foods. If Bristol-Myers buys the show, it will give Paries a two-way identi fieation with the sponsor, since he already emcees the client’s "Break the Bank” quiz show. As auditioned by packager Louis G. Cowan, the new Parks entry shapes up as one of the more ambi tious shows for the daytime pro gram sweepstakes. Extends Groaner Shows, ABC-TV wound up a fast 10-day whirl with new business that will bring over $5,000,000 in billings on an annual basis. Among the new sponsors are Bendix, Minnesota Valley Canning, Chrysler, Dodge, Arthur Murray, American Sofety Razor, Ironrite, Farmercraft, Proc^ tfcr & Gamble and Gruen. ^ Dodge has bought the American National Theatre and Academy Show for Sundays at 7: 30 p. m., starting Oct. 1, through Ruthrauff & Ryan. Bendix Will back ‘‘Chance of a Lifetime’’ on Wednesdays at 7:30 p. m., starting Sept. 13, via Tatham Laird. Minnesota canning has picked up “Art Linkletter’s Open House," , Fridays at 7:30, starting Oct. 6, through Leo Bur- nett. American Safety Razor and Far- mercraft will back "Sugar Bowl," musical variety, on which Chico Marx is slated to star, on alternate Thursdays at 10 p. m., effective in early October. Agency is Ruth- rauff & Ryan for both clients. Ironrite will bankroll a show still to be selected on Monday at 7:30, (Continued on page 34) Sohio Out of Cleveland ' Browns Picture Due To Cincinnati, June 20. Bucking the traditional summer- layoff bugaboo, the Crosley TV net- work is extending its own Saturday night wrestling shows and adding a. - musical phone quiz series, with a minimum $1,000 merchandise jackpot, for the warm season. Robert; E. Dunville, operational chief, has given the greenlight for a full year’s packaging of the week- ly grunt-and-groan operas for. serv- icing to more than the 17 outside stations already in line. They ex- tend from Boston to San Fran- cisco; ■ ■■■ ; : Originating in the huge studio of WLW-D, Dayton, the wrestling programs are piped to Crosley’s WLW-T, Cincy, and WLW-C, Co- lumbus, and edited to ah hour film feature, with allowance for local commercials, in 13-week packages. Russ Landers* based at WLW-T, does the . film handling for client stations. The prize phone quizzer kicked off June .17. It is being produced here and carried by the other Crosley stations five hours weekly at vary- ing times from 6:30 to 9:30 p. m. Bernard Barth, program Coordi- nator for the Crosley web, stated that the giveaway telecasts \viil be on a participation basis "as a fur- ther move by Crosley stations to continue the saturation in three local markets, where time sales have continued at near-winter highs." Programs Will use^staffers for a small orch, a vocal quartet and solo warblers to provide clues with sound and sight aids. Appli- ances^ food and clothing are ip eluded in the prizes. Lapue Into Maurice Lapue, of the Music Corp. of America cafe department, has been transferred to the tele sector as assistant to Johnny Greenhut, head of the guest shot division. ^ • Transfer is in keeping with MCA’s policy of getting agents familiar with personal appearance work into the television depart- ment. Greenhut also came from MCA’s cafe department. ► Cleveland, June 20. ABC’s tie-in with the National Football League for televising pro- fessional grid games has taken Standard Oil of Ohio out of the picture as the local television-AM sponsor of the Cleveland Browns’ games. 7 Sohio, through McCann-Erickson, sought to televise all Browns’ games outside of Cleveland to a network of Ohio stations including Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dayton. However, Commissioner Bert Bell ruled this constituted a network and was in Violation of the League’s policy of permitting Sun Oil to handle to exclusive rights of the "Game-of- the-Week." Sunoco had picked two Cleveland Browns’ tilts. Sohio could have taken the remainder of the Browns’ games, but this would have put the Ohio firm in a sec- ondary spot to a rival gasoline. WERE, in arrangement with Cleveland Browns, Will handle both broadcast rights and will dele- gate television rights. Station has asked WNBK, WEWS and WXEL for availability in television, With a decision expected soon. Station officials say several bids already have been received. They, along with McCann - Erickson spokesmen, point out that the ! League's policy is in direct oppo- sition to professional baseball, which Caters to local sponsors as against a network sponsor tie-up. Feeling in Cleveland is that by jiext season television-AM rights Arnold Bakers will drop the will no longer be at the discretion Faye Emerson show ort CBS-TV at first of the network and league, the end of its 26-week cycle next but rather with the local sponsor month. The 9-9:15 p.m. period will who can meet the estimated $25,-* be used for another stanza to be 000 tab being shelled out in the built for the bakery. I current telecasting rights for the * Agency is Benton & Bowles. I "Game of the Week.** Clients Prefer ’Em On A Participating Basis Indications that there are plenty of participating sponsors available for television were found this week by World Video. Indie pack- age firm for the last month had been attempting to find a single sponsor to take over its "Mrs. America" weekly elimination con- tests on WJZ-TV (ABC, N.Y.). Outfit finally decided to try for participants and immediately came up with six of them. ^ As a result, the show will be aired Saturdays for the rest of the summer from 1 to 1:30 p.m., start- ing this week (24), with the finals scheduled for Sept. 10 at Palisades Amusement Park, across the Hud- son river in New Jersey. Partici- pants. include American Limoges, Chambers Ranges, Wonder Bread, Palisades Park; House Of Tre-Jur and the Hoyt Co. ‘DEMAND,’ ‘DET. WIFE 1 SET FOR CBS SEED "By Popular Demand," a talent search program featuring Robert Alda as emcee, was set this week to take over the Sunday night 7:30 to 8 slot on CBS-TV for. the summer. It will replace "This Is Show Busi- ness," sponsored by American To- bacco, which takes off for a Sum- mer hiatus. CBS this week also set "Detec- tives Wife," costarring Lynn Bari and Donald Curtis, to replace the Camel-sponsored "Man Against Crime" in the Friday night 8:30 to 9 period. Show, which will mark Miss Bari’s video debut, is a Tele- vision Production Associates pack- age. Web thus has only the Wednesday night 8 to 9 slot still to fill on its summer schedule. Washington, June 20. , Confirmation of the appointment of Commissioner George Sterling for a second term on the FCC is expected- by the Senate this week. The commissioner’s nomination was unanimously recommended by the Senate Commerce Committee last Friday (16). Sterling’s term ex- pires June .30. Prior to the committee action, Sterling was Subjected to the "To- bey Treatment" at hearings on his appointment, with Senator Charles Tobey (R., N.H.) subjecting the commissioner to sharp questioning on events which led to the televi- sion freeze. Tobey explained that appointments of commissioners pro- vided the committee an opportu- nity to inquire into FCC operations, over which it has jurisdiction. He had also questioned Commissioner Edward Webster when the latter came up for reappointment last year... ;:v Tobey elicited from Sterling an admission that there Would be no freeze today if the Commission had given consideration to a warning three years, ago from its own tech- nical experts. The commissioner was shown a memorandum written to him when he was FCC chief engineer in June, 1947, by Edward Allen, chief of the Technical In- formation Division, regarding in- terference problems which could be expected in the VHF band. When Tobey asked what would be the situation in /TV today if the recommendations in the memo had been followed, Sterling replied: "There is no Question that, set- ting* aside the color issue, we would not have a freeze. We would have more stations on the air but we would have less stations to allo- cate Washington, June 20. Implementing his plan to estab- lish TV networks to fight the cold war, Sen. Karl Mundt (R-S.D.j last week introduced a bill to cre- ate a bipartisan Commission on Cooperative International Rela- tions; It will, among other things, explore new techniques, With em- phasis on possibilities Of Video, to tell the American story abroad. The Commission would be required to report its findings by Feb, 1, 1951 .; ... • - in a speech to the Senate urging that the United States "get off the defensive, off the negative, and onto the positive" in fighting com- munism, Muhdt said he considered television "one of the new and dy- namic and dramatic coldwar weap- ons available to us on our side of the conflict. It is one device at least for carrying the message of America to the areas We are trying to win and to keep and to reirivigo- rate and to brace up, and to asso- ciate ourselves with in some kind of forward-moving action in the cold war. It is now available." Mundt said he could visualize 500 or 1,000 persons watching in a public meeting place in Germany or Japan "a stirring picture Of de- mocracy and freedom and private -enterprise portrayed on a commun- ity television screen." Such a show- ing, he said, would moke "a tre- mendous impression" on people Who who have not seen America. The Senator said he could see how a $4,000,000 initial outlay and $250,000 annual cost for expenses could bring to a nation like Turkey. “economic lessons, hygienic lessons, and the story of freedom and of enterprise. We could help the new- ly-elected President of Turkey, who is dedicated to increasing the en- vironment in which freedom and free enterprise may operate. We could win friends, and influence people in Turkey by presenting to them regularly in groups, by means (Continued on page 34) ‘Sing It Again' Set For Fall Video Bow "Sing It Again," CBS version of the musical jackpot program, has tentatively been set to make its television bow in the fall as a weekly offering in the Friday night 10 to 11 slot. Oiily factor now standing in the way is lack of a Sponsor, but the web is confident one will be lined up before the fall season starts. CBS originally had planned to simulcast "Sing It,” which has been aired On radio for the last several years bn Saturday nights. Web found it impossible, however, to find. a suitable parallel time on both AM and TV for the program, so decided to air it as two sep- arate shows. If the plan goes through, consequently, it. will fol- low the pattern set by "Stop the Music" on ABC, Which is broadcast Sunday nights on radio and Thurs- day nights On video. Should "Sing It” take over the Friday night position on TV, “Peo- ple's Platform," now. holding the Friday night 10 to 10:30 period, will be shifted to Sundays at 5:30 p.m. Household Finance Corp. will re- turn in the fall to bankroll the lat- ter program* Sold toWTOP Washington, June 20. WOIC here has* been sold by General Teleradio, Macy’s subsidi- ary which also owns WOR and WOR-TV, N Y,, to W'FOP, the Washington Post strftion, subject to FCC approval. Announcement Was made today (Tues.) by Theo- dore C. Streibert, WOR prexy, and Philip L. Graham, WTOP prexy. Sale of WOIC, which went on the air in January, ’49, is viewed as pointing up the importance of Failure to heed the Allen memo ; AM sustaining video station^* losses. Without an AM adjunct in Washington, it’s believed, the WOR interests found WOlC’s op- eration too much of -a drain. WOIC will keep its CBS-TV af- filiation. The Washington Post owns 55% of WTOP stock with CBS owning 45%. Operations will con- tinue. as at present, with Gene Thomas (a former WOR exec) slated to remain as general mana- ger, * (Continued on page 35) Coast Plan to Offset B.O. toss Hollywood, June 20. Pacific Coast Conference foot- ball will be televised this season if the universities in Seattle, San Francisco and LoS Angeles- can get together hn a Single course of ac- tion and the stations elected to carry the games will guarantee the boxoffice loss due to television. This decision was forthcoming from the PCC meeting last week. Ruling affects the U, of Washing- ton, Seattle; Stanford and the U. Of California, San Francisco, and the U. of Southern California and U. of ^California in Los Angeles. These are the only Cities in which there are television tsations. If these schools cannot get together on terms among themselves, no games will be beamed. It is ex- pected that the schools will get to- gether, but whether or not spon- sors in each city can be found to pick up what will be art exhorbitant tab, is purely speculative at this point. It is likely that the USC-UCLA games, which went for a mere $77,- 000 last season, Will come close to $300,000 When, colleges figure in their gate losses for the . season. Plan will be to average out the gate receipts over the past 10 years and thus come up with a relatively . close figure as to what each col- lege should draw this year* SALES Recently-completed NBC-Hofstra College survey, which underscores television’s, amazing sales impact, was carted to the Coast over the weekend by a trio of the web’s execs to do its selling job there. Execs included video sales chief George Frey, Veepee Edward Mad- den and Dr. Thomas Coffin, re- searcher under whose supervision the study was conducted. They planned to make the same presen- tation to Hollywood agencies and potential sponsors that they made earlier in N. Y. and Chicago. With the. NBC video network virtually sold out for the fall, it’s believed the Web is pitching the survey to Coast agencies in an . at- tempt to line up more local busi- ness for KNBH, its owned-and- operated outlet in Hollywood, Also involved is a try at getting some of the Hollywood agencies and cli- ents to come in on the web’s day- time TV schedule, which is to tee off in the fall from 2 to 5 p.m. across-the-board*