Variety (May 30, 1951)

*6 I nlnr^Ui, May SO, 1031 Plenty of D.C. Hurdles to Surmount Before UPT-ABC Merger Gets Okay \\ j tu w • n M 2* 4 The InUH Paramount deal with ABC will have -o ne big hurdle* la Mirmoun: brfoic it |Hi the rCC oka' *< • « o ■ formed murm here I* * con*id* ered almost certain that the Com* piiuion mill hold hearing* on the application l«r trooper and that %ue«ltom related to the a ternv « receat antitrust p*»l m' r« j»»rt will play an Important pan in the final determiaat ion Aigge«t bardie* it * believed mil he the eligibility of l FT a* di'tiart Irom paramount Ptaiures Carp to own a te»evj*.on network and the peltries of l FT in u*ing Aim oa tdeo The C«*mmi**»aa ha* Ke\er accepted the divorcement of Far from ita theatre* insofar a* it relate* te the ownership of KTLA In Lao Angele* and WHKB ta Oil- cat* Smrr the «ew' Ha* tea lainel> ruled that Far control* Du- Mont. acceptance of l FT a* a com wietelv sepai ~t«- fiatpam would he m«ic te c©n*.d»-rati«*n ol the mer- i*r. Once thi* hurdle i* ci»»**ed. the C«*mmia*Aon will look into ques- tioaa of p»o ih)e ’iinBift of la- te re <4** ta a theatre thain operat Ing a %idco network Thi* i*sue arisen in man> «a*e* of com p time appluant* seetmg a radio at at Ion The atene> will dowbtle** he concerned w th lormtr lat.onshtp* with Far Picture* they ma> affect availability of him for v idee showing The Cwnmieion • aatt trust re- port pointed out that policy of mo- tma picture torn,*ante* la making Aim available fur TV would be given srrtou* con *■ tale rat ion ta de termiaing eligibility ta hold li* ceaae* However Chairman Wayne Coy ha* a**ured a committee from the Theatre Owner* of America that this doe* not appf) to exhibi- CBS* ‘Blue Chips Buy Even though CAS emerge* with only one teles tsiaa sta- tion instead of the three that it **ught when it was *n the bonk of negotiating a deal for the purchase of ABC a few week* bach, its acquisition of C luted Far amount Theatres* A AKA in Chicaga at a price of S6 000 000 is generally regard* ed as a good buy. It gives Cn» lumbie three o A a operations, others being in New York and Los Angeles 1 Oa the basis that a full turn aa aa> solid Invesli should he accruing ta 10 year*. It'S considered a cinch that CAS can't biim aa the deal. Over a 10->ear period, it would AA AKA a returning annually after taxes. And on the basis of last year a WBKB lucrative take far ex- ceeding that figure it looks like a blue chips enterprise for the CAS ho) s. Far, DuMont Vs. UPT-ABf JUNE VALIJ i ij> ' Ai«p aitnf ntohil) R.«r X* w Y«ch June I anf June >• Mh.1. -ah tin With rsrsmnnal Pictures still ewnlag aa estimated hMere*t la the Du 34 eat network the tnited Pars mount Theatres-AAC merger la expected te cue aa FCC eagle eye en the operations of the twr* companies Even though Par s recently-completed divorce- ment en.ltd all ties between the Aim company and Aa former theatre circuit subsidiary the fact that both are aowr actively in tide*, even an a competitive basis, means the FCC util he doubly careful to make certain there are aa ties between the tw# net- * DuMont of course has been trying ta get Par Pi« out of its operation for several years and Far has intimated H mill be will- mg to sell Ms DuMont stock for the right price. Presently How- ever. Par still has three directors on the DuMont eight-man hoard Te date there has been no o*ten«ible relationship between DuMont and Par's KTLA. a An operation oa the Caaet Ay the same token. M’s believed that Far and LPT would he careful ta beep the two operat mas entirely separate l FT execs, meanwhile scotched reports that the merger with A AC will immediately open up to TV Par t backlog of feature Aim oldies, as wall as studio star talent They pointed out that the Far company Involved Is LPT. which Is strictly a theatre opera- lion and hat no Aim product or star rontractee* Again. M s the Government-enforced divorce >vnt of the two organizations which has separated them As a result, rt s believed the threat of anti- trust implications, following the Far divorcement, would prohibit end Far Fix mup ib# I ah> direct tie-!n between the new UPT-AAC operation Atlass Plays Cozy ABC TV sProgram “IK'S.....« W* * LS I Ball Starts Rolling i First signs of the showmanship upbeat that AAC-TV is projecting following announcement of the im- pending merger with L’niicd Para- Status in Merger Sterling Drugs, which ho* to**ed in ihe towel on virtually all its CAB radio billings during the last sev- eral weeks, checked out of another M one 1 hit «rok. »h»o M 4roidr4 te . . » drop Aill Shade I and his new wasl Iniere*ted oheenrer of the AAC. after the June 17 broadcast Show Cmted Paramount amrger is the is aired Sundays from 3 to I 15 pm grUI management which share* the A T \1 I * cm the brighter side of the radio fr9mMtrr mitk WENR AAC v ouhtle Aq I V mnrPQnn upcoming picture CAS th». week nego- CM ^^d and aperated station L PTie t\o I f 1III1II Codl 111 *_h k!L A riJeTT^fu-os t *n« Uat94 **-•••* renewal* w*»h , f , known for tarn tune ures as w m Web bee mbed Frances Lang- taropbr „ s^p. for its <ro**-the tK at the Prairie Farmer statu* board Club IS** sene* .but with mouM like to latch onto the VU the usual summer hiatus* and with WENR frequency te permit it full- Carnation Milk for the Tony Mar- tin *how Latter program it aired Sunday nights at 10. Pending FCC Okay Chicago May 20 l.ong-awaited move by H. Leslie Atlaes. Chi C'AA veepee into the Windy CMv vide# arena is a step nearer realMy now that Columbia Is due to acquire WAN At channel as an adjunct of the A AC-LnMed Paramount Web has inked Frances l-ang- ford and Don Amec he for a rr oaa the-board afternoon video stanza, with a weekly budget of S23 000 Cham has also set Gloria Swanson and her daughter Michele Farmer now making a Aim in Europe*, for a Sundav afternoon S-4 p m . airer I Signing of these shown follows oa the recent parting of J Lewis Dagmar of NIK Broadway Open House " for her own aeries at a hefty A gw re More of the programmatic hypo II Another factor which may in- Auenre the Commi ss ion * determl- om era* the former talentiA of UPT with an antl-truat violator It was recalled that ef- forts of Warner Am to acquire the radio and TV properties of Mrs Dorotb) Srhiff were Anally after the Commisaioo Jed to hoard and FCC approval 1 x * ^xpeeled *»jh the • “ Weitman United Par veepee CAS will lay out B4 000 000 for the R " h WBKB franchise, wrhlrh has to he u ' relinquished by present owners f** by pre Aaiaban A Katz LPT the new AA-PT group devtaled ta retain AAC • WENR-TV here Atiaaa la playing cosy an bis teevee plans until the FCC gives talent Ml charge of programs g for the division of the merged outfit ~ ABC-UPT Tie Seen Sparking Radio City Exit Probable effect of the Settlement On held oA action for over a year on the greenhgbt to the purchase but the transfer application he * known to have some ambitious projects A led away. Although he’s projected WBBM Chi CAS AM j Aag. into the top ranks In of revenue and audience M s sec r et that Atiaaa has Itching Woods Contract *** ^ i United HAPPY’ CHANDLER SELLS STOCK IN KY STATION Situation was diaru««ed at the regular Pralne Farmer board meeting Thursday <24* according to Wl.S general manager Glenn ftnyder However, since the new A AC-1 FT group M this early • stage baa sent nut no feelers on the poasibilMy of unloading the Windy City parttime station PF t board took no action other than ta assume a "watchful waiting' stance. | Current W LS WENR setup en- . tails some highly complex sc hedule ir. term in* ling which occasionally AAC- has resulted la tome confusion, nerg- Should WLS end up with the idatioa of the a ENR frequency M not only Louisville. May 2A A. A. “Happy ’ ly deposed baseball high sold bis stock in WA LK. revenue and audience Mg been " h T~ t , n yTyfy open secret that Atiaaa haa been “ *** in w \ LK >te( te «e. te. Anger. IM . teg , tJSg^S'* uStef . . , banker reported be. John E. Per kina and Frank G. Trimble pur Under the new administrative lineup for the revitalised AAC net work the name of Mark Woods oil) he among those missing Woods, one of the radio pioneers with an upper echelon berth dat log back to the time when AAC had Ms identity as the Blue skein of the National Broadcasting Co., over the Red Blue divorce a decade under the Ed Noble regime. When Aobert F Kintner moved into the prexy post a couple years hack. Woods was named vice-chairman of the hoard and haa since concerned himself with major agemy client headquarter* under | would strengthen Ms own Identity at the AAC Television but alsa would pkk up a tiseable Centre ea West Btth 5t. N V. chunk af additional air time Cl * y ^r- a a* _ . Besides being an AAC affiliate. • ***** * * M ofl 1 om W’LS has an uniquely close rela- XB( . has been boused for the most < m1(h WENR For example K rt i. ? »i # <n< *' ! W’LS shuts dowm daily from 4 N "Mer the vhad- to g p m. when WENR fees aa the ** ^ NIC. UPT , since iti dlvor«e wr pp station hits the ether meat from Paramount Pictures, haa a|lia at i 30 to • p m hut the . , V— *W “P_>‘"« «iu*r«rr. te tte IN 1 .I 1 M. WEN* Haw with ■ # e*» 'ptete •* "te' clwwC tlw Mock (row OwadWr. ■ J******** ” *tec II tlw m.rgrr WL* haadlmg th* u.twa brr.k. 12"*JS* Drrt. C Nux te Vrrtelllro. >nd * HI tewg « (or th* ACC .t.t.oa WEKC tehro Into full swing. Windy City o(hfM highly probable that both the the- tm M , tt omn from • to -i gnoff -“'r I „ WVUl - tero teC kro^rw..M tey^tero te | WL* ,.w h.ndt*. th. > M t. w .<•« *>p*te*d aaiU v.rwtlW* »aC kw telwr L*>ia«t<te i« . ifffi'i??!.!? ) JO site toe WKNR « ate progr*m> Riarted tecaaw +>£ mtag Oa Mttea. WLS kw?, tel roily uwl*r lh*u w« wgn te tlw (mr M WENR „ , M hu| Whil# tK« — —. l k> takes over on its own at 4 p iw. ta _ -T. ‘ , t . midnight far the National Bara ^r. ( iv 1 r , 2 L w i 2 r: quired additional facilities (hat [ u wMk WENR talf ng should permit accommodation of ^ T^Turl Zr ronfuw thla the t.ulk of the two dhisluna at . Uf\H har^ll^th# U?H tlw TV roa.ro Near Ate' bu.ld.hg '^..tute^. 5TuSn'Wm Music'’ show iu the 7 to • p m This, of next fall at the earliest. Fact that Atiaaa carries mere ueight In top president network planning than the erdl- p, nary veepee adds ta the aalta ipa- kec Man he’ll wangle same web shews; y, for Chi Another angle Is the tight q| Baseball Chandler Perkins ea page 401 l involved was not die- No Radio Mod for ABC; May Ave year contract witk AAC still has a couple of years ta ! go. With the United Parspoust | a settlement Is Paramount , train heavy the radio medium and won't slough w * wwwi aim a|/a auk m/viio off AM, despite the natural Aim PABST STICKS TO FIGHT blz video ties and the dramatic ap- peal of pix TV cooperation. GAME THRU SUMMER ■ Utilize AM lo Promote Frimgoing la a ft ! site at Broadway and West 70 At.. | which will bald ta i building facilities, thus freeing snare at W#*t M Si j Additionally, WOR-TV whicb had leased almost Half of the AAC I 11 ... ..... ng TV build in g. Is sheddsd to give lor., will glmmieba could be worked out that up that space around Jaa. I. tf&2. maaship guns ia would work ta the advantage both when Ms own Television Square | of radio and United Paramount at Columbus Ave. snd West M Sl.| The recent trend of television theatres. Is due for completion This will manufacturers te buy radie time. It* recalled that Metre has used fire more M >aee lor AA i’l rather than TV tu hg. j similar . * •* * Sunday slat which la aired ia the £ TrrZ i Chl aMrM M • SYLVANU BUYS UYE ON U TO SELL TY SOS expected to sre space tor AA I its radio outlets. *uch aa WSKiM Additional space may be re- Irom spot deals Into net rged setup, radio Is N Y . and Its MGM Radio Attrnr quired. la which case AA PT might programming Agure just as im t tarns transcription alrerx ia a par learn some of Ares near the TV Sytvaaia has just Pabst Beer la v of May 2§ port ant I > aa it has under the pres- { lay that has good promotional im centre, working out its ent management. ABC prexy Bob part At ABC numerous schemes .Laos this week Kintner has always viewed AM as I for erwoo promotion br tween the I y n \ its sponsorship of the having a Mg future, despite the mrb and the theatre chain have al I UHglOfl fICf uOOdflldn night International phenomenal growth of tele and ready been informally 1 Boxing Club bout* the p»«t %ea*oo {feels the sound medium will be on CAS 'TV and .AM • has cued the able to stand on its own feet on into stirking with the Aght the basis of what the advertiser the hot weather gets fur bis AM dollar | Moreover. M's considered that Pahu is taking an AM htalus, ex- AM caa do a Mg job ia promoting rept for special event* but is re- Aimgoing. Recently AAC taming Ms Wednewdav night • to gram chiefs had been t 10 period on CAS-TV for a summer a plan that would unite radio and boxing series S u dst ry ia lining Alms ia a giant promotion Idea op as many IRC hot-wn I her bouts was to have a giveaway program a* possible for the Wrdm*day on which the pay off would lake night telecasts Oa the nights place in local thrakNS. Concept there are no live Arbi* avail- was that of a national bingo game Pah*t will run tines of the that would lure pcizr «ceAine lis- M sponsored during trarr Into their tors I fHm huu*e* I While that project ha n t jelled. Femme Intuition Last Wednesday <23* AAC gabher Nancy Craig si. «rtte» long m Mrs. TV fe had as That was the day the mer- ger of ABC and Umied para mount Theatres was inked - •"f Mr* Colder 1 * 0 * Ifl tlo- wife o* LPT pre xv f^eunard If Gold e n* on si vied to br Miss Craig * pew Inq. Oi WNEW Utter Site Duke Ellington will take over the ■ Hrnnv ftatodmaa Hondav afternoon w in phonic program al WNF.W. . IM. V., for the summer Marling ***** June 10 Ellington will serve as I disk F*cke> -commentator for a se- i ®tes of |H*p symphony record ran with Goodman slated to re- Sy I van ia has just bought Sammy Kaye’s ’’Sunday Serenade'* show aa ABC. the deal being negotiated by the Durst me agency ♦ All the web* were pitching for the Syha- aia biz. with ABC getting the nodi Kaye will travel the show Similarly. Motorola ta Airtmg with the idea of busing a radio to hypo Ms TV vet GANNON OTTO NAVY Harvey Gannon, program dire*- • r#»ts _ _ hum m th# fall when the program | ( *r •* * NAC. New’ York bey oi {mil im syndicated via transrnp NAT. has been recalled to active • tam duty with the Navy. Stan* will h# trimmed In aa hour The lieutenant commander, oho 'tunny »h# warm *«-»*nn string will be assigned to Navy public »»• ♦r*.*« 14 pm instead of the prrv- formation department at |rnt 2-4 20 spaa. 1 Church St. N. Y„ left friday »25>.