Variety (December 1952)

Wednesday, December 17, 1952 PfinlEff It ADIO-TEUE VISION tn ITS ‘WHAT’LL WE DO?’ FOR Radio-TV & the ‘Cheap Dollar’ With the Excess Profits Tax Law slated to expire next June 30 (unless the new congress should decree otherwise), there’s consid- * erable apprehension in the trade as to the effect it will have on advertising budgets, particularly in TV. There’s a precedent for the fear that the elimination of the “cheap dollar” will drastically curtail institutional-type programming (such outfits as Aluminum Co. of America, Reynolds Metals, Revere Copper & Brass, etc come within that category), for its recalled that in the post-war period, radio took it on the chin to the tune of millions of dollars in billings when institutional advertisers found they could no long- er play around with excess profits. To a great extent, however, TV has fortified itself against any such reprisal, for the bulk of network video billings today represents sound consumer advertising. Big question mark, however, are the automotives, which, al- though having a direct consumer approach, nonetheless have been in the habit of retreating from broadcasting when any tax curves are thrown their way. TV Wrestling Phony? Its Worth Your Life Even to Kid Subject in Mpls. Minneapolis, Dec. 16. In this red hot wrestling town, probably the nation’s top one, ( where thousands take the ^grap- pling game seriously, WCCO-TV’s weekly panel show, “Speaking of Sports,” had the temerity to make “Is Wrestling Phony?” a discussion subject. As a result, a pair of St. Paul newspaper sports writers, Don Riley and Mark Tierney, regular panel members, who held the mat shows up to scorn and ridicule and insisted wrestling isn't a com- petitive sport, are dodging vefbal brickbats via mail and telephone. They’ve even been threatened with bodily harm.. The abuse is being heaped upon them by members of the army of fans that attend Tony Stecher’s weekly wrestling shows at.the Au- ditorium, making them the best patronized and most profitable form of entertainment locally.. The shows draw up to 10,000 at $2.40 top and audiences become • so aroused at what appears to them as genuine mayhem on the per- (Continued on page 34) Godfrey’s Squeeze Play on Oranges Arthur Godfrey’s “double life” in the orange juice market is oc- casioning no little trade comment. 1 On his morning x'adio-TV show, he’s now extolling the virtues of the Snow Crop frozen food product (which in the minds of consumers is chiefly identified with the orange juice concentrate.) But in the daily press, Godfrey continues to deci- cate his praises to Hi-V. Until Dec. 2, when Snow Crop moved in on the Godfrey show, the CBS top salesman-personality was strictly a Hi-V man,"having been one of its major stockholders. How- ever, he’s relinquished his stake in Hi-V. Apparently, however, un- til the Hi-V contract expires, the Franklin Bruck agency, which han- dles Hi-V, is getting maximum mileage out of Godfrey’s identifi- cation with the product, hence the interim two-way spread. SAM GOLDWYN, JR., TO JOIN ABC-TV * Sam Goldwyn, Jr., sbn of the film producer, is joining ABC-TV in Y ? rlc as assistant to Charles «« erna tt°nal program man- ger. This is young Goldwyn’s first . , He did a hitch in the Army and was also engaged in some film work abroad. meanwhile, is weighing Implications of a flock of candidates or the post of eastern program pos t expected, to be w lthin the next couple of fw!? S \T Successfu l aspirant will be- No ; 2 nian in TV program- ming under Underhill. tw an ] es labile, of the web’s legal fninw tm S nt ’ has been.named ad- ministrative manager for the ABC nef»v5{ , ?r ram department, handling iiiin^i at V? n8 for con rtacts and ad- ministrative affairs. CKLW’s Banner Billings Detroit, Dec. 16. CKLW expects to report the highest dollar volume sales record in its history on Dec. 31, according to President J. E. (Ted) Campeau. “Total sales, local ahd national, right now, are 17% higher than 1951, which was previously tops in CKLW history,” Campeau said. “Actual figures cannot be com- puted for another two weeks.” Tintafr (TV Baby) Rears Dyed Head In Deficit Rap Stockholders of Bymart-Tintair, Inc. (which spiraled into a major operation via radio-TV\ will meet in N. Y. Monday (22) to consider changing its certificate of incor- poration and altering its financial setup as a result of its monetary difficulties. It had a deficit of $1,- 756,277 on Sept. 30, but it’s said to be selling better today. Situation has trade Interest be- cause of Tintair’s radio-tele Invest- ment, and NBC, Cedi Sc Presbrey agency and packager John. Gibbs are among the creditors. Accord- ing to creditors’ committee, flrm’S\| liabilities last spring were - well (Continued on page 31) By GEORGE ROSEN As 1952 fades from the TV spec- trum, the television networks are still wrestling with the No. 1 prob- lem—finding the sales formulas and patterns that will give the sponsor a fair shake for his money and solidify his faith in the me- dium. Not that the other major issues have been satisfactorily resolved. Programming, for one, projects it- self as one of the burdensome prob- lems of '53, for with the “situation CQmedy formula” having run its course, and with the rotating comic pattern (as exemplified by . the NBC schedules) already belabored to a point. of satiety, a “wliere- do-we-go-from-here?” anxiety has already begun to creep into the network echelon thinking. Nor, for that matter, have the networks come up with any solu- tion to the daytime TV situation and the hazards of programming to a still dubious audience that doesn't mind listening to radio but as yet can’t be pinned down in large numbers to watching. Sales Plan Priority But of all the areas that will undergo careful exploration in '53, it’s the sales formula designed at once to enrich the networks and prevent wholesale sponsor defec- tions, that gets priority on the agenda for the new year. Does the answer, the networks are asking, lie in the participating sponsorship formula as initially blueprinted for the NBC-TV pro- gram rosters by Sylvester L. (Pat) Weaver? NBC still sees it as the answer, and points to its succession of success stories in pioneering the pattern for such program com- ponents ts the “Show of Shows” (with its nine sponsors and annual take of $5,000,000): “All Star Re* vue”, (with its three-way rotating bankrOller spread and annual gross intake of $4,500,000): the daytime cross-the-board Kate Smith hour (which, even with its present nine open segments a week permits'for a revenue of $3,000,000 annually), and the early morning two-hour “Today” show, with Its multiplicity of short-range clients pouring reve- nue into the web coffers at the present rate of $4,000,000 a year (and which permits for an overall yearly potential of $12,000,000).' Interesting to note is that the rival webs have been unable to compete against these segments on (Continued on.page 30) Agency With “TV Comm! of Future’ Seen Inviting Windfall in Billings All Aboard With “Omnibus” now getting a commercial ride by a car company (Willys) and a bus company (Greyhound), the pro- gram entrepreneurs have been talking about making it a three-way parlay by booking the Valerie Bettis “Streetcar Named Desire” ballet. Agency that comes up with the “TV commercial of the future” will not only be the envy of the indus- try but is destined to reap a wind- fall in sponsor billings. That, at least, is the considered opinion among a large segment of TV hep- sters who deplore the fact that, as now, the video commercial remains strictly a “hangover from radio thinking—with a visual assist.” It’s recalled that in the early' ’30s a few of the agencies, notably Young & Rubicam and J. Walter Thompson, solidly entrenched themselves as kingpin operations in the radio sweepstake^ with the nation’s major clients because of their ability to pioneer the pattern and techniques for AM commer- cials as we know them today.. But it’s felt that the “TV com- merdfial of tomorrow,” whatever it is, is yet to be created —and the „ 3a . , . . .. .agency that does it will invite a Bristol - Myers is winding up of sponsors to its door- negotiations with CBS-TV for 1 Bristol-Myers Eyes Alan Young, Buys Gleason purchase of two major program entries, one a replacement for its Sunday night 9:30 “Break the Bank” and the other a participa- tion in the Saturday night Jackie Gleason show. As replacement for “Bank,” which is being axed on Feb. 1, B-M looks set to buy a comedy series starring Alan Young. Show is budgeted at $28,000 weekly, but it’s reported that CBS may share in the cost. Show will be live and originate from. the new CBS-TV City on the Coast. CBS-TV initially pitched up “This Is Show Business” to B-M, but reportedly couldn’t come to terms on second year prices. ^ With Bristol-Myers latching onto the Gleason stanza, show again assumes an SRO status. Sponsor- ship vacancy occurred when Amer- ican Chicle Co. served notice it step. Judy” on ABC-TV.) Deals were handled via Doherty, Clifford Sc Shenfield, agency for B-M. OUT SOON! Th« 47th Anniversary Number Of Forms closing shortly Usual Advertising rates prevail Special exploitation advantages Copy and space reservations may be sent to any Variety office CBS-TV Pads For Ben Hecht Series Ben Hecht and CBS-TV have ne- gotiated a deal whereby the au- thor and playwright will convert his “Thousand and One! After- noons” auto biographical tomes (dealing with his Chicago news- paper days and the subsequent New York period) into a half-hour dramatic series for video. It’ll be a live series, with a New York origination, and the Columbia pro- gramming boys are aiming at a major production showcase. This will be Hecht’s Initial entry was cancelling out. (Latter outfit into TV with his own series, al- is putting its coin in “Date With though some of his stories and plays have been adapted to video on a one-shot basis. Bob Stevens, who formerly di- rected the TV “Suspense” series for CBS, is getting the directorial assignment on the Hecht program. Dinah Det-Originations Cancelled in Dispute Over Outside Union Help Detroit, Dec. 16. The Dinah Shore Show, which was scheduled for origination by WWJ-TV for the NBC network twice, was cancelled both times be cause of a dispute between mem- bers of the Detroit chapter of the National Assn, of Broadcast ‘Engi- neers and Technicians (CIO) and members of the Hollywood chapter of the same union. Detroit members refused to work with technicians flown here with Miss Shore, Kinescope versions of her show, made previously for emergency situations, were put on the net in New York. Edwin K. Wheeler, general man- ager of WWJ-TV, said the strike was a violation of the contract which is made. with both the De- troit chapter and the international union. David Stewart, chairman of the NABET Detroit chapter, said the chapter considered it a contract violation for outsiders to take- over the operation of techni- cal equipment. Miss Shore was in town to meet with executives of General Motors' Chevrolet Division, sponsors of her show. She also appeared nightly in the Detroit Athletic Club floor show. Bendix’s ‘Today’ Buy Chicago, Deo. 16. Bendix Home Appliances has taken a nibble on NBC-TV’s “To- fday,” ordering 13 weekly partici- pations starting Feb. 23. Firm will take over a weekly five-minute por- tion of the Dave Garroway-emceed early morning show. Agency is Earle Ludgiri. NEW YORK 14 154 W. 44th St. HOLLYWOOD It 4311 Yucca St. CHICAGO 11 41 1 N. Michigan Avt. LONDON. W. C. 2 i St. Martin's flact Trafalgar Sqiiar* Meyer Resigns CBS-TV Hollywood, Dec. 16. Bob Meyer, who has been direc- tor of TV press information on the Coast for CBS for the past 16 months, has resigned to accept a position on the writing staff of a new TV production company. Meyer has been with CBS since 1948. Prior to that he worked for United Press in Hollywood. <,* >. • •>l J.k «. j. J » -a