Variety (January 1953)

^ Wednesday, January 7, 1953 TV Breaks Thru Barriers Of Radio By SYLVESTER L. WEAVER (Vice-Chairman of Board , NBC) . The year 1953 is going to be a year of decision In net- work television* and an excellent analysis of the black cirie of the general television picture has just.been given to Great Britain in the BBC Quarterly. This article, written by Bernard B. Smith, an American attorney who re- sides in New York and who has repre- sented the BBC, should be read by the interested groups in television— the artists, the unions, the ’Stations the clients, the agencies, and the net- works. Much in this article calls for rebuttal, or at least further, explana- tion. . Mr. Smith says that the in- creasing cost of television to adver- tisers, and the increasing number of stations will cause program deteriora- ‘Pit» weaver tion and Public service, unless the medium is supported by other revenue than from advertising. If television follows the radio pattern of orthodoxy, the bleak future pictured by Mr. Smith is likely. This includes not only the unprofitable business development, but the failure of the industry to provide a national tele- vision program service in keeping with the stature. and promise of the medium. Mr. Smith’s concluding line, however, is wrong. He says, “American Television is at the crossroads—and from present indications ho one is going to prevent it from taking the wrong road.” On the contrary, Mr. Smith, this particular crossroads has been in sight for many years. The approach and philosophy of NBC-TV since 1949 has been to build television into the kind of a medium that would answer the direct needs of the interested parties, rather than have the medium develop along old-fashioned but not inevitable radio lines into a sure collapse. For it was apparent from the beginning that. single products could not indefinitely sponsor television programs on a national basis. It was also apparent that we who would run television were not helplessly riding some wave of the future, but were in the position of trying to find plans which would consolidate the real interests of all concerned in a new pattern which would be financially profitable to all* and provide great network service to the people. In'Quest of a Pattern One of the most compelling reasons why I came to NBC was because of the challenge that was obviously coming in finding a newjformula that would give the clients better values within tfieir budgets, that would gain the indis- pensable support of America’s marketing elite, the adver- tising agencies, that would meet the requirements of the stations to do the all important community service job while carrying a national program service to their viewers, and that would have a sufficient margin in operating in- come to be highly profitable in order that it might also provide the elements of great network service that can create a more adult, informed, enlightened, cultured people in our country. It was because I had worked directly and as a major executive in a station, an agency, and a network, and as advertising director of one of the dozen great companies that supported radio that I felt I could direct the planning and thinking of a group of men who would honestly try to find a pattern that would meet all these requirements. I was a major party in the transition in the ’30s from a broadcaster-controlled industry to an advertiser-con- trolled industry, and the lesson was not lost on me that this happened because the pressure of the advertiser’s needs could not be met by the network’s resources. All these experiences meant that in shaping a new me- dium in which the favored orthodoxy of radio usage would have to give way before a new orthodoxy, I knew in large part from direct personal experience which values that clients or agencies or stations' wanted were basic to their function, and which were desirable only because they were familiar, comfortable, known procedures. » Consequently, it never occurred to our planning group that individual products as individual sponsors would be a major factor in our future network operation, and no programming concepts were developed by NBC except for shared sponsorship. Most of NBC’s programming to- day is on a shared sponsorship basis, and the remaining is mostly brokered by big companies which share their exr pend itures in turn among their own products. 75% Buy NBC Shows Similarly, we knew from projecting costs that the few big corporations alone could not provide the funds for a Network operation in television, and have developed plans to broaden the base of our operations to enable us to draw on more of the $7,000,000,000 a year that is spent to adver- tise goods and services. Indeed, today over 75% of all ad- vertisers on NBC are buying NBC shows, and our client lists are far larger than network radio’s. Companies that can afford to advertise in national magazines on any basis can afford, to advertise with all the power of NBC national television. Furthermore, in our planning we have always rightly held that the clients of NBC must spend their advertising .money to sell their goods and services. Therefore, we have recognized that their basic objective must be circu- lation at the lowest cost. This will act as a force toward a low-cost program schedule, ineffective and undistin- guished in too many cases, unless we make available to ihctn higher circulation at the lower prices, and with the osourees of our overall operation develop a schedule that does show the necessary range Of entertainment times. a at> the same tiipe, we have taken the job of creating ciill ?. i that d° es provide information, education, and tiv« U<r t * ai P ac t to our viewers and we are carrying out ‘i job within the limits, indeed some say past the limits, income.- In behalf of* the television industry, I Will "Smith the documentation omthis. diMin llk we can say definitely that Mr. Smith’s dire pre- ™ of .the fall of television “to minister to a public u 'ly, silently, nightly, viewing escapist fancy, crime, Forty-seventh Anniversary NBC e pians wivailT* 0 *' S * meS " W ‘ U n0t happen “ th * On the fa vorable side, it is bxMnSm* 6 ? tha j t ie radio form of Programs sponsored dflficnltv ?r ° dUCts !i as virtuall y S°ne An important scrviPP«r a 2® in . persuading the agencies that their great h J fhn , i ,n , show manship but in salesmanship, and qhmirn e « aCt f Ua productl °h of shows, as in early radio days, ft}®J. 0 non-agency payroll organizations, including trvfnt/ ^ 0 ? 8 ^ ^ oda y f do not know of an agency that is prod * uce sh °ws as a matter of policy. Most of ; u s h ^ ve a PP la nded for three years our NBC at- nnHov-nc 0 m? ade 5 basa of the medium, and to try new although there are some who fight every depar- ture from radio.orthodoxy. But while we have made progress, we have not built form so that we may conduct our full network opeiation without great difficulties. Had we succeeded in going ahead with the original “Saturday Night Revue” ad- vertising^ plan, including the rotational feature which basic f? our new plans, I personally believed We yiould have made the transition to a magazine type opera-, tion by this time. But as it stands, we have some dis- ta no e V e t to go, and meanwhile, our three to midnight sold-out schedule of 1950-51 and 51-52, has become a much more limited schedule in terms of network time units sold.. Also meanwhile, the daytime sale of television lags even, in race of hit attractions with demonstrated advertising values. With resources thus cut, the network operation is hard pressed to meet all tlje pressures upon it; those which rightly point to the need for profit on such huge dollar volume and large commitments; those which are concerned primarily- with the entertainment show schedule which provides its basic circulation health; those which are con- cerned primarily with the responsibility to the audience in covenng the real world and its issues; those which are directed through long experience into maintaining old thought and organizational patterns and which must u re '£hanncled by persuasion; and those inherent in any show business business,- and in any advertisinng business, and in any opinion-influencing business. Nonetheless, I speak for my associates at NBC when I say that in 1953 we will go further to show that we are in communication with stations, agencies, clients, artists and unions, and that our communication will be aimed at prov- ing to all parties that the great network service as planned by NBC will lower costs per thousand, increase sales ef- fectiveness, make the power of the national network demo- cratically available to small, companies, give major com- panies stronger selling at lower costs, give affiliates a. more valuable NBC franchise meaning that their rates can continue high despite new competition, reduce pro- gram expense by a national and planned use of facilities and manpower in scheduling shows, and deliver on as magnificent and affordable a scale an exciting, changing, challenging program content. Music—TV’s Neglected Stepchild By HARRY SOSNIK Several years ago I wrote an article for Variety which I titled “Television Sets Music Back 20 Years.” Since that time there has been little or no improvement. In fact, with the widespread use of recorded music libraries, the quality has deteriorated in many cases and even the dubbing quality is inferior. And of course the variety shows still have the slambang, unbalanced, secondrate vaudeville approach. ,. Unquestionably the neglected stepchild in TV is music. That music which we hear shows no taste or imagination; in short no careful thought in the planning. In contrast let us take the other ingredients that go to make up a successful program. The script is carefully worked out, line by line, page by page, scene by scene; the cast is carefully selected after numerous auditions; the sets are carefully planned; the lighting is carefully thought out; the costumes and makeup are thoroughly discussed and the camera blocking is painstaking. Then comes the stepchild: Music, Little or no attention is given to Where the orchestra is to be placed and as a result the sound is bound to be inferior. True, the facilities; in the converted theatres are not of the best, but a little time and thought could improve the audio. However let’s go back even farther; to the very be- ginning of the planning as’discussed above. Although the rest of the show is carefully and painstakingly thought out. when it comes to the music no thought or imagination is used in planning the instrumentation and orchestration to get color; to try to create a picture as a whole. Un- deniably, when the eye and ear are synchronized and both are equally important, the result is a magnificent illusion. A very good example of what I mean is the musical score to “Victory At Sea.” The score contributes as much to the entity as the picture. The result is out- standing. It seems that some of the mistaken conceptions are; “let the star or stars carry the show,” “nobody cares,” “the pic- ture is more important”; “it’s a young industry,” etc. The! inescapable fact remains that there is going to be no improvement unless the. people in „the industry try to help it improve. Granted that it is a comparatively young industry; that it is still somewhat of a novelty; but it is not going to remain so indefinitely and already people are becoming more critical and more selective. Through the medium of radio, motion picture sound tracks and phonograph records, the ears of the public have been consciously and unconsciously educated to the dif- ference between good and bad musical sounds and every day that goes by finds more people aware of inferior quality of TV music. . The attainment of this improvement is not monetary. It is the use of more taste, intelligent planning arid the recognition and acceptance of the fact that music can and should be as much of an integral part of a show as any other ingredient. That this can be done I give as an excellent example the “Show of Shows.” Here music has taken its rightful place as a most important contribution to the success of the show. I have never known any of the organization responsible for the success of “Show of Shows” and so have no axe to grind when I say that I feel that it is a good example of what can be done and that we can and should have many more such professional jobs. RADIO-TELEVISION 93 THE PERILS OF TV By MAGGI McNELLIS Maggi McNeills “Danger,” “Suspense,” “Intrigue” . . . names of tele- vision programs, but also apt descriptions Of some xof the perils TV perfonners face in attempting to put on shows in this newest and toughest of all mediums. Red Buttons went on for years as a stage and night club entertainer; one TV show' and he has a breakdown! Red Skelton, a king in every medium, just manages to stagger through a full season of Television, with a doc- tor at hi^ side the. last few weeks. Milton Berle sprains his back, Ed Sullivan is hospitalized with show business’ famous occupational disease, ulcers. Eddie Cantor has a. heart at- tack; scenery has fallen on many a performer; chorus girls have had their costumes split in the most embarrass- ing channels; nobody has escaped from the perils of TV. ,, I didn’t realize how lucky I was with “Leave It to the Girls,” where the only perils about which I had to worry were those of Clothing—and of course, the oral slips by over-zealous members of the panel. But that was simple compared to the perils I got into in my Magazine °t th© Air show. If a year ago someone had told me that I’d be boxing a 215 lb. heavyweight; play T-quarterback with the Fordham football team; deep-sea-dive at a Navy salvage school; attend a bartender’s college; jump centre against Sweetwater Clifton; go through maneuvers -with, a Marine Air combat unit, or do any of the other things I’ve had to do for the weekly feature films, I would have said, “Who me?” I’ve faced the perils and survived, although at times the going was rough, During the racing at Saratoga, I took the camera crew up to the Spa, to film the fabulous yearling sales. The night selected was. Knight’s Night, when a world’s record., was set. If you’ve ever been to a horse sale or auction of any kind, you know that a simple thing like a. flip of the wrist can mean a bid. One handsome, filly from Mr. Knight’s Kentucky stables was creating quite a sensa- sation and as the bidding got higher and higher, I lifted my arm to signal the cameraman to get a shot of the horses. While he got the shot, I almost got the horse. It’s a lucky thing John Galbraith was prepared to go high for this particular filly, otherwise that slight signal, could have cost me $24,000, which was what the auctioneer thought I bid. You can guess which end of the horse I felt like. • r~- Cliild s Play 1 However, that was child’s play compared'to what hap- pened the time we went to shoot (with the camera) a boxing champ in training for a big fight. His camp was about four hours out of New York. All arrangements had been made for us and everything was fine until the champ ? s manager, a man of somewhat dubious reputation, de- cided “nobody was gonna do nuttin to my boy for nuttin.” He stopped my cameraman in the middle with the pleas- ant, remark, “If youse use any of dat, I’ll kill youse.” It was "a threat he was very capable of carrying out, but he reckoned without a Maggi McNellis, who had been toughened by the perils of TV, both on and off screen. What would Martin Kane do in a situation like this? Would Ralph Bellamy let them get away with it? Would Jack Webb smile at a mere threat? In fact, would Jack Webb ever smile? The manager’s defiiance was a chal- lenge. His brute force had to be met by brains. Unfor- tunately, my producer wasn’t along, so the blueprinting was up to me. Carefully, I made a plan. If luck was on our side we could not fail. In the face of numerical superiority, we retreated across the street to my car and waited. Our vigilance was re- warded. After about an hour, the manager, surrounded by his goons, walked out of the training camp and sped away in a shiny black Cadillac. The time was 10:08. At 10:15, we made our move. I made sure the cameraman, was set. Then we crossed the street, went into the camp ' and ran smack into the champ. Being a very nice guy, when I asked him if we could take some pictures, he gladly obliged and we got some terrific exclusive film. The champion was so nice, I’m only sorry lie didn’t keep his title in the ensuing fight. A couple of months later, when they asked me if I'd mind doing some deep sea diving at the Navy Salvage School in Bayonne, N. J., I readily agreed. After all, what other perils could I face? The diving didn’t bother me but what did was my wardrobe. I’m used to wearing a smart Mr. John or Sally Victor hat, weighing a few ounces. You can imagine the shock out at Bayonne when I had to put on a steel hat, weighing 54 lbs. It took two men to carry it and they expected me to wear it! Believe me, it had the kind of design that gets no one on any best dressed list. So, the perils of TV no longer hold any fear for me. I’m ready for whatever may come next. Why, just a moment ago, a note arrived from my producers with another suggestion. I’ll let you in on it. They’re planning. Jet me see, oh yes,-I’ll just Open it . . . “Oh no, a trip to the moon.” Thank goodness Radio is still alive and kicking. i 1.1. .i ■ i . ■ i i . M ■ i i I —■—i— Too Simple At the atomic plant in New Mexico they are very care- ful about the workmen taking any secrets out of the plant. Every employee is examined thoroughly as he leaves through the gate. One night they saw one of the workmen walking out with a wheelbarrow with a little bit of sawdust in the center of it. They grabbed him, examined every particle of the sawdust, found nothing suspicious and had to let him go. The next night the same thing happened^ He again came out with a wheelbarrow with a little bit of sawdust in the middle of it and when they examined it they found noth- ing. This went on for about a month. Finally after a number of weeks, one night when he was leaving in the usual.manner, they grabbed him, took him to the office and grilled him unmercifully, finally givipg up. At long length they, turned to him and said, “Look, we know you're stealing something. Now we’ll let you keep what you have . if you’ll just tell us what you’re stealing.” ^The workman looked^ up and replied, “I’m - stealing wheelbarrows.” Ken Murray,