Variety (March 1953)

Wednesday, MarcK 18, 1953 CIGGIES ON Wearer & Samoff’s Adjoining Suites Sylvester L. (Pat) Weaver, vice-chairrtian of the NBC board, moved into his plush i\ew layout at Radio City, N. Y„ headquar- ters, last week, Upon -his return from a skiing vacation in the French Alps, and immediate conjecture centered around his future status and sphere in the overall network scheme. Fact that Weaver now has the Triple A swank suite (the former board room) at NBC, with an adjoining door to the suite being re- served „for use by RCA-NBC board chairman David Samoff, is seen indicative of the fact that, while his appointment as vice- board chairman under the new Frank White,regime was Initially 9 interpreted as a “sidetracking" of Weaver, Samoff may yet be en- visioning a more vital .career for tl\e $90,000-a-year exec. WCBS-TV. WNBT New Hour Local Rate Almost Pars Radio Network Cost P'jTriety UAMO-TELEVISIOIV 23 FILTER TIP JAG Rates for New York City televi-f sion' stations are taking another climb. As a result, a local slot on a Gotham tele outlet can cost as much, timewise, as a period on a limited, but national, radio net- work. WCBS-TV is boosting its Class A hourly rate from $4,000 to $4,500, a jump of 1214%. WNBT is raising its rates on participations in local stanzas and is dropping its 4 ‘15 plus 1” discount plan for day- time advertisers. Interestingly, both stations seem eager to be known as the “most j expensive channel in the country.". Theory appears to be that if a sta- tion can charge high rates and still pull in the business, it's worth it and worth paying for. WCBS-TV states that although the Class A structure is 1^14%) higher than the previous card, w r hich went into effeot on June 1, 1952, the number of sets in its coverage area is up even • more, 15%. It’s noted, further, that the channel’s average nighttime audi- ences are up 18% over the figure 10 months ago and that the-average daytime audiences are up 206%, so that on a cost-per-thousand basis the outlet is offering a bankroller a better buy. At WCBS-TV (he Class B hourly rate is up from $2,500 to $2,750 and the Class C rate is up from $1,500 to $1,750. WNBT’s time card, which wept into effect last (Continued on page 2|8) Tony Martin AM Show NBC Radio is signing Tony Mar- tin for a quarter-hour show twice weekly. * He’ll be booked at 10:15 p.m. Mondays and Fridays, following Dinah Shore who starts next week for Chevrolet on AM. Baseball Season May Fmd DuMont Out in Left Field DuM’s $7, WDTV Sale Nix? Westinghouse, which recently acquired fronrjr Philco its WPTZ television station in Philadelphia for $7,500,000, has reportedly made overtures to purchase the DuMont- owned WDTV in Pittsburgh for $7,000,000, but was turned down. This is the prize possession in the DuMont empire, with WDTV’s status in a single-station market making it one of the choice TV properties in ^the nation. CBS had previously tried unsuccessfully to buy it. Westinghouse, bent on building a five-station TV dynasty of its own, already has an application on file for one of the remaining post- freeze channels in Pittsburgh, but acquisition of the existing WDTV operation would give it an envi- able status. It would also ease the contest for Hearst Radio and CBS-TV to ritove into the Pitt market, one of their major target areas. DuMont faces a serious dilemma in its afternoon programming and sales picture, and what hurts the network, officials is the fact that it’s a dilemma not of their own making. Problem centers around baseball, which the web doesn't carry. Telecasting the sport by the web's affiliates threatens to upset a daytime structure that's bben months in the planning and is just beginning to pay off. DuMont is placing its daytime bets on the ‘‘Paul’Dixon Show," which started as a sustainer last November and since has picked up three clients with a fourth re- portedly on the doorstep. In the 3 to 4 p.m. slot, the WCPO-TV, Cincinnati origination is fed to a web of eight key stations. It’s sold in 10-minute segments at a time and talent cost of $2,30Q per, rep- resenting a weekly potential gross of $69,000. Three current clients are enough to get it off Jits produc- tion nut. But with the. start of the base- ball season, web has found to its dismay that five of the eight sta- tions carrying the Dixon show WillJ televise ’ballgames, and it’s at a |,loss on where to place the Dixon (Continued on page 38) Blue Cross, Blue Shield Buy Wkly. WNBT Shows Blue Cross and Blue Shield (the former the hospitalization service and the latter the service for doc- tor’s bills) has bought two local shows via WNBT, N. Y„ pacted through the J. Walter Thompson agency. Blue Cross takes over the Friday evening 7:15 to 7:30 segment, start- ing this week, for “Kaltenborn’s Note Book." Blue Shield is buy- ing a 15-minute Tuesday evening talk series by Prof. Robert Golden- son. also for the 7:15-7:30 period, effective March 24. NBC’s Kingsize Tyro Show Planned For Summer Radio Airing A two-and-a-half hour weekly amateur program is being mapped by NBC radio as a summer show. Idea is to originate the airer from five cities on each broadcast, each town getting a half-hour in which to showcase its talent. The- kingsized stanza was con- ceived by Jack Cleary, NBC radio program exec, as a means of dig- ging up new talent not only for radio but also for TV. It's also viewed as a good station-relations project, since it would give the NBC affiliates an oaportunity to cement their ties with their com- munities. Cleary also has in the works a big-league documentary-dramatia stanza, but is prowling for “the right scripter" before launching it. He’s borrowing a concept from the legit theatre and will try it out “on the road." Before being un- corked for the network, it will be given a preview over local stations, in four geographic regions. Feel- ing is tlftt the reaction in typical markets will give the web tips on , the series' potentialities. BODES WELL FOR RADIO-TV BIZ Already one of the top spenders in broadcasting, current develop- ments in tobacco retailing fore- shadow a tremendous increase, in tele and radio billings. Virtually every major ciggie com- pany is now putting the majority of its research money into investiga- tion of filtered tips. Idea is to come up with a tipped cigaret that can be retailed at a penny or two above the price of regular cigarets. • Pos- sibilities in this market are consid- ered great. Not only will the addi- tion of filters give the various 6om- panies a new talking point, but the industry at large is figured to reap tremendous benefits by its ability to counteract .recent propa- ganda about the effect of coal tars as a possible cause of throat dis- ease. Aim of the various companies is to develop a filtered tip that will eliminate virtually all the tars and yet permit the full flavor. It's re- garded as the number one project of their laboratories. Possibility of the sales potential of filtered tips is seen by the fact that currently only tV 2 % of all sales are of the filtered tip variety (Parliaments, Kent, Viceroys, etc.). With cig sales hovering at .33,000,- 000,000 units daily, even such • a small percentage constitutes a ter- rific volume. Consequently, if pop brand gets on the market at a rea- sonable price, it's figured to send sales into the stratosphere. King Size 20% of Total Effect on volume sales of big ma- jors getting into filtered tips is seen when a comparison of king- sized cig sales is made before and after entry of the majors. Before the large firms went in, the longer smokes constituted only l/10th of 1%. Today with Pall Mall, Chester- field, Philip Morris, Embassy, and others making the longer, ree’ds, sales are now 20% of the total. Another factor that will effect radio and tele merchandising of the cigarets is seen by the fact that pitches must bemiade to different audiences. It’s estimated that only 50% of the total sales are Over the counter. Rest of the retailing is via machines and supermarkets. In most of the latter, cigs are kept near the cashiers’- wickets and are being advertised in order to create traffic in the store. TOne-nationwide chain is estimated to .sell about 175,000 cartons daily. They're not being sold for any sizable profit, but if the customer buys a few items along with the cigarets, it’s considered worthwhile to handle the reeds-as a profitless leader. - Whether cig companies will go in for daytime radio or heavily femme slanted shows in order to capture the supermarket shopper isn't known yet. At any rate, it’s expected to become increasingly evident that merchandising and marketing developments will cause a reshuffling of radio and tele selling standards. Right now, the greater pitch is being aimed at new smokers. It’s working out well at this point as is evidenced by the healthy volume increase in the in- dustry at large, but whether it will continue that way in light of new developments remains to be seen. CBS’ Top Talent Radio Parade Looks Set for Another Season That’* My Boy! Hollywood, March 17. Gen. David Samoff strolled down a hallway at NBC .and his roving eye caught a familiar lettering on a door. It was that of his son, Tom, assistant direc- tor of finance and operations’. Smiled the RCA board chair- man to John K. West, division veepee. “Well, I see we finally made it." Martin Block In WNEW Exit For 5-Yr. ABC Pact Signing of Martin Block, top- grossing disk jockey of WNEW, N. Y., to a five-year contract cov- ering AM and TV at ABC, repre- sents one of the biggest blockbust- ers to hit the Gotham broadcast- ing picture. With Block to do a 414- hour cross-the-board on WABC, N. Y., starting next Jan. *1, that network, key is going, in for the block-programming format which previously has been the" mainstay of indie station income. It Will mark a new era with a web flagship adopting a “mood pat- tern" of pop music, designed to meet the new situation of TV com petition. Such vertical program- ming, covering 414 hours daily, can latch on' to big audiences, with dialers tuning in and staying tuned, ABC toppers feet Deal was negotiated by Ted Oberfelder, ABC veepee for owned AM stations, and Robert M. Weit- man, veepee in charge of pro- grams and talent. Network will carry Block's “Make Believe Ball- room" from 2:35-4:00 p.m. WABC will take the network feed from 2:35 to 3:30 p.m., thei^ insert its own local Block stanza from 3:30- 7 p.m. WABC will also beam Block on Saturdays for. 3V6 hours, from 10 a.m. to noon and from 6-7:30 p.m. It's understood Block is getting a guarantee of $200,000 annually from ABC, with thje potential of earning over $3,000,000 if he's SRO for the five-year term. He (Continued on page 31) KXOK, ST. L, FOLDS FM, TRANSIT RADIO St. Louis, March 17. KXOK, the local ABC outlet will cease its FM broadcasts March 31 and at the same time discon- tinue its Transit Raido Broadcasts of news, music and advertising on all buses and street cars operated by the St. Louis Public Service Co. A representative of the station said the FM station was- going off oi the air. to “provide time to study equipment requirements and to re- valuate the economic future of FM." The station began its FM broad- casts on March 26, 1947, and started its Radio Transit broad- casts via buses and street cars on J Aug. 4, 1948. Godfrey Surgery, Long AM-TV Absence Poses Problem on Sponsors Big question anent Arthur God- frey’s leave’ of absence, to undergo surgery is the effect it will have on bankrollers. Sponsors have stuck with his many CBS AM-TV shows during his hiatuses and military tours, but none of these were as long as the five «r six weeks he’ll be off radio or the four months he’ll be off his nighttime tele stanzas. Godfrey will be off the air start- ing May 4, with Robert Q. Lewis taking over the morning show (and simulcast) and Garry Moore taking over the “Talent Scouts" on Mon- days at 8:30 p.m. The Wednesday evening “Friends" series will be handled by a lineup of stars while Godfrey is off May through August. He’ll do the AM show from his home, being spliced into the show which will originate, as usual, from N.Y. Operation aims at “giving me two new hips," Godfrey said, and be- cause he has been enduring “hor- rible pain for 22 years" as a result of an auto accident. He told his radio audience that he “has the best orthopedic surgeon in the world and the operation is one the surgeon has perfected. It will be about a year before I can use my hips. Like other aviators, I am tak- ing a ‘calculated risk.'" Although it's still too early to pin down clients for definite com- mitments for the '53-54 season, CBS Radio is heartened by its. ex- plorations into the major program- ming potentials for next season. Despite dire predictions that such Top 10-rated items as Jack Benny, ‘Amos ’n’ Andy " “Lux Radio The- atre," among others, would be miss- ing from the lineup when the cur- tain goes up for the new season, there’s now every indication that the CBS “parade of stars" will practically remain intact, with only the Hudnut sponsorship of the Ed- gar Bergen show in grave doubt. “Lux Radio Theatre," in fact, is reversing itself for the first time in its nearly-score-of-years .career on CBS by sticking it out through the summer months in a straight 52- week ride. 'The eight-week sum- mertime hiatus in the past was a traditional order from' the Lux (Lever Bros.) house. Network’s re- vised discount structure (applying only to shows committed to full- year programming) has cued the decision. Although previously Jack Benny had indicated this would be his last season in radio, it now appears cer- tain he’ll stay put. Ditto for Amoi 'n' Andy and their Rexall sponsor, although some apprehension had previously existed as to whethei Freeman Gosden and Charles Cor* rell would continue in their vet roles. “Our Miss Brooks" is al- ready set for next season. Ditta Bing Crosby under General Elec- tric auspices. Meanwhile, Procter & Gamble execs meet next week to determine what it will do about continuance of its multi-programmed “Powei Plan" participation on CBS Radio, Norr’s 150G Suit Vs. RCA, Samoff Roy Norr, who for years was • general public relations .advisor for RCA and its board chairman, David Sarnoff, has filed suit in N. ■ Y. Supreme Court, seeking $150,000, charging breach of con- tract. , About two years ago Norr war dropped. He claims, however, that he had been requested by Sarnofl to undertake a project of a special nature relating to the, reorganiza- tion and remanagement in connec- tion with “sound broadcasting" and RCA's stake in color TV. RCA has entered a general dis- claimer, pointing that in Aug., 1951, NBC paid him $10,000 in settlement of all claims and that Norr’s acceptance of the*money thus terminated the relationship. MARGE KERR JOINS SLOAN FOUNDATION Marge Kerr has joined the Al- fred P. Sloan Foundation as public information consultant. As her in- itial assignment she leaves on a coast-to-coast junket , of NBC-TV affiliates in connection with the Sloan Foundation's “American In- ventory” series, to assess and ap- praise the values and contributions of the program after a two-year run. Similarly, Miss Kerr will become involved in programming, develop- ing themes on a community level for “Inventory" showcasing. Sablon’s ABC-TVer Jean Sablon is making a kine- scope of a new-TV show for ABC which Martin Goodman is packag- ing. The French singer, currently at the Hotel Plaza's Persian Room, N.Y., has mid-April variety com- mittments in England, via the Lew 6c Leslie Grade agency, but can re- turn thereafter if the video pattern l clicks.