Variety (April 1953)

Wednesday, April *, 1953 PSStWrr KAMO-TKLKVISIOX 25 ‘GO DAYTIME’IN TV, TOO Another Empire State for TV? * There are real Buck Rogers overtones to the j^esent dilemma confrohting New York TV stations using the transmitter atop the Empire State Building. Renewals on. the leases are about to* come up. Affected, among others, are NBC and CBS, along with ABC, DuMont and WPIX. NBOv and CBS pay about $80,000 a year for space on the transmitter. (Because they were late entries, WOR- TV and WATV, Newark, fees are temporarily frozen.) Empire State owners have Served notice they’re going to hike the fee, and it’s understood it'll reach some stratospheric figure bordering -on the $200,000 figure per station. The stations are balking over the proposed boost and there’s already talk of in- itiating some overtures looking toward a new location and erect- ing a new transmitter to be owned jointly by the TV stations. This would involve building a steel tower matching in height the Empire State transmitter. * It would be built within the New York City confines, since the Civil Aeronautics Administration ban on low flying over the city makes Manhattan the ideal transmitter site (if the land can be acquired.) CBS-TV’s Thurs. Dilemma Accents Alternate-Week Sponsorship Risk CBS-TV eased itself out of an* awkward and * costly Thursday ' night dilemma- last week when Singer Sewing Machine put in an order for an additional $750,000 in network time to sponsor “Four Star Playhouse” on a weekly, in- stead of alternate-week basis. But the situation has only served to throw into sharp focus the inher- ent dangers stemming from the sale of half-hour_TV time seghients on an every-other-week basis. Blatz Beer’s cancellation of the “Amos ’n’ Andy” vidpic series threw the 8:3Q-to-9 period into the open market on alternate weeks, with the Singer firm sharing the time with its “Four Star.” For several weeks CBS-TV was unable to peddle the period on the every-other-week basis. Overtures had been made to the network by Old Gold, which had expressed in- terest In moving its "Chance Of A Lifetime” over from ABC-TV. However, “Chance/’ is a weekly presentation and OG- was only in- terested in getting the CBS time on the same basis. Singer’s contract for the alter- nate-week time extended into Sep- tember and the firm had no inten- tion of relinquishing the time. 1 Nor was Singer ready to commit itself for a weekly ride without reap- praising its budget. Last week the order finally came through, but it hasn’t completely eliminated those “why be half safe?” network jitters. ‘Cavalcade’ Ends 18 Yr. Radio Run ‘Cavalcade of America,” the duPont-sponsored dramatic series which has been riding the NBC radio airlanes for the past 18 years, rang down its final curtain last Tuesday (31) night’ and it was an occasion for backstage festivities presided over by Walter Hampden and attended by client, agency (BBD&O) and network execs. Hampden played the lead on both the first “Cavalcade” stanza and last Tuesday’s closing chapter. Program this year- was converted into a filmed TV series, sponsored on an alternate-week basis on NBC and representing a time-talent out- lay of approximately $60,000 week- ly. High cost of the video stanza was a major factor in the decision te lop off the long-running radio show. However, there’s a slim pos- sibility that the AM program may return in the fall, according to agency execs. More Chi CBS Exits Chicago, April 7. Three more Chi CBS staffers handed In their resignations, last week—Dorothy Miller, educational director, Sam Paxton, WBBM pub- licity chief, and Lee Salberg, WBBM-TV assistant promotion di- rector. Web has not named replace- ments. Morrow’s New TV i Show a Poser For Sponsors,Network How many news programs can a newsman do, even when the newsman is Edward R. Murrow? And what firm gets “Person to Person,” Murrow’s new tele show? These are the puzzlers confront- ing CBS and Murrow's two spon- sors—the American Oil Co. (on radio) and the Aluminum Co. of America (on the TV “See It Now”). Murrow wants to get his new program, in the planning since last year, on the air in the fall. Show is being kept under wraps until the tele unveiling, and is live in more ways than one. It will use pick- (Continued on page 36) By GEORGE ROSEN Procter & Gamble, for many years the top bankroller In broad- casting, with radio-TV billings last season topping the $25,000,000 mark, is in the process of reap- praising and^reshuffling its multi- faceted stake in the video pro- gramming sweepstakes. On the basis of present negotiations, the No. 1 spender appears to be easing itself out of the nighttime picture and repeating in TV its quarter- century doctrine for radio—“play to the housewife and go daytime.” That P & G is placing renewed faith in daytime television is re- garded as one of the major com- mercial booms for the industry. It’s Skelton’s Lopoff Procter & Gamble’s cancel- lation of Red Skelton doesn't come as any surprise. It repre- sents one of the major casual- ties in the live-to-fllm transi- tion of shows. Last season, in the Sunday at-10 NBC-TV slot on a live basis, Skelton en- ‘ joyed a Top 5 Nielsen status. This year in his filmed com- edies in the Sunday at 7 per- iod, the program was out of the running (with the comic's illness and hospitalization also throwing him for a loss.) P & G wanted to put Skelton back at Sunday at 10 next sea- son (since Paul Winchell is going into the 7 o’clock time for the sponsor), but Skelton balked at the shift back to live, with the resultant cancellation. P & G’s “The Doctor” occupies Sunday at 10. Whether it stays next sea son is problematic. especially heartening to NBC-TV, which has more gaping daytime, availabilities than it cares to talk about, for Benton & Bowles, one of the key P & G agencies, is already blueprinting a new cross-the-board show for. its client for NBC-TV showcasing. This is in addition to the brace of CBS-TV soap operas, “Search for Tomorrow” and “Guiding Light,” as well as its participation in the Garry Moore show. NBC is currently reaping the rewards of a fat chunk of P & G daytime [billings with its “Welcome Travel- ers” show, with considerable more P & G coin to be slpho'ned into (Continued on page 30) CBS-TV’s ‘Good Thursday’ Jackpot; Shriner, ‘Favorite Husband’ Sales ‘Goody’ Ace’s NBC Pact Goodman (Goody) Ace, chief of the Milton Berle scribes, has been signed to a longterm contract by NBC. Ace will work on the Berle show next season and also do some writ- ing on a summer show. He will be free to develop his own ideas for new programs, in the creative royalty-sharing program- developed by Charles C. (Bud) Barry, web’s program veepee. Berle, Hope Tues. TV Blockbuster (Plus Sherwood) It’ll be Milton Berle, Bob Hope and Robert E. Sherwood as the NBC-TV Tuesday night 8 to 9 tal- ent blockbusster next season, with plans finalized over the weekend ior the alternate spotlighting of the big guns. Berle, flying the General Motors colors, will do his show on a “play- two-weeks-lay-off-one” basis, as de- tailed in last week’s Variety, with Hope moving into the time oh an every third-week arrangement un- der General Foods auspices. Berle, in all, will do 26 shows next sea- son, with Hope committed to 10. The three open weeks rounding out the season will be devoted to the Robert E. Sherwood hour-long .original TV dramas (he’s doing nine in all spread over a several year-period), and it’s possible that General Motors will pick lip the tab for the Sherwood series as well as Berle. For Hope, it poses a herculean assignment, for in addition to his every-third-week TV show, he’ll continue his morning . cross-the- board NBC radio show (also for General Foods) and his once-a- week nighttime NBC radio stanza. (GF is bowing out of sponsorship on this one because of budgetary reasons, but the* network is now in process of wrapping up a new client). All this, plus Hope’s Para- mount film commitments and his multiple charity-GI benefits, etc. * In one of its big days, CBS-TV last Thursday * (2) concluded a brace of major deals designed to solidify the web’s Saturday night program structure and hitting the $5,000,000 time-talent billings jack- pot. P. Lorillard for Old Golds, through Lennen & Newell, signed to transfer Herb Shriner’s “Two for the Money,” a Goodson- Todman package, from NBC-TV to CBS come August. Simmons and International Sil- ver, through Young & Rubicam, bought “My Favorite Husband,” starring Joan Caulfield and Barry J Nelson, for alternating sponsorship beginning in October. These pacts, coupled with Sing- er’s $750,000 decision to back “Four Star Playhouse” each week instead of alternate weeks, approximate the $5,000,000 tally for time and programming on a 40-week basis. The new CBS-TV shows will be pitched at competition for “Your Show of Shows,” with “Two for the Money” at 9 p. m. and “My Favor- ite Husband,” the former Lucille Ball airer, to go at 9:30 p.m., giv- ing the web solid commercial en- tries versus the Max Liebman production for the first time. In addition to switching “Two for the Money” to CBS, Lorillard bought the new Fred Allen talent- panel show to start on NBC-TV in the fall. Lorillard had originally wanted Allen for “Two for the Money,” but Allen decided to take a tele health holiday and firm then went with Shriner. Allen will go into the Tuesday 10 p.m. spot, now occupied by “Two for the Money.” ‘Bob & Kay’ to WNBQ - . Chicago, April 7. , y Chi's NBC local, has ae- qimvci the “Bob and Kay” show. JV ll, ' v * which consists mainly of the uiaiiei’-interview type format, will lK ‘ ti'lccast over WNBQ April 20. Kay Westfall and Bob Murphy etc* inked April 1 by web veepee Harry Kopf. *■ . 20th Annual Survey oi Radio and Television j m < Showmanagement To Be Published Next Week . Markle Exiting ‘Studio 1’ Berth CBS-TV is on the prowl for a new producer for its Monday night “Studio One” hour dramatics. Fletcher Markle was brought in a few months back to take over the production reins, but he wants to return to the Coast witli his wife, Mercedes McCambridge. (They've already started construction on a Coast house). For a while there was talk of shifting “Studio One” to Holly- wood for a CBS-TV City origina- tion next season, but it's now been decided to keep the dramatic pro- gram berthed in New York. Markle was the second producer to take over “Studio One” reins since Worthington L. (Tony) Miner shifted over to NBC. Prior to Markle, Donald Davis was in com- mand, but after several months CBS was unhappy with the show’s results. Meanwhile, Westinghouse will replace “Studio One” with its “Summer Theatre,” beginning June 15. The firm has sponsored the summer series for the last two year. “Studio One” returns Sept. 21. # BOB & RAY AM SPOOF OF MORGAN-GRAY GAB . Bob (Elliott) and Ray (Gould- mg) are starting a cVoss-the-board, postmidnight talkie disk jockey show, beginning May 4, for NBC- Radio. t Program, heard from midnight to 1 a.m. will be a spoof of the Henry Morgan-Barry Gray local shows, with supposed origination from the “Maintenance Room of the Holland Tunnel.” It will be of- fered on a co-op basis, but prob- ably will not be heard on WNBC, N, Y., which Will stay with its longhaired symphonies. Bob Sc Ray will continue with their WNBC local strip, 6:30 to 6:45 p.m. but “Inside Bob and Kay,” on the radio network Sat- urdays, will bow out in June.