Variety (April 1953)

RADIO-TELEVISION Wednesday* Aprfl 15, 1953 99 Hunting Season Is On Strictly aside from the hot and heavy talent wooing going on in the stepped up intra-mural network competition, recent weeks have witnessed a similar jockeying for topdog position on an ad- ministrative level for key behind-the-scenes men. With ABC (now waving the. AB-PT flagship) setting its sights on a “nothing-but-the-best; pay-no-object” administrative revamp, with NBC still going through its crucial revolving door policy on executive manpower, with Toro O’Neil’s WOR-Mutual operation gearing for a more prominent identification in the broadcasting sun, and even individual station operations, as with WPIX, N. Y., which is on the. prowl for a new manager now that Ben Larson has staked a claim in the‘Time, Inc., TV empire, the competition for hep operators is reaching a feverish pitch. AITthat is needed today is an unconfirmed report that a network exec is desirous of advancing his lot in the business and would welcome some feelers, than the "get that man” overtures are initiated in earnest. Once the availability is confirmed, the guy in question can frequently choose between four of five key spots. ‘Jaudi Dudf (‘Howdy Doody’) Big Mex Cross-The-Board TV Click Mexico City, April 14, Moppets took over the Good Neighbor policy last week when “Howdy Doody” quick-changed into “Jaudi Dudi” and launched the Spanish version of the series via XEW-TV, Emilio Azcarraga’s key outlet in Mexico. “La Hora de Jaudi Dudi,” slant- ed cross-the-board six half-hours weekly, Mon-Sat, 6:30-7 p. m. (ver- sus the five' half-hour operation in the States), is sold here in same quarter-hour’ segments. Series hit I . tie air when more than half of total time pre-sponsored. Larin,' biggest Mexican candy maker, inked for first 15 minutes across the board. Kellogg, a U. S. spon- . sor, is taking the same ride south of the border. Series is produced in Mexico on 16m film and may represent the most ambitious TV film operation now grinding anywhere in the • world, filming and editing a total of three hours of programming per week. Production setup, which pio- neered the jelling of 16m facili- - ties in Mexico Is handled by Pro- ducciones Mundiales, S; A.* the Mex subsid of Kagran Corp., American owners of “Howdy Doo- dy.” When the show was launched last week, 13 weeks of programs were already in the can, and shoot- ing now continues without inter- ruption. All footage, including commercials, is shot at San Angel Inn Studios, where company has established an independent unit with its own stage, equipment, cut- ting rooms and labs. Production nut of series is a trade secret here, but producers have clarified a long-range financial plan based on expansion of TV throughout Latin America. Film expenses cannot be regained in Mexico City alone, but within two weeks “La Hora de Jaudi Dudi” opens in Havana on Goar Mestro’s CMQ-TV, and a few months later in Mexican border cities of Mata- (Continued on page 46) Viceroy Fillers Into Web Shows Viceroy cigarets is looking to extend its network spots into sponsorship of a web show. Wil- liamson Tobacco subsid is currently dickering for the Sunday 6:45 *p.m. slot being vacated by Walter Win- chell April 26 when the columnist moves down to 6:30 on. ABC-TV. Viceroy would be the first of the filtered brands to go beyond the spot bankrolling phase. Meanwhile, ABC-TV hasn’t set a replacement for Winchell in the 0:45 slot, largely because Viceroy deal is still being dickered. Earlier slotting for the columnist was made to build up number of stations carrying the show. A further move toward greater clearance will be made in the fall- when Winchell simulcasts his radio and' TV shows Sundays at 9 p.m. Snot Winchell's moving into has boon local time, latest occupant in Y. being Ed & Pegeen Fitz- gerald. Irma’Status in Doubt William Esty agency, on the R. J. Reynolds account, is currently studying the status of “My Friend Irma” on both CBS radio and tele. Agency officials say they’ve been dissatisfied with the calibre of the program for sometime. Should subsequent shows fall be- low agency expectations, layout is likely to be axed, an--agency exec admitted. NBC’s Kate as TV Bait to Win Back ‘Payoff Stations Kate Smith has finally come to terms with NBC-TV for next sea- son’s full hour daytime spread, but for a while a serious impasse was shaping up between the network: and Ted Collins, . Miss Smith’s manager. Even now, with matters resolved, the singer and her man- ager are far from elated over the reshuffled schedule that looms as a major obstacle in .hitting those high rating figures that have made her programs one of the major staples on the daytime TV agenda. Miss Smith thus far has ha& the field to herself in her present 4 to 5 p.m. tenancy. However, she’s be- ing moved up to 3 p.m. next sea- son, with “Welcome Travelers” getting her .4 o’clock spot. It all came about through NBC-TV'los- ing “Big Payoff” to CBS-TV. With the program also went a flock of NBC stations, which coveted the Colgate billings. Since “Payoff” occupies the CBS 3 o’clock strip, the question now is whether Miss. Smith can recapture the stations. In the event of a sponsor sellout, everything’s in her favqr, since the Kate Smith show is a 60-minute attraction. With the additional revenue (plus the fact that “Pay- off” is only sponsored Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays), the sta- tions would probably re-pledge al- legiance to NBC. Although - Miss Smith’s hour cross-the-board stanza has failed to hit an SRO stride. in recent months, nonetheless her 12 quar- ter-hour commercial segments per week fetch a tidy $5,000,000 in gross annual billings. * ‘Doorway to Danger’ To Sub ‘Big Story’ “Doorway to Danger,” mystery- adventure series, will be the sum- mer replacement ‘for “The Big Story,” as it was last year, on NBC- TV Fridays (9 to 9:30 p.m.), be- ginning July 3. ’ American Cigaret and Cigar Co, and Simoniz Co. continue as alter- nate sponsor^ ; " COLGATE,'TOAST' By GEORGE ROSEN Is there a Colgate 4< Comedy Hour” in CBS-TV’s future? Around the network they’re say- ing that it’s strictly within the realm of possibility for next sea- son, though nobody’s admitting that actual overtures have been made, either by Colgate or by CBS. But in the same breath they intimate that it’s something more than wishful thinking or a TV pipe dream. It’s even been linked to the net- work’s Sunday night lineup as a back-to-back attraction with Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the ' Town,” which . obviously would project Columbia’s Sabbath roster into a new. sphere of importance and dominance. The precise manner in which CBS would be able to capture the prize Sunday package from its arch NBC. rival is something no- body’s bothered to explain off— not yet. Last week NBC prexy Frank White spent a day with the Colgate* high priests in Jersey City to find out what gives about next' season. What transpired is a com- bined NBC-Colgate secret. In the forefront, of course, is the former NBC president Joseph H. McConnell, who now prexies the Colgate operation. A lot would depend on him. If,, as is reported, a loss of affection stemming from the McConnell defection from the NBC-RCA dynasty into the soap camp has widened into a two-way rift, with CBS in the background to capitalize, then the Columbia “Comedy Hour” aspirations could be translated into a reality. But how CBS and Colgate would resolve multiple other problems attending such a switchover pre- sents a flock of unanswered ’ Rip- leys. If Colgate moves, for ex- ample, it would obviously insist on a continued 8 to 9 showcase, which would mean moving “Toast of the Town” back from 9 to 10. That woulc^ take “Comedy Hour” off the hook insofar as competing with “PhilcO. Television Playhouse,” which enjoys a 64-station live hookup. But will Lincoln-Mercury be satisfied to go against Philco?- And how will General Electric react to being ousted from the 9 to 9:30 period with its Fred War- ing Show, particularly now that it’s eying Bing Crosby to fill some of the GE slots next season? In NBC’s favor of continuing the Colgate $6,000,000 sponsorship ride is the network’s talent avail- abilities for “Comedy Hour,” topped by Martin & Lewis and Jimmy Durante (along with Martha Raye, Donald O’Connor, Eddie Cantor, etc.). Thus it’s a question of whether CBS can match it. And if Colunibia is prepared to throw in its own talent “exclusives,” such as Arthur Godfrey, Bing Crosby, Jack Benny, et al. (which CBS con- siders a match for anybody else’s best bets), what about the Godfrey product conflict with his own Toni client; or Crosby’s GE commit- ment? Yet there’s no mistaking the CBS gleam. It’ll all be resolved in the next four weeks. Only one thing is certain—that if Colgate goes CBS’ way, NBC will be right in there, same cast, same time, but new sponsor or sponsors, with the Nielsen Sunday at 8 scorecard reading: “Comedy Hour” vs. “Comedy Hour.” NIP TV WEB SEES $1,500,000 GROSS Tokyo, April 11. The Japan Television Network (JTN), Nippon’s first commercial video net, expects to gross about $1,500,000 in its first year of oper- ation, which begins in June. Net, which will charge $500 for 30 minutes in best hours, says it will earn $1,000,000 from time sales,, $350,000 from spot an- nouncements and $140,000 from studio rentals. * * w.. NBC’s o & o Setup, a $50,000,000 Annual Billings ‘Baby,’ in Drastic Revamp; Cott Moves Into New Role Cuffo Talent The NBC-TV early-morning “Today” cameras are now “pulling ’em off the street.” Last Thursday (9) the cam- eras, as per custom, panned on to the gaping onlookers outside the “Today” studios on west 49th street, New York. The camera passed a dis- tinctive looking, bearded gent, and, something in the nature of a double take, returned to the “sightseer,” as emcee Dave Garroway exclaimed “I know that man, bring him in.” He turned out to be Dr. Norbert Weiner, author of “Ex-Prodigy,” Dean of Science at MIT and regarded as one of the world’s foremost com- munications masterminders. He socked over one of the week’s top fillips on the show. Lotsa Problems Beset Liebman, NBC on ‘Shows’ The whole future status of the NBC-TV Saturday night "Show ‘of Shows” was in a crucial state of uncertainty over the past week- end, with producer-director (and packager) Max Liebman and the network unable to arrive at a satis- factory solution to the many prob- lems besetting the 90-minute show- case. Apparently the areas of conflict cover a wide range, not only including new salary contracts for the stars, Sid.Caesar and Imo- gene Coca, but also existing differ- ences as to the show’s pattern for the'new season. Primarily, .the major issue in- volves exposure for the stars in determining how frequently they’ll be on. Whether this -will include a rotating pattern, or more fre- quent layoffs as a team, is yet to be resolved; along with decisions as to half-hour and/or participa- tion formula, change in format, etc. More meetings are scheduled for this week in an effort to iron out the situation. ‘Life in Detroit’ TVer Gets Too Complicated, So City Cracks Down Detroit, April 14. Detroit’s City Fathers decided that the trouble with “Life in De- troit” was that everybody tried to get in on the act. So, they’ve banished “Life in Detroit” back to the TV screen. The fuss all started when WWJ- TV, Life Magazine and Blue Cross, private health insurance organiza- tion which sponsors the “Life in Detroit” series over WWJ-TV, were granted permission to erect a large sign on City, Hall’s front lawn advertising the show. All three of them were men- tioned prominently, of course, in the ad. Then the lists of credits began to grow. The name of the lumber firm donating the wood got on the sigh, then the' name of the man who designed the sign; then the name of the photographer who took the aerial view of Detroit’s skyline, Citizens complained about the “commercials.” The City Father ordered removal of the credit lines. Notice goes out today (Wed.) within the NBC organization of a sweeping reorganization pattern for the network's owned-and- operated division, coincident with the revelation that the 10-station (five TV and five AM) setup has now attained the status of a “$50,- 000,000 annual billings baby.” The blueprint has been in the works for some weeks, awaiting only the okay of RCA-NBC board chairman David Samoff, who gave it his blessing this week. In the new o & o realignment and “pattern for the future,” Ted Cott, veepee-general manager of the lucrative brace of New York flagship operations, WNBC and WNBT, is promoted to the overall o & o division management to work with Charles R. Denny, vice-presi- dent in charge of the owned-and- operated stations. Cott will con- tinue as veepee in charge of the New York AM and TV stations, but under the new realignment will dovetail his New York activity to encompass the various creative facets of the entire o & o opera-* tion, including programming, mer- chandising, promotion selling. In addition he will handle special projects for the division and serve, as liaison for the owned-and- operated stations with the network programming department. It’s no longer a trade secret that the bulk of NBC profits emanate from the o & o operation, with the' N. Y. flagships, particularly WNBT, accounting for a sizeable hunk of the net. The fact the 10-station operation now represents an an- nual gross biz of approximately $50,000,000, plus the reactivating (Continued on page 42) Tone to Smile? Nuts, Sez B-M A Status of the “Time to Smile” Sunday night CBS-TV show for next season is up in the air, with likelihood that the sponsor, Bris- tol-Myers, will call it quits on both the alternating Ken Murray and Alan Young Coast-originating pro- grams. Client reportedly has been unhappy with the stanzas for some weeks and the fact that the Young show last time up registered a 7 rating (for probably one of the all- time lows for major TV entries in the $30,000 bracket) hasn’t con- tributed toward its happiness. Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers has ne- gotiated a deal whereby it'll pick up the “Arthur Murray Party” TV stanza as a summer replacement for the Sunday CBS period. “Party” is currently slotted on Du- Mont, but checks off April 26. On June 28 it moves into the B-M slot under an arrangement whereby the dance school impresario picks up a sizable chunk of the talent-produc- tion costs. But whether or not Ken Murray or Young return in the fall is prob- lematical. GILLETTE MAY RIDE WITH DERBY ON TV Gillette is currently in the proc- ess of reappraising its thinking as to sponsorship of the Kentucky Derby on CBS-TV, now that the Bill Corum-packaged nag pickup has been whittled down in price. ■ Gillette nixed the deal a few weeks back when CBS dangled an approximate $400,000 price tag (for radio and TV time and program cost). It was considered way over- board. Now that the tag has been reduced to something approximate ing the $250,000 that Gillette paid last year, the razor company- has resumed talks with the web. „ fa (.44 Si t