Variety (July 1953)

Wednesday, July 29, 1953 ll.UIKI-TKUiVl<iIO\ 29 9 f • . . ’■ i • • ■ i 3-Year License Span, Instead of 1, Washington, July 28, 4 A three-year license period for TV stations, instead of one year* has been proposed by the FCC in the interest of both broadcasters and the regulatory agency. If the plan is adopted, TV stations will be on the same license basis as AM and FM outlets, > In issuing notice of the proposed change, the Commission said that the One-year period was* appropriate during the ; early formative stages of TV broadcasting but the situation is different now that 500 stations have been authorized and more than 200 are on the air, “We are of the view/Va majority of the members said, ‘‘that the development of a nationwide TV system will be facilitated by tlie extension of TV licenses for a three-year period. . . Such an in crease, moreover, will reduce • substantially the workload for both TV licenses and the Commission. It will, in addition, ease the burden on those TV licensees who are also licensees Of standard, and FM stations since the licenses, of all such . station in the ; same geographical area will expire at the same date. “We believe, therefore, that ah increase in the license period for TV broadcast stations will serve the public interest ahd will :bc; con-' ducive to the; orderly dispatch of the Commission’s business ’ ‘ Proposal was voted. Over the opr, position' of Comr. Frieda Hennock. She issued a dissenting opinion in which she suggested that public hearings be held and representatives of viewers, as well as broadcasters, be given opportunity to understand the significance of the change in license period. “Aiy disagreement,” said Miss Herinpek, • “stems front, the majority’s identification of . the ‘public interest’ with the convenience Of broadcast . licensees, rather than \vi th high er public interest con s iderations; I would, of course, agree that there is no magic in a oneyear license period, as such, And 1 would’agree that the Commission has not in the last few. years made adequate use of the one-year license period presently in force to examine into; the programming of TV broadcast stations to determine, whether they are or are not serving the public interest. But X should think that the solution for this deficiency is for the Commission to intensify and revitalize its renewal procedures, rather than to take the proposed action to relieve existing TV stations Of any necessity for accounting annually Tor (Continued on page 981 • IAN AGAINST CRIME’ _ , AU. Mutual stations lii Maryland nave said “no” to the new. Mutual R. J. Reynolds is shifting its “Man Against Crutie,” the Ralph Bellamy starrer that began on the CBS-TV net, to NBC-TV in .October? Show is going into the Sunday at 10:30 p, hi. time, now local option time. ? Tobacco firm .is starting its “Topper” series,-: a Bernard Schubert package, on CBS-TV Oct. 9, taking over the “Crime” time of Fridays at 8:90 pmi. William is the agency. ‘Excessive Spending’ In Norfolk . progra m mi ng-i fist eud envisions cutting of j < ■■’ contract, amendments recently sent to all MBS affiliates New plar ©f-payment, network .option time .from nine hours to five daily with all stations accept i ng al 1 five ; hours wi t ho u t . any station compensation whatsoever. In return, stations will. get 14 • hours /weekly : of topgrade free pro: /graniniing' •'••• . Growing tendency of ad agencies to establish special TV trouble-shooting panels was highlighted with the revelation thai Robert L . Foreman has been appointed chairman of the TV Plans Board of BBD&O. Now five No. 1 agency, BBD&O. has total annual billings of $140,000,000, of which an estimated . $60,000,000 is derived from broadcasting. Foreman's new duties, it’s .under-, stood, will be to help develop potential program ideas for clients, smoothen . out sponsor-telecaster relations to assure sriMching off prime time availabilities, and generally to make Sure other departments in the. agency are informed of the most recent TV planning of clients. In addition to these functions; Foreman will retain his responsibilities as yeepee of BBD&O’s radio-TV department. Foreman, formerly head of BBD&b’s radio-TV commercial department, will work on the agehey board with these execs; exec veepce Charles Brower, of BBD&O’s general advertising creative department; Arthur Pryor, J r., who as veepee runs the radio-TV departmant with Foreman; James BeallC, in charge of new program. development; Fred Barrett, media head; and account execs Caro 11 Newton and Herminio Traviesas. Other agencies, including Young & Rubicam, RuthraulT & Ryan, McCann-Erickson, Biow and William Weintraub, have established similar tro u bl e-sh oo ti n g and integrating groups, but up until now, their functioning has been far less formalized. Their riieeting as a plans panel per se is sporadic, and j one; exec win., usually assume a specific function, just as Toni Slater clears time availabilities for RiXiIi, for example. -'They' are different, too. in the. agency prez sits in the . panel; just as dries at llis agency . Behind rad io's open invitation for everyone to “come on in” with hew ideas-— -with. “daring”, programs to be given serious consideration:—is the sad fact, tradesters believe,; that the AM boys are living i n a st a l e o f. Sii xpended ani illation. The medium, it’s felt, is suffering from a : lack of creative, thinking, and it’s been years since a radio program has excited the nation.'. • Reason for this is that the network radio execs, after getting over their initial fright at television killing o IV their medium, realized that they weren’t dead yet. .; Although they didn’t completely readjust their thinking to the sit: 'Ration that TV left radio in., they fought a rearguard action by cutting rates arid changing selling hiethods. (any sa-le of a minute or o.ver is / eagerly accepted today, whereas in radio’s heyday the halfhbur pc nod; vvris the. backbone of? the industry': In these ways they increased sales and there was an upbeat in business again; although it’s generally accepted that the medium will never again have the big pre-TV hi/. : ; ’ Great ivewise. h o w e v e f , .* it’s pointed mil (hat llvo radio ..boys ; kbC-TV's ^Operations .Norfolk'' have stood still, doing the same old ■ ;■ , . , . f • ... .. . leaps and bounds Vast week when Newsmen Sana News . Tradesters are pointing out that television . genera l iy has . provided so little . challenge and opportunities: .for newsmen, as iiewsmen; that they have been drifting into the entertainment field. For instance, John Daly , is eipcee ■ of “What’s My Line?” arid “It’s News to Me” quizzees; Doug Edwards, emcee of “Masquerade Party”; John Cariioron Sw ay/.e, . host1" of his travelog “Sight seeing with the. Swayz.es,” and lienry Gassidy and I L V; Kalterihorn as frequent guests on “Who Said That?” ■■■ ■,:.?. programs over arid over again, som e ti pi es . . bet 1 or and soil) e times worse. ■ They ’ are caught between t\vo forces; it’s felL On one hand, t he ■ radi o. po \vo rs kn o \y t ha t A M Still pays, oir and so’ they will resist any nidi cat change, except that which; is f orced on t hem .... Sunil nrly, they know that. With television j markets still limited, radio is still the. national medium but. they have don# nothing to point u|i the fact or prove it . On : the other l.iaiul, they know flint as television exr pands: it will take 1,1 ic broadcast ing market a way f roiii t hem ( as i n m u 1iiple-station TV cities', and this makes (hem feel that they're . going up a deadend street.. : Horns of Indecision What is needed, tradesters feel • is a widescale., deep reevaluation of what radio can : do best, and then a general industry attack al o n g . t liOsc lines. Those who believe the medium will never die point to AM’s long list of aceom( Continued on page , 1.02) Lait & Mortimer’s ‘No Can Do’ to CBS on Use Of ‘Confidential’ Title ' Jack. Lait & Lee Mortimer, a u ! (hors ' of the "Confidential” sorie1 l on various cities, have warned j CBS* Talent Associates,. Remington i ..Rand and Phillip Morris that con-. | -.teniplafcd-. -production of “Pentagon Confidential” on that network would infringe on their riglits to I the use of the name. | : A letter sent by Fiselibacli . & Crdwe, -attorneys for Lait & Morti the network, in one fell swoop, won . over every ■'.■'single nighttime advertiser in Switching . over tlieii:, affiliation ill the' Norfolk: market from WTAR-TV t()-VVV.KC%TV. . The Cainpl)ell Wnoux-ma nage<f WTAR-TV has thrown in it s; lot with CBS, with NBC setting its future video sights in* Norfolk on the new TillE entry, W VEX'-T V. It represents the first mass .-livovenient of nei.w'Ork advertisers from .-the ■.solidly rent renehod VI 1-E spectrum inio the UilE channels. Procter <V Gainble, represented in the nighttime prpgraiiiming sweepstakes u i t i i siieh.. entries as t lie u pcom ing Sunday at 7 Pau 1 VVinclH‘11 show, the Tuesday night “Fi res ide The at re” . an <i Si md ay. night at Vio ’.(into, whieli Eddie Albert moves in ■ thd* fall', / was a several-day holdout in switching to • Uj IE allegiance, . blit canie throiigli this week. NBC is giving all the clients a free eiglil-weck riite for the Nop fol U U HE accept ancc, with a cut ■•.rate on the second cycle, of eight; hereafter, however,; regular card rates Will prevail;. Net \york is shoot ing for a 50,000 set circulation for the Sept, it) tee-, off of WVEC-Ty and all indications this w'eek pointed to the network hitting that mark. . Washington, July 2B. NBC’s “operation Norfolk” has drawm a hut blast from its ex-, affiliate WT.VR-TV inbw CRS> .which yesterday called on the FCC to inquire into “extraordinary expend it ure.S” by t lie bet work in piib. . licizlng its new IJHE affiliation with WVEC-TV aml -possUde “publie interest” questions involved. •/ Through it S Washlng.toh /counsel; Eliot C; l.oveli, Wl’AH advised the (loinmission that t he “surrounding circumst ahees” reganling Hie proposed WVKC’-TV .station, which plans to be op the air with test pattern on Augv 15. “appear to warrant your scrutiny.” ; ^'y / NB(“s advert ising buildup. I'm ■ WVEC-TV in the local, press, cost . ing $ 1 75.000 oi*. al most ha lf the construction cost of 'flic station, . said WT.VR, has “serious implications.’’ The advert Isiiig is paid ; ; largely by NIK', Is Vnafiirallv: dom . imited” by N IH’ and “might indicate t h a t W V EC VT V is owned, or at least ronffolled, hv NIU ,” added WTAil; ■ : . “Certainly,” said WTAR; “be / cause of t h <* <' x t i*a o r d i n a r y e x pope! i • • tuivs .nia.de or. ])lanned by NBC-. RC V on behalf pf W VEf’-TV; aiui also beeause . of the unusual ad • Vane<* . exclusive piiblicjty' giver’ NBC programs, to. he sgeii over it t lie Commission might well inquire / as to whether the Peninsula Broad easting Corp, ‘ ti ieensee of W. V EC TV ' ii.is retinquisheii control of t lie si at ioiiyevirii on a temporary basis.’ Broadcasters must rely on 1 hei ■ C 'om m i'ssion , as (lie guardian of the piibl ie inferest, sa id WTAR, “tc see that the cum nl situation doe? not ; extend beyond legal bound . arie.s.eSlalilisheil 'by file 'Comniuhi . cal ions i Art and iECC’i Regulation s." / r.; -'"v:y./:,. // As further .lmiic»ition of the ‘ “(iomlmiling ii)fiueiic<‘”; of NBC! it: 'y ^Ihiiidirig. ’ rip its new afliliale, WTAH lioinls to advertising; cm gaiding the coming World Serio? ./ games: on W V E( ’-TV, Not irig dial . ' this event in the past has; beer ■ brought to 1 JI3.000 TV homes ii file aj’ea, WTAH declared 1 ha I .. "even . giv it i g e 11 ret to tire N IK ciaitn t hat 50.0(H) of. t hi'se sets Wll ; he coiiverted promotly to receive i/ I IE and W V EC/-TV. tiiei o 1 y ; still he more than 135,000 homes that w'ill dep.md bn VIIE. and WTAR-TV lor t h< World Series, ' “Nevertheless,” •• WT A R added ? (Conlimied bn pagt* .')2i Mo«en David Wine In $1,000,000 Suit In Brace of C’liieagb, July .26. Chicago, July 20. Tie* /alleged similarity of. t wo I synd ioa t/.d. .T V rp r i/ progratn.s i,s tire •'’basis of a $1 ,000,000. dai));ige suit ! tiled. i)y , WaJim Sclivvimmei' Jho. due! ions: again1 1 Cou lev. Mag a z fries y 'cne/w's Producfien.s. arid On, Men. ■graniniih6 . Maryland affiliates met last Fri d'V' (24 ) at Baltimore, yyitli the follow/ing representatives : Char J Of America’s Resources As Hour TV Show in Fall ti a l • ;'i n ya Edition..' .to riu merous/ -ai;-;.; of the; tides the obvious Mb at the ‘Confidential’ i the title .of the to teleVise is The CBS-TV. televising of the , upon the, good iley Report, a ri off :aga i n : bn-a gain I bobk.s and articles referred to j major t TVir T: : y ^ M* oject at the net; iSynbw* 'skedded y above Is ai : clear invasion of bur wr-EvT1 late fall.. Report, which \vas^ /i. cl ients’ rights. y Vrtv iiV1 ’r. nVr rid^e.; Bill :■ Pauls1 published in the summer of 1952, [ “Accordingly, we liereby advise )VY.01 WJEJ, Hagerstown; James [ is that compiled by Winiam . S. i yoii that vw'e^Ay'iilR'piM/'.'you-'-s’t'rictly Paley, CBS chairman pf. the hoard, , accountable for any damages suf. while he '■ \yas-' ■'serving as^ ^ chairman of r the President’s Mate rials Pol icy Commission. It’s a look into the future of America's resources? in Week?” hot h ha 1 f-hoii r. pack i at,,fS/ eo|i\j'i g ht • 1 / ' . * • .. . ' ' • ■ * ■ ■ Ifiim wrri viola l ien,' SehwitnmiM/S' Mv Martinson of WDYK., Cumberland. and George ' H. Roecter ' of rn CBM. Baltimore. ? ; l. hnnimouS feeling was that the proposed new contract was not in the original dication. After t he January d-de„ .view rnidcr ! * he uilup 1 a i ii t r gos. ’ I ioo k Pli'o i ,i,eem dal c i lf>9 11 1/” . v hi eh : copiiut and . i m it at . . .. / ’ ; . ed”. t lie •formal of ie:. tpijck. : “I)ollar,”-stamng Jah 'm ur ray S emcee, skedded for V)H niarkels. is., dist i.ihiited / hy Rnf. C.orn pi <. i nt. ■modeled after1 a French T a d i o . also chai ges l hat. Schw'immer k-uuy ■vr;,n,.:v original (■ontract/sigrled hy LIP markets . Where version is ,'alreadv in di IVcreift sponsoi-shi \>. is set : at SepL .21. Starting date is Sept ;• 2t) ..had xt ipiilal ion that the best interest of their Rations or 1975. . /“ ’ "■ Jrcas, and would prove detrimental . Tele oroieCt is • being Mo=th^adiuRhdustry~ar^lTalt^^=^^ Increased product ion, attributed ;yagreecl noyed to co[)> rgely to '-past. web TV advertising, j /Quick Quiz lot, mat. the Mat t er iifril the “Movie . . . . . . :ood~and is Approval of nearly all the 375 planned as an hour broadcast. Un/ P’!.’ stations, it's, understood. . is finished version vvos aired oyer a necessary to nut the n rn nosed nian closed circuif lUir-lv this year.. Film fered by Lait & Mortimer as the •result' of flic use by you or for quizziM’. “fOO ' Francs; :a /..Second.” •your b/'iicfit of such title withoutth.eiiycon?''Mt,” : y; / ’ Lait. editor of the N. Y, Daily Mai Produced Miriof; is ’cufrently ailing on the .'.has necessitated the biiildingof a . ... . -,4 ... Cdvrsn^~VfWfinT^/=l^=gRiP^lfnTrnM^^TTCw^rddit-iTjnHrj"t,lfe^\vinei5A^ columnist on that sheet/ . '.side ChE plant, y /[permanent. inj.iMct.c CBS is shded to kickoff ..the . TV time. • has. been planted • further telecasting ! in . 'addition-' to the. money, prevent sale, of >nt.o opet align. f.v to put the proposed plan closed circuit early this year. u ai Inn . is just about coiriplettt,. v •* ‘Pentagf n Confidential” series, through Weiss. Si Geller Agency .4stunt ing Aug* *5. i Chi. in fiction to and in “f.ook Plrotoqu (/..!’ Defendants -, j have «20 -daj, s, to. Mile an >an{>wej). . . < C . J . 4 I f . * , . .. 1