Variety (January 1954)

Wednesday* January 6, 1954 Forty-eighth j Anniversary RADIO-TELEVISION Biz Poses Multiple Problems Will Come Some Clear ix Impresarios Are Confident That Out of ’54 Patterns And A Plushy Future By ROBERT W. SARNOFF (Editor's Note: The following article was contributed by Mr. SamOff while he was serving as NBC vice president in charge of the Film Division. He has since been elected, executive V.P. of the network.) Just is in the early days of motiori picture industry, a few major distributors and producers arose from the confusion to give it stability, so in the present early period of him syndication stability is coming front organizations which are willing and able to assume responsibility for programming of quality, and to meet the complete needs of broadcasters, advertisers and the public. A successful syndicator will be one to whom local stations and advertisers can turn for a variety of program needs and the multiple services that have become an integral part of programming supported by the advertising dollar; A successful film syndicator, in the final analysis, must combine a thorough knowledge of broadcasting With a deep-seated sense of service to the public. A year ago there were 110 TV stations in 64 cities. Today there are more than 300 stations in over 200 cities. Syndicated film programs are filling a large part of these new programming hoiirs Which cannot be filled by network originated shows. It is this demand which film producers and distributors— large and small alike— are now seeking to meet, and from which a pattern is beginning to develop. This emerging pattern of the industry has already made it apparent that enormous advantages accrue to the public, the television station, and the advertiser through the use of good syndicated film programs: The growing' television public is given an opportunity to see the fine first-run programs. . ( like “Douglas Fairbanks Presents” and “Inner Sanctum’’), as well as repeats of success series like “Victory at Sea” and “Badge 714” (formerly “Dragnet”) which ran originally on the TV networks. Syndicated film enables the TV station to fill its local program hours with entertainment and information of a kind not available through local origination. As a result; the whole quality level of TV programming throughout the nation is being raised. Robt. Sarnoff Catering to Local Clients The local advertiser, with a limited budget, has now found a way to use the. TV medium, which he can no longer afford not to use. Syndicated film makes it possible for him to buy programming to fit his pocketbook and sales needs. A regional advertiser or multiple-market' sponsor, can through syndicated film, concentrate, his advertising dollars in the areas where the largest proportion of his sales are made. A national advertiser can supplement his basic TV coverage by means of syndicated film series. It has also become evident that there is more to syndicating a film program than for a salesman to go but into the field with a can of film Under his arm, The true syndicator’s task and responsibility begins with the sale, and continues long after. It takes substantial financial and physical resources, as well as advertising know-how, to Convert a film series into an effective advertising and sell. ing tool; The. costs of selling, printing, shipping, advertising and merchandising a TV film series add Up to a considerable sum. Cornerstone for Stability Despite the laments of certain self-appointed critics, network programming has raised the quality of television as a national medium to a relatively high level— one which certainly compares favorably with magazines, newspapers, books, and other mass media. Syndicated films have the potential to raise the remaining available program time to an equally high level. With the need for quality film programming so apparent, it is obvious that one of the cornerstones for stability in the industry is the rerun, which makes possible the local showing — at a local cost— of programs of the highest quality. Although film syndication is already a multimillion dollar business, much qf this investment remains to be recovered. Few film series made specifically for syndication can recover all their costs on their initial run. It is impossible for a really fine scries — which may cost as much as $1,000,000 to do so. The rerun* therefore, becomes ^conoihically important. The television audience, furthermore, is growing at the rate of 500,000 homes a month (or about 1,300,000 viewers). Reruns are actually first runs to these viewers. Statistics, show that there are literally millions who miss even «t.he highest rated episodes of the highest rated Series the first time around. Reruns are first runs to these viewers, too> W’hen popular TV film shows are repeated, tl.iey almost Invariably reach a larger audience than they did on the ors^,..1.un A six-city ARB survey shows, the “Victory at kea’ is currently reaching more than twice as many homes on its second run as it did on its first. From the advertiser’s point of view, a rerun is desirbecause he gets a program that is a proved success, mid one whose sales-effectiveness is a matter of record. , d he. buys it at a price that makes it a particularly good advertising investment. ' ybe validity of reruns does not mean, however, that e\ery film program' should necessarily continue to be shown just because it was produced. By exercising carejut d1Serimiiiation^^ selecting only the best programs for indication, TV film distributors can perhaps do more than anyone else to enhance the quality of TV programming on a national scale. A further and extremely important factor for achieving stability in the syndication industry in pricing.; A few syndicators feel that the sale is the thing— at any price. Some film organizations, upon entering a market, quote varying prices to stations and . to agencies for the same program, often resulting in bargains and deals. Unless these tactics are eliminated, the public and the industry will suffer.. The greatest threat facing the syndication business today is price cutting by producers and distributors in an effort, to salvage unsuccessful film properties or to raise needed cash. For this reason the NBC Film Division has dedicated itself to the maintenance of a stable price structure for all its properties and thereby provide sound business practices for the industry. It is no secret that quality and commercial success often go hand-in-hand. -Hollywood took a long step toward lessening its recent travails by producing excellent movies which turned out to be boxoffice successes. The future of film syndication depends upon this same kind of winnowing process. The slipshod production, thrown together by a shortterm promoter w ho gets out with a few fast dollars^, will eventually gather dust in a film-storage vault. The future of the industry depends on those organizations which; can combine the best in showbusiness with an honest fulfillment of obligation to the advertiser and the public. programs will be remembered as the “Crystal . Set Era of TV”— it had its place, but aren’t the improvements spectacular? Edw. Madden. By EDWARD D. MADDEN (V.P., General Manager, MPTV’s Film Syndication Div.) A year ago, at Variety’s Anniversary time, heated discussions had been raging oetrveen vocal groups, as to whether ..the preponderance of future TV broadcasting would be on film or done “live” within the four walls of a studio or stage. The basic point both’ groups w ere missing was that the viewing public wasn't particularly interested. in the mechanical means used to bring their favorite shows to them on their home screens. Researchers found that the public had shown their preferences for such shows in the 10 Top Television Programs of 1952 as “I Love Lucy,” and “You Bet Your Life,” two out of the top three shows haying a 50.5 rating or better, and both on film. The balance of that year's first 10 shows were “Talent Scouts,” “Godfrey and Friends,” “Milton Berle Show,” “Your Show’ of Shows,” “Comedy Hour,” “Toast of the Town,” “What’s My Line?” and “TV. Playhouse.” The tabulated. ARB score 12 months ago stood at 8-to-2 in favor of “live” programs. Now, a year later, the ratio is 64o-4 in the Top 10 roster, with the first three shows, topping the list, representing the TV-film industry— “I Love Lucy,” “Dragnet” and “You Bet Y’our Life:” “Our Miss Brooks” garnered eighth position in the poll and every indication has it this show will continue to build in audience appeal and improve its rating as time goes by. Because televiewers .would not. know the difference most of the time, were it not for the usual film credits, the public's choice in. the .matter of film vs. “live” continues to prove the Show's the Thing. The output of all TV programming on film during 1953 was, of course, substantially larger than in the previous 12-month period. During 1954. about 45°c of all TV programming will be made on film. Filmmakers will be turning out 120 hours per month .of completed TV films. The crying need for good stories will continue and some of the public's favorite TV talent will constantly be on the lookout for new material for films to be made in the immediate future. But the advertiser and his agency are by now fully aware that they can get greater flexibility, more selective market coverage, lower advertising cost, and in many cases higher rating through film syndication than through network placement. $50,000,000 Program This puts the problem squarely up to the film syndication business to bring network calibre shows to the film syndication field. We at MPTV are doing this through a three-vear $30,000,000 production program. For example, this winter, one of radio's perennial favorites, Ed Gardner. is bringing "Duffy's Tavern” to TV via films. “Flash Gordon.” the 20-year-old King Features Syndicate character, makes his debut ion TV, fi.lnied expressly for video audiences. Ella Raines, starring as “Janet Dean, Registered Nurse,” offers a dramatic series on film, and Drew Pearsons “Washington Merry-Go-Round” brings the world famous Washington reporter to TV in weekly. 15-minute telefilms. . “Paris Precinct,” costarring Louis Jourdan and Claude Dauphin, based on true stories of the French police, wiil be filmed on actual locations throughout France. Advertisers who'spend tremendous amounts of money to bring news, information, education and entertainment to the consumer public, are conscious of the latter’s preferences for filmed programs. . They, are realizing more and more, day by day, that by filming a. program, giving the producers a less limited area in which to . film their shows, as against the confinement of four walls of a studio or theatre, they can attain higher ratings at 'alower cost in the long run. Research has proven this just as surely as it has classified the selections of favorite shows ii> the more than 25,000,000 out of 47,000,000 homes that have sets. A year from now, at Variety’s 49th Anniversary time, the old, film vs. “live” argument may give every indication of becoming a thing, of the past. The ratio of the Top 10 Shows of 1954 may well stand at 8-to-2 in favor of film— stranger: things hare happened! For its 50th, or Golden Anniversary, Variety's TV-Film muggs can look to a clean sweep in the video field— it 11 be 10-to-0 and * live * Geo. Shupert By GEORGE Tv SHUPERT (V.P. In Charge of ABC Film Syndication) / Film Syndication is today a multi-million dollar business. It is the means whereby the local sponsor can buy a television program of a quality equal to that of the top spending national advertiser at a price he can afford. In my opinion, film syndication has only begun to show its ultimate potential, but before it does many of today’s syndicators must either change their methods-Hpr fail. ! ' • Our setup, at ABC is a simple one. The Flm Syndication Division is. treated seriously and given equal status with the other four major divisions of the network. We have been grant* ed our independence from the other network divisions in Order that we will not end up as a dumping grounds for. unsuccessful network film programs. Nor must we favor either our five owned television stations or our affiliates— we pursue a strictly first come, first serve policy. This is very important if we are to successfully compete with other syndicators. We are fully cognizant of the fact that television has up . to now* known nothing but a sellers market, and that this is going to change one of these days— -perhaps soon. We believe that in the ensuing battle for the advertiser’s . dollar we will need quality , product, fairly priced, offered to stations and .advertisersi'bXia.. quality sales force w hich is both' able and w illing to render intelligent service to the. film buyer. ' •• Our two initial offerings— “Racket Squad” and “The Playhouse ’— are each tops in their class. They have already proved their worth on a network basis and can be performed several more, times on a local basis before they will have played to their ultimate audience. Vie will have other top quality, film shows available— some o t them first runs and others Which have been top rated network programs. To offer these on a local and regional basis, we have already built the nucleus of a top .quality sales organization These, men have been chosen because they, know both the local advertiser's problems and the local station's problems. They are not order takers nor are they ordinary film salesmen. Each man is expected to know, all there is to know about his product. In addition he must possess expert know ledge of the television film basin e-S -its new developments and its various problems. Thus he can offer his clients much more than quality product alone. He. can ' render a much needed counseling service. We feel that our price structure must be realistic both to the buyer and the seller. The buyer must get m Ore than his money’s worth. The seller must get enough to allow for a fair profit and a continuance of his operation on a quality level. Certainly no useful purpose will be^served by the film syndicator cutting prices so low as to operate at a loss. We do not subscribe to the policy of selling at a,, loss now in the hopes that some day we may be able to get what our product is worth. We think we are entitled to a profit, now. We also, know that no business will last long with shoddy product and we want, none of it. We are extremely bullish in the future of films for television. We feel that one day the profit from film syndication .operation will represent a pretty health}, slice of ABC's overall profit. By FRANK WISBAR Holhwood. It is a truism, but it is good to restate it once more: There is no difference between the horde of cavemen listening to a gossip-carrier with news of the neighboring tribe, or the masses in the streets of Athens entranced by the stage plays or their Greek masters of the drama, or ladies sitting on the balconies of royal courts enchanted by the talcs of wandering minnesingers, or our theatregoipg audiences, or our radio listeners or our television viewers, when it comes to a story. They hare listened and they will listen, as long as it is a good story. From Euripides to Fred Coe, from Mozart to Felix Jackson and from Shakespeare to Robert. Montgomery, one eternal truth prevails: t ho story is the: thing! What makes a good story? The answer is difficult.; Every hum ah being lias the irresistible desire to belong. He is gregarious and interested in his neighbors because, deep in iris heart, lie feels insecure. Since lie does not know from where he comes and where Iris destiny will force him to go. he is insecure as a matter of course. With insatiable cpriosity, he w ill listen to the tales about people and their experiences, always hoping that maybe, one day, they will give him a hint about the true purpose and the impenetrable mystery of his life. If lie hears that tragedy befell a neighbor, lie crosses himself, grateful that. he was spared this time; if he learns about the jackpot luck of the man next door, his desire is aroused to equal the other's success. It gives him courage to go on. The experiences others make and talk about 'by wav of stories) influence his outlook on life, and, influence Iris decisions. Therefore: A good story is one which gives the largest mass of people the .strongest feeling of security within the sector of their owm existence, within the orbit of their (Continued on page 104)