Variety (November 1954)

Wednesday; November >, 1954 WABIO-TEI.EV1SIOX SI By HAROLD MYERS London, Nov. 2. The first three contractors who will provide the programming for Britain's forthcoming commercial television network were named by the Independent Television Au- thority last Week and.' the an- nouncement sparked a political rumpus which Will have repercus- sions in the House of Commons this. week.T ! / J - * Two of’the three contractors are prominent Tory newspaper gro.ups and this has caused some concern in political circles that. the pro- grams may be politically Weighted • in favor of one party^ As a result,; within a few minutes of the an- nouncement; questions were' tabled in Parliament by Ness Edwards, former Postmaster-General ’in the Labor government , and by Christo r pher Mayhew, who Has appeared on a number of BBC-Ty features. Un- less there^ are. adequate govern- ment assurances the Labor opposi- tion js likely to force a debate and make, the issue a vote of confidence in the government. Of the three contractors, only Granada Theatres has been named on its own. The other tw’o con- tractors are in association Wtih newspaper groups. Broadcast Re- lay Services, who operate a redif- fusion . network throughout the country, will function in associa- -tron with Associated Newspapers who .own the Daily ‘ Mail and a chain of provincial sheets. Tire- third contractor, Maurice Winnick, will work in cooperation with the „ Kemsley newspaper group which controls the Sunday Times and a powerful string of daily and weekly papers throughout the country. Local Sensation The. omission in the preliminary announcement of two powerful groups, both of which had made formal application, created a local sensation. One of these is headed by Norman Collins, who has been a powerful advocate of commercial television over since he left the BBC some years ago. His com- pany. Associated Broadcasting De- velopment Corp., was formed a couple of years back and, in con- junction with its associated outfit,. High Definition Films, is operating a production center at Highbury Studios. The other company is the newly-formed Incorporated Televi-' sion Program Co„ of which the di- rectorate comprises a string of top show biz names including Prince Littler, Val Parnell, Lew & (Continued on page 36) Webs Fear Publicity On Transmitter Costs Will Kick Back Vs. AFTRA That press release from the Ben- jamin Sonnenberg office of thp 15-year $11,000,000 binding con- tract for transmitter and ground space • between N. Y.’s seven tele stations and the Empire State Building has the networks griev- ing. There’s anger for the p.r. out- fit, repping Empire, because the webs reportedly believe it ill-timed in light of the current contract negotiations with the American: Federation of Television and Radio Artists * » Fearful that AFTRA will take one look at the $11,000,000 figure for 15-years firm and demand more for itself, CBS has already taken steps to counteract such strategy. That net released a “protective” story right after SQnnenberg’s say- ing that it had signed contracts for 10 years only, with options, on further agreement, the implication being that CBS isn’t tying up [ $2,000,000 (its Share of the 15-year * deal), but a lesser ambunt-r-more in accord with a 10-year contract. A big money deal in other: depart- ments is seen' by the webs a$ some- thing to be carefully guarded in order to avoid a union gripe that if you can pay so much for tech- nical facilities, for example, you can pay personnel more also. Spike’s Peak El Paso, Nov. 2. 1 “Tea for Two” was reduced to a creampuff in comparison as Spike Jone^ 1 squared off on station KELP (pro- nounced “Yelp”) here last week. Jones and troupe weren’t exhausted but the lis-. . teners were as they got a three-hour nonstop unspooling of the bandman’s latest effu- sion, his “world preem” Japa- nese version of “Skokiaan,” ,/ J based on the Afrikaaner aria i that is not .distinguished fbr its. subtlety or finesse. Song j was played -56 times in suc- cession, from 2:30 to 5:30, caus- ing tlie good citizens- of El » Paso to miss their cherished siesta. . ' "Jones & Noisemakers made the “Skokiaan” dubbing in Oklahoma City along their one-nighler route. San Francisco, Nov; 2. i -Backwash of the recent ABC purge has been felt in the Bay area with a “consolidation" of .opera- tions at KGO and KGO-TV which has resulted in the severance or resignation of five employees ,plus a couple of secretaries. Under the new setup, radio and tv. has been merged into one op- eration with ABC veep Jim Con- nolly in charge of both. Vince Francis, former tv station manager, is now local sales manager for both tv and radio. Paul Schiener, radio sales manager, is now a salesman. Dave Sacks, formerly tv sales man- ager, is now national sales man- ager for radio and tv.' Aaron Bloom, recently appointed sales manager .for KCrO, is now a salesman again.. Russ Baker, formerly tv program director, is now program director for both tv and radio with Roy Grandey; formerly radio program director resigned. Harry Jacobs is now the chief engineer for both with Harry Dutton a.m. station en- gineer resigned after 30 years with the company. Henry Saroyan is controller and purchasing agent and A. E. Evans, business manager and longtime KGO engineer,* resigned after 30 years on tfye payroll. 4 Ed Smith has now added radio production to his tv production chores. John. Barkhurst’s publicity and public- relation . department is unaffected * as it always hapdled; both radio and tv. A similar situ- ation exists in Vic Reed’s news- room setup, it always having served both radio and tv. More L. A. Pink Slips Hollywood, Nov. 2, ABC has pinkslipped 15 engi- neers in line with its general re- trenchment along the web It may also trim other departmental sails. Original staff of radio-television engineers numbered 52. Earl Hudson, Western ‘Division yeepee, denied reports that Vine St. radio quarters would be va- cated and space rented out- for of- fices. *RIN TIN TIN' TO MBS National Biscuit is extending its “Rin Tin Tin” program to Mutual radio as of Sunday, Jan. 2. The show’s vidpix counterpart recently started via ABC-TV. The latest of Mutual’s new biz* it’s assuming the 5 to 5:30 p.m, Sabbath spot, pushing “The Shadow” up to 5, By LEONARD TRAUBE When Raymond Spector, the twor headed “leave ’em have it” boss of an ad agency and a lipstick With a luxury budget; went to the un- usual length last week of calling in the New York scribes for a session in which he delivered his views of NBC-TV's Sunday night spectacu- lars-in-tint, he established a num- ber .of precedents, Not that the. head of the agency bearing his name and of the Hazel Bishop cos- metic house hasn’t been in there pitching before—before and after the “spec .era”—but this was the first mass interview during which ht cut across continuing rumors of his dissatisfaction with the “spe- cials” by .making official pro- nouncements in response to a rapidfire stanza of .questions con- suming, like the specials, 90 minutes. Whether Spector could be in a position to formally hit out Against the web if he were not both a cox - mission, house arid sponsor facto- tum, is a matter of speculation. Underwriters of shows naturally figure to be more contentious than the commission boys. Accounts come and go and, the percenters generally find it worthwhile to “play ball” with the networks while keeping, their clients happy; But in his dual role Spector is a “one man spectacular”—and of a different' color: since he can never lose a client that he runs; It Started In a Barber Shop So. last Friday a couple dozen fourth estaters of daily, wire serv- ice and trade hue were hurriedly rounded up to come, to the Spector offices tp hear his tirade against the Sunday night formats, the 90- minute slotting, the Trendex low- beat scores, original books and music, deployment of talent, the cost, the color, ad. infinitum. The way one of the Spector personnel put it, “the. boss was at the barber- .(Continued on page'38) Hub’s La Camera Fries N. Y; Critics for Their Roast of TV ‘Dinner’ Anthony La Camera, radio-tv editor-columnist of . the Boston Ad- vertiser, lit: into his New York counterparts on several fronts with “Man Who Came* to Dinner” (presented . recently on. Westing- house’s CBS-TV ’’Best of Broad- way” series) as the jumping off point. Dealing “specifically with the New York press,” he said “it was somewhat .startling to dis- cover (after noting his own pleas- ure with the show) that most of the professional critics in the big town panned the play quite soundly. 11 He thought jt was a mistake on their part to compare the hour version with a two-and- a-half-hour Broadway original as having lost “much of the wit and pace which sparked the stage show” and picked up what he called the “considerable lamenting that memorable stage farce should be so butchei’ed to fit a 60-minute format.” La Camera’s own reaction to the abbreviation was to admit that there was a loss—“approximately 90 minutes”—-declaring that “for the vast majority of viewers who had never seen the original there was left an hour (minus the com- mercials) of. some very funny dialog and situations/’ He agreed however, that as long as tv gen- erally is confined to time seg- ments of 15, 30 or 60 minutes, “it will never have the flexibility Of. the. legitimate tfieatre or the movies.” Then he threw his Sun- day 1 punch: “Personally, I’d hate to see t^e day ,jvhen television pro- ducers, striving to bring a little bf Broadway into our homes, are dis- couraged in their attempts by overly analytical criticisms. Where condensed Broadway plays and musical comedies are concerned, a half a loaf is better than none at all on television.” On 'Disneyland NBCV ‘A* 'Is* Spec* Spokesmen for NBC said'the web has no present intention of reducing its. Sunday spec- taculars to an hbur. It as admitted, however, that the next specola (Nov. 7) would originate fitom the web’s Colonial Theatre in Manhattan instead of its huge Brooklyn- studio, but that doesn’t mean, he added, that all the biggies a will be done from the Man- hattan house. Banking a lpt on the “in” he de- veloped with the. Brooklyn Dodger! while boss. and spurts gabber- at WMGM, N. Y. radio indie, as well as on a “money-saving”, proposi- tion, Bert Lebhar has made a pitch to grab off the games next year from WQR-TV for the tele station he just joined in nearby Newark, WATY. The Lebhar-to- Walter O’Malley (Dodger prexy) communication is part of the .WATV sales chief’s overall plan tp build that station sportswise. The Lebhar offer is reportedly one that will Save the Dodgers in the vicinity of $100,000 per season. Reminding that WOR-TV ahid WATV have similar Metropolitan area coverages; Lebhar also dCr tailed a scheme whereby his sta- tion will take only $1,000 from .bankroilers to televise each of the. approximately 70 to 75 home day encounters. This is unique because most bail, team contracts cover an entire season, and .with WQR the. coverage was listed as costing hearer $175,000 per annum. For Dodger tv bankroilers, Schaefer’s and Lucky Strike (both via BBD&O), Lebhar . included another inducement. At - the same $70,000^ or so paid for baseball coverage, he’s willing td throw in ah advertising campaign running 365 days as, Well. The angle on this package deal is that year-round advertising at an eight-month price will prevent product acceptance from dropping during thd non- baseball season. The Dodgers will admit only to having received the ' Lebhar bid. It would mot commit. itself as -to whether the agency was amenable to the plan. An interesting note in the battle for the Dodger baseball buck is the fact that WOR-TV instituted a special large “Back to Brooks” campaign as a counter-measure about the time it got wind of the WATV bid. a ' Waring’s Nov. 7 TV’er; Sets 25,000-Mile Tour Fred Waring will do the first of four CBS-TV shows for General Electric on Nov. 7, stepping into the Sunday-al-9 slot in place of the. Ronald Reagan-hosted “General Electric Theatre.” Show will have an autumn theme, with other three appearances slated for Dec. 19 (Christmas), Feb. 27 and .April 10 (Easter.). . Waring unit, incidentally, is planning its biggest personal ap- pearance tour to date, a seven- month, 25,000-mile, 200-city opera- tion that will go under the pack- age title “Pleasure Time 1955.” Subsequent tele appearances will involve out-of-town originations, with Waring not due back in N. Y. until next May. New “Disneyland” series, havini ^emerged with what’s believed to be the highest Trendex rating ever achieved by an AfiC-TV show, gave ABC-TV execs some head-in-th clouds hopes last week, They were (1) a place for the network ill the Top 10,Nielsens, a position it hasn’t occupied since the early tv day* of the “Lone Ranger”; (2) a tionwide public identity, something it’s lacked; since the beginning; (3). a week-tp-week dominance in at least one night (Wednesday) over NBC and CBS; ancl (4) th beginnings of a solution to its per- plexing' New York rating problem* That hour-long nine-city Trendex average of 28.4 (with 52,0% share^of-audience) is easily tli web’s highest this year (NCAA football got an 11 on the Trendex .survey).,In addition,, it’s way oyer the Trendex mark set by th “grand” or “baby” spectaculars bn NBC and CBS, with the former get- ting an average of 23.8 for it* first .two Max Liebman specs and CBS’ “Best of Broadway” and “Shower of Stars” kickoffers hit- ting „a combined score of 23.2. Thi* comes as mere gratification though to the ABC execs who phoo-phobed the idea of the specs; importance of the “Disneyland” score come* with a detailed breakdown. Godfrey, 'Joan' Dented This reveals a first-half-hour score (7:30-8) of 27.4' (55.1% share) as compared with CBS’ 11,4 (22.9%) and NBC’s 6.4 (12.9%). Wooing the audience away fro) the NBC-CBS news St music Strips. in the. daily 7:30-8 time could mean a great deal to ABC; since it’s programmed with half-hour segments aimed primarily at the juves in that time. More important, however, is the. sec- ond halLhour breakdown (8-8:30), showing “Disneyland” with a: 29.5 (49.5% share) as compared with a 17.8 (29.9% share) for Arthur' Godfrey on CBS and a 9.0 (15:1% share) for “I Married Joan” at NBC. (The conferences reportedly have already started at BBD&O on General Electric's “Joan.”) Com- pared with the Oct, 6 Trendex, Godfrey dropped 38% froTn a 28.7 while “Joan” lost 36% from a 14.0. No indication on what kind of audi- ence carryover into the SLu Envi Show and the 9 p; m. “Masquerade Party” ABC got, but. this should be a matter of continuing interest. Equally important from the ABC 'standpoint is. the fact that ABC has up to now failed to create .(Continued on page 34) Norman Anthony’s ‘What Do You Have to Do To Get a TV Script Read?’ That “can’t^sell-a-script-withput- an-agent’ problem Is starting to reach monster proportions, with even" the pro writers encountering trouble. At the . same time, of course, there’s the universal “we’re, starving for material” cries frot producers and script departments. Problem apparently has boiled down ,to the fact that script de- partments won’t even read scripts unless they’re, submitted by. recog- nized agents; at the same time the top agents won’t take on free- lancers because bf the low coin in- volved. The. professional writer who occasionally turns his hand to tv is left put in the cold. ^Example is the case of author and humorist Norman Anthony* who writes from. Kansas that he hasn't even been able to get three scripts he’s turned out read by the nets, agencies and packagers. Anthony says most of the script departments even ignore requests for releases With which he can submit scripts* “What does a free- lance writer, even if he’s a good one, do?**Anthony asks. “Here is a field that is crying for material, and, the way it is consuming stuff will he crying, even harder. And the ultimate success of tv is going to depend on the poor guy who can^t get his stuff read!”