Variety (March 1956)

Bow Far Can You Stretch a Mouse? W CBS-TV Wonders If WABC-TV Is Slipping Trade A ‘Mathematical Mickey’ Tn current tradepaper advertis¬ ing and publicity, WABC-TV, flag- 0 in of ABC-TV, claims the largest ciiare-of-audience in New Yo:k from 12 noon to 6 p.m., says WCBS-TV, the CBS-TV k<>y. “The claim is plausible, but the basis is ouestionable,” declares the Columbia flagship. “It is obvious that WABC-TV researchers started with 'their acknowledged leader¬ ship with “Mickey Mouse Club,” 5 to 6 p.m., and computed back¬ wards to see how many hours they could average and still claim an overall share-of-audience lead. Happily for them, according to ARB, they apparently found they could average their high Mickey Mouse ratings with lesser ratings- all the way back to 12 noon and. slill come up with a slight share- oi-audience lead. “On the same basis they could stretch their Mickey Mouse leader¬ ship back to 3 p.m. in both Nielsen and Telepulse to claim a higher share-of-audience 3 to 6 p.m. “In Telepulse, WABC-TV is neither first nor second at any time from noon to 5 p.m. — five hours of the six-hour period in which it claims greatest share-of- audience.” Following are the figures for 12 to 6 according to the latest Nielsen and Telepulse, along with the ARB figures quoted by WABC-TV: Jan. Feb. Feb. Nielsen Telepulse ARB WCBS-TV.32 29 30.0 WABC-TV. 19 19 31.9 WRCA-TV. 18 21 23.9 "But,” says Ch. 2, “drop out the 5 to 6 p.m. hour aind make this comparison f»f the five hours, noon to 5, and WABC-TV’s share takes quite a tumble.” The figures: Jan. Feb. Nielsen Telepulse WCBS-TV. 40 36 WABC-TV. 14 13 WRCA-TV. 19 20 "Wouldn’t it be right to say that someone was trying to slip us a mathematical Mickey?” Des Moines—-Frank Phelanr on the sales staff of KRNT, Des Moines, for 20 years, has been named director of the new sales service department of KRNT radio and television. INDUSTRIAL HEART bF THE TRI-STATE AREA 7V* 'Heta 2 .ucck CONFIDENTIAL INVESTIGATIONS (Free Consultations) . /tLSJV L, licensed and Bonded State of N. Y. H. V. FOX. Principal 1.1 •foodwo,. New Yerk 38. N. Y. J BEekln «n 3-4485 (Day and Night) Interested The Vary best deal on a new thunderbird FORD Coll or write SAM ANGER - ,br °ther of Harry Anq-.r. G A C > lYnbrook 9-0600 TED ROWLAND, Inc Lynbrook, Long Island. N Y ^livery Anywhere in the U S WLS Prunes News As Small Exits for L’ville • Chicago, March 13. With news chief Bill Small de¬ parting to become news director at the Courier-Journal’s WHAS (AM and tv) in Louisville, WLS here has shifted its news handling policy from a multi-staffed rewrite operation to a virtual one-man set¬ up. Harold Salzman, the last of what only a few months back was a fivehnan newsroom crew, is stay¬ ing on to handle the routing of the wire service copy to the gabbers. It’s understood tile WLS deci¬ sion to prune the news adjunct was • strictly a matter of cutting down on overhead even though, per the usual radio pattern, the news strips are virtually SRO. During Small’s tenure as news director the past five years the station garnered a bundle of news awards, including the ’55 Radio-Television News Directors “Distinguished Achieve¬ ment” kudo. Small starts his WHAS assign¬ ment next Monday (19). With WISN Shedding Its CBS Tag, Chi WBBM Moves Into Milwaukee Chicago, March 13. Now that the Hearst-owned WISN in Milwaukee has severed its af¬ filiation pact with CBS radio, WBBM, ^Columbia's Chi o&o, is launching an all-out “invasion” of the beer capital. Heretofore its been the practice of the web-owned Windy City 50,000 watters to play- down any hint that their signals cover the Wisconsin city so not to incite the wrath of their respective Milwaukee affiliates. For example, NBC’s WMAQ is careful not to make any boosts about covering Walter Damm’s hometown where his WTMJ is a basic NBC affiliate. f But since CBS has apparently de¬ cided against finding another Mil¬ waukee outlet to replace WISN, its Chi anchor no longer has any compunctions against bringing the WBBM “story” directly to the dialers in the neighboring market. WBBM advertising and sales pro¬ motion manager A1 Greenberg broke an ad campaign this week in the Milwaukee Journal and the Milwaukee Sentinel spotlighting the claims that the suds town’s citizens can get their favorite CBS shows via the Windy City station. Series of 600-line display ads to run over a 14-day span is estimated to cost WBBM about $6,000. 200G KUDL SALE UP FOR FCC OKAY Kansas City, March 13. Sale of Radio Station KUDL here to Tele-Broadcasters of New York is up for approval of the FCC. Sale, pending approval, was announced here last Week by David M. Segal, president and general manager of the Mid-America Broadcasting Co. owner-operator of the station. Segal said Mid-America will re¬ ceive more than $200,000 for the property and good will. Such a figure is regarded by industryites as a fat one for small station which Segal originated here in May, 1953. Station operates daytime only on 1,000 watts,, entirely on records, news and weather. Tele-Broadcasters is headed by H. Scott Kilgore, and company now has stations in Knoxville, Tenn.; Ware, Mass.; and Concord, N. H. No change has been indicated in station staff here. KTSA’s 306G Sale • San Antonio, March 13. Sale of the city’s second oldest radio outlet, KTSA, to the McLen- dond ■ Investment Corp., of Dallas, has been announced here by O. R. Mitchell, prez of O. R. Mitchell Motors, local owner and Gordon McLendon, prez of McLendon in¬ vestment Corp. The purchase, con- tigent upon the approval of the FCC, was for the sum of $306,000. Glassman’s Empire Washington, March 13. Another broadcast station em¬ pire came into being last week when the FCC okayed the transfer of two tv and three radio stations from Frank Carman and Grant Wrathall to the A. L. Glassman family, publishers of the Ogden, Utah, Standard-Examiner. Purchase price for the package was $883,000. Transaction included sale of KUTV (TV) in Salt Lake City for $683,000 and KLIX and KLIX-TV in T^vin Falls, Ida., for $95,000. Also transferred were KGEM in Boise, Ida., and KPOR in Butte, Mont. Acquisition gives the Glassman family control or substantial hold¬ ings in six radio and two tv sta¬ tioner The Glassmans own KIMN in Denver, and have 40% interests in KMON, Great Falls, Mont., and KLOjfin Ogden. Giveaway Warfare Breaks Out Anew Among Radio Stations in Twin Cities Closed-TV Subject To Wl Tax Ran Washington, March 13. Closed circuit television’s transmis¬ sions are not exempt from the 10% Federal tax on amounts paid the telephone company for leasing of wires and equipment, the Internal Revenue Service has just ruled. Revenue Dept, received a query on this from a party who sought 4he same exemption as that given to regular broadcasts. The law provides an exemption from the levy for radio and tele¬ vision stations and nets. If closed circuit received the same treat¬ ment, it would make cheaper the operation of Theatre Network Tele¬ vision, the proposed pay-see tv, etc. “Since closed circuit television transmission,” said Internal Reve¬ nue, “is not intended to be received by the general public but is direct¬ ed through controlled outlets to limited audiences, it does come within the scope of the business of a ‘broadcasting station or net¬ work,’ within the intent and mean¬ ing of the Code. Therefore, amounts paid to a telephone com¬ pany for the lease of wires and equipment utilized in connection with such transmission are not ex¬ empt from the tax of communica¬ tions.” Lotsa Ted Steele Ted Steele is now about the busiest performer in New York radio - tv. With the addition of a new quarter-hour strip on WOR, starting this week in the 6:15-6:30 spot, his combined radio¬ tv, local-network hours now total 18% a week, all on WOR, WOR- TV and the Mutual network. New show replaces the Dorothy & Dick Kilgallan & Kollmar) eve¬ ning strip, which had been taped (as contrasted with their live morn¬ ings show, which* continues) for the past few months. It’ll be a music and chatter show, featuring Steele as emcee and organist, pianist Corky Robins as his conversational vis-a-vis and Steele’s band supply¬ ing the music. - His lineup now comprises three hours each after¬ noon on WOR-TV, a half-hour a day oh Mutual and the new local radio quarter-hour strip. Minneapolis, March 13. What has reached the propor¬ tions of radio stations’ cash give¬ away warfare here continues to spread and to give local dialers an unprecedented number of chances to cop substantial money gifts with¬ out be.'ng participants on shows as is the tv case. Giveaway format is almost iden¬ tical all down the line, but the con¬ tests do have slight variations and different names. Idea is to induce setowners to keep tuned in contin¬ uously to a single station day and night so that they won’t lose their chance to cop the dough if they're lucky enough to be singled out by having their telephone number called or announced over the air. Jackpots increase every time the ! cash isn’t claimed or won. ‘ It’s figured that some house¬ holders even may be weaned away from tv and back to radio or, at least, that they’ll want to keep their radio sets turned on all their waking hours even though they might watch video at the same time if they can do so enjoyably. If they aren’t listening to audio when and if their number is called.they, of course, miss out on the free money haul. One drawback for them is that unless they have a number of radio sets and many of their family members listening to all stations they may not have the right one turned on and the cash still may gel. away from them. For most the big decision is which sta¬ tion is keep tuned in. Under its new ownership WDGY a few weeks ago set the pattern and apparently has whipped most competitors into line. At least, one by one, all the other nine Twin Cities’ commercial stations have followed the WDGY suit or are about to do so and each seemingly is trying to outdo the other in part¬ ing with coin of the realm. For example, KSTR (NBC) just has started giving listeners a chance to win up to $1,500 if then- telephone number is announced over the air and they call the sta¬ tion within a minute and identify a musical number that just has been played. WCCO (CBS) this week will begin to hand out as much as SI,000 to a setowner who can give the “secret word” to be announced on the air before his or her tele¬ phone number is called. WTCN (ABC) gives a dialer five minutes to call the station after his tele¬ phone number is announced and to answer two questions similarly to... how they’ve just beea answered over the air. Station also has its mobile unit “money wagon” cruis¬ ing the streets and if a person spots the right one and can name the amount of the current radio jackpot. WDGY, which started the give¬ away pot boiling so furiously with a pair of listener cash contests, al¬ ready has given $1,200 to one dial¬ er. A WTCN dialer last week won $345. One WDGY cash contest jackpot builds indefinitely until it’s claimed, whereupon it starts . again-comparatively modestly. The station announces a telephone number and if its possessor calls the station within a minute he or. she wins the jackpot. Station also has an auto cash contest for which motorists must register with the station to participate. They re¬ ceive stickers to paste on their autos’ rear windows. If their auto- lisense numbers are singled out by WDGY spotters and called out over the air and they call the station by phone within five minutes they get the jackpot cash. In all cases, of course, telephone numbers are selected by various devices by random and there’s rio specified times for such numbers being called over the air or for dialers to receive the phone calls. Albany’s Defunct WTRI Tries Again Albany, March 13. WTRI, which suspended opera¬ tions in January, 1954, after 11 months and heavy financial losses, will return to the air on* UHF Channel 35 “about August 1” with a full ABC network affiliation, ac¬ cording to industry sources. The .station, conducted by Van Curler Broadcasting Co., with Col. Harry C. Wilder as president, and with Stanley Warner as owner of 50% of the stock, signed off when its limited alternate tieup with CBS went to WROW (slated to be a full affiliate of Columbia Aug. 19. An authoritative source said the WTRI management would like to get back into operation by July 1, but doubted this could be dohe. Station, which has modern studios and offices at north city line of Albany,- dropped $457,000 in 11 months, General Manager Richard Wheeler testified at a hearing be¬ fore FCC last May. Louisville—Two more Illinois radio personalities joined WHAS, during the first three weeks of March. William J. Small, former¬ ly of WLS, Chicago, moved from the news directorship of that sta¬ tion to news director of WHAS radio and tv, while Charles L. Stephen joined the WHAS-radio production department. He for¬ merly was production manager of WMBD, Peoria, Ill. HAL HIXON Representing Chrysler Manhattan Company, Inc. A Direct Factory Retail Branch Can Make You the VERY BEST DEAL in All of Greater New York ■ pi/* CHRYSLER 'H|<% PLYMOUTH WV IMPERIAL Call HAL HIXON At Circle 6-4362 For Complete Details— And a Money-Saving Deal raB Dallas-Ft.Worth,Z *„ 53 Wherever ZIV-TV’S CISCO KID goes, tune-in action follows ... week after week! For instance, for the month of January 1955, ARB* reports a 25.4 Dallas-Ft. Worth re¬ ception for CISCO |. against a 9.8 and 2.4 for his direct com- 85 ^ petition. i over big TV audiences, get in touch with * • -