Variety (December 1956)

Wednesday, December %% -195tf v £_ ; _ PffiSfWFV _ RAlftd-TEfaGVtSliOilV ; 27 rf ¥ The Week’s Trendex CBS-TV continued its strong domination of Sunday nights on the week's Trendex line, in spite of an NBC spec lineup that had Greer Garson topping a star cast in “The Little Foxes" at 7:30-9 and Dinah Shore with her Sunday "Chevy Show at 9 to -10. Jack Benny topped the Hallmark production of “Foxes" in the first half-hour, 23.1 to 16.3 (8.6 for ABC’s “Amateur Hour"), while in the final hour Ed Sullivan nearly doubled the “Foxeif' rating, °34.5 to 17.7, with ABC showing a 6.1 for the second half of “Amateur" and a 2.0 for “Press Conference." The overall “Foxes" average on the 90 minutes was 18.4. At 9 to 10, Dinah averaged out to a 22.3, with ABC’s “Omnibus" averaging to 4.2. But CBS’ “General Eleetrie Theatre"-hit-a 24.7 and “Hitchcock Presents” a 25.8 to down Dinah, whose half-hour standings were 23,2 and 21.4. On Saturday night, Perry Como, originating out of Miami, increased his spread over Jackie Gleason to the widest margin yet, hitting a 28.7 to Gleason’s 21.9 and ABC's “Famous Film Festival's" 4.6. On Sunday, incidentally, CBS preemed two afternoon shows, “Mama," which scored 9.9 vs. 'NBC’s “Topper" score of 0.6, and “The Boing-Boing Show," which hit an H.7 vs. “Captain Gallant’s" 8.9 on NBC. - Earlier in the week, “Playhouse 90’s" “Sincerely Willis Wayde" got beaten by Tennessee Ernie Ford but topped “Lux Video Thea¬ tre." Scoreboard Tvas 20.2 for Ernie and 16.8 for “Lux," as against a 90-minute average of 19.4 for “90." Earlier Thursday, the NBC combo of “Dragnet" and “People's Choice" topped CBS* “Shower of Stars" with.a 24.0 and 21,4 compared with “Shower’s" 20/5. ABC upped its ratings that night, scoring a 6.9 with “Circus Time" at 8:30, a 10.4 for “Wire Service" at 9 and a 13.0 for “Wire Service" at 9:30. Victor Borge outraced the competition in his Tuesday night 9-10 spec outing on CBS, averaging a 23.9. The NBC competition was Jane Wyman with a 14.8 and the first, half of “Armstrong Circle Theatre" with a 12.9, while ABC’s “Broken Arrow" hit 19.3 and Cavalcade Theatre" 11.8. Interesting Wednesday night rating was that of “Twenty-One," soon to shift to Mondays on NBC, which in a six-city Trendex hit a 19.5, compared with “U.S. Steel Hour’s" 19.6 on the full 15-city line. __ Harpo Still a Mum-Act Won’t Tjdk for Money or to Horses, So 'Playhouse 90 9 Must Rewrite ‘Snowshoes’ Harpo Marx pulled his dumb Act last week and as a result the CBS- TV “Playhouse 90" staff is in for some heavy rewrites on the Jan. 3 production of “Snowshoes," an original comedy by Bob Barbash. “Playhouse" producer Martin Manulis has signed Marx to play the' partner of Barry Sullivan as owners of a racehorse after which the comedy is titled. It was a speaking part, hut Marx put his foot down on that, declaring that there' isn’t enough money “any¬ where in show business to make me talk." So Stu Erwin, who had been lined up in the featured cast, along with Marilyn Maxwell, Wallace Ford and John Carradine, was given Harpo’s part, and now Manu¬ lis, Barbash & Co. are. trying to write in a special non-speaking role for Harpo, with the probability that they’ll so work it that he’ll play himself. Barbash, inciden¬ tally, is new to. television—he's the operator of Regal Travel Centre in downtown Manhattan. CBS Radios Take Tea & See 300G’ CBS R, io continued its sales spurt this week with the inking of two more daytime contracts, one of them a 52-(veek renewal, amounting to gross revenues of $410,000. Renewal was the major coin deal, with Thomas Llpton Co. shelling out $300,000 gross fo* a year’s repacting on its alternate- week pattern on “Ma Perkins." Lipton picks up five seven-and-one- half-minute segments every other week on the soaper. Deal was set via Young & Rubicam. Accounting for less coin, $110,- 000 gross, but significant because Jf its absence from network radio ior some time, is a 13-week pact with Listerine, out of the Lambert g Feasley agency* The Lambert £harmfccal brand will sponsor nve seven-and-a-half-minute seg¬ ments a week in daytime over 13 "eeks starting Jan. 7. Gagman Eddie Davis <teprlset a cavalcade of personal humor In a bright place The Joke’s On Me * * * one of the many editorial feature* In the upcoming 51st Anniversary Number of NBC, ABC Dicker Bmg Crosby Deal AsCBSTieU Hollywood, Dec. 18. B4qg Crosby is exiting his long¬ time CBS Radio berth Dec. 28, upon expiration of his contract with the network, and he’s already begun talks with ABC and NBC anent both/ a radio show and pos¬ sible television deals as well. His pact with CBS-TV ended earlier. Crosby said he hopes to reacti¬ vate his radio segment on ABC or NBC after the first of the year. “We might get some action on NBC Or ABC. They’re talking about it," he said. “As for tv, I’m going to wait and see what they come up with. But I wouldn’t care to do riiore than one show because they just couldn’t afford it." One factor in the ankling of his CBS radio show is the fact that it had trouble landing sponsors. A CBS spokesman said the reason for that stemmed from the high cost of the flve-a-week package. CBS is trying to arrange for the “Amos V Andy Music Hall," which runs back-to-back with Crosby as a 15- minute strip, to expand to a half- hour when Crosby goes off. The current Crosby strip segment has been on the network for nearly the past three years. Prior to that, he had a half-hour show for some five, or more years. He started on CBS (Continued on page 50) T FOR PRIME TIME For the first time in television, a Class AA network rate is being propounded for prime, evening hours between 8 and 10. The new rate is being prepared by CBS-TV for its Rate Card No. 13, due to be published the first or -second week in January, and it will place pre- miuni time charges on the new A A block,\as distinct from current Class A charges in network time between 7:30 and 8 and 10 to 11. Extent of the increase in AA time over the current A rates isn’t known yet, and in fact the entire project is of an extreme hush-hush nature. Inquiries about the new rate brought denials all the way down the line, from CBS prez Frank Stanton and sales v.p. Wil¬ liam Hylan. However, it’s been learned that the new rate has been thoroughly worked over and appar¬ ently has gotten a policy-level okay. The AA classification is brand- new to networking, though it is a standard category on station rate cards. The AA station rate applies to prime evening time periods, but in effect has application only to adjacencies, since the time periods covered in the AA classification are network option periods and net¬ work programs are carried in those periods, making them by and large unavailable to station sponsors. The new classification would take advantage of the fact that de¬ spite the designation of 7:30 to 10:30 (usually 11 p.m.) as prime evening time, the concentration of viewing tends to centre about the 8 to 10 hours, with the 7:30 and 10 p.m. hours in relation to 8-iO taking the form of “fringe" time. On a competitive basis, the action may prove a benefit to NBC and particularly ABC. Latter tradition¬ ally has benefltted from SRO situ¬ ations on the other webs and even from higher time charges on the others. Should the AA classifica¬ tion prove too rich for many spon¬ sors, they conceivably could look to ABC and NBC for their time purchase. Alcoa Balks, Hallmark Switches to Wed. Slot For Season’s Windup “Hallmark Hall of Fame" will switch from its Sunday night spec berth to Wednesday for its sixth and final show of the. .season in mid-April. It will preempt “Father Knows Best" and “Kraft Television Theatre" on that date to take over the 8:30 to 10 spot. Property isn’t set yet, but producer-director George Schaefer said he'd like to wind the season with a Shakes¬ pearean work. Reason for the switch is Hall¬ mark’s peculiar rotating Sunday status, wherein it is doing three shows this season in the 7:30 to 9 berth and was scheduled to do the other three at 9 to 10:30. However, Alcoa, which normally occupies the alternate-week 9 to 10 period, in¬ sisted there be no more than two preemptions of its time during the season, necessitating the shift to Wednesday. BeVt, Harry & Salk Bert and Harry Piel, Piel Bee r’s animated pitchmen (otherwise known as Bob & Ray) are now selling polio vac¬ cine to the public. New York City Health Department bor¬ rowed the “beer ambassadors" to do a 20-second animated telefilm blurb urging all New Yorkers under 40 to get vac¬ cinated. Ed Graham, who conceived and writes the Bert - Harry spots. Young & Rubicam ar¬ tist Jack Sidebotham and UPA did the Salk shot spiel—along with (Bob) Elliott and (Ray) Goulding. Dr. Leona Baum¬ gartner, Health Commissioner, is partying the crew this after¬ noon (Wed.) at her downtown office. Some Radical Changes on Tap For Nielsen’s Network Radio Ratings; Explore Changes in TV Tallies | Hollywood Scriptcr Lou Derman delves Into the magic of Univac with on amusing piece Situation Wanted * * * another editorial feature In the upcoming 51st Anniversary Number of P'Sriety Chrysler Ad'Head Ask Single TV Rating Service Chicago, Dec. 18. Richard Forbes, advertising di¬ rector of Chrysler Corp. which is currently underwriting five night¬ time network tv shows, warned yesterday that television must develop single comprehensive in¬ dustry-wide rating service to pro¬ vide an accurate circulation yard¬ stick for time and program costs. He spoke before the Broadcast Ad¬ vertising Club. Advertising exec said that while the present rating services are do¬ ing a “fine job’’ under circum¬ stances, they aren’t offering the kind of evaluation that television as big business deserves. Draw¬ ing an anology with the publish¬ ing field, he said the networks also control the editorial content of their medium and have respon¬ sibility for devising industry-wide audience measurement machinery. Such a single research effort could be the cheapest insurance ever purchased and the first step toward charges for tv time and tal¬ ent commensurate with audience reached," Forbes asserted. Warner-Lambert To Share Sinatra Show With $2,800,000 Tab Warner-Lambert has put in a $2,800,000 order for alternate weeks on the ABC-TV Frank Sinatra showcase slated for the fall. Deal has not been firmed yet, because of the possibility of product conflicts. Warner-Lambert deal also calls for co-sponsorship of the two Sina¬ tra specs, one of which will kick off * the season for the Thursday night show. L&M bought the shows from the network and has final okay on the alternate bankroller. It’s, understood that the deal was negotiated by Helen Guy, the only woman on the ABC sales staff. It includes 26 half-hour shows. Vinton Freedley Jr. To TV Dept. Inc. as Veep Vinton Freedley Jr., former na¬ tional sales manager of NBC Radio, has joined TV Dept. Inc. as a v.p. and member of the board. TV Dept, is a new servicing outfit, af¬ filiated with Motion Picture Ad¬ vertising Service of New Orleans and Minot TV in N. Y. Company is headed by William Deering. Freedley, before his NBC sales stint, was an account exec at BBD&O and Fo6to, Cone & Beld- ing. A proposal to radically alter the reporting of ratings for network radio is being explored by A. C. Nielsen and the four radio nets. Also being explored are suggested changes of Nielsen reporting of tv ratings, but it is understood that the tv proposals are far less of a departure from current practices than those recommended for radio. The heart of the radio proposal is to shift from the present prac¬ tice of rating individual shows and individual periods to rendering cu¬ mulative ratings on the total num- of homes delivered, as well as different homes delivered, by a particular show taking the number of times the show is aired weekly into consideration. Additionally, the proposed new Nielsen Radio Index would tabulate the cumula¬ tive audience ourchased by a spon¬ sor. who bought segments In a va- rielv of shows. The suggested changes, which h,?ve be^n the subject of talks be¬ tween Nielsen execs and net of¬ ficials for the past two weeks, are aimed to meet the changed condi¬ tions in radio broadcasting, condi¬ tions marked by sponsors not buy¬ ing particular show's, but different segments in a multiplicity of show's. A decision on the proposed radio changes is exoected sometime after the first of the year. To be put into effect, agreement among the four radio nets would bo required, unless for example, the remaining three nets. w r ere willing by them¬ selves to foot the bill. Also Niel¬ sen would require an okay from its agencies, advertisers clients, but that is seen as no major hurdle if nets give the plan the go-ahead. Nielsen, under the nrojected new program, is reportedly raising . Its rates about 15% to the radio nets. New Features Here are the chief features of the proDosed NRI service: All reportable programs to be included without regard to spon¬ sor-agency subscriber status, (un¬ der the present setup Nielsen re¬ serves the right to withhold 20% of program ratings in its NRI re¬ port.) Four-week 'cumulative audience by program and sponsor segments. Four-week cumulative audience by networks, by sponsors, with the segments of the latter all com¬ bined. Full network audiences based on fou t-- week cumulative. As to the frequency of national NRI reports, the proposal calls for the same number of weeks record¬ ed as at present, that is 48 per year. However, 12 reports will be issued per year, each based on four measured weeks, instead of 24 re¬ ports, each based on two weeks. In effect, there will be 12 measure- (Continued on page 50) Van Rooten New N.Y.AFTRAPrez Luis Van Rooten is unopposed for presidency of the New York local of American Federation of Television & Radio Artists. In nominations handed in late last w'eek, the Coalition slate went en¬ tirely unopposed—despite previ¬ ous talk that local AFTRA would not countenance an unopposed election — and the forthcoming membership vote will only be a formality. Charles Collingwood, incumbent prexy, chose not to run again as an independent. In addition to Van Rooten, Alan Buntz, Leon Janney, Conrad Nagel, Cliff Nor¬ ton and Dick Stark will be elected veeps. Rae MacGregor gets the secretary’s job and Travis Johnson becomes treasurer. Middle-of- Road posted no candidates, though it supports Coalitionite Janney.