Variety (February 1957)

Wednesday^ February 27» 1957 RABIO-TELEVISION 2a THAT EDITORIAL ‘HOT POTATO’ NBC$ 1 Index CariT Format With CBS already having revised its rate structure, next major rate revision In network radio will come at NBC, which currently pegs nighttime rates somewhat higher than daytime. The NBC revision, when it comes (it's on the web's agenda as the next major project) will constitute more'than a single rate structure — ^it will' be a drastic simplification not only of rates but of affiliation agree¬ ments, Matthew (Joe) Culllgan, v.p. in charge of the radio web, put the objectives this way: “We want to be able to put everything on one index card, the rate card on one side of the index card and ihe affiliation agreement on the back.'' Culligah is also thinking in tetms of going beyond the single day-night rate with a formula which would establish an all-day base rate of 100% but variations In greater listening periods. Seven to nine a.m., for example, might be pegged at 120% or more. ' . First step, however, will be a hike In ‘'Monitor" rates, possibly as much as 20%. This would be separate and apart from the card for the rest of the week, Ear^ Spring (or A^-TV Sponsors Already Responding to Bids for ’57-’58 ^ Season ... CBS Radio’s Proposal (or IHore Realistic’ Day-Nite Rate Structure ^ With the season still young for selling '57-’58 network television, ABC-TV has already re-signed about half of the present “Mickey Mouse Club" sponsors to another semester. This chunk of coin, in addition to the five other sales that ABC-TV has made so far makes it look like an early spring at AB^3-TV. Sales at the web seem to be coming faster than those at either NBC-TV or CBSTV, which have always left ABC in their wake until this year in¬ sofar as advance sales are con¬ cerned. As a matter of fact, it was traditional for bankrollers to look at ABC-TV only after all choice time periods were filled on the other two webs. Meanwhile, Disney Productions has set March 11 as the date kick¬ ing off production on next season’s “MMC" material. The show will be a half-hour cross-the-board. Ini¬ tial filming wjill be on “Fun With Music," featuring the Mousketeers and “Talent Roundup." Other new ABC-TV pacts are Bell Telephone, for “Telephone Time," that being the latest, and Chesterfields for Frank Sinatra, Chevrolet for Pat Boone, Philip Morris for Mike Wallace (begin¬ ning in June and running for 20 weeks) and Seven-Up for half of Disney’s “Zorro" adventure tele¬ film. It’s a total of several mil¬ lion dollars in advance biz for ABC-TV. Singer Pulls Out Of ‘Playhouse 90' Singer sewing machine is pull¬ ing out of CBS-TV's “Playhouse 90" in May dropping Young & Rubicam for another $2,000,000 loss in billing. Show has been costing sponsor around $100,000 a week, time and talent. Cancellation of tv shows by General Foods and Gen¬ eral Electric have cost the agency $16,000,000 in annual billing. Pull-out of Singer leaves the sponsoring participation of the 90minute show to Bristol Myers, American Gas Co. and Mai’lboro cigarets. Half-hour every week is now open. OPTIMIST CLUB ‘BUYS’ STATION FOR A DAY Paris, Tex., Feb. 26. KFTV here will be taken over by members of the Paris Optimist Club on Friday, March 1, for the day only. The club has. purchased full broadcast rights of the station and will handle all announcing and ad¬ vertising for the day. Full proceeds of the day will be turned over by the Optimist Club to the Boys Club of Paris. Instead of going to local merchants for do¬ nations, the club decided to sell advertising and run the radio sta¬ tion for the day with all profits go¬ ing to the Boys Club. Danny’s New TV ‘Wife’ Danny Thomas' new televi¬ sion “wife" may be Marjorie Lord. Left a “widower" when Jean Hagen exited his ABC-TV comedy series, the comedian has decided to be “wed" again. Miss Lord begins working this week in the last four Thomas episodes to be shot this season, and will be seen as his g.f . If the “test" goes well, she will wind up as Thomas’ new "wife." Me to Upgrade Role as Showman InExMngAFTRA Henry Jaffe has made an “ir¬ revocable" decision to quit as na¬ tional counsel to American Fedaration of Television & Radio Artists after 20 years at the, job. The na¬ tional board, which 'had rejected several similar requests to quit in the past two-and-a-half years, finally accepted the resignation with “extreme regret and reluc¬ tance.” The eastern, central and west¬ ern sections of AFTRA have in¬ dividually formed committees to seek a replacement by the end of March. It is being surmised by members that Mortimer Becker, associate in Jaffe’s law business, will resign to beglii his own pri¬ vate practice, from which he will seek the vacancy made by Jaffe’s retirement from AFTRA. Becker was recently assigned as the coun¬ sel to AFTRA’s New. York body. Although there is a faction of the New York local that has been pushing for Jaffe’s resignation from national for the past sev¬ eral months, Intimate associates say that he planned to quit weeks ago and was only awaiting, con¬ clusion of network negotiations by AFTRA. Negotiations ended about three weeks ago. Jaffe, at approximately the same time negotiations ended, made known his plans to dissolve his law and tv production partner¬ ship with his brother Saul. While the legal end has been separated, (Continued on page 36) Mex 'Amateur Hour’ Winner in U. S. Stint Mexico, City, Feb. 26. Three-time winner Maro Antonio Saldana of “The International Ama¬ teur Hour," just beginning^ts radio and tv stint here, has been selected to compete in New York. A bari¬ tone and singer of operatic arias, he will be on “Original Ama¬ teur Hour" March 10 in New York. “International Amateur Hour," since its Mexican debut a little over four weeks ago, has been re¬ ceiving a good press, with many human interest angled stories. miTOPREy The recent day-&-date banning of “editorial opinions by CBS' crack team of Eric Sevareia and Ed Mdrrow may yet turn out to be one of the most explosive issues to confront the top echelon "at Columbia. Apparently neither Sevareid nor Murrow is going to take it “lying down,” and from all indications it's become a dynamite situation involving -the 20th floor high command at 485 Madison Ave. Already backed by . a vehement protest from the Assii. of RadioTelevision News Analysts, which publicly expressed its displeasure ! over the CBS action in. forbidding [both Sevareid and Murrow to take a stand op the State Dept, ban on [newsmen visiting Red China, the j two ace commentators are appeal¬ ing their case directly to CBS board chairman William S. Paley. At the time that CBS “pulled the plug" on both Sevareid and Mur¬ row, Paley was on holiday . The action against Sevareid ’^emanated i^Tom the Washington continuity ac¬ ceptance boys for the network (leaving the 485 Madison superiors with no alternative but ta back them up) while the Murrow lopoff, it's understood, stemmed directly from the Frank Stanton office. Sevareid’s burn and subsequent comment to the effect that “CBS had better take another look at its editorial position” has already been translated into action. What transpired when both Sevareid and Murrow huddled for three hours last week with Sig Mickelson, the network’s news chieftain, is being kept under wraps as an intraoffice secret, though it would seem that the key to the whole situation now rests with Paley himself as to whether he overrules Stanton in siding with the Sevareid-Murrow combo or rides along with the editorial ban. From sources close to the net¬ work it’s reported that the web’s top brace of analysts-commentators want a showdown on the mat¬ ter once and for all to prevent a recurrence and in determining just where CBS stands, particularly on a point brought out in the ARTNA protest letter to the network," . . . CBS still pretends to follow an im¬ possible policy which its news analysts are violating every day." Insofar as Murrow is concerned, the situation, however, hasn’t de¬ terred him from negotiating a new longterm pact with the network. Ironic forerunner to the whole situation was the fanfare (and sub¬ sequent newspaper space grab¬ bing) with which CBS trumpeted the fact, a couple years, back, that the Columbia Broadcasting System was establishing a precedent by go¬ ing on the air with its own edito¬ rials. Subsequently prexy Frank Stan¬ ton appeared on tv in a defense of freedom of communications in championing the cause of tv-radio access to public hearings. It was the first and last of the “CBS edi¬ torials." Jerry Marshafl Pacts WMd Deal Deejay Jerry Marshall, who left WNEW’s, N.Y., “Make Believe Ball Room" show about four weeks ago, has been inked by WMGM, N.Y., to do a Monday through Saturday music show, slated to begin March 18. It’s a five-year nonexclusive deal. Pact reportedly gives Marshall a potential earning of over $100,000 yearly. WMGM, under program director Raymond Katz, inked Marshall as part of its accent on popular deejay talent, in strength¬ ening music, news and weather format. Marshall will be slotted Monday through Friday from 10 a.m ^ to noon and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Art Ford replaced Marshall at WNEW’s “Make Believe Ballroom." Mot Thurs. Tussle The combination of “Lux Video Theatre” and Tenessee Ernie on NBC-TV ran off with the marbles in the Jan. 17-24 Nielsens against CBS-TV’s “Playhouse 90." The 90-minute Thursday slot has developed into one of the hottest tussles on tv this season. The Lux dramatics pegged 29.9, Ernie an even hotter 34.9, while “Playhouse" could (jo no bet¬ ter than a 28.7 ih the Total Averages. ■In the Average Apdience dept,, the Lux-Emie scores were 24.5 and 32.6, while “Playhouse" racked 21.8. Report DuMont Seeking Merger With WNEW Radio DuMont Broadcasting Corp. is authoritatively reported seeking a merger with the WNEW radio in-, dependent in New York. DuMont, with tv stations in New York and Washington, hopes for an exchange of DuM stock for some of WNEW’s. Details of the proposed exchange were not divulged, but John Loeb, who owns a share in WNEW, is a member of Carl M. Loeb & Rhoades Associates, which is rep¬ resented on the DuM board of di¬ rectors. Because of its tie with Paramount in originally taking command of DuMont, Loeb is be¬ lieved to have considerable say in the tv firm’s policy. The noW-dead Westinghouse bid to acquire WNEW seems to have sparked all the current negotia¬ tions for the station, (Reported asking price of close to $7,000,000 was “too rich" for WBC’s blood.) Another group, headed by Jack Wrather, who already is a large owner in WNEW, is said mulling a plan to buy out the other inves¬ tors. Same report covered the probability of Dick Buckley stay¬ ing on as WNEW active boss re¬ gardless of who takes ownership. Reported as another of the out¬ fits dickering to purchase WNEW from the Buckley-Wrather group is Transcontihent, the company which owns WSAV-TV in Harri¬ sonburg, Va. Transcontinent, which lately established New York offices, is run by David Moore. WNEW, the trade has long known, has intermittently been on the block for “the right price." A spokesman for the station admitted this week that there is at this time, however, “more substance" to sale plans than ever before. Station has drawn record prices in both its previous sales in the last three years. In April, 1954, Buckley, together with a St. Petersburgh financial group led by Harry Playford and including Jack Hol¬ land, Ed Wright and William Hol¬ land and Elliott Holland, bought it for $2,100,000 from longtime own¬ ers Ira Herbert and Bernice Judis, the two people who created the “WNEW sound.” A year later, after a reported rift between Buckley and the St. Petersburg faction thj WNEW boss teamed up with Wrather and broker John L, Loeb, to buy it out at about $4,100,000. WNEW denied a report that broker Loeb was interested in sell¬ ing his interest in the station at present. GF Unhorses Rogers General Foods, closing ranks on its far-flung tv spending, has un¬ horsed Roy Rogers and cowboy star ends seven years for GF at season’s close. Unders)tood GF was dis¬ turbed at the competition of old Rogers theatrical pictures on the local level. Agency is Benton & Bowles. i CBS Radio has initiated its first rate adjustment since August of 1955 1)y polling the affiiliates with a proposal to drop nighttime rates by 331/3% and at the same time to raise daytime time charges by 5%. Proposal, which must be rati¬ fied by affiliates representing 85% of the web’s rate card, would make the new rates effective March 10. ' Move is clearly designed to bring the web’s nighttime card into more realistic competitive .areas with NBC and . ABC. Though the web has been on a single day-night rate iot some three years, the nighttime audience and sponsorship lineup has been steadily dwindling in the face of a rapid rise in the network’s daytime fortunes, stemming from the steady maintenance of audience in the day plus the web’s major single-handed research job in ballying the economy of daytime radio. Despite the fact that the web’s nighttime card is overpriced — one¬ time, one hour rate is $15,000, and the web believes a reduction to 6jB2/3% of this, or $10,000 would make it competitive— CBS appar¬ ently fears affiliate resistance to the cut. This is tipped off in the fact that the 5% daytime hike — a hike which would be independently justifiable in terms of CBS’ near SRO situation in the" day — ^is con¬ ditional upon acceptance by the affiliates of the nighttime slash. If the affils don’t okay the night¬ time cut, then the web won’t hike the daytime card. Under the plan, all daytime rates would be hiked. This includes the seven-and-one-half-minute ’ units which have become the web’s most popular sales vehicle, ranging in price (for time) from $2,040 up to $3,000 each, depending 6n fre¬ quency. Similarly, _ the nighttime segmentation plan embracing fiveminute segments costing (time & talent) $1,740 to $2,100 would be slashed by as much as one-third. New rate setup, which was ap¬ proved by the board of directors of the CBS Affiliates last week in N. Y., would therefore put an end to day-night parity via a single rate in recognition of the fact that daytime now outstrips nighttime as a network advertising medium. One reason the affiliate board went along with the proposal to cut nighttime was in' order to prevent a situation where the web might decide for competitive reasons to start selling “spot carriers." This was indicated in the com¬ ment by affiliates board chairman John M. Rivers of WCSC, Charles¬ ton, who said, “All of us on the board are in complete agreement that it is not the function of net(Continued on page 34) ShKt Old Vic io ‘21’ Can Stay On Flushed with “Twenty-One’s" Trendex victory over “I Love Lucy," NBC-TV has decided that tlia quizzer should become a nonpreemptable property and is mak¬ ing arrangements to shift the next “Producers’ Showcase" display, “Romeo and Juliet," to 7:30 to 9 instead of the regular 8 to 9:30 slotting. Web doesn’t want the Old Vic version of the Shakespeare drama to preempt “Twenty-One," hence the new arrangement. Web is moving fast on the proj¬ ect, since “Romeo” is slated for next Monday (4). It’s already con¬ tacted “Showcase" clients and the Old Vic company to make the nec¬ essary arrangements. Back of the network’s mind is the case of the last “Twenty-One" preemption (“Mayerling”). Week before, the quizzer had come up to within four points of “Lucy" and was gather¬ ing momentum. But after the oneweek layoff, it slipped back to a five-point spread and took another week to overtake Lucy. NBC doesn’t want the combination of continuity and momentum dis¬ turbed again.