Variety (July 1958)

RADIO-TELEVISION TV Bouts-New Format Continued from page 25 ; “are more interested in his ten¬ sions than the boxer’s historical data.” Three* there is the 10,-round fight itself. Graziano and a guest boxer (in the same weight division as the boxers appearing) will do the between-round analysis: The regular sportscaster will handle the blow-by-blow.. And last, a post¬ fight interview, with the same box¬ ers, will be done—again in . the dressing room. Smith explained that rarely in any sport event does the loser permit an inter¬ view, but in the ease of “Main Event,” the pyscholo#st explained, “we have access to the winner and the loser too." Two other elements, not part fo the regular continuity, were de¬ scribed by Lirtzman. Lirtzman. a v.p. in G-S, said there will be “The Match of the Month,” which Bren¬ ner will endeavor to arrange on the strength of the most write-in requests. Then there’s a gimmick which most tv producers didn’t need a PhD to figure out: a weekly “viewers’ purse”—write-in predic¬ tion of a k.o., and the time closest to when it actually happens, wins the writer $2,000. In the event of a .decision, all the viewers who predicted it get their names r thfown into . a hat and the one plucked back out gets $1,009. Brenner handles the fights: for Metropolitan (ex-DuMont) Broad- j casting. But the new show, in all j probability, will go elsewhere—to i a full, national . network. With NBC and ABC already with fights of their own. Smith let it be in¬ ferred that CBS is interested. Oxtoby-Smith does a large share i of its research work in the adver¬ tising : and video fields. CBS Films’ $I5-Mil. CntlBiiil front pate 28 sss in numbers but gives CBS Film j Sales the mantle of the “prestige j house” in foreign countries. It ‘ goes without saying that virtually j all of these shows help to create, a ! better understanding of the U. S, . as well. One of the Latino distributors, ; Television-Interamerica, S.A., is j topped by Gore Mastre, owner and ! operator of CMQ-TV, in Havana. In his two separate deals with CBS Film Sales, he acquired licensing rights for three. years on four series for all Latin America: He will do the dubbing. Series In- PSitiET? elude. “Trackdown,” ‘‘Navy. Log,” “Whirlybirds” and “Range Riders.” He also will handle other Spanish- dubbed series in most other Latino markets, exclusive of Mexico and Central American countries. - The lutter markets will be handled by Fremantle International, ... which picked up representation in Italy as well. All in all, CBS Film Sales has 15 series dubbed in Spanish. Prior to the Television-Inter- america and Fremantle deals, CBS Films Sales Had only one rep¬ resentative for the Latino market working out of Caracas, . As part of its expansion pro¬ gram, telefilmery for the first time is planning key merchandising and sales promotion material for the foreign markets. Sales promotion material on shows will be printed in French, German and Spanish. Japan will, be used as a testing ground for a licensing merchandis¬ ing Operation. Ruth Hagy's NATO Stint Ruth Hagy winged to Paris Sun¬ day (6) to do a “College News Con¬ ference” with NATO secretary general Paul - Henri Spaak and NATO ^military commander Gen. Lauris Norstad. Show Ms being lensed tomorrow (Thurs.) for use on ABC-TV Sunday (20). . . While In ; Paris, Miss Hagy will oversee an international confab of political youth organizations under NATO auspices/ ABC 0-Rale SSSS Continued from pact *1 ESB 11 a.m. tb 3:30 p.mi. SRO with more sponsored quarter-hour daytime segments than NBC (though not matching the latter web in billings). The big question the rival webs are asking: “Even with Its $13,000,000 billings, how can ABC hope to turn in a profit under terms of the deals?” They go on the assumption that station compensation alone will eat up the coin. NBC and CBS’ distress stems mainly ; from the D rate pattern utilized by ABC in negotiating the deals—a rate calling for one-third the nighttime price (whereas the conventional daytime C rat# per¬ mits one-half the nlghtlme rate). Also, for every quarter-hour pur¬ chase, the ABC client gets one free quarter-hour—in effect each quar¬ ter hour thus costing $6,400 (pro¬ gram 8c time) compared with NBC and CBS’ $18,000 program & time. There's one other aspect that that particularly distresses the other networks: the creation of a “threefer” whereby the ABC cli¬ ents are permitted cross-plugs on two other shows instead of one. Whatever the ramifications of the deals and the anxieties origi¬ nating from rival webs; ABC will go to the post this fall with a full¬ blown daytime operation that’s al- ready sparked a romance with some Of tv’s biggest advertisers. Wednesday, July 9, 1958 Nat Hiken Prepping Betty Hatton Series Hollywood, July 8. CBS-TV producer-writer Nat Hiken is working on. a new situa¬ tion comedy series to star Betty Hutton. Miss Hutton has lust re¬ turned from N. Y. where she con¬ ferred with Hiken on the new proj¬ ect.' Miss Hutton opens a four-week date at the Sahara in Las Vegas Aug. ft. drawing $30,000 a week. She’s under pact to the Sahara for two four-week bookings a year. Madison Ave. ;SSS Conttnued from pace 25 J—X office. Grant Advertising let go of its jradio-ty topper in New York, Bill Patterson, and replaced him with Rudy Behlmer. In the Ruth- rauff 8c Ryan merger George Wolf exited as radio-tv head to package his own shows. He now owns the upcoming “ESP” stanza. These, of course, are only , sampling of the Madison Ave. treadmill. Not only have there been switches from agency to agency but there have been major tv-radio shakeiips and reorganizations with¬ in BBDO, McCann-Erickson, Young 8c Rubicam, Leo Burnett, Need¬ ham, Louis 8c Brorby, Foote, Cone and Beiding and almost, any agen¬ cy you want to name. Importance of Coast As the scene of the commercial production of . television changes from the east to the Coast, the ad agencies have joined in the tag-a- long movement. Within the last year' nearly a dozen agencies have opened West Coast offices. Since the first of the year. Grey Advertising, Cunningham & Walsh, Lennen & Newell, Grant, Compton, Donahue & Coe, Burke, Dowling & Adams, just to mention a few, have either opened offices on the Coast or by merging have fortified their position there. New York’s Madison Ave. is still the capitol of the ad world but De¬ troit, Chicago, and the Coast are assuming greater importance. In some cases it’s more than the setting up of a service office by the agencies. . Young 8c Rubicam handles 16 accounts, out of its San Francisco and Los. Angeles office, some of which are multi- million, accounts such as the Borden Co., Kaiser Aluminum. & Chemical, Capitol Records, Hunt Foods and others. In addition Y&R maintains, like the other agency giants, a Hollywood office for radio-televi- sion production. In L. A. alone there are a total of 123 advertising agencies of which .50 are of major dimension with home bases in New York. In San Francisco, there are a total of 25 New York based agencies. Last week when Florists . Tele^ graph Delivery stated it had dir vorced itself from Grant Advertis¬ ing, it declared it was on the search for a new agency with a large Detroit office. This is not the first time that a national advertiser has emphasized that the agency , handling an account must be well staffed in a particular area. THIS BEER REALLY TASTES LIKE BEER!” He’s taste-testing a product he saw advertised oil WGN-TV. And he’s sold! He was watching the White Sox-Yankees night game June 24, along with an estimated cumulative audience of 1,980,000 other Viewers (ARB Special). Viewer enthusiasm for top-rated shows is what you expect to get on WGN-TV. That's why Top Drawer Advertisers use WGN -TV. Let our specialists fill you in on some exciting case histories; discuss your sales problems and advise you on current availabilities. Chicagoans watch Channel 9 The station that puts M OEEi vv in your Chicago sales! W^N-TV