Variety (July 1958)

RABIO-TELKVISIOIV ABC-TV Affils To Powwow ; Cortbi«< (real pace 19 ; in mind gets rolling. Although the web reports it can make a profit, 'even at the low rate being offered, its 1 big profits from daytime are anticipated, in any additional time beyond the 15 new hours a week slated for fall preeming. ABC is offering a maximum dis¬ count based on the purchase of four quarter hours a day. By buy¬ ing four quarter hours, the bank- roller gets 12 commercial minutes; and he’ll be allowed to trade off. two out of every three (per quarter hour) he buys. The sponsor then can trade off minutes in any pat¬ tern he wants, providing an availa-' biiiiy exists. For example, an ad-i vertiser buying four-quarter hours j on Monday can place two minutes { on each of the four remaining days of the week. And, moreover, thej advertiser won’t necessarily be confined to the specific program he j purchased, but can pick from any] of the six half-hour shows being j launched under the daytime plan. ABC’s thinking—and this is probably what the web will tell its affiliates—is that by approaching] sales this way an advertiser will be ] enabled to increase his cumulative] audience to 'offset any deficiencies the web has vis-a-vis NBC or CBS ] in coverage. (ABC line coverage is] 85^0 of the country, while it’s true j that either of the other networks ] can muster 93% of more coverage of the IL S.) Y&R has bought into all six of the daily half-hour shows. It’s un¬ derstood, and It’s total time and talent nut is about $13,300,000 yearly. The sir accounts from this j agency have taken about 49 of the quarter-hour availabilities between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., and there are another 20 quarter-hours a week outstanding which could gross the web another over $6,650,- 000 more. Key Affils OK Plan Several of the key affils have already been contacted on the plans details and the network re¬ ports ‘that they’ve already agreed. The general program lineup was close-circuited to the other stations early this week. i Lineup, with six half-hours a day! programmed, also leaves three half- hour openings daily, in which affils can program. It-reads thusly: “Man In Your Life.** an Irving Mansfield package which concentrates on “finding a mate for. mature w omen” at 11; 11:39 to noon is local time; Peter find Hayes goes until 12:30; from 12;30 to l, it’ll t>* Freddy Martin from the Coconut Grove in Hollywood; at 1. John Guedel is entering with a produc¬ tion called “Divorce Ceurtf’; 1:30 to 2 is local; at 2 it’ll be Liberace; 2:30 is local, and 3 to. 3:30 it’s “Touch & Go,” an : audience paneler. At the moment, there are six •‘charter discoimt” advertisers of record, and all from Y&R. Beech Nut, American . Home Foods; Drackett, Johnson & Johnson, Gen¬ eral Foods and Bristol-Myers will each get the present maximum dis¬ count for the first 26 weeks, since they’ve reportedly all: signed firm pacts for that long (at four quarter hours in a given day), and the web will continue, giving the “charter discounts” for each consecutive 26- week order that follows. “Charter”: rate is 50% off the gross time rate, which is previously figured at one- third of the nighttime rate. (Dencer - Fitzgerald - Sample and Sullivan, Stauffer, Colwell & Boyles are reportedly interested in the daytime plan.) It should be pointed out . that the web can only jack its daytime; program, rates in two areas: When j a charter sponsor pulls out after a 1 given 26-week cycle or by instal¬ ling still further programming,; once this stuff gets rolling. *T or C* May Switch Deal has been initiated by ABC- TV for Ralph Edwards to move his ^Truth or Consequences” into, the new four-hour daytime span being opened up by net. Cross-tbe- board “TOC” winds up on NBC-TV next week. ] Nighttime version, was recently cancelled. Edwards is personally under contract to NBC but his properties are uncommitted. ABC TV vp Tom Moore is due here this week to culminate negotiations. Variety . ABC’* Daytime Bou ABC-TV is looking far a daytime program chieftaiq, and. ait the network, it’s con¬ sidered possible . that boss Ollie Treyz will announce his name to affiliates this Friday (20), when thpy convene in ' New York. \. The new pre-dark program ' head is being nought to over- I see the three additional hours of daytime programming to be launched by ABC-TV in the: , fall. f A reliable network source said feelers had gone out to several industry executives, but that, as of yesterday (Tues.). “no one has been ap- . preached with a firm offer.” zones is designated in. terms of “Current N. Y. Time.” As modi¬ fied. option . time for Central zone stations, will be expressed in terms of their local time, as is already generally the practice for the other three time tones. After the: closed circuit discus- sioa, a letter outlining the option time change was forwarded to affil¬ iates by Carl Ward, national man¬ ager, affiliate relations;. CBS-TV. An amendment to the affiliates’, contract accompanied the letter, stating that the plan would go into effect Sept 15. Wednesday, July 16, 195ft j CBS Option Tima • —— Continued from net 19 \ remaining half-hour period this falL \ ; . Affiliates were also told that net¬ work programs should not be re¬ leased in Mountain . and Pacific time zones at the same local time as in the east, but should be earlier in terms of local time. Thus CBS- TV proposes to have evening pro¬ grams, Monday through Saturday, seen in west coast markets via tape! delay at the same local clock time as they are seen in Chicago; i.e:, delayed two hours after the initial i network feed. On Sunday evening.; the present three-hour delay wilt be continued. | Also, with the recent advent of magnetic video tape for Pacific Coast and (during DST) Standard Time delay, CBS-TV thought it de¬ sirable to modify daytime option time in certain time, zones (and even in Eastern time zone during DST) so as to reflect the improved scheduling permitted by use of tape. Furthermore, it seems desirable to remove a source of confusion in the method used to express option time for Central, time zone affili¬ ates. At present, option time In ‘both Eastern and Central, time Hubbard Continued from pace 23 ===. show, now in competition with the highly rated KSTP-TV and WCCO- TV news program. Veteran WCCO newscaster (Aiick McCiien is com¬ ing over to WTCN-TV to handle the latter’s news programs. WCCO-TV, CBS outlet here and also a highly prosperous station, schedules only seven feature films a week and has no intention now of increasing this number. > The National Television Associ¬ ates’ non-network KMSP-TV is the local “feature picture” station with its 20th-Fox, Columbia and RKO tv libraries and presenting 24 a week. However, it’s in the process of de¬ creasing this number and substitut¬ ing locaUy produced live shows. Vhriter Dmimi i Continued, front, pare 20 sss from the roof of a downtown Mil¬ waukee hotel as early as 1932, and WTMJ-TV became the 11th video station on the air and the first, in Wisconsin, in 1947. Damm started with the Journal Co. in 1922, when radio was a new medium. He was hired by Harry J. : Grant, then publisher of the Journal, to organize its radio ac¬ tivities, In 1927, the Journal bought WKAF, a 250r\yattstation, increased Its power and changed Ins^ Shiff-^aifio4V Members of Congress, Cabinet officers, governors, and party nom¬ inees for political office will be receiving a little brochure in the near future with practical and simplified information on how to conduct themselves before the television cameras. The pamphlet, “A Guide to Your Television Appearance,” is being ■ distributed by both the Republican and Democratic National Commit¬ tees, and includes endorsements by Meade Alcorn, the GOP National Chairman, and Paul M. Butler, Democratic Chairman. Its author is Robert C. Diefeiibach, member of the. studio, operations staff of Sta¬ tion WRC-TV, the NBC o.^ & o. outlet in Washington. Diefenbach is planning to launch his “Guide” commercially, for the benefit: of all amateurs who make an occasional video appearance. Author has boiled, down.his advice to hard rock, essentials in simple langua'ge. He covers the waterfront from what to wear , and why to . makeup, use of gestures, handling of notes, voice levels, etc. Emerson, a surviving label from the pioneer period, will set up spe- 1 rial franchises and handle the DuMont line, which it recently took over,, on a special deluxe merchandising scheme, per Mike Corey and A1 Scheinberg who are currently holding the annual trade show in Manhattan. Another innovation at Emerson is. that the present trade show is run “by appointment” instead of typical open boose. New novelty item is a portable transmitter in a leather stand which pro¬ vides dealer gimmick that precision clock will run four years on orig¬ inal'mercury battery. Emerson’s distribution has three times as many outlets as DuMont’s. The new fall nighttime CBS-TV ^Garry Moore Show” is beginning to take shape and this is the lineup of people working on the program; Ralph. Leyy, producer; Herb Sanford, associate producer; Leon Mirell, associate producer; Charlotte Paley, assistant to producer; Frank Bu- netta and Lewis Freedman, directors; Vincent Bogert, head writer; Herb Finn, writer; Marcia Durant, feature editor; Howard Smith, mu* sical director; Paul Godkin, choreographer; Durwood Kirby, announcer. There’ll also be a raft of freelance “name” writers wholl contribute pieces to the show. Gen. Bela Kiraly, one of Hungary’s most active Freedom Fighters who is in the IJ.S., has just screened authentic films of the Hungarian Revolt never shown before to be used in Twentieth .Century's “Re¬ volt in Hungary” on CBS-TV program this fall. The films were viewed by General Kiraly to insure their authenticity and he added pertinent details as to where each action took place. Radio and Television News Directors Assn, currently is accepting entries in its annual awards competition that scopes four categories: outstanding radio news operation, for the year, ditto tv news operation* outstanding radio news story or informational series and ditto tv story or series. Chairman of RTNDA Awards Committee is Prof. Baskett Mosse of Northwestern U.’s School of Journalism* and deadline for station entries is. Sept. 1. David Baird, investment broker, who owned a subsantial stock in¬ terest in World Broadcasting, the radio syndication affiliate of the Ziv organization, has sold his shares to Paul F. Harron and Lawrence D. Biele. Harron formerly owned WPFH, Philadelphia, while Biele owned WIBG. also in Philadelphia. The shift in stock ownership doesn’t affect the company’s management which remains under the reins, of Dick Lawrence. Execs in Ziv retain their majority stock interest. WABC-TV, the ABC flag in New York; dosed its second quarter this year with a 65% advance in billings over the same three-month period in 1957. its call letter to WTMJ. Damm has managed It ever since. . Damm was president of National Assn, of Broadcasters in 193(131 and of Television Broadcasters Assn, in 1947 until it combined with NAB in '51. He is a member of NBC's radio stations planning and advisory committee and was a member for two and a half years of the first television code review board. With NAB he was a mem¬ ber of the committee which wrote the first radio code of ethics and of the committee which later wrote the commercial section of the tele¬ vision code. DenkerY ‘Resurrection* Legit and television playwright Henry Denker returned from thb Coast to New York last.week, after finalization of sale of a one-hour religious teledrama to Sam Hlrsch, head of Family Filins. Denier's work, “The Power of the Resurrection,” wiH be given over NBC-TV on “Frontiers of Faith” as the program’s 1959 Easter Sunday entry. It was orig¬ inally carded for a half-hour, but expanded. Denker wiH co-produce the film, which will shoot on the Coast. i f* available for We offer immediate advances against rental contracts for completed series of filmed television pr ogr a ms, backed by resources of over 980,000,000. No red tape...no delays. Simply contact CREDITAIRE CORPORATION FIFTH AVXNUX NXW TOXX ft 6# N. T. phone: OXford 7-6677 -Tv means. precision prompting! Absolutely silent. Designed to fit all cameras . Vu in-lens mirror system available* j • tailored to fit your budget Q-Tv »OW TOM Wl fib Amine CHICftftO * W. Hufcbortf M0 4-M44 Mourwooe •It N. HfeMond H0742tt