Variety (July 1959)

42 TV nOf MXUAL PftSRIETY ^ Wednesday, July 8, 1939 A Market-By-Market Telefilm Appraisal , Continued from page 40 , each time around, the station/has been able to get good mileage out of its supply. The CBS outlet last season dropped., a long-running lineup of local shows Starting at 10:15 p.m. to get an equal start with the Paar show, and has improved its ratings considerably thereby; although not enough, to make a real dent in the NBC ratings. quately coyer with existing product. The price of feature film is but of proportion to its value,” the WWJ spokesman continued. “The pricing situation has contributed greatly to making the feature film unattractive as a station pro- , gram property. With the exception of weekend, late- evening feature film programs, WWJ is elimijnating first- run feature film packages in its plans for the 1 fall.” Tape Shows Competition For Features in Detroit By FRED TEW Detroit Tape shows may have an important place in Detroit tv stations programming plans for next fall. If appears that in at least two situations they figure to compete directly with feaiure film fare, heretofore the heltwether of late-evening viewing here. While details naturally are lacking at this early date, it is apparent that WWJ. WXYZ and WJBK are dis¬ enchanted with feature films.: The latter two are itching to try some new late evening formats. WWJ is relying on the Jack Paar show to maintain its high viewer interest but is thinking about tape substitutes should that interest begin to wane. Only CKLW remains enamored of feature films for late evening viewing. In a survey of local attitudes toward tv films, profound disagreement over the value of feature films was un¬ covered in discussions with toppers at WXYZ, CKLW and WWJ. For the second consecutive year, WJBK Officials declined to participate in the! survey. However, plans of the S.crcr cutlet here were obtained from reliable sources. - More than any other local station, WJBK is committed to a policy of trying taped shows in late evening is an effort to breakup the large blocks of Viewers devoted to V.'WJ's Jack Paar Show. WXYZ’s Soupy Sales Show, and the feature film offerings of CKLW. WXYZ and CKLW will obtain tape equipment shortly; WXYZ expects its tape machines to be in use this month. It plans to tape commercials and live local shows. Tenta¬ tive plans are to syndicate ojae or two of the local pro¬ grams. undoubtedly one of them being the Soupy Sales Show. Sponsors Balk at Higher Tab 1 Spokesmen for WWJ, WXYZ and CKLW agreed that film prices, both syndicated and feature, are stable. WWJ amplified that by saying that distributors* asking prices have bey n higher but tin.- station has “found i necessary lb resist these prices simply because sponsors are unable to absoro the higher costs. This resistance on the part o’ the buyer nas caused the prices to remain fairly stable."' CKLW, in stating that the stable prices, con¬ tinue to be “much too expensive." added: “Only such sponsors as tobacco companies and breweries can afford the syndicated series on a regional basis." In regard to sponsorship patterns. CKLW ; said that the half-hour syndicated shows attract a few local jewelers, furniture stores and building-supply firms on an individu¬ al or co-sponsorship basis, while feature films attract a v. v.e \r.rie.y of jewelers, auto dealers, remodelers and appliance companies; WWJ said that “full sponsorship con- tinues to be quite rare. Eiemand for alternate-week sponsorship is on the same level as last year, and one minute participation continues to increase." The three stations said that the supply of syndicated ' films is adequate, W T W T J added: “Strip programming has p «< ', i~- jucco sftil and jmore. films are needed in this area. Only a few good series are available for strip- I •* i ... I this siiitation should, be remedied wiih t me. We are looking for network shows with a proven track record and an adequate backlog of films (usually iiw years or more». such as ‘The Life of Riley,’ ‘Mir: A'** and Eve.’ etc. : WWJ’s spokesman continued: “It is not really a question <:* ica'.ea film material. In many ea**e.< the. station prefers to program a first-run-off network package, that js a proven audience success i‘T Love Lucy," "The Honeymooners.” etc.) rather than a ‘fresh* first-run, bi cor.d-rate syndicated series.” ' . Vkcd if there was a need Tor more diversity in syndi-. caied film subject matter, CKLW’s spokesman said: "There is no need for more diversity. We feel producers have k:p -abreast cf the cycles with western films, the hottest item at the moment. Previous cycles featured whodunits" and situation comedies." However, WWJ's spokesman dis¬ agreed, saying there is a great need for more diversity because “syndicated film companies still are playing ‘fol- lou-the-leader/ Some producers, of course, have been will¬ ing to risk their money on new or unique program^ ideas, and some companies have come up with some' offbeat program series. But most are sticking to the tried arid true formula causing the syndicated offerings to;lack the needed balance.” In regard to feature films. CKLW, which has the most local feature film listings, reported: “Our feature film backlog is more than sufficient. Because of our program¬ ming we are probably the only station able to make that statement in the Detroit area; However.we always are in the market for good features at a reasonable price." WWJ’s spokesman said: “Although we have not purchased a fea¬ ture film package in more than two years, the station h > more than enough material for its present and projected tea me film programming needs.” ' /-ked what they would program if no large new group of Elm features are released to tv, the spokesmen an¬ swered as follows: WXYZ: “Some of the many excellent. pro£,r;.ms now current around the country which are certain to be taped. Some are available now. such as “Divorce Court," “Cuban Baseball.’* “Paul Coates." etc." C'KLW: "By the time our large feature backlog runs dry, , tape and syndicated film will undoubtedly supply a great ncr.-ure of programming, hut;we are not anticipating any difficulty in respect to features for several years." WWJ: “With the apparent.lessening;of public interest in feature fibns. we would not be hampered in programming if no large group of films are released for television. In the daily late-evening time periods where independent and CBS-affiliated stations »WJBK) normally program fea¬ ture films. NBC station iWWjj) basks in the high ratings enjoyed by Jack Paar. This jleaves only the late-evening weekend film programs which we can more than ade- Baltimore’s Well-Fed Picture, With Everyone Seemingly Content By LOU CEDRONE Baltimore. Overall picture is still a cheerful, wellrfed one here, with reps of all three outlets sounding a note of com tentment. TV-Film. wise they’re happy but “still looking" and feature-wise, they’ve still'got a lot of coal to burn before they need to look elsewhere for fuel.. All three stations, WJZ-TV, WMAR-T.V and WBAL-TV, are still heavy with features they haven’t shown and it will be several years before all that have been purchased, .will be seen at least once: Heaviest in the feature . department is still WJZ-TV w;hich recently added to library with 143 Screen Gem package. This, in addition to.MGM, RKO; and UA titles, represents a heavy investment and while it has paid off handsomely for the station,'.indications are that it will do more of the same. ; Station has topped other: two Stations in ratings in 12. of last 17 months and feature films are credited with haying played a big role. And, though .they’ve played many of the biggest items, there are more to come, said a rep. who added that they ..won’t-have to Worry about a shortage of Hollywood prod¬ uct “for a long while." . At other two stations, picture is about the same. WMAR- TV is still playing: it slow, introducing one new feature each week with no indication that, it’ll change the routine. WBAL-TV is probably best stocked with unseen prod¬ uct. It still has a heavy backlog of unveiled Warner Bros, films and has not yet. begun to dip into the Paramount package, which is big and heavy. Station has least to worry about and spokesman for, station said thev are not too concerned about what will happen even when all these are shown. “I believe." he said,, “that the. Hollywood film will he replaced, or at-least supplemented by specials made for tv showings: and packages of bigger , regulars like ‘Play- house 90.’ These will be and some are already being sold on a syndication hasis to stations and . with the gradual but inevitable depletion of the film feature, the tv-made ‘feature’ will take its place," he: said, ...Lfl^the fea 5 ur ? film, video tape seems, here to stay. With D V ^^ rea ?-\,^ possesSion of -Iwo recorders and both MAR-T.V and V, BAL-TV oil order for one each, tape is destined to play a big part in the coming years Local pioneer in this field is WJZ-TV which has been usmg video tape recorder, for at least 18 months "We’re completely happy with it," said, an exec, “as our use of it shows. We’ve taped our editorials, musical snows, commercials, announcements and spots for late showing. It’s given us great mobility, more than we could ever have had before.". ti AH ^ stations, seem happy with sponsor turnout. Were flooded ’ says one. “We’ve got all we want," savs the second. Were very satisfied/’. says the third. And «s any viewer of the late showings can tell you what they say seems to hold water. .: They're not too. concerned about acquiring new film ; series General. attitude: is thai they have pretty much K h W tney .k* 1 * ars "always, open to another good buy because that s the nature of the business ” One. out let has series it hasn't “even used vet! because we don t need it-right now.” The 4-Statiutt Minneapolis Pictures; Some Opposites and Paradoxes By BOB REES In this Twin Cities market with its four^ommercial o/nbg W aS? C °' TV ? nd WTCN - TV . affiliates Si N1 a C ’ - ? a d AB P’ respectively, and National Tele¬ film Associate s non-network KMSP-TV, not to mention ; r-P^wi ? Stat ? n ’ KTCA-TV, the situation with re j?i}p Tv m presents some far. opposites and paradoxes. .. * ST , P_ P.’ w ?' ch -shares with WCCO-TV the distinc¬ tion -of being f he largest and most prosperous. of the quartet .and. which, m fact, is one of the nation’s top independent video operations, has attained its enormous success with practically no attention whatsoever, to Tea* ture films m its programming. And the coming fall and v inter will find that programming sans any such theatre feature pictures, but comparatively heavy reliance on syndicated half-hour telefilms: . WCCO-TV. also, comparatively, will be devoting littit time to the feature pictures. On the other hand, emphasizing feature films in their programming since being taken over bv new owners Life-Time’s WTCN-TV and NTA's KMSP-TV, have been making enormous billings gains. As to be expected and what’s undoubtedly also the case elsewhere tape in this market will be cutting an increas- ingly important programming swath. Two of the stations WCCO-TV and KMSP-TV; already have installed the equipment at costs of from $50,000 to $60,000 and KSTP- TV situation is planning its installation. ... A survey of the local situation re the 1959 film fall and uinter outlook follows: All four stations are well-heeled—practically bought up and with large backlogs—as far as their 1959-60 film requirements are concerned. The two feature picture stations’ libraries, .are. sufficient to meet about two years* needs even, if 1959, 1960 and 1961 find no more theatre oldie features being offered for sale during that period. Amount of programming devoted to films—telefilms and feature pictures—runs from as. little, as 5% in KSTP-TV’s case to as. high as 88% for non-network. KMSP-TV/ WTCN-TV estimates its investment In feature films to aggregate around $1,500,000. Investment in syndicated telefilms totals up to $500,000 in KSTP-TV and WCCO-TV Instances/. This is only, one of relatively few cities in the ITS. with four or more commercial tv stations and because; of resultant stiff competition the costs of both, telefilms and. : feature pictures are excessive. .The syndicated telefilms are costing the stations from $500 : to $600 each. The stations feel that $400 would be a fair price. . Feeling among the stations is that there’s plenty of room for improvement and diversity in telefilms. Gener¬ ally, however, there’s reasonable satisfaction with the • fare’s quality. As. far as feature films go/there are more poor than good ones, but when large, packages are bought that’s to be expected; . Both feature pictures and syn¬ dicated telefilms command tppnotch national' and local, sponsorship of all varieties. ; I" ,’;V ' . KSTP.TV a : / .. ' ~T Stanley E. Hubbard KSTP operation, which started* small, now occupies two city blocks (tv and radio stations . I under one roof > and in physical equipment alone repre¬ sents a $4,900 000 investment. It’s regarded as onC of the nation’s largest and most prosperous independent tv- radio stations: Hubbard had the vision to foresee video’s potential from the cutset and his station was the first to launch tv programs. He’s strong for telefilms and anti- feature pictures; He has prospered mightily on the^ theory, that feature films are for theatres where they can* be presented to so much better advantage and. generally,, will be much superior in quality. His programming inr. eludes what Hubbard believes to be the 12 best half-hour syndicated telefilms in the market, on from 9:30 to 10 two nights a week and from 10:30 to. II five nights a week. I . ' . WCCOTY /. ' ' , T CBS affiliate, WCCO/largely owned by the Cowles and Ridder interests—the same interests that own the Minne¬ apolis ACowiesi and $t. Paul (Ridder) only daily news¬ papers, also is an enormously successful and profitable operaiion=-^probably sharing the number one Twin Cities* position with KSTP-TV, if it isn’t actually the top in size of its facilities and total audience. Its radio station, which claims a larger audience than all of the other Twiii Cities’, audio stations combined, occupies separate quarters. Station , uses eight feature pictures a week/buying them in packages in the open market. They are 20th-Fox. Colum¬ bia and Universal releases. The library of some 14. pack¬ ages comprises about 500 features and the investment amounts to approximately $500,000. it’s a sufficient back-; log to see the station through the 1959-60 fall arid .winter, according to F., Von Koriyneriburg, general-mariager/ Top features are presented Sunday afternoons in a show called “Command Performance" that has garnered high ratings: Some of the best films are rerun about every . ssix rnonths. • ; W'CCO-TV programming is 60% network. 25% on films and 15% live. Its syndicated half-hour telefilm presenta¬ tions average around 23 per week arid are a mixture of first and second runs. “The trend with us will be with tape and with the de¬ velopment of local live formats," says Van Konyneriburg; “We find that the public will respond to a program, de¬ pending upon its appeal and quality, regardless of whether it’s network, feature filin, syndicated telefilm or locally produced, but we believe iCs to our best interests to ex¬ pand our own locally produced live .shows. WTCN-TV ' ■ ■. • ; . V J_ I ABC affiliated WTCN was acquired by Tirne-Llfe in May, 1957, and lost no time in going to town in a big way in feature picture programming. Under the present owner¬ ship-management it has shown a 52% gain in gross income^ with the “selling” of the feature films and their quality given considerable credit for the big increase in business. The new ownership bought the complete Paramount package of feature films, Warner Bros, and some of the M-G-M and United Artists releases to video, investing more than $1,500,000 in a library that now numbers more than 1.200 such pictures. Then it started exploiting and adver¬ tising these pictures as “Movie Spectaculars" in a way that would do the most showmanship-minded of theatres proud and/actually causing much consternation in exhibitor ranks hereabouts. The station presents 11 feature films a weeH—five in the mornings, seven at 10 o’clock and one Friday late, late show. Morning. “Spectaculars" never are repeats of the night before pictures. There are some repeats of top pictures, however, about every six months. WTCN-TV’s investment in telefilms, totals about a half- million dollars, according to station manager Bill Hoffman. There are 10 of these half-hour syndicated film shows weekly, four of them reruns and .six offered for the first time here.. The percentage of programming on film will remain, at from 10 to 12% next fall and winter, says Hoffman. Net¬ work shows account for 60% of the programming at this station. Its only locally produced shows are one for chilr dren at 5 p.m. and news shows at 11:45 a.tn. and 9;45 p.m. daily. ' T- -./ . kmsp-tv | National Telefilm .Associates non-network KMPS-TV station, under vice president-general manager Don Swartz’s able direction, started .with a feature picture programming bang when its present owners took over in Nov., 1957; and it still gives a measure of proiriinence to the.feature films. But its programming expansion has been in the direction of much other film and locally produced shows, especially since its tape equipment installation late last year. . The gain in advertising revenue here, amounting to 300% over what it was at the end of the previous owner¬ ship a year a nd a half ago, is considered Remarkable ’. Recently, with considerable rating success, the station added six NTA taped in New York and now syndicated , around*the nation SOrminuted taped telefilm shows/ These are th^ Mike Wallace interviews five nights a week and once - a - week Bishop Sheen, Henry Morgan, Alexander King, “Jukebox Jury" and “People’s Choice.” The Mike . Wallace interviews, Henry Morgan and Alexander King now compete with the late-at-night Jack Paar network show on KSTP-TV and considerable inroads on the latter’* audience are claimed. “We’re going to town on tape,” asserts Swartz. “Our taped shows are 80%.sold to topdrawer national and local advertisers.”