Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

10 JUNE 27, 1960 The New Nielsens: Broadcasters, agencies and advertisers last week received a new set of planned specifications for the 1961 Nielsen coverage service. Highlights: 1. TV “circulation” on a county-by-county basis will be measured in the Mar.-Apr. 1961 period. Eadio will be surveyed in mid-Oct. and mid-Dec. 2. TV-radio figures will be released by Nielsen as soon as the 1960 census counts on receiver ownership can be applied to percentage tabulations being held by Nielsen. Estimated delivery date: mid-summer of 1961. 3. The sample will include 375,000 families. Returns will cover a minimum of 40% of the homes in the sample, although an average of 50% or better is expected. 4. A total of 2,930 counties (including sub-divisions) will be measured individually, with 146 counties combined into 70 “county clusters.” 5. The NCS data will report on “the total audience to a station over an extended period of time.” It won’t report audiences to specific programs or time periods (which Nielsen does with ratings). 6. The TV-radio survey periods are said by Nielsen to “represent average audience conditions typical of the commercial use of these media.” Radio measurements will include out-of-home listening. 7. Subscribing stations will receive 100 mapped copies of their own station report without additional cost, with extra copies available at reprint charges. Management-use copies of the coverage of all stations serving a station’s home county will also be provided. Agencies & admen subscribing to NCS are to receive a master report of the complete circulation report and the station report, with extra copies available. NAB’s Radio Code Board, new counterpart of the TV Code Review Board (Vol. 16:25 p9), is headed by Cliff Gill (KEZY Anaheim, Cal.), who was chmn. of the predecessor Radio Standards of Good Practice Committee. Other Code Board members appointed by the NAB policy committee chaired by Clair R. McCollough (Steinman Stations): Richard O. Dunning (KHQ Spokane), Elmo Ellis (WSB Atlanta), James L. Howe (WIRA Fort Pierce, Fla.), Robert B. Jones Jr. (WFBR Baltimore), Herbert L. Krueger (WTAG Worcester, Mass.), Robert L. Pratt (KGGF Coffeyville, Kan.), George J. Volger (KWPC, Muscatine, la.), Cecil Woodland (WEJL Scranton). Partial purchase by S. I. Newhouse of the Springfield (Mass.) Union, News and Sunday Republican for approximately $4 million from relatives of the late Sherman Bowles doesn’t affect ownership of WHYN-TV (Ch. 40) Springfield-Holyoke. The station is 50% oAvned by Republican Television Inc., which in turn is owned by the Employes Beneficial Fund of the papers, but the publishing company itself has no ownership in WHYN-TV. Bowles had willed 45% of the newspaper stock to his immediate family, 40% to relatives, the remaining 15% to the employe fund. Newhouse’s buy included the relatives’ 40% & rights to the family’s 45%, but not the employes’ holdings. New facilities: KKTV Colorado Springs has 12-kw RCA transmitter on hand and plans power boost July 12 to 237.6-kw from new site on Cheyenne Mt. • KSTP-TV & KSTP St. Paul-Minneapolis expect to “more than triple” facilities after move to $9 million 15-story office-hotel building KSTP Inc. is building at site adjoining its present quarters. • KTBC-TV & KTBC Austin, Tex. have set Sept, completion date for new 5-story building at 10th & Brazos. License revocation proceedings against radio KIMN Denver for “vulgar, obscene” broadcasts (Vol. 16:6 pll) have been dropped by FCC, Chmn. Ford dissenting. At the same time. Commission issued a cease-&-desist order against the station, which had protested the proposed revocation on grounds that the offensive material had been broadcast without KIMN management’s knowledge by a since-dismissed announcer. Although lifting the threat of license loss, FCC said “a licensee’s unfamiliarity with its program content reflects an indifference tantamount in effect to abdication of control.” In his dissent Chmn. Ford said he wanted to go ahead with a hearing for KIMN. Strike-bound WJZ-TV Baltimore & AFTRA were still deadlocked at the weekend, but both had met with the Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service and established ground-rules for mediation meetings which begin today (27). Management & supervisory employes have been telecasting since the strike without interruption. Involved in the strike, which began June 20, are 4 staff announcers and 3 free-lance contract performers — all members of AFTRA’s Washington-Baltimore local. Among the key issues: base pay, remuneration for announcers who substitute for talent. The issues had been under sporadic discussion for 5 months before the breakdown in negotiations. Committee to study Canadian TV & radio bcstg. has been voted by the Parliament, but which will get priority has not been announced. Last year a committee probed operations of CBC, but opposition this year has demanded study of legislation rather than actual operations of BBG or of TV or radio station owners. Committee is due to expire when Parliament adjourns, expected about July 31. WKOW-TV (Ch. 27) Madison, Wis. has been sold for $925,000 to Midcontinent Bcstg. Co. (Joe Floyd, pres.), operator of KELO-TV (Ch. 11) Sioux Falls, satellites KDLO-TV (Ch. 3) Florence, KPLO-TV (Ch. 6) Reliance, all S.D., and radios WLOL St. Paul & KSO Des Moines. Radio WQXI Atlanta has been sold by Robert W. Rounseville for $1,850,000 to Esquire Bcstg. Co. of Atlanta Inc. — Esquire magazine’s first broadcast acquisition. Ottawa hearings of Canadian BBG June 23 included application by CHAU-TV Carleton, Que. for low-power Ch. 80 satellite at Mont Blanc, Que. Educational Television Govt. Pays $4 Million for ETV: Started last year under Title VII of the National Defense Education Act, federallyfinanced research in educational TV and other audio-visual teaching aids (Vol. 16:18 pl4) already has cost more than $4 million — and $609,994 is earmarked now for new studies. U.S. Education Comr. Lawrence G. Derthick, reporting “significant progress” in the program, said $1.6 million was spent in fiscal 1959 on 23 research projects & 13 information-dissemination contracts. So far in fiscal 1960, an additional $2.49 million has been obligated for a total of 82 projects & 23 contracts. Derthick said 20 more research projects, 11 dissemination contracts and 14 small grants recently approved by the Advisory Committee on New Educational Media will cost $609,994. Meanwhile Purdue U. Pres. Frederick Hovde, Mrs. Margaret Divizia of the Los Angeles public schools system and Houghton Mifflin Co. Pres. William Spaulding were appointed to the 14-member Advisory Committee to help review research applications.