Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1962)

2 FEBRUARY 19, 1962 legislative process, as opposed to the opportunity for more detailed, specific, carefully tailored treatment which an administrative agency can give." Comr. Lee supports all-channel-set idea but doesn't expect much from it. In address to IRE Fellows at Tarrytown, N. Y. last week, he said it may take "lifetime" for benefits to develop because: (1) "You can't write laws to compel people to install uhf antennas." (2) A govt.-industry committee would have to advise FCC on implementing new law — taking about 2 years of study. (3) Rule-making — another IV2 years. (4) Manufacturing tooling up time — a year. That takes you to about 1966, he said, and "the public will still be paying tribute to the prosperous few who cry every day on the way to the bank." Improved standards in uhf, urged by some, are "gimmicks," according to Lee who claimed that resultant incompatibility would be "kiss of death to uhf." Move everything to uhf, he repeated. He also gave engineers brief report on FCC's experimental uhf results in N. Y. : "The data from the first 100 locations indicates no significant difference, within 25 miles, of low vhf, high vhf and uhf transmissions." He noted that Adler Electronics has placed Ch. 77 repeater on tower of George Washington Bridge, to see how it fills shadows. Minow, Lee and staff engineers were in N. Y. Feb. 15 for look at station, rest of commissioners due for trip this week. Last week's group got fill-in from veteran RCA uhf experimenters headed by engineering vp Dr. George Brown. RCA has tested sets in about 100 locations. According to one FCC observer, RCA offered no conclusions. His own conclusion: "Reception of both vhf & uhf in lower Manhattan is poor — shadows & ghosts— and variations in uhf results seem no greater than vhf variations." Comr. Ford argues for all-channel measure in Feb. 24 TV Guide, stating that it's constitutional, "drafted very narrowly" to limit it to TV — that it won't let FCC dictate "how toasters are made." He counters argument that many people won't need uhf in their sets with statement that vhf sets have 12 channels, but almost no one can use all 12. CLOSED-CIRCUIT SYSTEM FOR N. Y.: One of most ambitious closed-circuit TV ventures will make programming debut in Manhattan March 1 — hooking up 35-40,000 hotel rooms in nearly 50 midtown hotels for 3 channels of commercial TV specially tailored to tourists & convention delegates. Eventual goal is 75,000 sets in 75 hotels. Project is operated by Teleguide, owned by Sterling Movies U.S.A. Inc., distributors of free film for TV stations — off -shoot of, but no longer connected with. Sterling TV Films. Teleguide quietly obtained city permission to lay own coaxial cable under 10-year franchise — first such franchise granted by city in 38 years. (City, incidentally, demanded limitation on commercials.) Firm has invested about $250,000 in project. Teleguide will provide 3 specialized channels for hotel guests — in addition, of course, to New York's 6 broadcast channels. Principal channel will be Ch. 6 (hotel bellboys are instructed to time sets to this channel when ushering guests into room). This will feature continuous performance of one-hour program 7 a.m. 1 a.m., giving highlights of entertainment attractions, shopping, sightseeing, together with news, time, weather, stock market reports, etc. Entire show will be changed weekly, although parts of show will be changed hourly. Featured commentators & personalities will be Bob Considine, Kenneth Banghart & Wendy Barrie. Ch. 3 will contain abbreviated 30-min. version of Ch. 6 show with foreign-language commentary — alternating French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish & Japanese. Ch. 10 will be "convention channel," with live, film & tape pickups from conventions, information for delegates, etc. Teleguide is rushing to get convention channel ready to debut with next month's huge IRE convention — city's biggest. Teleguide will limit commercials to 2* l * * * * &A minutes per quarter-hour under terms of agreement with city. Service is available to hotels without charge in either direction — hotel doesn't pay Teleguide, Teleguide doesn't pay hotel. However, Telegide will have optional "local commercial" set-up, installing slide machine & audio tape player in individual hotels to insert local commercials — keyed to operate during last 4 minutes of each hour on automatic signal from Teleguide studios at 43 W. 61st St. Hotels participate in revenues from these "local" commercials but not from so-called "network" commercials which are fed to all hotels. First Teleguide rate card, issued for Ch. 6, gives these basic rates (based on 50,000 sets). One hourly spot per day (18 times), $350 for 60 sec., $270 for 20 sec., $150 for 10 sec. Weekly rates (126 times) are $1,800, $1,200 & $800.