Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1963)

Record Details:

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NEW SERIES VOL. 3, No. 52 TELEVISION DIGEST-11 UPBEAT '04 FORESEEN: Cheery, indeed, is outlook for 1964, if tenor of year-end reports by major electronics companies is criterion. Here are capsule summations of their views: RCA reported record sales & profits for 1963 (see financial table). .Chmn. David Sarnoff saw 1964 as "year of economic advance & heightened business activity." He predicted color set sales at 1. 2-1. 5 million, depending largely on picture -tube output. "In all its aspects, from manufacturing to broadcasting to servicing," he said, "color at the retail level promises to become a billiondollar industry in 1964." RCA, he added, expects to achieve record business & profits in 1964 for 3rd consecutive year. Reviewing 1963 operations, Gen. Sarnoff picked 3 segments of RCA's business as providing "decisive impetus to growth": (1) Color— "profits from the sale of color apparatus & related color services increased by 70% over the previous year." (2) Broadcasting— "NBC earned substantially greater profits than its previous record earnings year of 1962." (3) Data processing— sales & lease increased by more than 50% in 1963. GE has hopes of record $5 biUion sales in 1963 and "over-all, it looks good for 1964," in opinion of retiring Chmn. Ralph J. Cordiner. He said gross national product would expand in 1964 by 5-6%, declared "we expect to do better than that." He credited Consumer Goods Div. with "doing a terrific job," said sales strength of consumer goods, industrial equipment & international shipments will more than compensate for softening in defense & utility sales. GE is stUl plagued by anti-trust damage suits arising from 1961 electrical conspiracy case, but Cordiner said firm will soon settle some 2/3 of the claims for about $75 million. WeBtlnghouae expects 1963' s sales to top 1957' s record $2,009 billion and foresees volume rise in 1964. Pres. Donald C. Burnham forecast total 1964 sales of more than $27 billion for electrical manufacturing industry, up from 1963's projected $26.6 billion, said "Westinghouse expects its sales to parallel the experience of the industry." He noted that company "will enter 1964 with the largest backlog of orders since the 1953 Korean war period," said all product groups should contribute to anticipated 1964 improvement. Motorola is confident its 1964 business will "exceed 1963 in both sales and earnings," looks for "continued high level plateau of national prosperity in 1964," Pres. Robert W. Galvin reported. "Our greatest concern," he continued, "is whether the prospective tax cut in 1964 will be accompanied by the necessary concurrent reduction in the costs of govt." For Galvin's forecasts of Motorola's 1964 sales of TV, radios, hi-fi, other products, see Vol. 3:50 p8. Arvln InduBtries sales & earnings are at, or close to, record levels, and Pres. Eldo H. Stonecipher anticipates continuation of "good" business during 1964' s initial months. Outlook for 1963 is 10% earnings rise on 5% sales gain from 1962. Phllco'B future is bright, in opinion of Ford Chmn. Henry Ford IL "The American market for TV, radio, hi-fi & household appliances is far from saturated," he told Philco distributors at recent Detroit convention (Vol. 3:51 p8). "The market is not saturated when fewer than 1/4 of American homes have air conditioners, freezers & clothes dryers. The market for TV will not even approach saturation until color TV is as much a fixture in the American living room as black-&-white TV is now. And, even then, there will still be plenty of demand left to satisfy. . . As family income goes up, I think you can look forward to continued growth in the number of families owning two or more of the many products you seU." Packard Bell ElectronlCB expects earnings in fiscal1964' s opening quarter, ending Dec. 31, to more than double to more than $1. 35 a share from 61(1 a year earlier. Included will be 80(1 a share in capital gains, compared with 5(1 in 1962' s Oct. -Dec. period. Sales should match year-earlier's $14.3 million. Chmn.-Pres. Robert S. Bell forecast for total fiscal year "an improvement" over fiscal1963' s $1.1 million earnings on about same sales volume, $49. 4 million. ZENITH'S ALL-CHANNEL COLOR: New Zenith line, now being shown to dealers at distributor open houses, features more color sets (23 in all), slightly fewer b&w than previous series. Nine color consoles are available only in all-channel, some of them featuring unique radio type slide-rule dial with 2-speed tuning. All-channel color consoles run from $750 to $950 (including 6 remote models), about same prices as their predecessor vhfonly models of last spring. Also new to color line is $995 color combo (previous combos at $1, 300 & $1, 775 remain in line). Color sets stUl begin with ebony table model at $449. 95. Two 16-in. models continue to lead off b&w line (picture power stepped up to 17, 500 volts), but they're open list this time (formerly $149. 95-$ 159. 95). New 23-in. b&w combo with AM-FM is $449.95 (vs. $519. 95 for former lowest-priced combo), or $499.95 with FM stereo. Top of line b&w combo is $629.95 (vs. $650 top 6 months ago). Two all-new stereo portables lead off phono line. One is upside-down version of drop-down phono— it flips up, instead, using new changer only 7-1/2-in. wide, which sets on top of wing-speaker cabinet when top is flipped over. This 4-speaker unit is $129. 95. Also new is portable tilt-down phono with AM-FM & FM stereo radio at $229.95. Solid-state amplifiers are used in 8 stereo consoles & some TV combos. Columbia Records introduced 10 additions to its Masterwork line, including 2 transistorized 3 -piece "packaged component systems" in walnut cabinets— $225 for phono, amplifier & speakers, or $325 including AMFM-stereo timer. Portable phonos are $24. 95 to $139.95, latter being transistorized unit. AM-FM table radio at $39. 95 and AM-FM personal portable at $49. 95 were also introduced. * * * * Some Zenith TVs wiU be fair-traded in N. Y. for first time, under new policy of Zenith Radio Corp. of N. Y., factory-branch distributor. It's understood that aU color consoles, two 19-in. portables & two 23-in. consoles are involved. Fair trade prices have also been set by Zenith's N. J. distributor, Appolo Distributing Co. Motorola 1b teBtmarketing several hundred 23-in. rectangular color sets in Chicago. Production of the tube has been stepped up at National Video, and Motorola is tentatively planning on shipments of 23 -in. color sets in significant quantities in 1964's 2nd quarter.