Drop -Ins End up in Short -Spaced Grave

GOVERNMENT Drop -ins end up in short -spaced grave

ADVERSE EFFECT ON UHF IS MAJOR POINT IN FCC DECISION

The FCC last week finally buried its means every proposal for a VHF chan- Voting to deny the drop -ins were proposal to drop short- spaced VHF nel drop -in or change in location -even outgoing Chairman Newton N. Minow, channels into seven markets as a means at standard separations-will have to his successor as chairman, E. William of providing those areas with a third be scrutinized to determine whether it Henry, and Commissioners Robert T. VHF network. The vote on the con- will adversely affect the development Bartley and Robert E. Lee. Commis- troversial issue was 4 -3. of UHF. sioners Frederick W. Ford, Rosel H. The commission held that the pro- The markets that were to have re- Hyde and Kenneth A. Cox dissented. posal is no longer needed improve ceived the drop -ins are Johnstown, Pa. to This was the same line -up by which the (channel Baton Rouge, (channel competitive position of ABC with 8); La. the commission instructed the staff respect to CBS and 11) ; Dayton, Ohio (channel 11) ; Jack- NBC and that ap- three months ago to draft the order proval of the drop -ins would impede sonville, Fla. (channel 10); Birming- denying the drop -ins (BROADCASTING, the development of UHF television. ham, Ala. (channel 3) ; Knoxville, March 11). The majority also maintained that Tenn. (channel 8); and Charlotte, enactment last year of the all- channel N. C. (channel 6). Cox Tries Commissioner Cox re- receiver legislation has considerably The commission, in the same order portedly made a strong argument for changed conditions in television since as that denying the drop -ins, modified a compromise proposal to head off out- the commission originally proposed the the license of KOCO -TV, now on channel right rejection of the drop -ins. Under drop -ins two years ago (BROADCASTING, 5 in Enid, Okla., to specify operation his plan, the drop -ins would have been July 31, 1961). The commission is on that channel in Oklahoma City. approved, but successful applicants for counting on the new law to promote But, the commission said, the station the channels would have had to oper- the spread of UHF stations. will be required to observe standard ate dual UHF -VHF stations and then Solid Victory Supporters of UHF mileage separations and to maintain an surrender their VHF channels after TV consider the order an all -out vic- auxiliary studio in Enid to provide seven years. tory, for it indicates the commission in local service for that community. Origi- The commission, in originally pro- the future will be extremely solicitous nally, the commission proposed moving posing the drop -ins was concerned of UHF's welfare. They say the com- channel 5 to Oklahoma City at sub- about the immediate need for service mission's position on the drop -ins standard spacing. in the affected markets as well as ABC's need for additional VHF affili- ates. And that network was the strong- est supporter of the drop -in plan. The FCC last week, however, said WAVE -TV and WFIE -TV that while programs to assign three VHF channels to major markets have done much to rectify the competitive Cover 383.1 miles of the Ohio River Valley! imbalance between the networks, "they have done little to advance a final solution of utilizing the UHF frequencies. (in Depth as well as Width!) Rather, these programs have prejudiced CINCIN NATI long-range UHF growth by removing CGIUM.EII) demand for the service. "In view of what has been accom- plished to aid the network television VINCENhES structure and the considerations stem- JEFFERSONVILLE NEW LBANY ' fRANKFORF ming from the enactment of the all- LOUISVILLE channel receiver legislation," the com- EVANSVILLE#PI LEXINGTON FORI KNO mission added, "the continuation of

WENSICRO 'interim' programs cannot be justified." By rejecting the drop -in proposal, the commission jettisoned the second part of a two -part package it proposed BOWLING GREEN in 1961 as a partial solution to the UHF -VHF problem. The other part dealt with the deintermixture of eight WAVE -TV, Louisville markets through the deletion of their VHF channels to make WFIE -TV, Evansville them all-UHF. WAVE Radio, Louisville That proposal created a storm of controversy in Congress, and the com- WFRV(TV), Green Bay mission, then campaigning for passage REpRESE41ED of its all -channel receiver bill, promised to drop the plan if the receiver bill were passed (AT DEADLINE, March 19. 1962).

44 BROADCASTING, Moe 3, 1963