Na.' Libr October 5, 1959 © 1959 Triangle Publications, Inc
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WEEKLY Television Digest NA.' LIBR OCTOBER 5, 1959 © 1959 TRIANGLE PUBLICATIONS, INC. ezi VOL. 15: No. 40 The authoritative service for executives engaged in all branches of the television arts & industries SUMMARY -INDEX OF WEEK'S NEWS Congress Manufacturing dr Distribution TV QUIZ SPECTACULAR promoted by Harris, who reserves big STEEL STRIKE HAS INDUSTRY UNEASY as stockpiles dwindle. cacus room for crowds expected for House hearings this week on Survey of manufacturers shows TV sales generally good & im- 1958 network show -scandals (p. 1). Other Congress (p. 4). proving, but continued strike will begin to cut buying power nationally (p. 14). FCC ARMSTRONG FM -TV PATENT suits make progress in & out of POSING THE EQUAL -TIME PROBLEMS, panel of top-flight attorneys court. Most manufacturers now have settled claims. Emerson case 1 at Federal Bar Assn. meeting points up FCC's tough job of draft- may set costly precedent (pp. 15 & 17). ing new rules (pp. 2 & 4). RUSSIAN ELECTRONICS ON UPBEAT, say Microwave Associates' Film á Tape Atchley and Jerrold's Shapp, recently returned from Soviet Union (p. 16). LATIN-AMERICAN FILM -TAPE SUPERMARKET and framework for OCDM STUDYING IMPORTS IMPACT on U.S. electronics industry's tape network-that's TISA, which may unite big Cuban & Mexican defense capacity (p. 16). interests for first time, handling Latin film needs (p. 2). Networks Auxiliary Services DIMENSIONS OF THE CATV INDUSTRY, as shown in new Fact- SPACE TV RELAY TESTS by Bell Labs to begin early next year, book directory: about 2,250,000 people served by 597 systems. to TV using passive balloon satellites relay pictures 2,300 miles in Average U.S. system has 1,210 homes, Canadian, 846 (p. 4). single hop (p. 3). Programming CBS -TV ANNUAL DISCOUNT due for some changes in April (p. 9). WEE SMALL HOURS going big for N.Y. outlets, practically all of Stations which are on the air after midnight to create new time periods BRITISH -BUILT TV CAMERA Marconi Mark IV that's loaded with for TV advertisers (p. 6). features including 41/2 in. tube, is demonstrated by Ampex in N.Y. BARTER MERCHANTS FIND FEW TAKERS. Distributors discover for potential buyers (pp. 3 & 8). doors are closed to time -for -film deals in prosperous L.A. (p. 6). 2 -COLOR SYSTEM TESTS, based on Dr. Land's discoveries, show WESTERN RATING SLUMP is indicated in figures of both Nielsen 3 -color system still best. Plea for more TV transmitter power (p. 8). and Trendex. This summer, top Westerns took a 12% drop, and Advertising performance so far this season has not been spectacular (p. 7). cat Other Departments TvB PROFILES AUDIENCES in voluminous new study, "How to Reach People'. (pr 11). PERSONALS (p. 10). FINANCE (p. 18). FOREIGN (p. 19). ETV (p. 20). cas ti TV QUIZ SPECTACULAR PROMOTED BY HARRIS: This is headline -comeback week for 1u Oren Harris (D -Ark.) & his House Commerce legislative oversight subcommittee. Although FCC TV "influ- ;cl 1 ence" exposes were among hottest things on Capitol Hill in 1958, the subcommittee has done little since. They're hopefully trying another news -making format-public hearings on last year's big -money network -TV quiz -show scandals (Vol. 15:37)-after failing so far in 1959 to come up with anything like 1958's FCC sensations, despite early -session promises (Vol. 15:1). Large House caucus room has been reserved for quiz investigation by Harris. He hasn't needed it to handle crowds of hearing spectators since oversight subcommittee began breaking story of backdoor con- e' nixing for Miami Ch. 10 (see p. 5) in Feb. 1958 (Vol. 14:7). , I Quiz probe will be continuous show in the hearings which open 10 a.m. Oct. 6 in high-ceilinged cham- ber on 3rd floor of old House Office Bldg. Hearings are scheduled to run morning & afternoon through Oct. 9-with extended engagement possible next week if this week's performances by witnesses warrant it. dx Booked for hearings is "selected" cast of witnesses, according to subcommittee counsel Robert W. Lishman. They're expected to include contestants, network officials, producers, sponsors-many of whom 55 á appeared before N.Y. Grand Jury which explored allegations that winners were coached on answers. www.americanradiohistory.com 2 OCTOBER 5, 1959 "Some of the witnesses will be reluctant," counsel Lishman told us. "We've had to issue a con- siderable number of subpoenas to get them down here. Most of them started out to be cooperative when we :__ st talked to them about appearing, but as soon as they get close to the hearings they start to get worried c..)out the publicity." Rough script for Harris hearings has been outlined by subcommittee staffers who spent weeks look for leads in minutes of Grand Jury-which returned no indictments. No precise roster of witnesses was r ady at last week's end in Harris's absence from Washington, however. And other subcommittee sources bid us he plans to run proceedings largely by ear-with no set order for witnesses to be called. Harris '_.as insisted that purpose of hearings isn't to revive stale scandal stories but to determine whether new FCC cr FTC regulations are needed to protect public from any fraud perpetrated by TV programs. O S I N G THE EQUAL -TIME PROBLEMS: Broadcasters are pleased with new political equal time law (Vol. 15:36), but there's going to be a lot of groping & experimenting before either the industry or L. cvt. is comfortable with it. That was quite clear from a panel discussion on subject sponsored by the Federal i it Assn. in Washington Sept. 25. The panel of capable industry & govt. attorneys, assembled by moderator Harry Plotkin, did an c :ceptional job of pointing up the knowns & unknowns. It comprised: FCC Comr. Fred Ford, CBS v.p. Richard Lclant, NAB chief counsel Douglas Anello, Justice Dept. attorney Richard Solomon (recently from FCC), r , ivate practitioner Joseph Rauh. Host of questions was raised, and it's obvious that FCC will just have to try to anticipate as many problems as it can, as it drafts new rules, hoping that the rules will cover most major squabbles as they c-_ise. A major uncertainty is this: Broadcasters no longer need to give candidates equal time to compensate c: the appearance of their opponents on certain types of news programs. However, broadcasters also must L:, "fair" about the whole news schedule. How & when will a broadcaster's "fairness" be judged by FCC? _r_imediately upon the filing of a complaint? Several years later, at license renewal time? No one knew. (= or details of the discussion, see p. 4.) LATIN-AMERICAN FILM -TAPE SUPERMARKET: A master film -buying -&-selling organi- tion for Latin-American TV stations and the headquarters of a video-tape network spanning the Spanish - :,l eaking world-these are aspirations of year -old Television Interamericana S.A. (TISA), which may soon unite Latin America's biggest telecasting interests for first time. Preliminary talks between Cuban & Mexican TV moguls Goar Mestre & Emilio Azcarraga in Havana (Vol. 15:38) have been encouraging enough to warrant further discussions between the 2 this week at the : _`.eramerican Assn. of Broadcasters' biennial convention in Mexico City. "Within the next 30 days we'll .r_ow if Mexico is coming in," says Mestre-"but at any rate, we're set up for business." Actually, TISA has been in business for some time. It is owned jointly by Mestre's CMQ-TV net- Drk, RCA distributors Lastra & Humara's Cuban CMFB-TV network, the John G. Johnson group which owns :.-APA-TV San Juan, P.R., and Venezuela's 4 -station Radio Caracas network. Mestre is pres.; Benigno Nosti, c::-CMBF-TV film mgr., is full-time exec. v.p. "TISA aspires to supply a reasonable percentage of the film needs of Latin America -both our mem bcr and non-member stations," Mestre told us, "We hope also to lay the groundwork for a tape interchange. between Latin-American countries." In telefilm field, TISA has 3 ways of operating: (1) It serves as a pooled buying organization to cquire film material of all types on world market for its member stations. (2) It will accumulate, when market conditions are favorable, U.S. film which has already been dubbed for Spanish-speaking market. (3) it is acquiring Latin-American rights (on a 3 -to -5 -year basis) to U.S. film properties, either on a flat sum or rticipating basis (a percentage after recouping dubbing costs), for member stations and resale to others. Latter plan apparently is heart of TISA at the moment. Under this technique, TISA buys non -dubbed handles complete dubbing (in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba or Venezuela) & distribution. It already has c:cquired rights to 10 CBS Films properties-including Gunsmoke, Lucy, Trackdown, Have Gun-Will Travel, i _.znie Oakley, Whirlybirds, Perry Mason, Navy Log. It is handling distribution arrangements (under plan N ). 2) for such CBS properties as The Whistler, Foreign Legion, cartoons, CBS News. Although deals so far l.c.ve been only with CBS, basic theory of TISA requires that it work with most, if not all, 'TV film distributors. www.americanradiohistory.com VOL. 15: No. 40 3 Though some U.S. film distributors look with alarm at TIS.A as possible price -depressing cartel, Mestre says this just isn't so. As he explains it: "We're not trying to buy all film material for Latin-American stations-just a reasonable percentage . "A large number of U.S. syndicators have been deceived about the potential of the Latin-American market," he says.