NETWORKS fell far short of Sergeant Preston of the QUIZ PROBE VIRUS MAY SPREAD Yukon in New York City ARB ratings last Thursday night (Sept. whereas in Au- hassle over two major Stempel. references also to 4)- The allegations that There are psy- gust its rating was virtually double Preston's. tv network quiz programs were "rigged" chiatric problems and treatment. Later Thursday night, The Price Is Right continued last week amid indications the Next development was disclosure that fell behind Playhouse 90, which it had probe might spread to other quiz shows. $18,500 in two checks of $8,500 and $10; beaten substantially in ARB's August New 000 were advanced to Mr. Stempel while the Conceded by the New York district at- York ratings. investigators have received a contestant was still on the show and at the torney: The These ARB ratings represent, for last about other shows. time winning more than $50,000. According number of complaints week's shows, New York measurements via As of now, the district attorney is con- to Mr. Enright, the money was advanced because the contestant had threatened to the new Arbitron instant ratings system, centrating on Dotto, which was killed over while the August figures were compiled via leave the show, his winnings were running the Aug. 16 weekend by sponsor Colgate - the ARB diary method. ARB had hoped high and interest was building up. Palmolive, and Twenty-One, accused of fix- to night Of the tape recording, Mr. Stempel also secure Thursday measurements ing by a contestant who won $49,500 by- on its seven-city network Arbitron, which is charged it was "doctored," that he had not he claimed- giving answers prepared for now being tested and slated to go commer- replied "yes" to the question about black- him in advance. cial within a week or 10 days, but a short mail and that he had in fact answered "no." The district attorney in time will take up circuit knocked the multi-city set -up out of Meanwhile, the district attorney asked the other complaints, it was acknowledged, commission for three hours Thursday eve- for financial and program records of and should any one of them appear to con- both ning. quiz programs and began studying these tribute to the probe of quiz practices, the In New York Arbitron gave Tic Tac shows involved will be studied. along with the cancelled checks and the tape recording. Dough a 4.5 rating in the 7:30 -8 p.m. Thurs- The quiz rumpus took a sensational and day period against 11.1 for Sergeant Preston. in New York during the week. During the week, the probers continued florid turn interrogation In the ARB diary measurement in New Cancelled checks, charges and counter of principals and witnesses in- volved in the York in August Tic Tac Dough led Ser- charges and a tape recording purporting to Dotto and Twenty -One inci- dents. Thursday (Sept. geant Preston by 12.4 to 6.4. The sets -in- a "confession" by a quiz winner 4), the attorneys contain questioned use level was about the same in both mea- were made public and presented to the dis- Jack Narz, former m.c. of Dotto, and a surements. trict attorney. producer associated with Frank Coop- er Assoc. which packaged The New York Arbitron for Price Is of the last week cen- and owned the Nearly all "action" Dotto quiz program. Right at 10 -10:30 Thursday night was 11.2 tered on Twenty-One, the hit quiz show of against 14.5 for Playhouse 90. In the August the past season and a program whose in- Admen Hold Breath diaries Price led by 25.7 to 16.8. Officials tegrity was defended stoutly by sponsor noted, however, that the sets -in -use level Pharmeceuticals Inc., producers Jack Barry As Quiz Ratings Dip was about 10 points lower Thursday than in and Dan Enright and NBC -TV. August and said this would Advertisers, hurt Price's The march of events was stirred with a agencies, networks -and of ratings. course the producers -were watching statement by Barry & Enright Productions close- The daytime Price Is Right last Wednes- ly the latest quiz show ratings last week to to the effect that former contestant Herbert day had an Arbitron of 8.7 against 3.7 see what effect, if any, the past two for Stempel (the $49,000 winner who was de- weeks' the Godfrey show opposite. The August investigation and charges of "fixing" had feated on the program in December 1956 diaries gave Price 9.0 against 2.3 for God- had on these programs' audiences. by Charles Van Doren) had attempted to frey. On the basis of the first few ratings they blackmail the program producers. Top which replaced looked at, they seemed to be having trouble Dollar, Dotto when Mr. Stempel promptly denied this charge. Colgate -Palmolive dropped the show deciding what was meant by what they saw. latter Mr. Stempel said he had signed the March in the abrupt move that But there were indications that some preceded the cur- 7, 1957, statement released on Aug. 29 by rent had 5.0 quizzes had taken sizeable dips -at least investigations, a Arbitron in Messrs. Barry and Enright [AT DEADLINE, last week. New York last Wednesday morning. In Sept. 1] because Mr. Enright had offered the August diaries Dotto NBC -TV's Tic Tac Dough, which like registered 5.8. him a job on the production staff in Tic Tac 20 Twenty-One is a Barry & Enright production Trendex by Thursday had -city ratings Dough (another B&E quiz show on NBC - of September performances of two quiz TV). shows -NBC -TV's Twenty-One and CBS- Mr. Stempel said the B &E statement men- TV's Bid and Buy. IT'S OFFICIAL tioning blackmail was "entirely false and For Twenty -One, one of the programs malicious." He said he never had attempted The FCC got the word officially being studied by the district attorney, these blackmail, but repeated his charge that last week on the alleged "rigging" showed a substantial fall in both rating and Twenty-One was "fixed." of television quiz shows -but it was share of audience since July but only a The next round was played in the form only a status report. At its first meet- slight decrease since August. Bid and Buy of a tape -recorded conversation which pro- ing since the August recess, the com- showed a gain since July in rating but a ducers Barry and Enright asserted took place missioners were advised by the staff slight fall in share, with slight declines in on March 7, 1957, between Mr. Enright that the complaint had been made both rating and share since August. and Mr. Stempel, who, it was said, did not and that the staff forwarded the pro- The Twenty-One show, for example, know his voice was being recorded. A du- test to CBS under routine procedure. showed a 21.0 rating in July, 15.6 in Au- plicate of the recording was submitted to They were also told that CBS had gust and 14.9 in September. Its share the district attorney. not yet replied, although it is under- dropped from 43.5 to 34.2 to 32.0 in the In the recording, a voice said to be Mr. stood, network officials have been in same period. Thus the biggest drop was Enright's was heard to say: "You came in informal contact with FCC aides. between July and August -and the show [pause] with a blackmail scheme, Friday, The Commission discussed the sit- measured in September was on the evening and I think to describe it any other way uation only in a procedural sense. of Labor Day, when viewing patterns might would be avoiding the issue. It was a black- There was some sentiment expressed, easily depart from the normal. mail scheme. Do you it agree ?" The other is understood, that the Commis- For Bid and Buy the 20 -city Trendex voice (purported to be sion should not that of Mr. Stem- publicly acknowledge rating went from 12.6 in July up to 14.3 in pel) : "Uh, [pause] yes." that complaints The recording- have been filed until August and down a bit to 14.1 in September. which fills nearly 40 legal -sized pages of answers are received from subject Its share moved from 30.7 to transcript 33.4 to 30.2 -largely covered circumstances of stations and the Commission passes in the same period. debt and how prize -money on the merits of the was "piddled allegations. Meanwhile, ARB's new Arbitron instant away" by the voice said to be that of Mr. ratings system measured the minute -by- Page 50 September 8, 1958 BROADCASTING .