Teevee Pains

Television ached with growing pains.

In Hollywood, televisers and cinemen were trying to figure out a code of rights. Should movie houses be permitted to show telecasts, perhaps in place of the second feature? Should telecasters be allowed to show all movies? Should movie theaters charge extra for television shows?

No one had the answers yet. But moviemakers, who had once regarded television as a potential rival, to be watched warily, were now hustling to make special movies for television. Paramount Pictures was out in front. Already owner of two stations, it was planning to film television programs (plays, quiz programs, etc.) and distribute them over a coast-to-coast "celluloid network."

On the technological front, "teevee" was also busy. Last week there was a spate of new developments. Arcturus Radio & Television Corp. was readying sets that need no aerials at all (price: around $400 to $1,400). Electronic Laboratories, Inc. began marketing a plug-in gadget ($80 for table models; $120 for consoles) to make sets work on direct current, thereby adding 300,000 potential customers in Manhattan alone.

United States Television Mfg. Corp. announced a new 15-m. receiving tube (with a flat instead of the normally convex face) which will increase the size of pictures on its sets some 10-20% at no boost in price. And Radio Corp. of America told of a much greater improvement to come (probably by year's end). It has developed a 16-in. steel cathode-ray tube (the basic part of a television set) which can be mass-produced to replace glass tubes now in use, thus lowering the costs of some sets.

Between Movies. Mass production had also come to the industry. The Radio Manufacturers Association estimated that television output (31 manufacturers) reached a new monthly peak in February of around 33,000 sets, a jump of nearly 170% in six months. The speedup in production and increased competition had. also brought out cheaper models.

Customers, shelling out on the prospect that programs would improve before the novelty wore off, were going heaviest for table sets with 10-in. screens (most popular models: a $339.50 Philco, a $375 RCA). But the smaller 7-in. screen models, such as the $179.95 Motorola, the cheapest set, were right behind.

In the Garden. At the Federal Communications Commission's offices in Washington, a long line formed for television licenses. Recently, twelve new applications were made in a single day. In all, 19 stations are now operating in 12 cities, and 82 have construction permits in 51 cities; 93 applications are being investigated, and 64 more are pending. At the moment, NBC, with a network of five stations and 26 more scheduled to open by year's end, topped the heap. But it was hard put to it to stay there.

CBS President Frank Stanton, who had huffily cut down on television expansion when FCC refused to go along with CBS's color system, was busily making up for lost time. He was hustling to finish two studios in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal building, at an estimated cost of $700,000. He said the studios would be the "nation's largest television studio plant." CBS, which has a network of four stations, also bought 33% interest in Madison Square Garden Corp. to strengthen its franchise on big sports events.

Over the 'Nation. Sponsors, who have been fighting shy of television, were coming in fast. NBC signed up Chesterfield for the Giants' baseball games, and CBS signed up Old Gold and Ford for the Dodgers. All told, 210 advertisers sponsored programs in January, a jump of 16% since December. Roughly 50% of all television time, which averages about four hours a day, is now commercial.

Big gains were made by DuMont's Allen B. DuMont, pioneer in technical development (he perfected the commercialized cathode-ray receiving tube) and a leader in manufacturing (transmitters and console receivers). Monthly advertising income (two stations), said he, had jumped from $7,000 last June to $50,000 in December. He expected that the DuMont network would reach the break-even point toward year's end, after a loss of $889,000 last year.

Another boost came from American Telephone & Telegraph Co. It announced plans to link the East and Midwest by coaxial cables and radio relay by December, sooner than expected. This network, which would include Chicago, Cleveland, St. Louis and Buffalo, would make it possible to send telecasts around half the nation, a prime lure for advertisers. Only worry among telecasters is that A.T. & T.'s cable rates may be too high for profitable use. But if they are, said DuMont, telecasters (including DuMont) can set up their own relay systems and cover the nation within two years.

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