Twenty in One

Instead of tuning in the networks' "outstanding" games of the week, most U.S. football fans would much rather listen to local broadcasts so they can root for their favorite teams.

Like other network executives, CBS Director of Sports Red Barber has worried a lot about this state of affairs. "We asked ourselves what we could do that the independent station could not do," said Barber, "and the answer was the Football Roundup." Instead of bringing a single big game to the air, the three-hour CBS Roundup (Sat. 2:30 p.m., E.S.T.) brings 20. From a master studio in Manhattan, Barber has direct wires to a group of five "live" stations, each covering a different sectional game as though it were a regular broadcast. Also, capsule summaries of lesser games are phoned in at intervals through the afternoon by some 12 to 15 on-the-spot reporters.

Barber uses the phoned reports to bridge the switch-overs from one "live" broadcast to another. By rotating in quick two-minute jumps, he can pick his spots so that a game comes on the air when a touchdown is imminent. It all adds up, says Barber, "to a panoramic view of the American football scene." Further, the Roundup eliminates the endless time-outs and the dull halftime period.

NBC has developed a new twist for TV, which Sports Director Bill Stern calls "regional" telecasting. It is also tailored to local loyalties: last week NBC telecast Army-Davidson from New York to Richmond, while New England got the Yale-Connecticut game.

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