Pat & Bob

In his two years as president of the National Broadcasting Co., eupeptic Sylvester L. ("Pat") Weaver made the newspapers almost as often as NBC's program timetables. He pushed the so-called "magazine concept" of selling TV ad time to several sponsors per show, popularized the hour-and-a-half "spectacular" program, thought up NBC's Wide, Wide World and long-winded Monitor. But all this was not entirely to the liking of David Sarnoff, 64, board chairman of NBC's parent company, Radio Corp. of America. Madison Avenue gossiped that Pat Weaver was getting too much personal publicity--and at a bad time: NBC's share of the TV business and ratings were dropping. In November, for the first time in TV history, NBC failed to place a single TV show in the top ten Trendex ratings (TIME, Nov. 28), Last week David Sarnoff announced that Weaver would move up to board chairman, with a new ten-year contract and a salary raise, to "free him for the creative and imaginative end of the business" while "Bob will be carrying on the day-to-day operations, and planning ahead." "Bob" is Sarnoff's son, Robert W., 37.

The change apparently made Bob NBC's chief executive officer, the position that Weaver had once had. A native of Manhattan and a Harvard graduate ('39), Bob Sarnoff started to learn broadcasting as a Navy communications officer, later worked for the Des Moines Register and Look magazine, before he joined NBC as a time salesman in 1948. He proved a good salesman and capable administrator, was moved up to NBC vice president in 1951 and executive vice president in 1953.

Said the elder Sarnoff last week: "I am confident that, under the continued leadership of Pat and Bob, NBC will achieve even greater heights of success."

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