Boxoffice-July.01/1950

EXHIBITORS ORGANIZE TV UNIT;
WALKER AND FABIAN THE HEADS
General Research Planned,
Also Welfare Programs
During 'Off Hours
By SUMNER SMITH
NEW YORK — The blanket of secrecy
drawn over a recent meeting on television
at Theatre Owners of
America national
headquarters, which
didn't prevent the
news from leaking out,
has been officially
lifted. National Exhibitors
Theatre Television
Committee has
been organized by exhibitors
representing,
it is said, nearly 3,000
theatres, with others
due to come.
Frank C. Walker,
former U.S. postmaster
general and head of
the Comerford Amusement
Co., has been
elected organizing
chairman and S. H.
Frank C. Walker Fabian, head of Fabian
Theatres, treasurer. All exhibitors,
large and small, who are interested in the
future of theatre television, will be invited
to join. Walker said.
PURPOSE OF ORGANIZATION
The purpose of the new organization, according
to Walker, is to conduct research on
the application of television to theatre use,
to encourage the development of theatre television
and to consider ways of using the medium
in theatres as a public service "by making
available theatres during nonoperating
hours for educational and social welfare programs
and for utilization by government
agencies for instructional and training purposes."
Wilbur Snaper, president of New Jersey
Allied, said that he had not been invited to
participate although he was a member of
the National Allied television committee.
Abram F. Myers, National Allied general
counsel, said all he knew about the project
was what he had read in tradepapers.
ALLIED NEEDS CONVINCING
"The position of Allied is that it wants
television channel allocations to accommodate
all classes of theatres, large and small," Myers
said. "Walker and Fabian will have to convince
Allied that their plans contemplate that
kind of a development.
"My mind goes back to the days when
an attempt was made to tie up all sound
equipment. The first job of Allied was
to break that up. We watch out for the small
fellows."
The program has two main purposes. One
is to organize hookups of theatres presenting
large-screen theatre television shows and
the other to agree on public service activities
that will entitle them to consideration at
Coast-to-Coast Television
Circuit
Over Microwave Relay in '52
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications
commission has officially approved
the plan of the American Telephone
& Telegraph Co. for an extension
of its television services to San Francisco
by granting construction permits
for 55 new microwave relay stations. The
plan was outlined in the April 29 issue
of BOXOFFICE. Coast-to-coast service
is scheduled to begin Jan. 1, 1952.
The relay stations will bridge the gap
between Omaha and San Francisco and
provide the final link in the system which
begins in New York. Construction on the
New York to Chicago segment is completed
and the intercity network operation
will begin in a few weeks. The Chicago
to Omaha section is now under construction
and will be ready for use by
April 1951, according to the FCC.
New York, Chicago, St. Louis and most
eastern cities are already connected in
operating television networks through the
AT&T's underground coaxial cable system,
which provides a metallic wire transmission
line for television signals. A
coaxial eable also runs south to Richmond,
Atlanta and Jacksonville, but this
is in use for telephone messages only
and there are no plans for equipping it
forthcoming Federal Communications commission
hearings.
The program will duplicate in some degree
one now being worked out under SMPTE auspices.
That group is correlating information
on television in all fields, including that of the
common carrier, for presentation before the
FCC. SMPTE said it wasn't invited to the
NETTC meetings, but that it is ready to cooperate
with any segment of the industry for
the benefit of the entire industry.
News of NETTC organization came Wednesday
(28) from Walker's office at 1600 Broadway.
It said that a provisional organizing committee
had been set up, and that the meeting
taking the action had been called by
Fabian and Leonard H. Goldenson, president
of United Paramount Theatres.
NETTC is not to be a TOA venture, although
at the original hush-hush meeting
at TOA headquarters queries were referred to
Gael Sullivan, executive director, and although
he supplied some details while in
Washington after the Old Point Comfort,
Va., exhibitor convention. Walker said the
organization will be incorporated in Washington
in a few days.
Walker's formal statement said:
"It is very heartening to me to have exhibitors
representing all types of theatres
recognize the theatre potentialities of this
great new medium of communication and to
agree upon a plan for conducting research
for television circuits, according to AT&T.
Coaxial cable hookups will also be completed
shortly from Des Moines to Minneapolis
and from Omaha to Kansas City.
The microwave system involves sending
the relatively short-range signals through
the atmosphere from one relay station
to the next. It will provide four channels;
two for television circuits and two
for telephone traffic. The two channel
for each are necessary to provide simultaneous
communications for an eastwest
and west-east basis.
The total cost of the coast-to-coasl
microwave system will be about $37,590,-
000. This includes the $17,900,000 to be
spent on the Omaha-San Francisco link
and $2,500,000 on additional equipment
between Chicago and Omaha.
With the addition of a microwave relay
from San Francisco to Los Angeles, now
under construction, it will be possible for
west coast television fans to see "live"
eastern network television shows for the
first time, while easterners will get the
benefit of shows originating in Hollywood.
At present, programs originating
on one coast can be seen on the other
only through kinescope, or film rebroadcast
method.
and making engineering and other studies
to develop theatre television so as to make it
available to every exhibitor throughout the
country.
"Our national defense officials are fully
cognizant of the excellent use that could be
made in an emergency of the more than
12,000,000 seats in the nation's theatres which,
when theatre television becomes a reality,
could be thrown upon at short notice to deliver
a visual message, in three of four sittings,
to the entire adult population of the
country."
Walker listed those attending the organizing
meeting as follows:
Samuel Pinanski, Paul Levi and Benjamin C.
Trustman, American Theatres Corp.. Boston: Fabian
and Nathan Halpern, Fabian Theatres. New York;
Goldenson and- Robert H. O'Brien, United Paramounl
Theatres; Sidney Lust, Sidney Lust Theatres. Washington,
D. C.; Max A. Cohen, Cinema circuit. New
York; lim Sharkey, Wisper-Wetsman Theatres. De
troit: Frank E, Cahill jr. and Harry Goldberg, Warner
Bros.; Albert Floersheimer, Walter Reade Theatres,
New York: Joseph H. Vogel and Leopold Friedman,
Loew's Theatres, New York.
Also. R, V. Wemple. Metropolitan Pla;(houses. New
York; Samuel Rinzler and Emanuel i risch. Randforce
Theatres, Brooklyn; ]. Lee Rankm, Cooper
Foundation. Denver; Sol Schwartz and Charles K.
Horstman, RKO Theatres. New York; Kermit C,
Stengel. Crescent Amusement Co.. Nashville; J. Myer
Schine, David Schine and Roberi Coe. Schine circuit.
Gloversville, N. Y.; Morton Sunshine. ITOA.
New York; Walter Higgins. Prudential circuit, New
York: C. L. Patrick. Martin Theatres. Columbus. Ga.;
M. A. Lightman, Malco Theatres. Memphis; Harry
Brandt. Brandt Theatres. New York; Morton Thclhimer.
Neighborhood Theatres, Richmond, Va.; Fred
Schwartz, Century circuit. New York; Sullivan and
Stanley W. Prenosil, TOA.
8 BOXOFFICE :: July 1. 1950