GROWING BOOM

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 124, 10 March 1950, Page 6

GROWING BOOM

TELEVISION IN U.S.

MILLIONS SPENT ON ADVERTISING

(By a Reuter Correspondent.)

NEW YORK.

Crowds besieging wireless departments in the big stores of all major United States cities bear witness to-day to the growing boom in television. Brigadier General- David Sarnoff, chairman of the Board of the Radio Corporation of America, predicted recently that the United States television by 1954 will total 75,000,000 —with at least 20,000,000 receiving sets in American homes.

Manufacturers and stores are spending millions on advertising their products, and new year sale bargains are being snapped up by a televisionconscious public. Buying is made as attractive as possible. “Pay as little as one dollar 25 cents week,” proclaim the advertisements. “Have a free demonstration in your/home to-night,” urge the persuasive radio announcers. Parents with insistent children are proving ready bait. Forests of television antennae peeping from the roofs of suburban villas are a clue to the growing number of viewers. But this method of determining the “lucky ones” is becoming outdated by the improved methods of constructing sets with built-in aerials. This type is especially popular with the family which wants to keep possession of the set a secret and not to share it with numerous, and oftentimes neighbours.

Home Demonstrations

The free home demonstrations class of advertising is enjoying a big success, even' though manufacturers report that many people take advantage of the “no obligation” clause to enjoy an evening’s viewing and then return the set unsold. Numerous dealers have set up elaborate arrangements, including dozens of special telephone operators and fleets of vans, to cope with the demand for demonstrations in the family parlour. The dealers say that this type of salesmanship is an advantage in that it is possible to convince a customer on the spot that the site of his house or flat is suitable for good reception. One factor which is persuading many people to buy now is that prices are generally holding. Cheaper and smaller table models are being produced for about 100 dollars, but the average -price of a reliable model with a conveniently sized screen remains at between 175 and 225 dollars. Cabinet size sets range from about ,260 dollars to 1000 dollars. Inevitable prejudices hold back the cautious. One argument used against buying at the present time is that improvements will quickly outdate receivers. To this the trade answers that the improvements will come not so much in the receivers as in the transmitters. ' 1

» Colour Television

Another arguments that the introduction of colour television is perhaps imminent and that this will make sets obsolete. General Sarnoff puts these doubters at rest, however, by saying i that notable progress is now being | made in the development of a single tube (valve) for use in colour television receivers. “Perfection of this single colour picture tube will greatly simplify the television sets of the future,” he added, “because in an electronic system it will replace the three tubes now necessary to reproduce the 'three primary colours and will make conversion of a black-and-white receiver for reception of colour programmes a relatively simple matter.” ft is estimated that there are now 3,700,000 receivers used throughout the United States. “A comparison of this figure with the 61,000,000 radio sets in the United States reveals the great potentials of television’s further growth,” said General Sarnoff. “Eventually every radio home should be a television home. He described 1949 as “a good radio-television year” and said that outstanding developments included: Expansion of television as a service to the public: and development of all electronic, high-definition compatible colour television now being field tested.

Television, he declared, has now shaken off its “adolescence” and come into “man’s estate.” He added that his own company will manufacture its millionth television set this year and models will come off the production lines in greater numbers hs mass production makes it possible. Extension of coaxial cable and radio relay interconnections will eventually bring thousands more sets into the range of broadcasting stations. At the beginning of 1950, there were 98 television broadcasting stations in the United States. New York had 1,000,000 receivers; Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles 350,000 each; Boston 230,000; Cleveland and Baltimore 110,000 each; and Washington 80,000.