RADIO STATIONS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 284, 28 August 1944, Page 6

RADIO STATIONS

National And Commercial

A surplus of £227,311 ou the operation of the national stations and £96,6(2 for the commercial stations, was made in the Sear ended March 31 last, states tne annual report of the National Broadcastring Service, presented in the House ot I Representatives. The revenue of the national stations amounted to £i>l~,4<4, including licence fees £434,061, and receipts from advertising in the New .Zealand Listener,” £34,.>44. lhe chief items of the £285,163 expenditure were: ‘'Programmes, £101,846; operation of sta'tions, £69,580; administration, £44,864; ’the ‘‘Listener,” £27,319; and depreciation, £29,082. n . ~ . A further £220,000 was invested during the year for future development and overtaking arrears of construction anil .equipment, making a total of £1,400,000 'now invested for this purpose. During the year 375,453 licences were issued, an increase of 7290 for the year. The commercial station time sales reached £258,205, an increase of £2s,Sul over the previous year. From the trading surplus £Bl,OOO had been set aside to meet taxation demands. Over 6750 messages were broadcast in the programme “With the Boys Over- • seas, 3390 being from the Middle Hast, '2160 from the Pacific, and 1200 from ’ Great Britain, Canada, and the United ■States. Of the 227 scripts submitted to the national station 68 were accepted, 47 being by New Zealand authors, mid 3b dramatic scripts entitled "Fighters for Freedom” from the New Zealand Office of War Publicity had been produced. The stations had broadcast 338 appeals relative to missing persons and 760 announcements about missing cars and motor-cycles. The report stated that a new receiving station in the vicinity of Wellington would be completed in the near future, and listeners would benefit by clearer reception of overseas broadcasts.