Evening star., 1930-03-30
THE COST OF BROADCASTING
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

willing to pay such high rates Is re-
garded as q sure indication that radio
advertising pays. There Is no indica~
ton that this new form of advising the
public of wares and services for sale
has decreased the buying Of newspaper
space. In fact, the reverse Is nearer
the truth. The advertiser who Is putting
out a large sum OF money for a fine
musical program does not want IL
wasted. So he frequently buys space in
newspapers to announce that on such
and such an evening, at given hour,
his broadcast may be heard This, Of
course, is in addition to the advertising
space bought by the radio industry
itself, by the manufacturers, and by
local dealers.
Expenses Of Stations.
It must not be thought that the
broadcaSting companies give nothing in
return for the $4,000 an hour they col
lect from advertisers. Indeed, the
broadcasting companies themselves are
not in the business to make money
and actually are not profitable. Their
stock Is owned by manufacturers Of
subsidized by these manufacturing
companies. These manufacturers are
well aware that they cannot sell radios
to the public unless something Is con-
stantly coming over the air to be re-
ceived. For that reason they can well
afford to keep the air filed with mat
ter worth listening to. They look for
ing, but to the sale of the machines.
The expense Of broadcasting is very
great. Actually, the $5,000-an-hour
rate is not much above cost; not any
above cost unless considerable time is
sold.
In the first place the broadcaster
must have powerful electrical equip
ment. Transmission stations are mar
vels of electrical science. They are
costly to build with all their para
phernalia of delicate machinery. Then,
| in order to fling the voices of artists
| through the ether, electrical current
must be consumed in considerable
quantities. Every broadcasting head
, quarters must have considerable Stah
Of technical men always on the job to
| keep the station in operation. A large
broadcaSting company must have these
stations in many cities in order TO es-
tabliSh q national network.
Sustaining Programs.
Not all Of the broadcasting company's
| time is sold to advertisers. But there
must be something on the air prac-
ticaIly continuously. The owner OF
radio wants to be able to find some
thing at any hour Of the day or night.
He Is not pleased with the machine he
, has purchased If he finds the air dumb
and his radio idle. He can turn his
radio on whenever he wants to. But
when he turns it on he insists that
something be available for him to hear.
There are many people who feel that
broadcasting stations should become
quiet at bedtime. Their failure to do
so makes them a nuisance to millions
of people who want to sleep.
To meet this demand the broad
casting companies every day have what
are called sustaining programs"
These are not paid for by advertisers.
When gaps come in the course OF the
day, not filled by any one who is pay
ing for the time nor by any public
event which Is to be broadcast at
company expense as q public service,
then these sustaining programs are in
troduced. The salaries of the musi-
clans are paid by the broadcasting
company and some Of them are very
high salaries.
The broadcasting companies, OF
course, must maintain studios from
which broadcasts are made. These
must be specially constructed to az
ford the best acoustics and usually are
richly appointed.