Evening star., 1940-07-21
WASHINGTON, G, JULY a. ONE
Ieleyision Programs
viii Lack Appeal
Here al First
High Cost Of Sets and
Infrequeney Of
Tests Cited
BY WILLIAM J. WHEATLEY

While Washington is to have two
television stations In the near future,
they will be principally for technical
experiments, and their programs will
not have popular appeal sufncient
to encourage the pubic to invest In
receivers, 1t was learned yesterday.
The Federal Communications Com
mission announced it had approved
the application Of Allen B. Du Mont
Laboratories, Inc, of Passaic, N. j.,
to construct station here. Com
mission engineers said they also had
learned in conferences with engi-
neers OF the Radio Corp. of America
that the National Broadcasting Co.,
subsidiary, would renew It's appli-
cation for station here, to meet the
new rules of the commission.
At any rate, it was said, there is
doubt the two stations will be ready
In time to broadcast the presidential
Inauguration ceremonies January 20.
The plan of the National Broadcast
ing Co., when 1t fled its original
application, was to provide the first
chain telecasting of the inaugural
ceremonies.
Chairman James Lawrence Fly of
the F. c. C. said he is optimistic
over the general outlook for tele-
vision. Engineers of the commission
and those in the broadcasting in
dustry are not so optimistic. They
say action of the commission which
shut OF its original plan to permit
limited commercialization of tele-
vision and providing for q strict ex-
perimental code for the stations has
placed television back where it was
six years ago.
Tests Of Film Projectors.
The commissions formal an
nouncement on the Du Mont ap-
plication says the station will ex-
pertinent with the advantages Of
various types Of film projectors. with
mobile pickup utilizing wire lines
and radio lines and will seek public
cooperation in various types of
program material. 1t adds that
coaxial cable will be used In trans
hitting programs between WASH
ington and New York. 1t might be
pointed out. however, there Is no
complete coaxial cable link between
Washington and New York. The
only such link now in existence is
between Philadelphia and New York,
while the telephone company has
authority to construct one between
this city and Baltimore. There is
none in existence or authorized be-
tween Baltimore and Philadelphia
At the time that the commission
halted all television applications
because of allegations that r. c. A.
was conducting a sales campaign
which would have frozen the art
to r. C. A. standards, there were
AZ applications for stations pend
ing for all sections of the country
Many of these were from appli-
cants who had no interest In spend
ing money for engineering research.
but were interested in projecting
programs in the belief that the
art was ready for public reception.
Engineering Work Problem.
However, under the new rules the
applicants must show that the
grant of an application will result
in engineering work which will tend
to the development of a uniform
system of transmission standards
of acceptable technical quality.
Furthermore, it was pointed out
some Of the companies which had
spent millions in experiments which
brought television to its present
stage and which had planned to
provide additional stations for pro-
gramming purposes, saw little use
in spending the money for additional
engineering experimental stations
when one station could do it. The
high cost of setting up an expert
mental station and the cost of the
experiments, 1t was indicated, have
served to drive out of the field a
number of applicants desirous OF
presenting the new art in their COM
munities.
With each of the proposed local
stations operating on a different
system, not yet approved by the F
C. c., there is little likelihood there
will be an opportunity to get public
reaction, either of the projection OF
the programming. This is because
of the high cost of receivers and the
fact that the public would not in
vest in such sets, because there is
no certainty whether they would be
useable for a month or for years
and further, the programming il
likely to be spasmodic. But this i,
declared to be one of the effects OF
the commissions refusal to permit
commercialization, either on q lin
tied or a full scale.
The Radio Manufacturers As
sociation has been assigned the task
of gathering a committee of that
part of the radio industry interested
In television, and trying to work out
a plan which will be satisfactory
to the industry and to the commits