Stars Jump Ship

[Yhtapmys]

Here's a column from this date (June 28) 60 years ago. The version I have doesn't give a byline.

LONG TERM CONTRACTS REPLACE CAPITAL GAINS
NEW YORK—(AP)—The long term contract has replaced the capital gains deal as the lure used by networks to raid rivals or keep their own talent.
The star is guaranteed a nice income running into hundreds of thousands of even millions over a period of years. His pay doesn’t depend on whether he has a sponsor, as under the conventional arrangement. Finding a sponsor is the network’s headache.
The network, on the other hand, can’t be assured the sponsor won’t switch the star’s program to a competitor and the star himself won’t jump the fence.
The National Broadcasting Co., hit by a series of Columbia Broadcasting System raids, reportedly is negotiating with Eddie Cantor on a long term deal with CBS also making overtures. Cantor’s contract with his sponsors on NBC for the past season ended this week. NBC is said to have made a long term deal with Fibber McGee and Mollie [sic] to keep them from rivals.
A long term guarantee reported was the convincer which led George Burns and Gracie Allen to decide to switch from NBC to CBS next season.
Mutual has signed Gabriel Heatter signed to a long term contract.
Last year, when Walter Winchell’s sponsor announced intention of withdrawing from the program, the American Broadcasting Co. guaranteed Winchell $520,000 a year to stay on the network. Later the program was sold to a new sponsor at a higher figure with Winchell getting a cut of the difference. That was even before income tax officials refused to allow Jack Benny to apply the lower capital gains rate to the lump sum payments he got for switching to CBS from NBC.
Many of the network switches, however, have been based neither on capital gains nor long term contracts, but purely on sponsors’ efforts to get bigger audiences, better time spots, or lower costs per listener.
And it’s only a few of the top stars who are being offered long term deals. For most, the worry is whether they will have a sponsor at all in the face of cuts in radio spending by a number of firms either for economy reasons or to concentrate on television.
Television broadcasters don’t worry too much about showing old films---if they were good ones in the first place. Film producers themselves estimate that the average class “A” picture is seen by only 15,000,000 of America’s 148,000,000 people. Television’s problem is to get the films, which the movie people don’t want to give up as long as they have any box office value left.
However, telecasters every now and then pick up a bundle of movies of comparatively recent vintage that were rated as prime attractions when first shown in theatres. In one of the latest deals the New York News station, WPIX, obtained 13 films that include two based on works of George Bernard Shaw—“Pygmalion” and “Major Barbara.” They also will be syndicated for showing elsewhere by other stations.
Olsen and Johnson will have a Hollywood type premiere for the new television program starting Tuesday night on NBC. A real red carpet will be rolled out for celebrities arriving at the International Theatre as spotlights play about and television cameras record the scene. After the show they will be guests of honor at a reception for which an entire floor of a night club (Stork) has been taken over.

[scottp]

In one of the latest deals the New York News station, WPIX, obtained 13 films that include two based on works of George Bernard Shaw—“Pygmalion” and “Major Barbara.” They also will be syndicated for showing elsewhere by other stations.
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That's probably the "Pygmalion" I saw in poor picture, and worse sound, serving as filler on one of those local cable (MOSTLY filler) channels, a few years ago!

(Yeah, I know, one man's filler is another man's...)