WHY WE DON'T gHOW YOGI BEAR (OR,
WITH ALL TllAT NEW EQUIPMENT, YOU'D
THINK THEY’D UPDATE THOSE 1937 MOVIES)
By AFTV
Every time AFTV shows an opera, some
one turns to his neighbor and says,
"Why don't they get Yogi Bear? That
TV station just doesn't want to show
good programs.''*
So, every few months, we feel obli
gated to tell our TV- audience: We
have no choice over what programs wo
are given to telecast.
First, perhaps you should know
something about how AFTV receives its
filmed programs. The "home office"
at Los Angeles sends us a package of
filmed TV programs for just enough
time to fill the number of hours we
are on the air. That's it. We can—
(and do—comment on some of the pro
grams to give AFRTS - Los Angeles an
idea of how we like them. But we
cannot just select any program; we
have to take what we get.
Now, a word of defense in behalf of
the home office: AFRTS-LA has a lot
of problems in procuring these pro
grams for us to show. Each time it
wants to procure a show for AFRTS,
the home office must get the permis
sion of the writers, the producers,the
sponsors, the networks and the
film companies. Then, it can start
negotiating on its limited budget...
Some programs require the agreement of
advertising agencies and stars. To
get permission to telecast the World
Series, fdr example, AFRTS-LA has to
get fifty-four signatures authorizing
it to buy the films.
There’s a lot involved here. For
instance, the private companies are
rightfully worried about royalties...
They make TV shows for profit, not
for pleasure, and they're sacrificing
profits every time they make filmed TV
available to AFRTS. In turn, AFRTS
agrees that it will give its stations
only the films it gets from the in
dustry in this manner; that it won't
show TV programs in competition with
private stations; and that it won't
make any private deals with adver
tisers. If AFRTS were to violate
this gentleman's agreement with the
TV industry just once, it would be
unable to negotiate for any program
There's a very thin wire when you*re
dealing with five to ten different
agencies for just one program.
So, most of the programs are sever
al months old when AFRTS gets permis
sion to use them. They’re even older
by the time they are sent through the
circuit to Adak. We think most of
them are pretty good. Some are ex
cellent, Some are terrible. But
this isn't Now York, with CBS, NBC
and ABC and millions of dollars to
spend. This is AFRTS, with agreements
to uphold and negotiations to honor
for every program. And not every
private TV production company is wil
ling to sell its rights to its pro
grams, So, we can't show Yogi Bear
on Channel 8.
Tho same i.3 true with recordings.
We must use records sent to us by AFR
TS-LA. Otherwise, we’re treading on
the thin lino of negotiations. If
that line breaks, we won’t get any
records. And no station in the Navy
has the money, the time or the busi
ness to make 1,001 deals with private
record distributors, either.
Now that electronic equipment is
in good working order, we've begun to
resume some of the live programs that,
electronic difficulties squelched in
September,,.news, children’s shows and
special events. We’d welcome a visit
to our studios.
Our technicians and programing men
—the six of them—work long hours
to keep AFRTS Adak on the air. They’re
E-3s and -5s—not union engineers of
six years’ experience. But we try..
We do live shows with two or three men
that commercial stations produce with
20 people, full-time and experienced.
Now, for public taste: Adak his a
varied population. The sailors don’t
like opera. The wives don't like
sports. The older persons don’t like
kiddie shows and the agnostics resent
religious programs. We regret we can
not provide an alternate channel.
AFRTS-LA provides us with a package of
programs each week which includes a
balanced selection of TV shows geared
for naval personnel—not dependents,.
We try to arrange them in tho order
we think is best. Notice our weekday
evening schedule begins with kiddie
shows, then information programs,
then variety, then western or drama
(continued)