The Pittsburgh Press (March 14, 1944)
Ten years after war –
Television use in 80% of homes seen
Billion-dollar service to be available
New York (UP) –
A billion-dollar television service will be available to 80% of the wired homes of the nation 10 years after the war, T. F. Joyce, manager of the radio, phonograph and television department of RCA Victor, predicted today.
He foresaw television solving the nation’s distribution problems not only for the stores but also for farms. He regarded distribution as the number one post-war problem and said the problem of production had been solved by war expansion.
Speaking before the Sales Executives Club of New York, Mr. Joyce urged immediate expansion of television once war ends. Requisites for this, he added, include full agreement on television standards, and operation of television in a portion of the radio spectrum which has been proven suited for this form of broadcasting.
Set to retail for $200
Mr. Joyce said:
Assuming that television is given the green light and no obstacles are placed in the path of its commercial development, then this is what we may expect:
Development of a satisfactory home radio and television set to retail for approximately $200. Our analysis of the market has shown that 61.3% of the people are prepared to buy a set at this price.
Rapid expansion of television receiver sales in the first television market – New York, Philadelphia, Albany-Schenectady, Chicago, and Los Angeles, containing 25,907,600 people, 7,410,000 wired homes and 28.46% of the U.S. buying power.
Within 18 months after television receivers are available at a $200 retail price, 741,000 homes will be equipped. Assuming the average viewing audience per receiver, on the basis of 741,000 equipped homes, is six people (the present average is 10), the total advertising audience would be 4,446,000 people.
To serve 19-state area
Within three or four years after the commercial resumption of television, a network will connect the main cities on the East Coast between Washington, DC, and Boston, Massachusetts, and by the end of the fourth year, a 1,500-mile network circuit will connect the Midwest with the Atlantic Seaboard. This trunkline television network, with the secondary networks that would be offshoots from it, will serve the 19-state area bounded by Illinois and Wisconsin on the west and Virginia and Kentucky on the south. There are approximately 70 million people in this area. It represents approximately 62% of the purchasing power of the country.
Within five years, television transmitting stations will provide coverage for the 157 key cities of the United States.
It would be reasonable to expect that by the end of the fifth year, after full commercialization of television, the engineers of the industry should be able to develop a low-cost automatic rebroadcasting transmitter to provide coverage of the smaller markets.