On the Beam

When television sales began to blur several months ago, Admiral Corp.'s President Ross Siragusa thought he had the answer. By stamping entire console cabinets out of plastic in one piece (TIME, May 16), he was able to step up output and make some handsome price cuts. Last week it looked as though Siragusa's answer was right. Admiral Corp. had a second-quarter profit of $1.6 million, 129% more than its net for the same 1948 period.

Other TV manufacturers were not standing still. To snag the high-price trade, Du Mont Laboratories, Inc. last week brought out a console model with a 19-in. tube (the biggest ever made), to sell for $725. Magnavox Co. bragged that its three new 16-in. sets had the largest picture area (148 sq. in. v. the usual 126) of any 16-in. set now on the market (prices: $399-5DEG to $595). Westinghouse Electric Corp., to calm dealers' fears of inventory losses, adopted the policy of guaranteeing its television dealers against loss on any price cuts that might be made within 60 days after dealers bought their sets.

Something was also being done about the big TV problem that lurked upstairs. Buyers were shying away from the high ($50 to $150) cost of installing and servicing aerials; worse still, many an apartment landlord was forbidding any more installations on his already cluttered rooftop, thus hitting hard at the big city audience, television's best market. To meet this threat, Raytheon Manufacturing Co. and Chicago's Earl ("Madman") Muntz had each brought out sets with built-in aerials, which gave fair service in areas where signals were strong.

In Manhattan this week Philco Corp. came out with its version of the built-in aerial. It would work, said Philco engineers, in about 80% of present-day receiving locations. Just in case the saving on installation costs was not enough, Philco at the same time cut prices sharply. Sample result: last year a consolette with a 72-sq.-in. picture cost $439.50 plus installation fee; this year a full console with a 97-sq.-in. picture cost $349.95.

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