“BROADCASTING ONLY IN INFANCY IN N.Z.”

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 207, 21 November 1927, Page 12

“BROADCASTING ONLY IN INFANCY IN N.Z.”

RADIO ENGINEERS FROM THE PHILIPPINES “Broadcasting in New Zealand is only in its infancy as yet, and the possibilities of the radio market have still to be explored,” remarked Mr. J. C. Eisenberg, late Director of Broadcasting in the Philippine Islands, who paid a visit to THE SUN offices this morning.

Mr. Eisenberg can speak with some authority. He has planned and supervised the erection of several wellknown broadcasting stations in the United States, where broadcasting has reached a point greatly in advance of that of Australia and New Zealand. Eighteen months ago Mr. Eisenberg went to Manila, in the Philippines, where he erected the present station. The appartus of WJZ was taken from America and forms the larger part of the transmitter at KZRM. This station has been received well throughout Australia and quite often in New Zealand. During the time he was in Manila, Mr. Eisenberg received over 300 letters expressing appreciation of their transmissions.

“I think that the Australian and New Zealand stations will eventually take up the system of sponsored programmes as broadcast at present in the States,” remarked the radio engineer. “There is no doubt that the system is much more satisfactory than the present method of paying for programmes through licence fees.” The description of the fight betwen Dempsey and Sharkey was put on the air

as an advertising "stunt” by the Royal Typewriters firm. It was broadcast by 15 stations to several million listeners, at a cost of about £IO,OOO to the company. The bands and artists heard from the stations are all provided by private firms. Mr. Eisenberg thinks that the beam system is the only possible manner of broadcasting over long distances, and will soon be adopted by all large companies. The recent Empire broadcasts on Armistice Day would have been much more successful had the beam system been used. He paid a tribute to Mr. Marcuse, the English amateur, whose efforts have spurred on the British Broadcasting Company. In the ifiilippines the only listeners’ licence fees in the United States and colonies are collected. These amount to 10 pesos, or about £l, for valve sets, and two pesos, or 4s, for crystal sets. Mr. Eisenberg, who is now on his way back to the United States as a representative of the Radio Corporation of America, considers that New Zealand has made good progress in the radio field for the short time it has been established, and that it can look forward to a bright future.