Wanganui Band Contest

Radio Record, Volume II, Issue 34, 8 March 1929, Page 9

Wanganui Band Contest

(CERTAIN phases of the band contest at Wanganui have been the subject of correspondence between the competition authorities and the Broadcasting Company. The local secretary wrote to the Broadcasting Company: "The question of broadcasting the demonstration concert of the band contest was considered by my, executive, and while appreciating the wonderful advertisement it would be to Wanganui, as far as distant listeners are concerned, members were apprehensive regarding the way it might affect local district returns. The contest is costing in the vicinity of £2000, and you will, I am sure, realise that in the interests of guarantors it would be unwise to take any risks that might ‘pbssibly prejudice the gate receipts. That aspect was featured in the discussion, but considering that in the interests of your thousands of listeners in the Dominion you might be prepared to make a monetary offer for the privilege of putting the concert on the air, I was directed by my executive to ask

~ you if you would make an offer, and, if so, the nature of it. To this the general manager replied: "We appreciate your view of the matter, but are unable to share the view that the broadcasting of the final concert -will adversely affect the takings. We can assure your executive that notwithstanding any isolated case the members may have in mind, the broadcasting of a public function has no detrimental effect on the attendance, as we know from our own experience and that of other countries that the reverse is actually the case. We would be very pleased to make an offer to your executive for the right to broadcast your contest but for the fact that at the present time the company cannot make payment for relays. Particularly is this the position where in the event of a broadeast being arranged the company will have to meet the expense involved in sending announcing and engineering staff, as well as special apparatus, to Wanganui, and the renting of a land line between Wanganui and our transmitting station at Wellington." We appreciate that a large number of our listeners are interested in your band contest, and in addition a great number of people who are supporters of the visiting bands will not be able to visit Wanganui, but will want to hear the performance, and for these reasons we are prepared to endeavour to arrange to broadcast from our Wellington station, your final concert, and pay such additional expenses as are involved in a special transmission of this character. Should you decide to accept the offer, we would be glad to receive your advice at the earliest possible moment, in order that we may rearrange our programmes and make arrangements for the land line and other technical requirements.