End Run

Early Bird's in the heavens, but all's still not right with the world of TV transmission. For one thing, the networks fret that when the free-trial period ends, the Communications Satellite Corp. might set an unrealistic fee for its use (current expectation: $6,500 per hour). And for another thing, the networks feel they are already paying an exorbitant amount for the American Telephone & Telegraph Co. landlines that now link them to their affiliated stations in the U.S. So ABC Boss Leonard Goldenson has proposed a solution: a domestic version of the Early Bird, which would hover over the U.S., could beam its signals directly to network stations, thus making an end run around the A.T. & T. facilities.

Goldenson's technicians tell him that ABC's bird could be built and launched for $9,000,000. Annual maintenance during its five-to ten-year life span has been estimated at a mere $1,500,000. Moving in quickly last week, Comsat insisted that operation of such a continental bird would be "our function, under the law passed by Congress." A subsequent preliminary meeting of ABC, Comsat, and Federal Communications Commission officials seemed to confirm the claim. But ABC would, of course, still enjoy an enormous economy with the new satellite, and at its annual meeting, also held last week, a stockholder offered Goldenson "congratulations on snapping the silver cord with A.T. & T." Not so fast. The shareholder had forgotten that ubiquitous Mother Bell has a dominant 29% piece of Comsat.

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