P.—3

SECTION II. —NATIONAL COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE. General. The year under review has been the first complete year of operation of the four main stations of this Service. Considerable improvement has been effected in all sections of the Service, notably in the higher standard of production and the general merchandizing of higher-grade feature programmes.^ The policy of eighteen hours per day of continuous service, including a similar full schedule of sustaining programmes on Sundays, has been maintained throughout the year, and there has been considerable extension of sessions devoted to community service and welfare. During the year the question of the coverage of the Commercial Service in certain country districts has been closely investigated. An experimental provincial station was opened at Palmerston North and valuable technical and sales data obtained ; towards the end of the year a complete broadcastingstation was built in a railway unit to undertake a tour of the major towns of the North Island. As in the previous year of operation, the services of other Government Departments were utilized wherever possible, and no special concessions were made to the Commercial Service. Full commercial rates were paid for telephones, relay lines, post and telegraph facilities, transport, and all other services rendered. Considerable improvement in the revenue from the four stations over the figures for the previous year was achieved, and for the year under review the net trading profit of this Service amounted to £10,598. A total of 31,100 hours of entertainment was broadcast during the year, as compared with 18,456 hours during the year ended 31st March, 1938. Programmes. General. The most marked improvement during the past year has been the better standard of programmes provided by advertisers. Over the past year increased sales due to radio advertising have made it possible for advertisers to allocate larger sums for programme material. It is estimated that advertisers spent approximately £40,000 on programmes selected from, the best productions of England, Australia, United States, and also from local studios. Advertisers can check the popularity of their features by the actual sales results of the products associated with their programme. The result of this constant check is that if a programme fails to capture listener interest the product does not sell, and the programme is changed. The experience gained in this way over the past two years has resulted in constant improvement in the standard of programmes broadcast and the provision of greater variety of entertainment to cater for all sections of the community. Wide Range. The wide-range equipment, exclusive to the Commercial Service, was in operation throughout the year, and the libraries of high-fidelity recordings at the four main stations were considerably extended. Overseas Artists. No expensive overseas artists were brought to New Zealand by this Service during the year, but by exclusive arrangement with touring theatrical and concert companies listeners were able to hear practically every overseas artist who visited the Dominion. Local Artists. Within the limits of the operation of this Service and the requirements of advertisers, every encouragement was given during the past year to local artists. In addition to considerable sums spent by advertisers on local talent, the Service itself expended approximately £7,000 for programmes featuring New Zealand artists. In addition to broadcasts by local artists from each of the four stations, several feature programmes using local artists entirely and recorded in the Dominion were used, one of the most successful of these shows being " One Man's Family." Considerable assistance was given by this Service in assisting talented young artists who desired overseas training, the outstanding case being Allan Loveday, the New Zealand boy violinist, at present studying in England. Outside Broadcasts. A variety of novelty relays and broadcast commentaries from places of public interest were maintained throughout the year. Broadcast commentaries were also given on public ceremonies, processions, and from institutions providing community service, such as the meteorological office and other places not generally visited by listeners. A feature of the outside broadcasts was the development of relays from factories, and during the year descriptions were broadcast of practically every industry established in the Dominion. One of the most comprehensive outside broadcasts was a relayed commentary on the arrival of the " Empress of Britain," which involved an hour's broadcast from six different points in the Auckland Harbour and a short-wave description from a tug. Overseas Rebroadcasts. An outstanding feature of the year's novelty programmes was the number of rebroadcast programmes originating from overseas short-wave stations. Broadcasts were also arranged by this Service and carried out by means of radio telephone from overseas countries and ships at sea. Principal overseas sporting fixtures and matters of general interest were covered by this means, the most important rebroadcast of the year being the continuous service from Daventry during the international crisis, when this Service operated for extended hours, covering all the important news bulletins. During this series, speeches on European affairs by Mr. Neville Chamberlain, Prime

6