A half-million-dollar television production center, the third of its kind in the United States will be built by WBT here.
Charles H. Crutchfield, president of the Jefferson Standard Broadcasting Co., said the 7,500-square-foot, two-story addition will be on the northwest end of the present building on Julian Price Place off W. Morehead St.
Construction will begin at once and will be completed by Nov. 1.
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THE FACILITIES will permit expansion of electronic tape production of the Arthur Smith Show, the Harvesters, other television shows and commercials.
The addition means creation of a new division of the company—Jefferson Productions. It will specialize in production and program syndication for both radio and television.
John P. Dillon, formerly promotion manager of WBTV, will be sales manager of Jefferson Productions and already has assumed preliminary duties.
James R. Rogers, WBTV's commercial coordinator, has been named production coordinator.
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THE NEW DIVISION will mean the addition of nine persons to the present WBTV-WBT staff of 200. The new employes will include seven technicians who will operate the new equipment.
Five newly designed studio cameras, a 40-kilowatt mobile power generator, five video tape recorders and a high-speed professional audio tape duplicator will be purchased for the center, as well as expanded remote facilities.
Wallace Jorgenson, vice president and managing director of WBTV, said the two-story addition will have offices, technical equipment and rehearsal space.
Actual production will be done in the station's two large studios.
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LOCAL TALENT will be used in taping commercials wherever possible, Mr. Jorgenson said, but in some cases it may be necessary to bring models here from New York.
The present jet commuter service to the city will make it possible for models to arrive here early in the morning, complete a day's work and fly back to New York that evening.
The facilities also will be used by talent groups such as gospel quartets in producing television programs.
WBTV officials say a number of television stations have been going into this sort of production in a limited way. But they say the only other facilities comparable with those to be erected here are operated by KTTV in Los Angeles and WFAA-TV in Dallas.
The addition will mark the first real expansion of the WBTV building since it was opened here in March, 1955.
Mr. Dillon's duties as WBTV promotion manager have been assumed by Larry Harding, formerly director of WBT promotion.
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