Radio: Standard Equipment

Television’s growing pains were not confined to networks and sponsors. Every week, telescreens seemed to get bigger. Bartenders were still the biggest big-screen buyers. In television territory (see BUSINESS), all well-equipped city bars had telesets. Bob Considine reported: “Television sets have become as obligatory to the bar & grill business as an ivory stick [for] beer suds.” And bars that advertised “big screen” drew the customers. One of the biggest king-sized screens, Tradio’s 18 by 22 ft. model (see cut), also had a king-sized price tag: $2,600.