MEDIA increases in radio and television coverage continue to mount for Mr. Herbert Armstrong's programs. We have now purchased time on six additional 50,000 watt stations bringing the total number of 50 KW stations to 22. Our total number of radio stations (including 50,000 watters) has increased to 77, and the total number of television stations is 45. New stations are being added daily. Mr. Armstrong is now on radio Sunday through Friday six days a week, and on television one half hour weekly.
In addition to this, the media ad campaign for the Modern Romans booklet begins today (August 7th) on TV stations all across the country, with spot ads running at an average of 20 to 30 ads per week for an initial three-week period. These spot ads will be running throughout the day and will be. carefully monitored for telephone response after each ad is shown in order to evaluate the most effective times to advertise. We are anticipating in excess of 20,000 responses per week to the Modern Romans ad. These ads will be followed shortly by Plain Truth advertisements for which we anticipate a large response as well.
INCOME continues to come in on schedule and the fiscal year-to-date figure through July 31st is running at a plus six percent. The anticipated annual budget looks good — we are in a better financial position now than we have been in the last two and a half years. In August we normally have to draw down large amounts on our lines of credit, but at this point in time we have not drawn down any of our lines of credit. If the income continues to look as positive and come in as it is, we will probably be able to go into the Feast period without having to do so.
Summer is normally our low mail and income period — especially just prior to the Feast of Tabernacles — because of the long stretch between Pentecost and the fall Feasts. Another factor i n this is that many people are travelling during the summer and engaged in other activities prior to the school year. But this year we are doing better than expected on our annualized budget, and we are anticipating a steady growth fact or from this point onwards.
Richard Rice's SUBSCRIBER DEVELOPMENT program, which had to undergo considerable change with Mr. Armstrong emphasizing the church once again, is just now starting to get underway, and so we have not had time to see the impact of this program which generated considerable mail and income before revitalization. Now that this program is on again with its new format as directed by Mr. Armstrong, we anticipate that it will certainly aid in our mail count and income. For the first time in many years the Work has a sharper focus with a message that is consistent. The direction from the top is giving management the ability to function in such a way that growth-oriented programs are actively producing once again in the Work.
As mentioned earlier, media coverage is on the road to blanketing the entirety of the United States with "The World Tomorrow" program. We are also for the first time doing what we call "cross-plugging" where we will saturate an area with half-hour radio six days a week, a weekly half-hour television program, sixty-second spot ads on television, together with the newsstand program. All of these cross reference to the other so that we will get maximum identification of our programs in a particular area. This cross-plugging will maximize our coverage in getting the message of the Gospel into specific areas as never before.
Just wanted to let you fellows know that the Work is getting done, since many of you have asked what is taking place and what are our plans. It certainly is a l ot easier to plan as Mr. Armstrong makes the decisions and gives us the direction and guidelines to follow. With that direction newsstands are going forward, media is going forward, income is increasing, and the Work is steadily moving onward! Progress in all these areas is very encouraging and a very positive sign. Certainly it is the very thing that many of us have been praying for over a long time!