PERSONNEL: Shift at NBC

When Robert E. Kintner, 48, joined the National Broadcasting Co. on Jan. i, 1957, after seven years as president of the third-place American Broadcasting Co., everybody on Madison Avenue knew that if he made good as vice president in charge of NBC's television network he would one day become president. Last week the day came. In a major topside shuffle, NBC President Robert Sarnoff, 40, son of NBC Founding Father David Sarnoff, moved up to board chairman, keeping the title of chief executive officer. Into the slot of president, with supervision over all but two of NBC's 30-odd vice presidents, moved Bob Kintner.

Behind the elevation of Kintner, a onetime Washington newspaper correspondent (for the New York Herald Tribune) and syndicated columnist (with Joseph Alsop), lay some pretty satisfying sales figures. During the first five months of 1958, thanks chiefly to a vigorous Kintner-Sarnoff policy of boosting news and special-events coverage by 20%, NBC network TV sales were $90.8 million, up a hefty $11 million from $79.1 million at this time last year. This was almost twice the gain registered by the longtime front-runner CBS. (From January through this May, CBS racked up $104,300,000 in network TV billings v. $98.4 million a year ago.)

But Sarnoff warned that all the sales gain possible from improvement in TV programing has now been registered. "The balance of our effort will have to be in sales, because this is a rougher selling period than a year ago." As a measure of the roughness, NBC last week was laying off a "couple hundred" of its 6,000 employees. For the fall and winter season, NBC still has about five hours of prime evening viewing time (usually figured as 7:30 to, 10:30 p.m.) still unsold v. three hours at CBS without a sponsor. At this time last year both were fully booked.