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I worked at Philco in the 50s and early 60s. There are a lot of misperceptions about the Predictas that have been embellished over time.
1. Poor sales resulted more from deviation from conventional design than reliability. While they did have a high service call rate, no one realized that when they were new. The things that have aged over 50 years were not a problem at the time. There were plenty of parts and technicians available.
2. Today's collectible Predicta was only a minor piece of the product line. Philco had many portables and consoles that were good performers, but because of their contemporary designs are less collectible today.
3. The Predicta did not put Philco out of the TV business. Philco was in so many businesses at that time that a single model of one product line could not have enough financial impact to seriously affect its business. Philco manufactured computers, stereo, home radio, microwave communications, full line appliances, market leader in room air conditioners, government services, space communications, vacuum tubes, semiconductors, auto radios and central air. Philco made TVs in the Philadelphia plant through 1975, a full 15 years after the last Predicta.
4. Ford did not buy Philco as a result of a defective product. The pending buy out was in the rumor loop as early as 1957. On the contrary, if Philco were not profitable, Ford would not have completed the transaction.
5. True, many Predictas were sold to motels through the Telesound division. It was not because they were left over. Telesound was in the hotel-hospital business. Supplies were often short. Most of today's table top Predictas are old motel takeouts. A much smaller proportion ended up in consumer homes.
6. The briefcase portables were market leaders and made Philco and the dealers a lot of money. They were the highest volume TVs. It is not like everyone was hand-wringing over Predictas.
7. Quality certainly could have been better. The low end models were made up of the prior year portable chassis jammed into the cabinets the stylists gave them. They were more or less rushed together. Factory yields were better for most other products. I don’t recall excessive CRT failures. The same picture tubes were used in the briefcase portables with excellent reliability. Today, the 50 year old motel TVs are more likely to have bad picture tubes since they saw hard use and 50 years have passed.
8. When Ford executive, Phillip Caldwell, took over as Philco President, he placed strong emphasis on quality and cost control. By that time the Predicta was already phased out. TVs changed every year or two. The Predicta’s lasted for two model years, ’59 and ’60. Part of the Lansdale Tube plant was converted to auto radio production. Big surprise. The Appliance Division was sold to White in the late 70s.
I just want to share some business history based on my experience. Today, the Predictas look controversial. By the late 50s, manufacturers were trying all kinds of innovations to extend the B&W TV business. Second sets were the primary market. Several manufacturers had their share of misguided products. You never know until they are in the field for a few months.
Ironically, more Predictas survive, at much higher prices, than other models of any manufacturer. Although it was not seen as the Mustang of its time, it certainly did not put Philco out of the TV business. That was the result of numerous other market factors having little to do with product.
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