THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 3, 1994 TAG: 9406031056
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: LARRY BONKO
DATELINE: 940603 LENGTH: Long
Assis thought to himself: If people like to order cashmere sweaters, 20-piece dinner sets and Swiss army knives from the comfort of their La-Z-Boys, why not offer them something like erotic body butter and massage mitts?
{REST} Assis created Cupid Network Television, the first around-the-clock home shopping channel selling really sexy stuff on television.
Assis' channel is one of 98 new cable channels in the marketplace.
There is a new channel for people who like to keep up with machines on the move (TRAX), a channel for people with a green thumb (Home and Garden Television Network) and a channel for people who are 50 and older (Golden American Network).
There is even a channel for people who like war - The Military Channel.
I sampled some of the new channels recently in New Orleans at the annual cable show and exposition. Nine new foreign-language channels were represented, including one that would be of interest to thousands in Hampton Roads, where the Filipino population is large: The Filipino Channel.
The Cupid Network, said Assis, aims at married couples. ``To serve and entertain them,'' is how Sky London, the channel's spokeswoman, put it. The channel is sassy but classy, she said. (There's another new channel, the Adam and Eve Channel, also offering an erotic home shopping service. It was one of five new pay-per-view channels introduced to delegates in New Orleans).
The Cupid Network is beamed to subscribers by satellite (Telstar 302). In New Orleans, Assis was working hard to sell his network to cable systems operators. It was a tough sell because channel space is at a premium.
In the past, cable companies couldn't wait to add channels, and pass the cost on to subscribers. Then came cable's Big Chill - price regulation mandated by Congress and carried out by the Federal Communications Commission.
The largest operator in this market, Cox Cable, recently added the fX channel.That will be it for new programming this year, said a company spokesman.
The 500-channel universe is on hold.
Undaunted by the gloom at the cable show, entrepreneurs such as Assis lobbied hard to get have their channels beamed into your living room. These new channels caught my fancy:
The Talk Channel and America's Talking. Here are two new channels serving up what cable and broadcasting TV already has in heaping portions: Chat. CNBC will launch America's Talking on the Fourth of July with one talk-show host who was selected in a nationwide search. On The Talk Channel, at least four hours in the TV day will be devoted to subjects and issues of interest to women.
The Singles Network. While Assis and the Cupid Television Network promise more romance and a better sex life for the married, this network is all about making life better for the people who account for 40 percent of the country's population: Singles. The channel will offer programming of interest to singles - travel news about the perfect getaway, for instance - and electronic classifieds. If you like what you see on the video classifieds, you respond by calling a 1-900 number.
Outdoor Life Channel. At last. A channel exclusively for campers, skiiers, hunters, canoers, backpackers, fly-fishermen and anyone else who enjoys the wide open spaces. If you've been dying for a channel that explores all the subtleties and nuances of rock climbing, the Outdoor Life Channel is your baby. There's even a program about cooking outdoors (``Camp Chef'') and a show (``Don't Try This at Home'') on which pros give tips to make your life in the outdoors safe and fun. (Other newly born channels that will appeal to people with leisure time include the Home and Garden Television Network and The Golf Channel, which was kicked off in New Orleans by golfing's living legend, Arnold Palmer.)
Romance Classics. The people who operate this channel took a survey and discovered that 46 percent of the novels sold in this country are romance novels. With that number in mind, Rainbow Programming created a channel for films and television shows with one theme: Romance. When the channel signs on early in 1995, Ali McGraw, Miss Romance herself ever since she starred in ``Love Story,'' will be one of the channel's hosts.
The Americana Network. If The Nashville Network is too sophisticated for you, The Americana Network might suit you just fine. This is the channel of quilting bees, quaint country churches, harmonica players and folks sitting on stumps under a shade tree telling stories. It's a full-service channel, offering music, documentaries, a magazine show called ``Americana Digest.'' It is the best of the new channels.
The Popcorn Channel. A movie lover's dream come true. A 24-hour channel cranking out endless movie trailers with MJs (movie jockeys) to guide you through filmdom. The channel operators say they'll include local movie listings and will also be a mini-shopping channel offering movie merchan-dise.
The History Channel. This is one of the new channels likely to break into cable systems ahead of the competition because it has a good pedigree - it comes from the people behind the A&E network - and because it has programming that appeals to just about everyone. It includes four series in prime time: ``Year by Year,'' ``History Alive,'' ``Movies in Time'' and ``Our Century.'' The History Channel is a go for early 1995.
Ovation. Isn't there enough fine arts on TV with PBS programming, Bravo and A&E? The people who have created Ovation, The Fine Arts Network, don't think so. They have a cable channel ready to go with programs that will bring theater, concerts, dance and museum exhibits into viewers' homes.
The force behind the channel is J. Carter Brown, who was director of the National Gallery for two decades. Also coming in 1995 is the Classic Music Channel, with a home shopping service offered when the classical music, blues, jazz, Broadway show tunes and movie soundtracks aren't playing. MTV for people with taste. Black Entertainment Television is planning to launch Jazz: The Cable Jazz Channel later this year.
The Health Channel and Cable Health Club. The latter channel, from the same folks in Virginia Beach who give you The Family Channel, is up and running. The Health Channel is due to sign on later this year with such programs as ``The Medicine Cabinet,'' ``Healthy Eating'' and other programs about chronic health problems, coping with illness, personal care and preventing health problems. Also coming soon is the Health and Fitness Network. by CNB