THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, December 20, 1995 TAG: 9512200055
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Larry Bonko
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
BY THIS TIME next year, NBC's 24-hour all-news channel should be up and running on cable and competing against CNN.
Will subscribers in Hampton Roads see MSNBC, the new channel to be launched by the Peacock Network in league with Microsoft?
Ask and ye shall receive.
With 78 channels in service, Cox Communications here does not have a whole lot of room left for new stuff. But there are one or two channels available, said Larry Michele of Cox, not counting Prevue Networks Channel 4 in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Virginia Beach.
Cox has been asking viewers what new channels they'd like by taking a poll through the mail. TCI in Chesapeake does it with Intro TV on Channel 53, a channel with sneak previews of new networks.
You say what you like or dislike by calling a 1-800 number.
May I suggest to Cox and TCI subscribers that they request the America's Talking network. Now.
Next fall, A-T evolves into the NBC-Microsoft all-news channel.
You'll want to be ready when that happens.
I also recommend that you ask your cable company for Ovation, the new CNN Financial News Network (CNNfn), TV Food Network, Game Show Network, FXM (Movies from Fox) and the Independent Film Channel.
These networks have been in service for a few months.
You also might want to think about requesting The Golf Channel. You'll save a fortune in sleeping pills with that channel.
There are a bunch of other cable channels waiting to sign on. They include The Soap Channel - it's about daytime drama, not doing laundry - plus Nick at Nite's TV Land, The Collector's Network, Applause, The Auto Channel, The Ecology Channel, The Fashion and Style Network, and a channel made to order for this area of a million uniforms, The Military Channel.
Gay Entertainment Television is planning to launch June 1, 1996.
And there are other cable channels in the planning stage, including a round-the-clock all-news channel from ABC. That's scheduled to begin in 1997.
Rupert Murdoch, who owns Fox Broadcasting, is also talking about challenging CNN, which will soon be part of the Time Warner family.
CNN founder Ted Turner says he'll squash the competition like a bug. The corporate giants are attracted to producing news on cable because it's relatively inexpensive and has a ready-made audience. If you watch nothing else on cable, you watch the news.
ABC's Roone Arledge believes cable subscribers want an alternative to CNN, which is on the dull side - merely a wire service with pictures, some critics call it. Of what could be a four-way competition in cable news by 1997, Arledge said he isn't worried, because ``quality will ultimately prevail.''
He makes a cable news network with Peter Jennings sound like a news junkie's heaven.
NBC is one up on Arledge and ABC. NBC has two cable networks (CNBC and America's Talking) that can easily be converted to all-news. Murdoch also has two cable channels with fX and FXM humming. What's to stop Murdoch from making one of those round-the-clock news?
He's already said he'll challenge ESPN for the hearts and minds of sports fans around the world.
Michele at Cox says he has yet to tabulate the votes from 200,000-plus subscribers who asked for new channels. He gave them some suggestions, including the golf and food channels, The Gospel Network, the Speedvision Network and the Classic Sports Network.
Early returns indicate the subscribers aren't excited about any of these channels, the Cox executive said. Then how about if Cox gives them The Popcorn Channel with nothing but previews of new movies? The Jackpot Channel, which brings a little bit of Las Vegas into your home? MEMO: (Tell me what new cable channels interest you by calling Infoline,
640-5555, press 2486).
by CNB