$3.95 The Newsweekly of Television and Radio 'Vol. 126 N. 45 65th Year 16 A Cahners Publication SPECIAL REPORT E WE EMI How Television, Cable and Radie Are Plugging Into the Internet 411141-- . John M The Corn Justice Writes New Radio Law In Rochester *3 -DIGIT 541 IilJihhnnllllnn lilmlilutllultllilutllnl BC075184 AUG7 REGE 087 JOHN C JOt NSON KTVQ -TV 979 NEPTUNE BLVD BILLINGS, HT 59105 -2129 www.americanradiohistory.com s J 2.3/9 `WEEK OF 9/9 WEEK OF 10/14 Source. NSI WRAP WO AVG ers on rra with Maureen O'Bcyle WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC TELEVISION TELEPICTURES DISTRIBUTION A nrrcwarrr Entcn.Inlrnt c.1 w' W für I* All Nd,r. R...r www.americanradiohistory.com www.americanradiohistory.com ING IN ON... www.americanradiohistory.com http://www.broadcastingcable.com Mus! ReAdina f-om Broadcasting sCable Fast Tack October 28, 1996 TOP OF THE WEEK / 4 Malone retakes the point John Malone tells analysts last week his health is good and reassures analysts about the health of TCI. Speculation on both have taken their toll on TCI stock. / 4 Sports networks in search of subscribers The much ballyhooed battle between soon -to- launch rival sports news networks ESPNEWS and CNNSI may take place on opposing satellite dishes, not cable systems. / 6 Justice heightens antitrust scrutiny The Justice Department has ordered American Radio Systems to shed three radio stations it owns or plans to own in Rochester, N.Y., limiting its market share to 40 %. A deputy assistant attorney general says the newly Forget Atlanta 2r New York. The deregulated industry will face "traditional antitrust principles." / 10 big World Series winner was Fox, which late last week looked Tauzin hopes to run Telcom subcommittee When Democrat Billy Tauzin well on its way to its first -ever became Republican Bill} Tauzin, he made sure he wouldn't give up his seniority toward weekly ratings win. / 14 assuming the chairmanship of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee. The cagey Cajun is profiled. / 20 / BROADCASTING 59 COVER STORY CBS considers dropping Saturday cartoons 50 sites to see Televi- Because of increasing costs and declining ratings, CBS is sion, radio and cable net- seriously considering dropping its Saturday animation line- works, stations and shows are ' up in favor of a mix of live- action kids programing, educa- establishing their presence on tional programing and shorts. / 59 the World Wide Web. BROAD- MCA will focus on music MCA, the music arm of CASTING & CABLE picks 50 Seagram Co. will focus more attention on music than on stops on the information and film, president Edgar Bronfman Jr. told analysts at a con- entertainment highway. / 30 ference in Phoenix. / 60 Cover art by Dick Palulian Merv gearing up for push 'Net gains? The Internet Merv Griffin Entertainment is gear- is still growing, only more ing up for a big push on its TV side slowly. Those looking to capitalize on it will have tc next year, with a slate of programs tight for their slice of the pie. Among the key battles that includes an animal shaw hosted brewing is the fight to be the bandwidth standard -bear- by Betty White, a detective show er. Which will come out on top: analog or cable Secret Communications' modems, ISDN or ADSL? 34 and a Jackie Mason special. / 60 Frank Wood (I) introduces / Michael Ferrel of new On -site profits remain elusive Business is tak- Programers benefit from owner SFX to Secret what will it make money consolidation Radio station employes. / 66 ing to the Internet, but take to managers looking for successful programing are making life on -site? Broadcasting and cable businesses are trying hand at ad sales, subscription services and mer- easier for radio networks and program syndicators. / 73 their chandising on the World Wide Web. / 36 ASkyB breaks grould. TECHNOLOGY / 89 seeks partner News Sony snags ASkyB contract American Sky Corp. ai d MU Communica- Broadcasting has chosen Sony for the $50 million design tions plrn to broadcast 3 X' and equipment contract at its $130 million satellite uplink channels on their ASkyE Lp- and operations facility in Arizona. / 89 link center, but they would like Preston Padden, Bert Roberts and pert Murdoch in at ten- WavePhore, PBS using vertical blanking at least one more investor for danceRua t the ASkyB uplink the billion- dollar project. / 76 groundbreaking ceremony / 76 WavePhore is joining PBS National Datacast to develop a data service with an amalgam of information providers. 90 NYC-News Corp.-TW/Tumer battle in court / Round two of the battle between Mayor Giuliani, News Corp. Changing Hands 68 Datebook 107 For the Record 104 and TW Turner for New York City's public access channels Classified 94 Editorials 114 In Brief 112 moves the fight to a courtroom this week. / 78 Closed Circuit 18 Fates & Fortunes .109 Network Ratings 65 Broadcasting & Cable Cctober 281996 3 www.americanradiohistory.com Broadcasting & Cable J/ e-e-k Malone retakes the point TCI chief assures nervous analysts that his company is. fundamentally solid By Price Colman PHOENIX "Rumors that I have It s kind of fun to be Darth Vader again," John Malone told analysts expired, or am terminally last week, trying to reassure them - ill, or have lost interest in the face of his company's disappoint- ing third -quarter results -that the force in the cable company was still with him. "Rumors that I have expired, or am are substantially terminally ill, or have lost interest in the cable company are substantially inaccurate." inaccurate," declared a smiling, re- laxed Malone. Speculation about health problems- for Malone and ICI alike -have taken their toll on the TCI stock (Nasdaq: TCOMA) over the past several months. schedule until the dinner keynote "When we're free, like Gulliver and It hit yet another 52 -week low last speech. His tag- teaming with Clouston the Lilliputians, to use our muscle, Thursday at 11 5/8, but rebounded a in the afternoon session served two we'll use our muscle." he said. half point on Friday. purposes: it reassured investors about And in the first indication of how ICI Malone and TCI Communications TCI and, perhaps more important, will price its ALL TV digital cable ser- President Brendan Clouston delivered about John Malone. vice, Malone said that it will be less than the news unflinchingly, with no excus- The Bear Stearns stage revealed the $20 a month as an add -on to basic cable es: TCI's third -quarter results will quintessential Malone, if somewhat service. ALL TV will provide 200 -plus reflect solid but unimpressive revenue grayer than the Malone of a few years channels, including movies, special growth, anemic cash -flow growth and back. Like the George Foreman of the interest, music and pay per view. a drop in subscribers (see box). cable world, the head of the nation's For that price, "you'll have the The financial preview, delivered at largest cable system demonstrated that equivalent of a satellite system and get Bear Stearns's 10th annual Media & he still packs a powerful punch when it signals on all your TV sets," Malone Communications Conference in Phoe- comes to convincing skeptics about said. "We think it will be far superior to nix, came at roughly the same time that TCI's fundamental strength. satellite in cost." TCI headquarters in Englewood, Colo., Characterizing the players in the Malone also sought to dispel wide- was broadcasting it via press release. DBS industry as the "seven dwarfs," spread concerns that TCI will have a What was reserved for the investment Malone repeated the theme that Clous- tough time getting digital set -top boxes group alone was the message they'd ton had introduced -digital cable for what TCI is characterizing as an been waiting to hear: Darth Vader, aka works will be a powerful weapon in aggressive rollout of digital cable. Malone, is back. freeing the cable industry from the per- "We told [General Instrument] to Malone wasn't officially on the ception that DBS is its Death Star. build another production line exclu- TCI's third quarter by the numbers TCI Communications' (TCIC) core cable business will re- enue is expected to hit $1.54 billion. up 22.6 %, and cash port a 3.4% increase -up $18 million. to $548 million - flow will be up $610 million, or 15.1 %. On the subscriber over last year's $530 million for the third quarter. That's well side, the company is reporting year -to -year growth of below the double -digit percentage growth analysts had about 1.5 million subscribers. TCI now has about 13.95 projected. They have since revised the numbers down- million subs. ward, although estimates are still in the 6 % -7% range. TCIC overall, including Primestar by TCI, expects to Revenue growth should be about 10.3 %, up $129 mil- report an approximately 25.8% increase in revenue, to lion, to $1.25 billion for the period. The number of sub- $1.65 billion. compared with last year's third quarter. scribers dropped about 70,000 from the second quarter of Overall cash flow will be about $591 million, less than this year, largely because of seasonal churn, company the $610 million from cable operations, because of ex- officials say. Those numbers discount the impact of the penses associated with the launch of the ALL TV digital Viacom cable acquisition. Add that acquisition. and rev- cable service. telephony service and other costs. -PC 4 October 28 1996 Broadcasting & Cable www.americanradiohistory.com They want to know why he thinks America needs another politico; pony. They wait to know why he thinks the country should be run like .