Arizona Republic from Phoenix, Arizona • Page 176

OTJAV YOUR UTTHTTF AmrnvcBS RCA VICTOR v-nvV HEADQUARTERS for COLOR TV STEREO PHONOGRAPHS FH 526E YOUR CHOICE OF SCREEN SIZE 1V' 19 21" 25" YOUR CHOICE OF CABINET STYLE Danish, Colonial, Moorish, French Provincial, Oriental, Contemporary, Traditional INSTALLATION COLOR ANTENNA RCA FACTORY SERVICE With Every Color TV Set Purchased UHF TELEVISION programming will arrive in Arizona early next year with establishment of Channel 21, according to Donald B. Thomson, president of Spanish Language Television of Arizona, Inc. As the company name implies, Channel 21 will be aimed at the Latin population centered in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Currently the Latin population is approximately 160,000. Channel 21 plans, within a year after start of operation, to augment its scope with a satellite station in Tucson which is expected to add another 80,000 listeners.

Channel 21 will be the forerunner of several more UHF channels allocated to Phoenix by the Federal Communications Commission. Application for Channel 33 has been filed by a trio of businessmen in Arlington, Va. The format is expected to feature movies. No starting date has been set An application for a Channel 15 construction permit has been filed by Harcourt Brace, textbook publishers. No starting date has been set for this channel which may be tied in with subscription TV.

Channel 15 is the last UHF allocation for Phoenix, except for Channel 27, allocated for educational TV. With virtually no media competing exclusively for the attention of the Latin community, Channel 21, KPAZ-TV, will be associated with highly-successful Spanish-speaking UHF stations in San Antonio, Texas, and Los Angeles. This will constitute what Thomson terms "essentially a network." THE CHANNEL will present bullfights with English commentary, a proven audience-getter, as well as boxing from Mexico City and other programs especially for Latins. In addition, community antenna TV will receive programs emanating from Channel 21 in other states. The studio will be at 16th St.

and Buckeye, next to the Calderon Ballroom, called the heart of entertainment for the Latin population. The 10 kw transmitter will enable programs to be received in Casa Grande, Apache Junction, Gila Bend and Wickenburg. A board of directors, composed of local businessmen, will guide Channel 21. They include: Thomson, president and director, who is president of a Phoenix advertising and public relations firm; George Soderquist, Arnold R. SabeL Elmer S.

Green, Leonard Calderon Lt-Cmdr. Roger B. Chaffee, Dr. Richard Gregory, James J. Horan, Herb Lindner, Dr.

John R. Martinez and Harvey M. Ross. Chaffee is a U.S. astronaut who is designated for the initial Apollo moon mission this December.

CHANNEL 21 WILL encounter problems basic to Phoenix broadcasting, namely market, programming and advertising, but more than that, it must prove, like any other UHF station, that it has something different for the viewer. UHF stations cannot hope to compete on the same level with network stations which have locked up the mass viewing audience. Through research and expenditures of millions of dollars, networks know what people want to sec. So, UHF must carve a niche. UHF started in the early 1940s when television was not so commercial.

The FCC allocated frequency because a UHF TV signal requires a wider band on the spectrum than does VHF. Higher frequencies cause greater technical problems and the FCC found itself with a surplus of area open in UHF, 450 megacycles and up. But, UHF equipment was slow in developing and commercial TV broadcasting continued in VHF. In 1950, there was a need for channels with designated miles of separation and broadcasters looked to UHF. With designing of equipment for UHF, about 60 stations rushed on the air.

Most of them failed, simply because viewers still preferred the networks instead of an unappealing rehash of old network Of course, extensive live programming was too expensive for UHF stations. BUT THEN KWEX in San Antonio revealed a different format of all Spanish-speaking programs. This ethnic-oriented programming found a waiting market and set the stage for splinterization of the viewing market. Los Angeles1 KMEX, operating along the same format, later became one of the most successful UHF stations in the nation. RCA VICTOR COLOR TV now features PERf.lA-CHROME Hi-Life Color Tube for LOCKED-m COLOR PURITY IfcsJI III 6-SPEAKER rr" Solid State iM 1 Mediterranean 1 STERE0 ntj'i 1 0-Year Duraltfe 0 Diamond Stylus Guarantee ii i SCOTTSDAUE PMCZK1X 7902 E.

McDowell 3839 W. Ind. Sch. Rd. 947-3711 278-6264 22 ARIZONA OAYS AND WAYS MAGAZINE, SEPTCMIEl 11.

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