Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 6

6A TIMES TUESDAY. MAY 24 1P94 Fox from 1A If -Jr 1 1 1 1 I 103 Vv'3 LJ fTTl CD sc oo QQO i i i wv rgfn -xac -I in prime time, daytime and late night," CBS said in a terse statement. "We are confident in the continued strength of our network and in the value of CBS affiliates. We will maintain strong affiliations in all of the markets affected." Fox said it will invest $500-mil-lion in New World, a publicly traded company controlled by investor Ronald Perelman. Perelman obtained a controlling interest in WTVT last year when the station owner was in bankruptcy reorganization.

This year Perelman merged several companies, including WTVT own1 er SCI Television, to form New World. The five VHF stations New World now owns all will become Fox affiliates, as will four other stations New World previously agreed to acquire from Great American. (WTSP-Ch. 10 is not one of the stations involved in the the transaction.) In addition, New World has an option to buy four stations from Argyle Television Holdings, three of which will become Fox affiliates. Fox and New World said their alliance will mean more local programing and more local news on the stations making the switch.

Whitaker said local programing at Channel 13 will increase 50 percent. "They will benefit from a wider diversity of programing, heavier emphasis on local news and expanded news operations in each market, combined with the Fox network's creative entertainment programing and coverage of the NFL's National Football Conference games," said William C. Bev-ins, New World's chief executive, in a statement. Whitaker called Fox the "network of the future." "It's a tremendous coup for Fox," said Mauldin at WTSP. "But I think it will have a negative effect for the station (WTVT.) They will lose a tremendous amount of the audience that CBS provides them." Murdoch said the Fox affiliation will give WTVT and the other stations owned by New World the opportunity to increase profits by selling more local advertising.

Fewer hours of network programing also mean fewer network ads. However, executives at other stations say increasing profits may not be so easy. "I've run independents and affiliates and I can tell you there's a lot more money in network prime time than there is in independent prime time," Mauldin said. "I'd take ABC over Fox any day." "The overall winner on this in this market initially would be the Fox network, not necessarily WTVT," said Edward Aiken, president and general manager of WTOG. "WTVT will have to find programing to fill those time slots where they now have CBS programming.

The revenue potential is greater, but whether the profit potential is greater depends on the management of the station." Aiken said he thinks Channel 13 viewers are more likely to follow their favorite programs to the new CBS affiliate than to stick with Channel 13 and become Fox fans. CBS appeals to a more mature audience than Fox. Tampa Bay residents probably will be able to keep watching CBS and relocated Fox' franchise series Beverly Hills 90210 to Beverly Hills "90201" in a brief slip. Instead of attending the CBS affiliates meeting next week, Whitaker will go to the Fox meeting in a month. The crucial element of the Fox deal, which was engineered by president Lucie Salhany, is that it places the "fourth" network on VHF stations around the nation, instead of UHF stations that are harder to receive.

All of the newly acquired station are on the VHF band. -The deal was structured so quietly and so quickly that executives at the 12 affiliates were not notified until late last week. Whitaker, who admitted he didn't think the deal would go through, went ahead with minor surgery Thursday only to be summoned to New York that night for a meeting to discuss the deal. Three of the stations are now affiliated with ABC and one with NBC. Negotiations were only finalized early Monday morning, Whitaker said.

CBS apparently had little or no notice of the deal. The current Fox affiliate, WFTS-Ch. 28, will be forced to find a new network or go back to being an independent station. CBS must now scramble to sign a new affiliate in Tampa Bay, the nation's 16th-largest television market. Although independents Channel 28 and WTOG-Ch.

44 probably would be available, CBS will want a location on the VHF broadcast band, which is easier for viewers to receive. Even though 68 percent of Tampa Bay is wired fot cable, 32 percent would not be able to watch the nation's top-ranked network with ease if CBS were to move to a UHF station. I CBS executives and local affiliate executives said the most enticing candidate would be WTSP-Ch. 10, the ABC affiliate, which is currently for sale and also must compete with a sister ABC affiliate in Sarasota. "I don't think anything is out of the realm of possibility," said Steve Mauldin, president and general manager of WTSP.

"ABC is a vefy hot network right now, so I wouldn't see us necessarily switching affiliations, but I wouldn't be surprised if CBS approached our people about it." In fact, by late Monday he said he was certain the owners of WTSP, Great American Communications already were talking to CBS. WFTS-Ch. 28 general manager Jim Major also confirmed that Scripps Howard, the owner of his station, had been contacted by CBS. WTOG might have a potential advantage over other independent UHF stations in the form of a 10-year-old agreement to switch spots on the television dial with public television station WEDU-Ch. 3.

Although the swap attracted opposition from politicians, the FCC and other television stations when it was first proposed, the agreement is still outstanding and could be revived. Similar jockeying for position czn be expected in the other markets affected, which include Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas and St. Louis. "CBS is the programing leader Times photo FRASER HALE The control room at Channel 13. The CBS station will soon be controlled by Fox.

The switch could come as early as the fall. The players at a glance Fox Inc. Based: Los Angeles. 1 Owns: Fox Broadcasting, which has nine television stations and operates a network of affiliates. Also owns 20th Century Fox movie studio and television shows LA Law, The Simpsons and Beverly Hills 90210.

New World Communications I Based: Marietta, Ga. Owns: Seven broadcast stations (including WTVT in Tampa) and has deals in the works to acquire eight more. Producer of The Wonder Years and Santa Barbara TV series. Also owns New World Entertainment; a film library; a syndication company; and an interest in an infomercial production studio. Finding a new CBS affiliate WTSP-Ch.

10: This ABC affiliate is probably CBS' top candidate because it's a VHF station. WTSP currently is for sale and also competes with a Sarasota ABC affiliate. General manager Steve Mauldin confirms that CBS and current Channel 10 owner Scripps Howard "are talking." Despite ABC's dominant fall schedule, WTSP may want to pick up CBS' older audience, which is the major demographic in Tampa Bay. WFTS-Ch. 28: This now-abandoned Fox affiliate needs a new network badly.

Seems logical that CBS would take it over, but CBS wants the easily accessible VHF stations, not the UHF stations. Channel 28 could end up with ABC if CBS flips to Channel 10. WEDU-Ch. 3: It's very desirable because of its VHF slot, but as a public television station, realigning with a commercial network would be a nightmare. Channel 44 tried to switch with Channel 3 several years ago, but the FCC deemed it not in the public interest.

But that deal could be revived if CBS could find a new station for PBS. WFLA-Ch. 8: Owned by Media General, the NBC affiliate has AFC football, NBC's powerhouse Thursday night lineup and the No. 1 Today Show. Unlikely to change.

WTOG-Ch 44: Now with Paramount. In a switcheroo move, WTOG could acquire Channel 3, then CBS could take over WTOG. But of the two major independents in the market, CBS probably would be most interested in Channel 28. JENNIFER L. STEVENSON, HELEN HUNTLEY Owned by: News an Australian company controlled by investor Rupert Murdoch.

Controlled by: Andrews Group a holding company controlled by investor Ronald Perelman. Stock: New World is a public 12 Stock: News Corp. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange as an ADR under the ticker symbol NWS. II Related companies: TV Guide, British Sky Broadcasting, HarperCollins publishers and newspapers in Australia, Europe and the United States. company traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol NWCG.

Related companies: Marvel Entertainment Group Fleer Inc. and Revlon Consumer Products Co. Source: Times research no matter which station becomes the new affiliate. Although both WFTS and WTOG are UHF stations, their signals are relatively strong. In Brooksville on Monday, a small television with a standard antenna got better reception from the UHF stations than from WTSP, a VHF station.

And residents with cable in Times art east Citrus County, including Inverness, don't have to worry at all about losing CBS. Telesat cable carries programing from the CBS affiliate in Orlando and will be unaffected by all the switching in Tampa Bay. In exchange for its investment, Fox will receive two types of New World preferred stock. An initial investment of $250-million will be convertible to common shares at $12.92 per share representing 20 percent ownership of the company. The remaining $250-million, which will be invested as the station affiliations become effective, will be convertible to common shares at prices ranging from $15 to $50 per share.

New World stock closed Monday at per share, up $1.68 in trading on the Nasdaq market. CBS stock closed at $288 a share, down $15.50 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Staff writer Chuck Murphy contributed to this report. A from 1A Space station's 'rival': homelessness Scripps Howard News Service dependent, mostly UHF, stations. Thus, the audience and revenue was lower.

By switching to the prime channels in major markets, such as Dallas, Atlanta, Detroit and Tampa, they become more competitive and stand to make more money. Who really benefits? In the 1995-96 season, probably the big winner will be ABC, which already is poised to take over CBS' top-ranked position. With the turmoil at CBS, ABC's strong programing will most likely launch it into first place. What happens to Scud, the wonder dog? She will become the Fox mascot, just like Bart Simpson and John Madden. But she still has to wear little doggie dresses on the late news.

Compiled by Times staff writers Helen Huntley, Jennifer L. Stevenson and Chuck Murphy. ticeable change? Beside the new Fox programs, Ch. 13 will follow Fox format and move its 11 p.m. newscast to 10 p.m., opposite the network prime-time shows.

The new 10 p.m. newscast will last an hour. Will Kathy Fountain still do her show? and it will last an hour, instead of 30 minutes. Why would an affiliate jump to Fox, the newest network? These 12 didn't have much choice. The parent company made the deal.

Why does Fox want these stations so much they would spent a half-billion dollars? Since the network began in 1987, it has been relegated to in require an additional $900-million over current funding levels. Rep. Barney Frank, said that kind of money can only come by terminating a "big-ticket" program like the space station. "I thought after NASA was able to fix the Hubble Telescope that they would be home free," Frank said Monday. "But now I think it will be close.

The budget crunch clearly has got people thinking." Stan Collender is a federal budget expert for the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse. He noted that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration is allocated money by the same House Appropriations subcommittee that covers the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs. HUD will oversee the new homelessness program. The Clinton administration still strongly supports the station and has asked Congress for $2.1 billion next year. "There is a wonder ful advocate out there for us Vice President Al Gore has been a tremendous boost to it," Tripp said.

But the administration also insists that something must be done to help the homeless. Clinton's plan for funding the initiative is not entirely clear. "They have said there is money in the pipeline, that it basically would come out of public housing," Frank said. But lawmakers from areas with high poverty rates are likely to become increasingly irritated with the space station, a much-delayed program that already is billions of dollars over budget. "I think there is a fairly typical view up there (on Capitol Hill) that since the space station is in the $2-billion range, it is a potential bill payer for other programs," Tripp said.

"The space station has always been a target, and probably always will be." WASHINGTON The space station's many congressional enemies have a new ideological weapon they hope to use to shoot down the troubled project next month. They argue that the increasingly limited federal budget cannot fund both the space platform and President Clinton's new initiative to help the nation's estimated 600,000 homeless people. Such a tactic represents a nightmare scenario for the station's increasingly besieged defenders on Capitol Hill. The station survived a House floor fight last year by a single vote. "It is unfortunate that this is being considered as an eitheror proposition, that we either feed the homeless or build the space station," said Tom Tripp, spokesman for Boeing the station contractor.

The White House announced last week a new initiative to help the homeless that will WM ME IF iJl inTimj jni Em a3 jr I gepSTAKES Details and Entry Form Every Sunday in the Times June 5-August 7 GG1863.