The Baltimore Sun from Baltimore, Maryland • 113

i -i SUNDAY, JANUARY 1, 1995 THE SUN ARTS ENTERTAINMENT 3L TV: Get set to be confused as Baltimore's network affiliates play musical chairs 4 ft" the House" and "Double Rush starring Robert Pastorelli of "Murphy Brown." All Join the weekly schedule starting tomorrow night. They wjll replace such CBS losers as Touched by an Angel" and, no doubt, add to the confusion of Baltimore viewers trying to find their favorite shows. In terms of winners, it looks as'if WMAR gets at least the early edge because of Its affiliation with ABC, which is No. 1 in prime time news ratings. ABC Is also paying the Scripps stations $5 million during the next two years to help promote such events as the switch in Baltimore, according to Broadcasting and Cable magazine.

The three local stations combined are spending $3 million to $4 million to promote the switch, in everything from direct mall campaigns to contests featuring such prizes as new homes from Ryland. Today and tomorrow, the airwaves are going to be glutted with advertisements, announcements and programs such as "Surviving the Great Network Shift of '95." "Who knows how confusing It's really going to be when the switch actually happens?" says WMAR's Lewln. "But one thing's for sure: There's definitely no lack of information about it out there." network out in Baltimore, got together to finalize the new order. From the networks' point of view, the Baltimore switch will basically be a wash. There are no clear-cut winners.

Unlike In Detroit where CBS goes from an established VHS to a very weak UHF station that doesn't even have a local news department in Baltimore, all three networks wind up with VHS stations. "If there Is a loser, It's the station that gets the CBS affiliation (WJZ1," says Dr. Gomery. That station has more to lose than anyone, because the network lead-ins and stuff that they have at the moment are not the strongest. Of course, CBS has been strong in the past and eventually will probably come back to some extent." Mr.

Alexander, not surprisingly, disagrees. He emphasizes that WJZ will have the same local news teams, featuring AI Sanders and Denise Koch. They are what make WJZ No. 1 with Baltimore viewers, he says, not the network programs it carries. The Impact of the switch on local news ratings is going to be Interesting to watch.

For example, will WJZ's news stay No. 1 at 1 1 p.m. now that it has the weaker CBS shows for lead-ins? The CBS prime-time schedule is currently performing so poorly that the network is taking the unprece-. dented step of Introducing three new prime-time series in the first week of the new year Cybill Shepherd's "Cybill," Delta Burke's "Women of From Page 1L And, says WBAL general manager Phil Stolz: "I think viewers will be surprised to find out that. In fact, the call letters, the channel numbers, all of the local news people and a lot of the programs they already watch will still be on the station.

During those portions of the day where network shows air, there will be initial confusion. But once viewers realize what network shows are where, I think it; will be a relatively easy adjustment" Easy relative to what? Baltimore Is the first city ever in which all three network affiliates' will switch, so there is no precedent. But last month in Detroit when WJBK moved from CBS to Fox, and CBS wound up aligning with an independent, WGPR 10,000 calls were logged at WJBK during the first two days, according to Chuck Ross of Inside Media. Ten thousand phone calls In two days is pretty Intense by anybody's standards. That's why the three Baltimore stations have set up phone numbers and phone banks to handle the onslaught of calls they are expecting.

"We have a rotating group of about 55 people who will operate In different shifts during the day, so that you can call 24 hours a day and get a WBAL staff person to take your call," says Emerson Coleman, broadcast operations manager at WBAL. "And our goal is to help people. We'll tell you what's on whatever station it is," he adds. "If you want to know where to find 'The Young and the we'll tell you that show is moving to 'JZ, and we'll give you 'JZ's switch phone number." All three stations say their primary goal is helping viewers find their favorite shows. But they are also us ing phone lines, TV advertisements and newspaper Inserts appearing today to promote their own stations.

The inserts provide some useful Information, but they also contain some spin-doctoring. For example, in WMAR's newspaper insert, titled "Your Guide to the Great Network Shift of '95," the question is posed: "Why are the local stations switching their affiliates?" The station's answer says, In part, "ABC feels that WMAR News-Channel 2 shares its concerns for the local community, and has a news and programming style that reflects its own. So ABC asked News-Channel 2 to become its new Baltimore affiliate. We accepted their proposal because we think a marriage of ABC and WMAR will be an outstanding opportunity to increase our service to our viewers." A more unbiased source, however, cites a different reason. The real answer for that particular alignment Is Rupert Murdoch and the chain reaction he set off with his affiliate raid last summer," says Dr.

Gomery. Part of that raid involved Murdoch snatching the CBS affiliates in Detroit and Cleveland. Left without an affiliate In those two cities, CBS started to woo the ABC affiliates there; both ABC affiliates were owned by Scripps-Howard (as is WMAR). CBS was offering the chain millions of dollars to make the switch. ABC, in turn, asked Scripps what it would take to keep them.

That's when WMAR's name came up. Scripps told ABC that in order to keep the Cleveland and Detroit stations out of the clutches of CBS, they had to dump WJZ ABC's Baltimore partner for four decades and take on Scripps' WMAR In SUN RLE PHOTO Among the members of the WJZ news team are John Buren, Sally Thorner and Bob Turk. "concern for the community." The Scripps-ABC deal left WJZ without a network, but WJZ's group owner, Westlnghouse, signed a deal with CBS one month later to make all its stations CBS affiliates. Now the odd station out was WBAL. Within weeks, WBAL and NBC, the odd Charm City.

ABC is a particularly attractive network because it is currently No. 1 in prime time and has the best demographics. That's the real reason why ABC switched from WJZ to WMAR to block CBS in Detroit and Cleveland. It had nothing to do with a shared THE UNITED STATES ARMY FIELD BAND and Soldiers Chorus "A Fun, Warm-Hearted Romantic Comedy. Matthau is wonderful as Einstein.

The cast is uniformly terrific." I i littrlWl i BI TM I COPYRIGHT Q1IM nnuMMMwrncruiiEi. I ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. -JF I 3 emit NOW SHOWING Now Showing SONY THEATRES VALLEY CENTRES Owlnga Mills, MD .34194 36; GENERAL CINEMA UNITED ARTISTS SECURITY SQUARE 6 GOLDEN RING Beltway Exit 17 Golden Ring Mall 265-6911 574-3333 GENERAL CINEMA TOWSON COMMONS JJSTi" JK5K vv to i MARLEY STATION Wind Ensemble and Choral Concerts Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts 801 Chase Street Annapolis, Maryland 21401 Janury 12, 1995 Wind Ensemble January 26, 1995 Chorus February 16, 1995 Wind Ensemble March 7, 1995 'Chorus March 22, 1 995 Wind Ensemble All concerts are at 7:30 p.m. Free admission By ticket only Limited to Four tickets per request For additional information call: 301-677-6586 Clip and mail with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for free tickets Mail to: U.S. Army Field Band Bldg 4700, Attn OPS, Ft.

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at Route 100 WESTVIEW CINEMA 6026 Baltimore Natl Pike 747-3800 760-3300 UNITED ARTISTS WESTV1EW MALL Beltway Exit 16-A 716-9000 SONY THEATRES GREENSPRING 3 2853 Smith Ave. 486-4718 LYRIC OPERA HOUSE FEBRUARY 7 thru 12 Tickets available at the Lyric box office and all TicketMaster outlets, including Hecht's. CHARGE BY PHONE: 481-SEAT Call 889-391 1 lor More Information Group Discounts Outside Baltimore 800669-STAGE ftesmld b) Mmrnf (Us ftakta, Int. Sf 8 Go Globe Nominee i 1 1 JJ Best Actress Geena Davis 5 "fT michael geena i KEATON DAVIS: S'f SPEECHLESS I 5 A COMEDY BEYOND WORDS GCC IGCC GCC SONY COLUMSIA CITY i SECURITY SQUARE I TOWSON COMMONS I VALLEY CENTRE I 997 W10 29 S4i1 etg MS-S333 3t3-4184 efi UNITED ARTISTS UNITED ARTISTS UNITED ARTISTS vwt sticchiess srt. GOLDEN RING MAIL MARLEY STATION WESTVIEW MALL intnT: Comissiona is Back! Thursday, Jan.

5 at 8:1 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6 at 8: 1 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1 1 a.m.

Sergiu Comissiona, conductor Louis Lortie, piano Rachmaninoff: Capriccio bohlmien Ravel: Piano Concerto in Major Prokofiev: Suite from "Romeo Juliet" Ticket $17, $23, $28, Aw $48. Saturday Ticket $10, $17, lime $26. Clastic Converspton at 7p.m. on Friday. Free to FrWoy night tidcethoders.

fr (till, I'll, i Commi, uuia Hear the Best of Mozart and Brahms 7 DAYS ONLY! PG JAM 10-16 Baltimore Arena 'foam fain MWf Vntut(M)i i Friday, Jan. 1 3 at 8: 1 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 1 4 at 8:1 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan.

1 5 at 3 p.m. Jeray Scmkow, amchctor Jon Kimura Parker, piano Schubert: "Rosamunde" Overture Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20, K. 466 Brahms: Symphony No. A Ticket $17, $23, $28.

$34, Roxe $48. Awwby Ticket $13, $21. Have $32. Twe. JAN.

10 7:30 PM FAMILY NIGHT-SAVE $4 ON ALL TICKETS with coupons from GIANT Courtesy of FOX 45 WBFF GRX 100.7GIANT TicKet onice iioiiaay nours: Pllllir -i i.i t. Kt i Jon Wed. JAN. 11 Thu. JAN.

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12NOONt Sun. JAN. 15 Mon. JAN. 16 BALTIMORE ARENA BOX OFFICE Coo service charge) All outlets including all Hecht's department Stores (service charge of $1.50 per ticket) INFO PHONE CHARGE: (410) 481-SEAT (service charge ofS1.75per ticket, $7 max.

per order it. 75 service charge per ticket on all Rmksidc Seat orders) Croup Rates: (410) 347-2006 ALL SEATS RESERVED PRICBINCLVDES TAX 111.50 Special RINKSIDE SEATS Available Wherever Tickets Are Sold uosea; January wpen. nuon jp.iu. on January a Call 410 783-8000 for Tickets Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall Cathedral at Preston Streets SONY THEATRES VALLEY CENTRE 9 9616 REISTEHSTOWN BD363-4'94 STARTS FRIDAY AT THESE AND OTHER AREA THEATRES tKIDS SAVE $2 ON TICKETS FOR KIDS UNDER 12! ACCESSIBLE SEATING: (410)727-7811 ItattMitflgE WSiltrW WESTVIEW CINEMAS 6026 BAIT NAT. PIKE 7747-3800 SONY THEATRES GLEN BURNIE 7 BLVD.

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