The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 100

I sure he wouldn't say it unless it were correct, it has not Do Atiaetcs STtmea Nov. 29, ws-Pirt IV 2 1 PAY TV Battle of the Airwaves Looms come to our attention. Perenchio, who is also chairmanchief executive officer of Norman Lear's TandemTAT Communications, continues, "I've started a couple businesses in my life and my attitude is always that I get up every morning and I put my dukes up, you know? Im in a fighting position from the time I get up. "We have a fundamental, basic difference: Block believes in his approaca and we believe in ours. And I guess only time will tell whether his or ours is the more viable.

"Or if they're both viable." Thursday: Pay TV on Theta Cable's Channel. 1. 1 CHUCK HARRIS PRODUCTIONS TV'S "THE DATIrii GMIE" IS UM want tingle, attractive, outgoing girls and guys between 18 and 60. For an Interview, call Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

213467-1375 COAST-TO-COAST TEE-WEE 4 iiasr The love theme; from the new! 1 motion lWOOO606000q wiumiiU" Tuniij niir'--rili' uw jjMR I 1 OLIVER'S STORY'' The pier without peer. Possibly the longest Iree fishing pier in California, it's lust one stop on our Mini-Tour 1. Other points on this beautKul. 15-mlle scenic drive Include Mission San Buenaventura, restored Spanish adobes, a museum, a marina and more Enjoy them all. along with our sunny, clear weather, cleon beaches and line restaurants We think you'll ogree there a lot to discover on a weekend in Ventura! "The Music's too Swfet I not to DanceJ i I Show" Channel 4 Tonight at 11:30 yENTURK fm iaa Minl.Ti-iiif nnrt mntolrAttniifnnt ntiirlftc.

Vkitnrs RiirAt-iii Anunrrl Aua Vftnturn Cn It Is there already a battle for subscribers going on between the two systems? Both agree that Los Angeles is large enough to support both of them, and Perenchio goes so far as to say it would be bad for the pay TV business if his competitor doesn't find some measure of success. Yet there is no denying that direct competition exists. And fees are a big part of the selling point of each promotional campaign. To begin service on On TV requires $64.95 to be paid the day of installation (that includes a $25 refundable deposit on the decoder terminal); a week later the first monthly $19.49 bill arrives, retroactive to date of installation. To begin service with SelecTV requires $76.31 (including a $30 refundable deposit).

Or one can pay the annual subscription fee in one lump sum, meaning an initial outlay of $116.27 (no deposit required). A month later a bill arrives, tabulating costs of shows watched. (This tabulation is determined via a peculiar telephone billing system featuring a middle-of-the-night 10-second phone call between the home terminal and a central computer.) So the first year of On TV, including deposit, costs $298.83 to see everything that's aired, while the first year of SelecTV, excluding deposit, costs $356.27. That's watching $20 or more of shows; the price is commensurately less if one simply watches less. The Cost of Viewing Isn't Channel 22's SelecTV more expensive? Block is quick to explain, "It is almost impossible, I think, for you to average $20 a month of viewing.

Subscribers aren't home every night and they don't pay for it in our system if they're not home. We think that when subscribers initially get our service they are enamored of it, then it settles down into being a regular part of their life. It's our experience that average subscribers will spend $12 to $14 a month in programs." If so, that amounts to a savings of $1.56 over On TV's fee the first year (excluding deposit), and $5.88 the second. The $20 limit was established only last month in response to fears expressed by potential subscribers. Says Block, "I was concerned from the beginning that people might conceive that they might overspend, that when they looked at this list of 40 pictures they'd say, 'My God! I could spend Block's system includes a few "bonus" programs including experimental films, celebrity interviews and occasional feature films.

In January all three Los Angeles pay TV systems will screen many of the films most likely to be nominated for Academy Awards; SelecTV will not charge for any of them. On Monday SelecTV's hours expand beyond On TV's to include $1.50 matinee film screenings from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Currently both systems normally begin operation at 8 p.m. (Technically the pay systems are autonomous from Channels 52 and 22, which air commercial programming during the day and sell time to pay TV during primetime.

Actually, Channel 52 and On TV share virtually the same owners and facilities, while Channel 22 and SelecTV do not.) On TV, on the other hand, offers monthly "Excursions" featuring family discounts at attractions as varied as Universal Studio Tours and Marineland. Block says his installers report that many new SelecTV customers are switching from On TV because their viewing has diminished and because they feel there are too many reruns. Perenchio responds that all On TV installers are being kept busy (there's a manageable but large backlog of orders) and adds, "If what he says is correct, and I'm Ricky Martin Role in ABC Special Ricky Martin, son of Dean Martin, has been set by executive producer George Schlatter to guest with Lisa Hart-man in her hour-long special, "Hot Stuff," formerly titled "Whatever Turns You On," for ABC. Continued from First Page showing seven UCLA and USC spring sporting events to be announced in coming weeks. It may even literally become a film school, or part of one, if it proceeds with plans to offer a USC film course.

There are also plans to show outstanding student films, and a student award program is being developed. SelecTV also offers a patented key to make sure kids cannot sneak to the set to watch questionable movies; the decoder terminal can be locked to receive only PG-rated or exclude only Il-rated films. But surely among the biggest differences between the two systems is the fee: On TV charges a flat monthly fee of $19.49 (including tax), while SelecTV charges per show-anywhere from $1.25 to $3 each up to a maximum of $20 per month, on top of a $6 per month "annual subscription fee." Beyond dollars and cents differences, the varying fee systems represent differences in potential, according to Block. He points out that film distributors will want to release products to his SelecTV system first because they can earn a percentage of each viewers' per-show fee instead of a single, flat fee. And his system, he claims, will stay in closer touch with viewers' tastes because subscribers' viewing choices become a form of direct popularity vote-computers log the number of subscribers paying for each program.

Furthermore, insists Block, only the per-view system insures program diversity, long touted by most promoters as pay TV's raison d'etre. Ballet rarely gets aired by commercial TV because it doesn't garner large enough ratings, but a million people paying $2.50 each for a ballet program, so the popular example goes, will more than underwrite the cost of such nonmass appeal subject matter. "I think that the essence of diversity will come with one group being able to say, 'I'm willing to pay for as opposed to some benefactor saying, 'I'm going to throw you a bone'." Jerry Perenchio, co-owner and prime mover behind Channel 52's On TV, rejoins, "All of these things, whether it's pay-per-view or subscription it just gets down to who can write the bigger check, right? And if we've got 2 to 3 million subscribers in Los Angeles, which I believe we'll have, you don't have to be the greatest mathematician in the world to know that can generate a lot of money. "I happen to be an opera lover and I think a great thing would be to bring opening night at La Scala live via satellite. If we have a big enough subscriber base I guarantee we can afford to do it.

And the counter of this is that you can't get a big base doing billing on a per-program basis." Pay for Entertainment Perenchio's motivations for getting into the pay -TV business are simple he saw its profit potential in 1971, when he co-promoted the Ali-Fraser fight, screening it via closed-circuit television in movie houses and auditoriums around the country. "We grossed over $20 million that night. That's when I became aware of the fact that people would be willing to pay for first class entertainment." Twenty million seems a magic number: it's the amount that On TV has sunk into its L.A. operations so far million just to go on the air, and, according to Wald, "$4 million in losses" sustained since then. It only recently passed the 92,500 subscriber point which Perenchio terms "where we're positive cash flow." It took $12 million to put SelecTV into operation, and Block estimates its break-even point at approximately subscribers.

A large share of SelecTV's investment went into development of a decoder terminal with high security, unlike On TV's, which reportedly can be built at home by handy TV technicians. If On TV's signal is indeed being "stolen," Perenchio, Wald Co. seem unperturbed. As Wald puts it, "Technology and security are not really what the public wants." In the next breath, however, he is quick to enumerate the penalties: "The unlawful interception of our signal if found is punishable under federal statutes by a maximum fine of not more than $25,000 and five years in federal prison. There is also a California statute regarding signal piracy not more than two years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

We promise that we will spend whatever is necessary to put anybody we find stealing the signal in jail." Pat Albert 0 and tha Cosby Kids 3 Hf have on? hops to To save their clubhouse SPONSORED BY THE KELLOGO COMPANY TJ 1 A OPENS 4jl a Tha Catch of tits week U3 fSLnt ni703(! inUKbUAY NOV. 30 SPECIAL mm 1 1 2 CHEW ABLE ANTACID I 4j3I?) jlJILlS. ff ri jn i van i i 1 GOLD ALL Eneenada, Tijuana, Mexican take your choice. One of the best gifts you'll bring back is yours to keep the Baja California experience. Spectacular beaches and countryside, exciting cities, friendly people, a whole new culture to explore.

Plus thousands of new gift ideas. Reserve your Baja California holiday shopping spree now: Just call (toll-free) 800-532-3710, and we'll take care of all the details. You can also get a colorful brochure describing all the overnight packages by writing: Two days and a night of bargain-hunting fun In Mexico, from Juet $22 per couple. It's always been easy to find bargains in Baja California, especially with the new value of the peso. (And the new $300 duty-free allowance.) But now we've made it even easier.

For one low price, you get welcome margarrtas, a room for the night In a major motel or hotel, breakfast, all applicable taxes and tips, plus special discounts at selected shops. "INVITADOS you. You'll receive a wallet card and sign for your car window identifying you as a specially invited guest of our government. (Even if you YOU CAN DMH wavKS 0 RID RUT Of RSN GOlOfN MOWN RfMCIIfltlS COU SUW TKN COW ia FOR MORE ON TKHOUSi 0 A REAL VALUE. IVERY WEMfSDAV 0 ONLY EAT Secretary of Tourism State of Baja California Mexico P.O.

Box 2448 don purchase one of our holiday offer good CHAINS Tha moat kncradible low pricM you have vtr Mon. HugoMtocHon AN Mlid 14k Gold Diamond. Bracelet and Ring Drive over to Seal Beach and see today It' worth the tripl "kcmtkly special Coupon good thru 1230 IKSnTNINB IOLT I c. $083 I Wi 1Mb coupon liEeiEMuiriiE 142 Mail St Seal Buck frOO-SOO (213) 430-4650 snopping pacKages you can fsm Chula Vista, CA 92012 Wed. only with this coupon.

still get tne identification. Just call the number nti i t-ra rv "fc. urrw oxvirva mjuo below for details.) WITMTMS AO LIMITED TIME SPECIAL OFFER CHILDREN'S DINNER Rt i If OHO it Ah: rfvitafcV IVi Zr3 0 THIS COUPON EXPIRES WEO. DEC. 6, 1978 EVERY WEDNESDAY in 4 ecsy steps YAl Diii i Come get (his FREE folder of TV Trouble Shooter Tips RESTAURANT AND COCKTAIL LOUNGE Home of the double bubble cocktail, a jumbo double for the price of one i 2 Remove and II 4aIlJ label Doubttuls II feV tfC" December 22 ll SHIRLEY MacLAINE 1 FRED TRAVALENA TV jr 3 Test your lUUXM 2.IUIffirUHI 3.IKMPUX 4.

UUM3M 5. CIHITW mi I. CUtt MOOT T. COLTOK i cum cm IMtLEROCR PUZA 10. NQUmOOl AND VINE 11.

NORTH HOLITW006 12. KdRTHItlOGE 13. PUENTE HILLS MAU 14. RIVERSIDE 15. RiVERSiSE (TYLER MAIL) 11.

UN CLEMENT! 4 Gel replacement tubes here 17. UN HCO 11 SANTI IUUU it imm 21. thorium oaks 22. WESTMINSTER 23. WTLMINCTCN 24.

FASH VALLEY 25. UN OtRNAIRMO lubas here FREE HOTEL RESERVATIONS PHONE (213) 272-8091 Dm AMD OttfOVWT STOWS Jf.