The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey • 32

3 4- B-4 BERGEN THE RECORD, MONDAY. DECEMBER 3. 1979 BEaaEN.nSSACHUCSC1 COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY Payoff grows as pay TV lures movie fans The Tangoras have subscribed since June to the service on Channel 68, one of six over-the-air stations offering so-called subscription television (STV). STV debuted experimentally in Hartford, in 1962, and flopped badly. A pay cable system did much better a couple of years later in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but was forced off the air after state voters outlawed pay TV.

The law eventually was thrown out by the California courts, but pay TV languished until the advent of HBO in 1973. Where cable television isn't available, STV has caught on so rapidly there's a shortage of decoder boxes. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted in September to repeal its rule limiting STV to one station in each television market. As a result, Linden's Channel 47, which now offers only Spanish-language broadcasts, will turn over its prime time to STV early in 1980. Seven other STV operations have been authorized, including stations in Vineland and Smithtown, N.Y.

Fifty-nine applications are pending before the FCC. dominate pay TV schedules, but there is concern than HBO and its competitors eventually may be able to outbid the networks for the rights to events such as the Super Bowl How do subscribers feel about pay TV offerings? While welcoming an alternative to commercial-laden and bland network programming, there are complaints about the quality of movies shown and the policy of repeating the same titles frequently. "I figured it would be worth it because we'd get to see some pretty good movies," says George Remes a Maywood laboratory supervisor. "But maybe you get one worthwhile movie out of about a dozen." For Lana Tangora of Lodi, Wometco Home Theater provides not only an inexpensive alternative to theatergoing but also a chance to decide whether movies are suitable for her two daughters, 7-year-old Laura and 12-year-old Debbie. If mom says yes, the two Lodi girls can watch the films the next time they're shown on Channel 68.

ual pay TV offerings outdrew top network More cable viewers, for example, watched the HBO broadcast of Sylvester Stallone's movie "F.I.S.T.-than ABCs top-rated "Love Boat" and "Fantasy Island." A Barry Manilow special on HBO attracted as many pay cable viewers as NBCs first showing of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" Prior exposure Paul R. Klein, former vice-president of NBC, complains that prior exposure on pay TV lower's the rating of the average theatrical movie on the networks by three points. CBS President James Rosenfield says that the increasing for home entertainment in a decade of diminishing energy resources will more than make up for the defections to pay TV. And dur-ing-the 1980's, Rosenfield says, cable TV will not be able to generate enough revenue to produce original, network quality programming. A major exception, Rosenfield acknowledges, may be sports.

Movies now Infald says pay TV has afTected third-and fourth-run theaters that show films a matter of days before they pop up on pay TV. The national group is trying to persuade film distributors to lengthen the period of time between theatrical and pay TV showings. Professor Aumente of Rutgers, however, says he thinks the theater owners are underestimating the future impact of pay TV. Right now, the quality of the TV image and the sound still aren't good enough to keep people at home. But that's going to change with the proliferation of large-screen TV and sets with stereo sound." Like theater owners, commercial broadcasters have also been playing down the impact of subscription television.

But the first major study of pay cable viewing by the A C. Nielsen Co. indicates that that may be wishful thinking. Surveying 4,600 pay cable homes during February, Nielsen found that subscription programs drew one fourth to one fifth as many homes as network shows combined. In some cases, individ Jerome Aumente, chairman of the journalism and urban communications department at Rutgers University's Livingston College, agrees.

"As the cost of going to a movie increases, I think we'll see even more of an increase in pay TV. People are starting to add things up and seeing it can cost a family $20 to $30 for a night at the movies. Second time around As recently as 10 years ago, North Jersey theater owners blacked out their marquees for two hours to protest the advent of pay arguing it would lead to the extinction of theaters. So far, though, their fears have been unwarranted. "There really hasn't been any impact on theater going," says Jack Infald, owner of the Lincoln Theater in Newark and president of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Theater Owners.

"For the most part, the films that are being shown on cable and pay TV are films that have already gone through the theaters." FROM PAGE El now the prime lure at cable television, which originally was devised to offer clear pictures and distant TV signals in areas with poor reception or (ew local stations. In most of North Jersey, that's hardly the case. "You have to realize that in this area, a person can receive seven VHF Channels 2 to 13 and seven UHF stations, so you have to give them something more than a clear picture or programs from Philadelphia," says Gary Cutro, general manager of Vision Cable, which serves 10 towns in southeast Bergen County. "I think Home Box Office is that extra." HBO, a Time-Life Co. subsidiary that distributes its programs by satellite to nearly three million homes nationwide, presents about a dozen new movies each month, as well as music and comedy specials.

Each is repeated half a dozen times. "We're an industry that's recession-proof, it seems," gloats Seth Kittay, HBO's metropolitan area manager. Local t.Mr- i TONIGHT: Fair and warmer, with lows ranging from the upper 20's to the mid 30's. Winds southwest at 10 to 15 m.p.h. TOMORROW: Partly cloudy and mild.

Highs in the mid to upper 40's. EXTENDED RANGE FORECAST: Partly cloudy on Wednesday and Thursday, with a chance of showers late Thursday night. Fair on Friday. Temperatures will be mild through the period, with daytime highs averaging in the low 50's and overnight lows in the upper 30's to the low 40's. Offshore: Watch Hill, R.I., to Montauk PoinMo Manasquan and 20 miles offshore: Partly cloudly through tomorrow.

Visibility generally five miles or more, but locally less in some early morning patches of fog. Southwest winds at 10 to 20 knots will become northwest at the same speeds by late tonight. Average wave heights two to four feet through tomorrow. Manasquan to Cape Henlopen and 20 miles offshore: Fair through the night. Visibility five miles or more.

Northwest winds at 15 to 25 knots will become southwest at 5 to 15 knots by early evening. Wave heights of three to five feet will decrease gradually through the night. 60" width OaQ wt rv. cr1 Jersey shore SALE 1) rr Fair and not as cold through tomorrow. Lows tonight in the mid to upper 20's.

Highs tomorrow in the upper 40's to the low 50's. rllllilMTTTlllf irtTrr 1. YESTERDAY'S WEATHER RECORDS UP TO 4:30 P.M. TETERBORO WEST PATERSON High: 39 High: 39 Low: 24 Low: 21 NONE NONE CENTRAL PARK High: 40 Low: 28 NONE Precip year: 49.43 Precip year: 46.16 Precip year: 47.10 Sunset tonight: 4:29 p.m. Sunrise tomorrow: 7:04 a.m.

DEGREE DAY DATA: Yesterday: 29 For the month: 57 Season: 773 Last year to date: 841 j'l -svrst r- mini m. NATIONAL Is 7AM 1ST 12- 4 -M juuu IAN FfUNCtSCO BINVW ,4 I U-1 PL lOWISt TIMMIATUIII 1 I r3o IIIMTTiiiirrrrr 10 HlUM (TTlNOwl UPlWfATHtft FOTOCAIT National summary JJJJj.f.r.T.T.y- Rain will fall from the north and central Pacific Coast area across the northern Plateau, changing to snow over the northern Rockies. Highs will be mostly in the 40's and 50's from the Pacific Northwest and northern California across the as well as from the northen half of the Plains across the Mississippi Valley to the East Coast from northern Florida to Maine. Elsewhere, 60's and 70's will prevail. itTniiafft iliP.

INTERLOCKS Forecast U.S. Travel City HL FORECAST CITY Mi 4326 ALBANY LOS ANGELES Fair 7757 MIAMI BEACH PlCldy 7563 MPLS ST PAUL Fair 3722 PlCldy 5630 ATLANTA Sunny rU sale eLl xi 4928 5633 ATLANTIC CITY Sunny NASHVILLE Sunny 5134 8069 NEW ORLEANS Fair BOSTON PlCldy 3628 5026 CHICAGO PlCldy PHILADELPHIA Sunny 4230 Fair PHOENIX CLEVELAND PtCldy 7645 5633 7039 DAL FT WORTH Fair ST LOUIS Sunny 6128 SAN FRANCISCO Shwri DENVER Cldy 4025 Rain 5852 5141 5432 SEATTLE DETROIT Cldy nnnn r3i i. 6240 Fair LAS VEGAS WASHINGTON Sunny FOREIGN CITIES Ytiterday'i Tcmperaturts Time Temp 1 m. 52 AT BOTH STORES TROPIC At 650 MAIN HACKEHSACK 516 BEOGEH PALISADE PARK High tow 90 75 74 70 94 70 77 53 79 72 83' 74 Amslerdam Athens Berlin Brussels Copenhagen Geneva Hong Kong London Moscow Nice Pans Roma Tokyo 55 48 52 58 30 60 57 26 50 50 63 NA taki Hockantoth Avt. touth (1 mil from Rlv.rtldn Adjoctnt to Pockardi Malrt Bldg.

'ockorda Ut Plenty of Frt Parking Hour 0 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon thro Sat. 488-4931 2 pm. 1 pm. 1 pm.

1 pm. 1 pm. 8 pm. 1 pm. 3 1 m.

1 m. 1 pm. 9 pm. Frm Parktna Hour 9 a.m. -9 p.m.

Mon. Thum. 9 a.m. -6 p.m. Wd.

Frl. 9 a 5 p.m. Sat. 941-2089 Acapulco Bermuda Kingston Mmico City Nassau San Juan, CANADA MnnliMl Vancouver 25 19 55 37 SALE ENDS SATURDAY, DEC. 8,1079 XJl'M JLJVW TraT.