The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 55

Wr I iiv TELEVISIOIl MONDAY MAY-22-1995 7 bm THE HERALD IS It Date for channel switch pushed back gramming will move with the channels As part of the deal WCIX gets WTVj's more desirable tower on the Dade-Broward line and WTVJ gets South Dade tower Its weaker signal could cost the station about 1 5 percent of its audience will be a revolutionary change for said Shaklan will be wonderful for WVTJ on the other hand is much more low-key about the significance of the switch and is still vague about its plans to offset imminent advantage in reach When the shift was announced in November WTVJ employees were the recipients of toy pit bulls with this legend not the size of the dog in the fight the size of the fight in the With cable no issue The change in reception be an issue for viewers who have cable In Dade more than 50 percent of TV households In Broward about 77 percent of TV homes have cable WCIX and WTVJ have already begun to prepare viewers subtle ways for the day the channels shift WTVJ for example has started to de-emphasize its Channel 4 identity and emphasize its network affiliation thanks for is the way phones are now answered at WTVJ an NBC station and clearly emphasizing said Browne NBC brand is extremely strong and we believe WCIX is preparing graphics that will reflect its new call letters and is working on revamping its sets But both stations say their big promotional blitzes come until one or two weeks before the actual sw itch date By MIMI WHITEFIELD Herald Business Writer he big channel switch when WCIX- Channel 6 and VVTVJ-Channel 4 exchange transmitting towers and places on the dial is still expected this summer just not as early as once anticipated The target date had been July 1 but clearly slipping into August How much beyond that it could slip no one knows The process is taking longer than anyone said Don Browne president and general manager of WTVJ A complex deal The switch which will give WCIX a stronger signal and WTVJ a signal that reach into parts of Broward County initiated by the local stations It resulted from a complex series of negotiations involving the two stations parent networks CBS and NBC and a new joint venture between CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) A delay receiving federal regulatory' approval for the deals has pushed back the day when WCIX ill become Channel 4 and adopt the new call letters WFOR and WTVJ becomes Channel 6 difficult to tell exactly when it will said Allen Shaklan general manager of WCIX needs to file additional documents with the FCC Federal Communications Commission and they been submitted Affiliations unchanged The stations will retain their network affiliations: WCIX sticks with CBS and WTVJ remains in the NBC camp Unlike the big TV shake-up of 1989 when channels 4 6 and 7 simultaneously switched networks this time both local and network pro- WCIX the CBS station managed by Allen Shaklan right will trade channels with WTVJ the NBC station run by Don Browne below Then the horse-trading began CBS agreed to swap W'CAU-Channel 10 in Philadelphia for stations in Denver and Salt Lake City as well as superior broadcasting tower at WTVJ in Miami the I6th-Iargest market The local network affiliations: WTVJ will remain an NBC-owned station WCIX now a CBS station will be owned by a new CBSGroup joint venture that gives Group W' a 50 5 percent inter Herald 1U photo Local channel switch began in Philadelphia the number of stations that can be owned by a single broadcasting entity As a general rule the limit is 1 2 stat ions ith the total not hav ing an audience reach of more than 25 percent of the country CBS savs it has structured the Miami deal so that ownership of WCIX clearly falls in the W'esting-house column But the FCC wants to be sure about who owns WCIX as well as other pending ownership agreements between CBS and Group est in the station and CBS a 495 percent interest Regulatory Issues: NBC and CBS are seeking FCC approv al for the station switch and have submitted documentation support of the transaction The FCC however has asked for additional documents pertaining to the CBSGroup joint venture Legal sources at CBS say those documents are expected to be submitted the next few weeks At issue is an FCC rule that limits he South Florida channel switch is part of a domino effect that began when Westinghouse Broadcasting and CBS decided to become partners in a broadcasting alliance As a result the Westinghouse station in Philadelphia the fourth-largest market moved from the ranks of NBC to CBS That left NBC without a Philadelphia station and CBS with two stations in that market.