The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • 52

14 The Kansas City Star Saturday August 9 1997 Corporate conflict raises doubts about Channel 62-UPN union he said need fresh In local news In the July Nielsen ratings the big winner appeared to be pfe-A gramming not on the seven major broad- cast stations typically exceeded 50 percent1 Wj sign of cable growing power over viewers especially in the repeat-happy summer Channel supremacy in the 10 pm logo be up on Channel future? ket having switched last year from home shopping to including programs that formerly appeared on KSHB Channel 41 which runs 38 UPN could be a huge boost to KMCL Its evening audience typically begin to approach Could KSMO survive without UPN? Baker was unequivocal we can operate without he said I asked Jim MacDonald the general manager dumped by Sinclair after it bought KSMO last year how important UPN is to the station MacDonald said 1 never 1 62 started ng At one point he said KSMO was the top UPN affiliate in the country And without UPN? a pure independent got nothing to hang their hat Just when Kansas City channel surfers had recovered from the changes of the past year overhauls at channels 38 and SO and a new station at Channel 29 along comes a development that could send some viewers reeling again Sinclair Broadcast Group the Baltimore-based company that owns KSMO ncl 62 the local UPN affiliate is threatening to sever all ties to UPN as part of an escalating feud And while little danger that Trek: Voyager' would be sent into deep space or that Andrew Dice new sitcom would never grace the Kansas City airwaves a change would force viewers to click around for these shows The trouble started last month when Sinclair which has 27 TV stations in its stable KMBC' Channel 9 which cross-promotes the WB affiliate on Channel 9 and this year installed a 5 million-watt antenna for KCWB impression is that pleased with the performance to said KMBC general manager Paul Dinovitz of 1 1 -month-old KCWB A WB spokesman agreed and said there have been no talks with Sinclair regarding Kansas City affiliation with the WB runs through September 1 998 So that would leave Sinclair without a network affiliation as was the case from 1983 to 1995 before Channel 62 hooked up with UPN Where would UPN go? KMCI Channel 38 is the roost eligible bachelor in the mar announced that five of its UPN affiliates in key markets would switch to WB In return WB would pay Sinclair $84 million over the next 10 years The list of defecting stations include Channel 62 This week UPN struck back filing a lawsuit alleging that Sinclair illegally extracted itself from its deal with UPN Now Sinclair is planning a countersuit and mulling over a full divorce Barry Baker Sinclair CEO said that he had until mid-September to decide fate but added evaluating in those still affiliated with UPN little chance that Sinclair would be able to woo WB away from its Kansas City affiliate KCWB Channel 29 Through a deluxe government-approved arrangement Channel 29 is actually run by Will this popping 62 in the news derby continued but the station act ice of delaying News by 90 minutes may be losing its value AO The sitcoms that air after 10:30 two repeats and a -4 lost viewers July-to-July while ratings were way up and improved over the show that used to air at 12:35 I E-mail barnhartkc9tarcoa REMOTEPatrol By Aaron Barnhart Tribune Media Services Beauty and ttw Beast: A Concert on Ice (7 on GD Olympic gold-medalists Ekaterina Gordeeva and VMor Petrenko have the central roles in this Disney produced encore special based on the studns animated classic which marked first duet performance after the death of her husband Sergei Grinkov 20199 (CC) The Pretender (7 on In New Orleans Jarod (Michael Weiss) tries to keep a murder from happening in this repeat by pewing as the person supposed to commit it a professional assassin who oieo Deiore me assignment could be earned out 713151 uA- a il-i1 -j int? pnage pm on Three dose friends -played by Jason Gedrick Stephen Baldwin and Josh Charles Poets find their lives on the kne in this 1992 coming-of-age drama as their involvement in a drug-smuggling scheme takes a flighty dangerous turn Jeffrey Tambor also appears 77847 tonight a quiet and inde-fatigabty upbeat show about people doing good works across the country be seeing another season on television despite the efforts of its locally based producer Mark Honor But repeats will continue this summer at 11:05 pm Sundays on Channel 5 episode singles out a Christmas gift drive that started out small and has mushroomed into a community project to enrich the lives of scores of children during the holiday season new deal ups cost by $2 million New York Daily New The six-pack of Jennifer Aniston Courteney Cox David Schwimmer Lisa Kudrow Matt Leblanc and Matthew Perry will be calling NBC home at least through the 1999-2000 television season NBC and Warner Bros TV which produces the show have inked a new two-year deal to keep the hit sitcom at the Peacock Network where been for three seasons NBC has agreed to pay about $3 million an episode to retain the Thursday night comedy up fron roughly $1 million an episode the network now pays To help offset its increased costs NBC will likely increase advertising rates for the popular comedy Last season the network sold 30-second ad spots in the show for $450000 apiece A half-hour program usually carries four minutes of national advertising which would represent about $36 million in revenues per show for NBC After an unprecedented power play by the cast they all demanded the same raises simultaneously Warner Bros agreed to up their salaries Before the new deal they had each been making between $30000 to $40000 per episode With their new contracts they each are making $75000 this season Scientist Buck Corgan (Henry Thomas center) and friends racd against the clock to defuse a bomb implanted in hid body in the Sci-fi Channel movie at 8 (who otters a salute to Jackie Gleason) 60731 (CC) (8 pm on 05 Joe Peso stars in this affecting 1994 comedy-drama as a homeless mart who blackmails a Harvard student (Brendan Fraser currently in T1 ol the into providing him with food and That initially doesn't sit weB with the pupil's roommates (Moira Kelly Patrick Dempsey and Josh 7 Hamilton): the music score mclodes hit Remember 733915 (CC) Very Brady (8 pm HBO Another big-screen escapade tor the popular TV-senes family the 1996 tale loosely adapts the memorable episode in which the dan visited Hawaii The springboard is the startling reappearance ol matriarch (Shelley Long) supposedly deceased first husband (Tim Matheson) which shocks her current spouse Mike (Gary Cole) and the rest ol the Brady brood 866977 (CC) The Practice (9 pm on GD The issue is somewhat personal as well as professional for Bobby (Dylan McDermott) in this repeat as he readies himself to begin the chi "CImM litetUn Tha Blxarifir rijni ror justice I ne nancy Conn (7 pm on UF Marilu Henner is very effective in a highly dramatic part in bus tact-inspireo 1995 Mm playing a woman whose efforts to kmp the man (Doug Savant of who assaulted her and her cousin Peri Gilpin) behind bars launched an organization 957793 (7 pm on MAX The original 1966 fantasy that sparked a cult loyal enough to inspire a TV series director Russell Mutcaby visually stylish adventure stars Christopher Lambert as an who brings his war against enemies from the 16th century to contemporary times Sean Connery is his mentor Roxanne Hart also appears 959151 (CC) Who Makes You Laugh? 2 (8 on (3D This encore sequel to an earlier special has the same premise as comedy stars reveal which humorists inspired Ihem to pursue their own careers Among those queried on the subject are Jay Leno cites Alan King) Whoopi (paying tribute to Joan I Thomas (who recalls the late John Candy) and Tom Arnold proceedings against a man generally believed to hi I lo have murdered his exgirlfriend Meanwhile another attorney pins the firm and circumstances surrounding the 1 1 1 the tobacco (CC) practice's suit targeting th industry intensity 57267 A indicates program contains violence explicit sex or inappropriate language lor children For daily soap-opera updates and weekly summaries (816) 889-7827 and enter SOAP (7827) 11:00 I 11:30 I 12:00 I 12:30 I 1:00 I 1:30 I 2:00 I 2:30 I 300 I 3:30 I 4:00 I 4:30 I 5:00 I 5:30 I 6:00 I 6:30 1267 Reel TV ReolTV Petrel Patrol Florida Marlins at Atlanta Braves 403408 In Zone Storybraek Rescua CBS Newt Travel Felix Winnie Pragams 25606 News 9793 Wheel 126 7 Children Eerp: Return to 76441 Horae Baring 64606 GoH Buck Open Third Round 93441 ABC News Extremists Rescue PETV Animal Animal Planet 963793 Perry Meson 559354 EaB Red Omen Boatwortn Lawrence Walk 42441 Sew Quilts Old House Workshop Cooking Baking Pepin zl rSlO rro 16847 Gladiators Anlmeniec Paid Pr og WWFChelltnge 56828 DraemBig Kansas City Royals al Bouton Fled Sox 190151 Matlock 47335 Rodeo 65977 Guntmoke 32147 Bonenze 92118 Perry Meson 955S7 Growing Paid Prog Love Lucy Growing WNBA Basketball 292034 Golf Walker Cup Day 1 151083 NBC Newt Simpsons Simpsons Simpsons Ij SSl "1 Track and Field World Outdoor 959286 LHWlouit x4ton JD Step 26977 REGIONAL CHANNELS CABLEPREMIUM CHANNELS 8:00 I 8:30 I 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12 00 12:30 1:00 1:30 2 00 2 30 3:00 3 30 4 00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 inimmic i.