Newsday (Nassau Edition) from Hempstead, New York • 194

jj- By Carole Agus 5i "Hie "House of "The "My Darling "The Grapes of "Stormy "12 "Desk "House on 92nd St" "The Man in the Grey Flannel The Ox Box The Snake and "All About The station is hoping to attract a devoted core of viewers with its nightly half-hour Long Island news show at 10 competing for viewership with offerings by the network giants like "Falcon "Remington "Knots and "St Hurley with a 25-year background in telecommunications in which he served as executive of a satellite network and of the Diocese of Rockville closed circuit instructional television system is optimistic "UHF independent television is an alternative system how it survived in thia country Not everyone is into network prime time -network television viewing is going down and its attraction as the only source of legitimate entertainment is eroding fast People are turning to UHF cable and VCRs We stand a good chance of making major inroads he said Michael Pascucci station president and head of Trexar Corp a finance holding company specializing in auto leasing and home improvements fought a six-year battle to get his station on the air and it is proceeding in earnest Records on file with the ICC show that the station has spent nearly $500000 on construction and equipment already The Federal Communications Committee says about $2 million will be spent before the station is on the air The projection that it will go on the air in early 1985 may be a bit hopeful It filed for a six-month extension of its construction permit that expires next month Ch 55 is hoping to augment its viewer base of 350000 homes by being shown on a cable station in addition to transmitting over the ultra-high-frequency airwaves The Cable Television Policy Act of 1984 signed by President Ronald Reagan let stand the "must rule requiring cable companies to carry local stations Ronald Parver supervisory attorney of the FCC said the rule provides that a station will be "a must carry if the community served is located within 35 miles of the community of Riverhead is the community of license for WLIG Cablevision the largest cable company on Long Island and the second largest in the nation with 237000 subscribers has its reception and transmission equipment in East Meadow more than 50 miles from Riverhead Whether the "community would fell within the 35-mile area and whether Cablevision could receive and transmit it is the subject of negotiation between the two companies "We know what kind of signal strength would be said Russ McCormick general manager of Cablevision "And beyond that we have a legal determination I know where the 35-mile line One insider close to negotiations between the lawyers called the matter of the 35-mile mark "one of the true mystical questions of the Meanwhile onward WLIG executives say their studies show the audience is there only waiting to be tapped Kenigsberg agrees "Is there an audience? Sure" she said adding be some wholesome people out jfik HEM Ladies and genile-men introducing the newest newcomer to full power television WLIG Take a bow WLIG It is projected to be on the air in "early" 1985 as the only full-power commercial television station on Long Island featuring a Long Island news show at 10 pm and also featuring programing described as "wholesome" by the station executives It is a UHF station which means ultra-high frequency which means got to tune it in if you can with the other dial on your television the one that receives Ch 21 in some areas Ch 59 in others Ch 55 on the UHF tuner is WLIG It is not a network affiliate but an independent station UHF reception on Long Island has had "an unhappy history" according to Abby Kenigsberg executive director of the Long Coalition for Fair Broadcasting That group is devoted to increasing television coverage of Long Island which has a population larger than 21 states but gets significantly less coverage than almost any area in the nation of its size For example in the comparable Boston and St Louis areas each city has five VHF stations Long Island has none "Is it good for Long Island that this outfit is opening and is going to serve it? Absolutely very good and very good that going to Kenigsberg said But historically she said UHF was not easily receivable on many sets in Long Island without some sort of special antennae or special rabbit ears Fart of the problem was that most of the antennae on Long Island face That is where the dty transmitters are The transmitter for Ch 55 is located in Ridge Will that present a problem? Not according to Michael Hurley Ch vice president and general manager who said the signal will be powerful enough to reach homes in the "Grade signal area out an outside antennae The western edge of the area is a line from Bayville to Wantagh and the eastern edge is a line from Southold to Water Mill Beyond that area Hurley said the signal could be picked up with the use of outside antennaes On Ch 55 viewers will find relief from the sex in the violence in "Hill Street and the sex in a Crowd" "It will be a family television station" said pro- granting director Larry Casey who added he intends to "stay away from a lot of the things that predominate in commercial TV jiggly sitcoms cop shows family sitcoms wherein the main shtick revolves around the budding oversexed teens and urban ghetto cop shows rape and drug and drug and Take that "Miami And move over for "Casper the Friendly Ch 55 will feature old favorites from the and like "Ben about a highly principled doctor "The about a highly principled doctorfhgitive "Daniel about a highly principled frontiersman and "Peter about a highly principled lady-killer detective It will also feature "The DoriaDay "One Step "Lon in and "Voyage to the Bottom of the -Casey a movie buff himself has assembled an impressive gallery of classic films including "A Bell for 4 1 3 4 IS ff i-a 2 to I QJ a f- T' I I afeiV-l-ut?.