LV cable system urged to carry UPN

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 1998 | 11:07 a.m.

Fans of the United Paramount Network's low-power television affiliate in Las Vegas want local governments to force Cox Cable to carry the channel.

But members of the Regional Telecommunications Jurisdictions (RTJ), which conducted a public hearing Monday, said they have no authority to force Cox to carry any commercial station.

Cox is buying Prime Cable of Las Vegas. The system is now controlled by the Greenspun family, owner of the Las Vegas Sun.

Management of UPN 25, which carries UPN programming, including the popular "Star Trek Voyager" television show, and several loyal viewers told RTJ representatives they wanted the network to be a part of the Cox-Prime Cable lineup.

The RTJ, five government staff members who advise their respective cities and Clark County on cable television franchising issues, held the hearing to get comments on the proposed transfer of the Prime franchise to Cox, public access television and other cable issues.

Other hearings are scheduled through September on new cable regulations that will be consistent through the five jurisdictions. A repeal of existing regulations was scheduled today by the Clark County Commission and a new ordinance will be introduced on Sept. 15.

The City of Las Vegas plans to review ordinances to repeal and add new rules on Sept. 14. A public hearing and approval of the transfer to Cox is scheduled by the City Council on Sept. 28 and by county commissioners on Sept. 29.

While several addressing Monday's hearing discussed the need for public access TV -- a station dedicated to local programming on the activities of local organizations -- most directed their comments on UPN and two other low-power stations.

Prime Cable spokesman Steve Schorr said the inclusion of the UPN affiliate would result in the removal of another channel because the cable system is at capacity.

"We have said in the past to them (UPN 25) and continue to say that we will include them in all our surveys of customers to determine if most of our 315,000 subscribers want their programming," Schorr said.

Larry Hunt, president of UPN 25, who has put other broadcast stations into cable systems, said he has bought time on Prime's leased access station, Channel 61, to put some UPN programming on the cable. There's no set schedule, however, and the cost ranges from about $78 an hour early in the morning to $240 an hour in prime time.

Hunt also said federal regulations could compel Prime to put UPN on the cable, but Schorr said "must-carry" rules generally apply to high-watt stations, not low-power operations.

Representatives of Citizens for Public Access Television Vegas also appeared before the RTJ, which represents Clark County and the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City.

The group has criticized the cable franchise transfer process, saying the county has violated its own laws by not having a citizen advisory committee involved in the negotiations. County officials said a citizen group disbanded several years ago when there were no longer matters for it to review.

RTJ representatives said they were disappointed that more people did not offer suggestions on how a public access station would be managed if cable operators provided one.