Climbing Nielsen's ladder Pax TV lays plans for cablelike success, but has KMCI to deal with here

Evangelical Christian businessman Lowell "Bud" Paxson launches his family-friendly broadcast network Pax TV today. Anchored by repeat episodes of such wholesome dramas as "Touched by an Angel" and "Promised Land," Pax TV will make its debut at 11 a.m. on KPXE, Channel 50. Although Paxson has set extremely modest audience goals for his network, KPXE will have a battle on its hands to achieve even those locally. That's because KMCI, Channel 38 - which carried Paxson's previous venture, Home Shopping Network, for eight years - has had a family-friendly schedule of its own since 1996. On a national level, Paxson says his network will make money with just 1 percent of the viewing public tuned in - and some in the TV business believe him. By comparison, top-rated NBC hopes to attract, on average, about 10 percent of the viewing public for its evening programs. Fox is hoping for about a 7 rating, and smaller networks WB and UPN should average in the 3 range. How can he succeed with 1 percent? Paxson's secret is that while he is technically a broadcaster, in practice he is much closer to a cable operator, with heavily centralized operations and low overhead. Very little of Pax TV's programming will originate at the local level but will instead be beamed out of a state-of-the-art facility in Florida. As even KPXE general manager Lisa Bench readily admits, "We're not really a local station - we're a network." KPXE runs on a bare-bones staff of 18, a third of whom are sales people. The local contribution to KPXE's broadcast day will consist of several hours of paid programming, including infomercials and religious services. Like the typical start-up cable network, Pax TV's programming is heavy on "acquisitions" - shows that aired somewhere else first. Sprinkled in are some new shows, mostly talk shows, that are relatively cheap to produce. It shouldn't be surprising that Paxson's network resembles a cable service. He founded the Home Shopping Network and made it an enormous success before selling it off to begin buying up TV stations. When his current round of deal-making is over, Paxson will own or operate 90 stations capable of reaching 75 percent of the country - all of them airing Pax TV. And a broadcast-cable hybrid is not unknown to Paxson, either; Home Shopping Network was retransmitted by a network of broadcast stations so that people in the one-third of American homes without cable could also buy fake diamonds and ceramic collectibles over the phone. From 1988 to 1996 one of those broadcast affiliates was Lawrence-based KMCI. Today that station is called "38 Family Greats" and is one of the few in the country that can claim to be doing a family format already. While Paxson can brag that Pax TV is endorsed by James Dobson of "Focus on the Family," KMCI has the first-ever endorsement given to a TV station by the pro-family values Parents Television Council. The first skirmish has been won by KPXE, which stole away KMCI's daily reruns of "Dr. Quinn. " Pax TV now holds exclusive rights to the show beginning Sept. 14. Monte Miller, KMCI's president, admires Paxson's ability to pinch a penny and his salesmanship. "If anybody could sell refrigerators to Eskimos, Bud could do it," Miller said. "At some point he will make an impact on the market, but like everything else it takes a little longer to get there than you might think." Miller still has the press kit Paxson sent out a couple of years ago touting the benefits of his all-infomercial network. That was what KPXE began airing after Paxson bought Channel 50 from Kansas City Youth for Christ last year. "I'm doubtful that he really ever met those expectations," Miller said. "I think he set the bar too high." Over time, said Bench, KPXE's general manager, the consistency and quality of Pax TV programming will distinguish the station from its main local competitor. She said that with former CBS executive Jeff Sagansky at the helm of Pax TV - he put "Touched by an Angel" on the air - the network's future is in good hands. "But right now we're just focused on building up our name and image and telling people they can rely on us," Bench said. KPXE will still air infomercials and religious programming 10 hours a day. Most of the paid programs will be sold locally. Paxson's commitment to the family notwithstanding, he has been criticized for not putting diversity high on his list. One Pax TV advertisement that appeared in print this summer attacked other networks for airing shows that "peddle alternative lifestyles" - probably not referring to people who eat while standing over the sink. What may harm Pax TV's financial outlook more directly is that, other than "Touched by an Angel" and "Promised Land," most of its programming appears aimed at viewers 55 or older. Advertisers pay more money to reach younger viewers. By contrast, KMCI has a block of shows historically popular with teens, including "The Simpsons," "Full House," "Home Improvement" and two "Star Trek" franchises. Weekday schedule Pax TV will subsist on a diet rich on infomercials and classic TV and light on new programming (indicated in bold). Its weekday schedule, which begins at 11 a.m. today: 7 a.m.: "Great Day America" (repeat of previous day) 8 a.m.: Paid programming 11 a.m.: "Here's Lucy" Noon: "The Love Boat" 1 p.m.: "Woman's Day" (talk) 1:30 p.m.: "Reel to Reel" (game) 2 p.m.: "Eight Is Enough" 3 p.m.: "The Hogan Family" 3:30 p.m.: "Dave's World" 4 p.m.: "Great Day America" (talk, live) 5 p.m.: "Highway to Heaven" 6 p.m.: "Life Goes On" 7 p.m.: "Touched by an Angel" 8 p.m.: "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" (Sept. 14) 9 p.m.: "Diagnosis: Murder" 10 p.m.: "Father Dowling Mysteries" 11 p.m.: "Highway to Heaven" Midnight-7 a.m.: Religious/paid programming