Good luck outshines bad steps in KPXE's first Pax week

Despite a major promotional blunder by its parent network, a scheduling goof and reception problems in some area homes, it had a surprisingly strong first week as a Pax TV network affiliate. Nationally Pax TV's launch Monday averaged a 1.4 rating in prime time (that is, 1.4 percent of all homes with TV were watching). KPXE averaged nearly twice that (2.7), fifth-highest among the 70-plus Pax TV stations. Industry analysts think the network will make money averaging as little as a 1 rating in prime time. KPXE made a strong outing even though a print advertising campaign by Pax TV failed to include its call letters or channel location. Pax TV made a large purchase of advertising space in Sunday newspaper TV sections nationwide, including Star TV. The ads featured the tagline "Only on Pax TV" but omitted any reference to local Pax TV affiliates. A Pax TV spokesman said the network thought giving channel positions would make the ads confusing, because there are "so many" different channel positions in each market. The spokesman then cited KPXE's channel placement on an obscure cable system serving far western Wyandotte County and Time Warner's Leavenworth system. Such slips suggest that Pax TV chairman Lowell Paxson, a legend in the cable industry for his role in building the Home Shopping Network, is still adjusting to life as a broadcaster. In the cable model Paxson knows so well, local cable operators serve merely as repeaters for the network signal. By contrast, the broadcast model requires a local TV station to spend time and money promoting itself in the community and developing an identity distinct from that of the network. Had Paxson's people in Florida been more in touch with Kansas City, they would have known that KPXE, formerly known as KYFC, has been sitting on Channel 9 on Time Warner Cable and Jones Intercable for years. And that its chief rival, family-friendly KMCI, Channel 38, takes out a skinny half-inch ad in Star TV clearly showing where it can be found on area cable systems. Another mixup this week caused KPXE's old schedule of infomercials and religious programming to run in the daily TV grids of The Star instead of the new Pax TV schedule. (The listings in Star TV published Sundays are up to date.) The updated daily schedules will begin running Sept. 14. Other viewers called KPXE offices this week complaining of signal interference on their cable systems. Time Warner Cable and Jones Intercable assign KPXE to Channel 9, which is the broadcast frequency of KMBC. When a customer's cable is not adequately shielded, a faint "ghost" of the broadcast picture can be superimposed on the cable picture. On some sets, for instance, the ghost of Jerry Springer was seen flitting in the background of "Dave's World" on KPXE. Spokesmen for both cable companies say their technicians are happy to come out and "tighten" the line at the customer's request, which solves most reception problems. A support representative will first recommend several steps for the customer to take to tighten the line before a technician is sent to the customer's home. StarTouch: 889-7827 and enter 8852 (TVKC). E-mail: writeme@tvbarn.com.