CABLE CHANNELS AND BASIC PACKAGE CHANGES MARCH 1

Effective March 1, cable television channel numbers will change and basic-service customers will get three fewer channels in the Cape Girardeau and Jackson areas.

Roger Harms, general manager of TCI Cablevision, said: "The channel change is necessary because of some changes in the services which will be offered. Under the new configurations, our signals going into the home operate better if we group the networks on each service level together."

TCI Cablevision of Missouri will reconfigure its two levels of service to offer area residents a "reasonable-priced entry-level service," said Harms.

TCI is offering the low-cost alternative for two reasons, said Harms. Customer research conducted by TCI indicates that some households want the cable system to offer a no-frills level of service. In addition, new federal legislation, the 1992 Cable Act, strongly recommended that systems offer it.

"In offering our new package, we are responding to both our customer research and the intent of Congress," said Harms.

Starting March 1, the local system will offer a basic-service level that will provide seven broadcast stations, including WSIL, headquartered near Marion, Ill; WPSD at Paducah, Ky.; and KFVS and KBSI, both of Cape Girardeau; WSIU, TBS and WGN. Cost of the basic service will be $10.

Basic service customers may also purchase the "pay or premium" channels such as Disney, HBO and others, said Harms.

Current basic service includes three more channels C-Span, BET and Vision at a cost of $10.49 in Cape Girardeau and $10.69 in Jackson. Neither the old nor new rates include franchise fees, which add a few cents to the monthly costs.

Harms said TCI would continue to offer two levels of service. In addition to its basic service it will continue to offer an expanded basic package, which includes 21 cable channels, including CNN, ESPN, Discovery, C-Span and others.

The majority of TCI Cablevision customers currently receive basic or expanded basic services. Prices per month will remain the same, said Harms.

The new channel numbers will group broadcast networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX and others on the lower-numbered channels and cable services on the higher numbered channels.

Not all numbers will change; WPSD (6), KFVS (7), KBSI (9), and WSIL (3) will retain their numbers.

TCI will offer premium and pay-per-view channels to customers subscribing only to the basic plan. This option also requires that some channels be moved.

TCI will provide cards printed with the new channel numbers that can be placed with the television set.

"Channel numbers become a habit and any habit can be hard to break," said Harms. "But we'll try to make it as easy as possible."

Additional information on the packages is available by calling 335-4225.

Following are the new channel numbers:

2 Home Box Office.

3 WSIL, Marion.

4 Govt. Acc.

5 LO Prog.

6 WPSD, Paducah.

7 KFVS, Cape Girardeau.

8 WSIU, Carbondale.

9 KBSI, Cape Girardeau.

10 TBS, Atlanta.

11 WGN, Chicago.

12 BET, Black Entertainment.

13 C-Span.

14 ENC, Encore.

15 Disney.

16 Cinemax.

17 Showtime.

18 HLN, News.

19 VISN, religious.

20 TNN, Nashville.

21 CNN cable news.

22 QVC, shopping.

23 AMC, movie classic.

24 Nickelodeon.

25 TWC, weather.

26 Family.

27 Lifetime.

28 A&E, arts.

29 CNBC, consumer news.

30 TDC, Discovery.

31 PSN, sports.

32 VH-1/COM, video.

33 ESPN, sports.

34 MTV, music

35 USA network.

36 TNT, Turner.