LOCAL TV VIA SATELLITE COULD BE A LONG TIME COMING

It could be some time -- maybe never -- before local television channels broadcast via satellite. The timing depends on if and when satellite broadcasters offer local stations.

President Clinton signed legislation Monday that lets satellite broadcast companies carry local stations."Since this isn't going to really change anything for three to five years, I think everybody will really stay the same," said Kathy Cowan, satellite relations manager for KFVS-TV in Cape Girardeau. "There's a lot of hoopla about what a wonderful thing it is for everybody, but right now it's not a wonderful thing for people in medium- to small-sized markets, because the satellite companies don't have the capacity to do it," said Dan Steele, operations and program manager for WPSD-TV in Paducah, Ky.

Cowan and Steele said the National Association of Broadcasters is keeping members informed on issues that arise from the new law.

Cowan declined to comment as to whether KFVS eventually will be viewed via satellite, saying the station is waiting to see what the Federal Communications Commission says on the subject. "We're keeping up with satellite regulations and following regulations as they come to us from the FCC," she said.

Steele said the decision to offer local stations on satellite is not up to the local stations. Rather, satellite broadcast companies will have to purchase the equipment needed to pick up the local signal and transfer it to a satellite.

It is an expensive proposition. Congress is working to set aside some $1.2 billion in guaranteed loans to assist satellite companies, said Steele.

Under the new law people could choose between cable or satellite service and still get local channels. Both the NAB and FCC have spoken in favor of the move, calling it a "pro-consumer bill" that encourages competition and boosts satellite as a rival to the cable industries. Said FCC Chairman Bill Kennard: "Competition remains our best hope of combating rate increases. This law is designed to keep cable rates in check by making satellite a real choice for consumers."Roger Harms, general manager of the Cape Girardeau Falcon Cable office, welcomes the competition and said it won't hurt Falcon's business. Falcon Cable, which provides service to much of Southeast Missouri, does not offer satellite dish packages. The company does offer digital cable service, however."We'll stay competitive in the marketplace as far as the service we provide and the pricing," Harms said.

Satellite TV packages run between $20 and $30 per month depending on the number of channels in a programming package. Premium channels that offer movies and music cost extra.

Satellite television systems are great for people in some rural areas because they let them get a variety of channels in an area where cable television service may be nonexistent. But they are cut off from local channels unless they have a rooftop antenna.

Although he couldn't define the effects on his own business, David Michel said he was sure local stations would benefit from the new legislation. Michel is owner of Down to Earth Satellite Systems, a Cape Girardeau franchise of Dish Network satellite broadcast."It benefits the local market because it will be as pristine as any satellite picture is," he said. "There are areas where, like the channel out of Harrisburg, Ill., has poor penetration on this side of the river. This would make their delivery better."Spokespersons for that station, WSIL-TV, were unavailable to comment.

Satellite companies said people already have been asking when they can expect to receive local channels via satellite."We are waiting to find out, and hopefully it will enable us to provide local channels to people," said Susie McBride, office manager for Golden Sky Systems, a Cape Girardeau franchise of DirecTV, a satellite broadcast company. DirecTV, the nation's largest satellite company, introduced local signals Monday for customers in its New York and Los Angeles markets. In coming days, it will add five more cities and expects to enter about 25 of the top markets by the end of January. That would offer a satellite package with local channels to 50 million households.

Once satellite TV providers begin offering local channels, they have six months to work out transmission agreements with the networks. By 2002, companies that carry any local broadcast stations in a market would have to carry all of them.

Damon Dillard, a sales manager at Stereo One, said local customers will have an even longer wait than their counterparts in metropolitan areas. That's because the region served by area network affiliates is the 74th-largest market in a field of more than 200."It probably won't happen here," he said. "It takes a sizable investment from the local television station to offer that satellite uplink."(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)