CABLE TV MERGER: FEW CHANGES IN STORE IMMEDIATELY

It will be months before cable customers in the region get any answers on how a pending merger between TCI Cablevision and Falcon will affect programming and services.

TCI will continue to manage the system until the deal is completed "probably late in the second quarter," said Terry Pfister, a TCI spokeswoman in Chicago.

Roger Harms, local TCI manager, said the planned cable system upgrade mandated by TCI's franchise agreement with the city of Cape Girardeau will go ahead, as will the additional channels announced last month.

WGN will return to the local lineup, part of a package of 19 new channels, eight new premium channels and nine additional pay-per-view channels.

The new lineup is being added as a result of the system being upgraded to include digital compression technology. The digital system will go into effect April 1. WGN will be available March 1.

It is unclear what further changes cable customers in the Cape Girardeau-Jackson area will see, Falcon and TCI officials said.

"I have no idea," said Harms. "I don't feel like there will be big changes. There are no details that I know of that they gave to me."

"I've been told that the consumer isn't going to see anything take place for probably four, five, six more months," said Ron Hall, acting regional manager for Falcon.

In the Southeast Missouri region, Falcon now owns cable systems in Sikeston, Perryville, Oran, Scott City, Chaffee, Charleston, Benton, East Prairie, Ste. Genevieve, Morehouse, Poplar Bluff, Dexter and Malden.

Each of those communities has a different channel lineup, Hall said.

"Normally in that situation where you acquire a system, you don't want to make a tremendous change right away," he said. "We are looking at upgrading all of the communities, upgrading the systems to create more choices in programming."

In addition, he said, different programming may be offered in different communities, based on the population makeup and needs.

Statewide, Falcon has more than 90,000 subscribers; nationally, it has more than 700,000 customers in 26 states.

TCI has approximately 300,000 subscribers.

The two firms announced Dec. 30 that they have established a new corporate entity, Falcon Communications, L.P. Negotiations were announced in June.

TCI contributed its systems in Washington, Oregon, Missouri, California and Alabama, and will hold a 47 percent interest in the new entity. Only three TCI franchises in Missouri are affected by the partnership: Cape Girardeau-Jackson, Nevada-Clinton and Knob Knoster.