CABLE TV WILL ADD ALL-MOVIE CHANNEL

TCI Cablevision of Missouri will offer a free preview of ENCORE, a new all-movie channel, to its Cape Girardeau and Jackson customers beginning June 3.

ENCORE features movies from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The channel will be available free of charge through the month of June.

After the one-month introduction, ENCORE will be available to most cable customers who signed up by June 30 for $1 a month through May 1992.

The addition of ENCORE and other new cable programming will require TCI to realign channel assignments in Cape Girardeau and Jackson in June.

"While the channel realignment will pose a temporary inconvenience to our customers, we believe the changes help to refine the quality of service and programming options available to our customers," said Roger Harms, manager of TCI in Cape Girardeau and Jackson.

"ENCORE brings the variety and volume of choices of a local video rental store right to the home at a very low price. For many TCI customers, that translates to significant cost savings and convenience."

Harms said that with U.S. households spending, on average, more than $100 annually on video rentals and making weekly trips to the home movie rental store, cable operators such as TCI have found a strong market demand for in-home movie services.

Other programming options coming to local TCI customers in June include "CTV: The Comedy Network," which will be shared with VH-1 on channel 32.

TCI also will offer enhanced audio features to customers at no extra charge. The enhanced audio sound provides home viewers with sound quality and clarity similar to that found in many movie theaters, Harms said.

As part of the channel change, the JCPenney Shopping Channel will be dropped.

After the free ENCORE preview month, the programming automatically will be added to customers' service for an additional $1 a month. Customers must contact TCI to cancel the programming.

Customers subscribing to cable after June 30, 1991, will be able to receive ENCORE for $4.95 a month with full, basic service; $2.95 with one other pay service; $1.95 with two other pay services; and $1 with three or more other pay services.

For additional information, contact TCI in Cape Girardeau at 335-4225, or in Jackson at 243-7177.