LOW-POWER TV STATION WOULD BE SECOND HERE

If the Federal Communications Commission grants a Los Angeles company permission to take over a local transmitter tower, a second low-power television station could begin broadcasting in Cape Girardeau.

MS Communications is seeking permission from the FCC to reassign a construction permit that had been issued last month to the Brewer Family Trust of Canoga Park, Calif.

An attorney for the Los Angeles company said a new tower wouldn't be built but that the station would broadcast using an existing transmitter tower.

Low-power television is a broadcasting system that uses transmitter towers for broadcasting within a limited coverage area. Most frequently, low-power transmitters are used in areas with hills and valleys to provide complete signal coverage for nearby full- power stations.

The signals for an LPTV broadcast are not as high as those for VHF stations, which broadcast on channels 2 through 13. UHF channels broadcast on channels 14 to 83.

The city already has a low-power television station broadcast and has since 1989. Channel 45 is owned by the TCT Network of Marion, Ill., and airs rebroadcast programming from a sister station, Channel 27, in Marion. It first aired as KACT-Channel 45 and was operated by the New Life Gospel Outreach Center.

The Tri-Christian Television Network, which took over ownership of Channel 45 about two years ago, also broadcasts its programming on Channel 54 in Paducah, Ky., another low- power station. All the stations are affiliated with the Trinity Broadcast Network that airs religious programming.

Viewers watching a broadcast from a low-power television station might never realize they weren't watching a major network, said Mike Daly, director of engineering with TCT Network. The studios and sets could look the same, and while the programming might vary because it would primarily be local shows, it could be just as sophisticated as any other network-affiliated station, he said.

"It depends on how much money they want to put into it," Daly said.

Low-power stations began as a way for churches and local groups to break into the broadcast business. They also provide some diversity in programming and serve more rural areas, according to the Community Broadcaster Protection Act of 1999.

"They are more locally based, so it was easy to get into the market," Daly said.

Many LPTV stations are smaller stations that stand alone, but they outnumber the full- power stations, say Robert L. Hilliard and Michael C. Keith. The two have written a book about LPTV that was published this month.

The book, "The Hidden Screen: Low-Power Television in America," says that more than 2,000 LPTV stations have gone on air in the past 15 years. "LPTV tends to serve outlying communities, disenfranchised urban groups and others who have no other way to get their messages out, stay connected or receive video programs that meet their special interest," the authors say.

LPTV "Is not an insignificant blip in the industry," they say.

And because of their recent growth, LPTV stations can offer programming that competes with local affiliate stations. Many operate as commercially licensed stations through the FCC.

Federal regulations aren't as tight for LPTV stations as they are for full-power stations. But with the digital conversion in broadcast systems nationwide, many of the FCC license applications were put on hold.

"Basically everything has been put on hold," said Daly. The FCC issues licenses that are valid for eight years.

But there are some downfalls to operating the smaller stations. Cable television companies do not have to carry low-power stations. Full-power stations must be carried under FCC regulations.

"You don't get on cable unless they agree to carry you or you paid your way on," said Joe Robinson, director of administration for TCT Network.

Channel 45 airs on the local cable system because of its affiliation with the full-power station in Marion. It airs on channel 19 on the Charter Communications system.

Low power television stations operating in Missouri

Call letters Network Channel City

K02NQ Fox 2 Columbia

K057Q UPN 5 Branson

K11TB FOX 11 Jefferson City

K15CZ UPN 15 Springfield

K18BT TBN 18 St. Louis

K21OD Home Shopping 21 St. Louis

K34BR TBN 34 St. Charles

K39CP TBN 39 Poplar Bluff

K40FF Pax TV 40 St. Louis

K45CA TBN 45 Cape Girardeau

KLLJ Religious 46 Joplin

K48ER Three Angels 48 St. Louis

KWBS WB/AmericaOne 56 Springfield

K57DR Independent 57 Joplin

K58DH The Box 58 St. Louis

K62BG BWIN 62 St. Louis

K64DT ValueVision 64 St. Louis

Source: www.angelfire.com/mi/LPTV/missouri.html