SATELLITE TV: NO LOCAL CHANNELS IN COVERAGE

You can have a choice in television viewing -- the best of 200 channels of satellite viewing and the four local channels via special antenna or basic cable TV.

"We want people to have what they want," said David Michel of Down to Earth Satellite Systems in Cape Girardeau.

"We can install a special antenna within the satellite dish, or we can work with the basic cable system to provide reception for the four local channels," he said.

Depending on location, an inside "rabbit ears" antenna could bring in two or three of the local channels.

The lack of the four local channels -- WPSD (NBC) of Paducah, Ky., KFVS (CBS) of Cape Girardeau, WSIL (ABC) at Marion and KBSI (Fox) at Cape Girardeau -- is one of the biggest complaints of satellite television in the area.

It could be some time before local television channels can be broadcast via satellite, despite legislation signed by President Clinton late last year to let satellite companies carry local stations.

Satellite companies do have plans to put additional satellites in key positions to attract local stations, noted Scott Shivelbine of Shivelbine's Music Store, a satellite disc dealer.

Satellite companies, however, are concentrating on larger markets. Local stations were added to the lineup in the St. Louis and Indianapolis markets.

It could be a few years before satellites are lined up for the Cape Girardeau markets.

Meanwhile, satellite viewers here will have to depend on separate antennas or basic cable hookups for local channels.

This will entail added costs as much as $85 to $90 for the antenna hooked into the dish system, or the monthly fee charged by the cable company.

With the added antenna, reception may not be up to viewer expectations.

With more than a dozen satellite dish dealers in Cape Girardeau, more and more television viewers are opting for satellite systems.

"We're installing satellite dishes every day," said Michel, who has served the Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois areas since 1985.

"You can get 40 channels for $19.95 monthly," say Shivelbine and Michel.

Or, viewers can opt for 100 channels for $29.95 or 150 channels for $39.95.

Special packages are available to allow reception of up to 500 channels.

Viewers also have a choice of several "a la carte" channels that can be added for more money.

"There are numerous movie channels, or you can even rent a special movie," said Michel. "There are so many options."

Disc installation is available almost everywhere.

"Over the past 15 years, we've found only two locations where we couldn't place a dish," said Michel. The only requirement is that enough empty space can be found to aim the dish toward the satellite.

Local stations often receive the brunt of criticism for not being available to satellite systems, but, the decision to offer local stations on satellite is not up to the local stations.

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.

There is a bill in Congress that is trying to work out loan guarantees to satellite companies to place more equipment to allow them to add more local stations.