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Show The Cable, Video Market; Two Other Viewpoints C. Kent Pcarce, manager of Intermoutnain Cablevision, Richfield, stands next to a Hughes satelite dish used to By Loren R. Webb Associate Editor The movies "Tess," "Fort Apache, "The Bronx," "Raging Bull," "Bor- derline'-.-and ''Tribute' have., something in common. They have all been shown in theatres across the country and will probably be seen a year or two later on TV. But when it costs $3.50 per person to attend a movie, plus gas to get there and then to buy expensive refreshments, it can become an expensive venture. As a result, other alternatives people seem to be turning to are cable TV and, the video market. "Cable TV is a bargain, You can have good famliy entertainment for a month, for the cost of taking the family to one movie that month," says C Kent Pearce, manager, Intermountain Cablevision in Richfield. Pearce, who worked with electronics while in the Navy, says cable TV brings a variety of programs on normal TV, such as a 24 hour sports station, a 24 hour news station and family program stations originating from Chicago and . Atlanta. Anomer station cauea u-span, covers Congressional hearings. It also carries f family programs, sports and news. In addition, a local TV channel carries weather reports and local ads. Home Box Office (HBO) and Cinemax, the movie stations, can also be obtained on cable TV, HBO and Cinemax are optional channels showing uncut, uninterrupted movies. If ' a person rents both channels, the advantage is either station shows the same movie at the same time. Cinemax concentrates on older movies, concerts, documentatrires, with some new movies, while HBO runs more recently made movies. What does cable cost? A basic monthly subscription for channels 2 to 13, costs $9.95, with an initial $19.95 installation charge. If one wants the basic channels plus HBO, the cost jumps to $19.90, with an initial installation fee of $25.95. Basic, plus Cinemax, costs the same. Both require a $25 equipment deposit, as does basic, plus both HBO and Cinemax. Monthly charges for e!l those channels, runs $26.90. Extra outlets cost $4.95 each for installation fee, no equipment deposit and only $1.50 a month extra charge. If service is disconnected, to restore it, a service charge of $14.95 is tacked on. Pearce admits it's expensive to first hook up, but it can be much cheaper than going to movies. He claims it's also cheaper than video discs and disc machines. The cost jurt to rent Is expensive. "Cable TV gets movies as soon as tiiey are released aim you can do the same thing and enjoy t at home,'" says Pearce. Along with the variety of program- receive cable TV slgnals.llntermountain Cablevision has about 400 homes hooked ip to cable TV in Richfield. ming, he says, People don't have to watch rerun after rerun. It also gives people who work swing hours, a chance to see a movie, they normally wouldn't see. Since coming to Richfield a year ago, Pearce says 400 homes have been hooked up. He hopes to have 1,000 by the end of the year. The company is presently installing a satellite dish in Salina. How is cable hooked to ah individual's home? The company rents existing Utah Power & Light Co. poles and where power comes off the pole into the house, is where the cable is placed. At present, Pearce has two installers and two salesmen. In addition, a marketing and advertising man comes periodically out of company headquarters in Draper. To get started, Pearce says a company must get a franchise first, then if the host city allows it, the city gives so much time for installing the cable. The company must also get permission from the power company to lay the lines. Next, contracts with each cable station must be acquired. Money has to also be budgeted for laying cable which costs $10,000 a mile. Currently, Intermountain Cablevision has laid 40 miles of cable in Richfield. Probably one drawback for the company in a small town, is having to make the money back before installing more cable. Cable's advantage over existing TV, is dependable transmission as opposed to translator stations. When the stations break down, cable stays on. With those advantages, Pearce says business has been good and is1 slowly climbing. However, when many people hear cable TV, they think of "R" rated movies, but those movies only come on HBO and Cinemax, he explained. No "R" rated movies are shown on the basic 2 to 13 channels. Pearce also will not carry any "X" rated movies. To help the viewer further, Intermountain Cablevision channels and times of showing are listed in the Spotlight section of The Richfield Reaper. The cable company also provides opportunties for advertising on the local TV channel which has background music provided by the local FM station. For those who don't like or can't afford cable TV, the video market is another alternative worth looking into. Shaun McCausland, owner of Vector Video In Richfield, agrees with Pearce, more people are not traveling for entertainment. They are staying home and doing things with their families. Video tapes or discs can fit into this routine. McCausland says a husband or wife may work till 9 p.m. and have to be flexibly with their time. A video recorder eives them flexibility. They can watch movies anytime. A video recorder makes it possible to tape a TV program, then come back and watch the movie. All that's needed, is one wire to hook the tape recorder to the antenna and turn on the TV. Vector Video rents and sells video tapes, video recorders, discs and discplayers, TV computer games and stereos. Buying a video recorder can be expensive, so the company offers rentals, so more people can see movies. Video recorders range in price from $600 to $1200, he says, while video disc players run from $400 to $1200. The basic difference between discs and tapes is the number available, while only 1,000 discs are available, 20,000 movies are on tapes of which 7,000 are "X" rated leaving 13,000 consisting of "G" PG" and "R" movies. So what are the costs? McCausland offers club memberships at $50 a year. For members, renting a tape on weekends, costs $2 and $4 if a non-member, plus a $20 deposit. Members also pay $4 for a tapeplayer on a week night and $8 if not a member, plus a $40 deposit. Members pay $2.50 a tape on weekends, nonmembers, $5, and tape players run $6 for members Shaun McCausland, Vector Video owner in Richfield, says video tapes and discs are becoming a popular alter- and $12 for nonmembers. At the present time, business is steady. Busy on weekends and slower ,on weekdays, which is the reason McCausland offers lower weekday prices. He claims his company has as many or more movies to offer as cable TV does and "you can watch ours anytime you can't with them." A lot of times, cable's good movies show at 1 a.m. "But there is room for both," he says. However, "there are some cable (HBO) shows which I would not want my children to see. The movie channels have several bad ones. But I think people have the right to see what they want." McCausland did not support the cable bill recently defeated in the Utah Legislature which attempted to place controls on what cable could show. But a potential renter has to be 18 years or older to check "R" rated movie tapes out . There are no legal restrictions on distribution "X" rated movies in town, "but we don't want to carry those anyway." A more serious problem in the video business is piracy. McCausland knows some people who have pirated tapes, but doesn't believe they are making them in this area. Rather, the tapes are brought in after being purchased elsewhere. native to the weekend theatre jaunt. Tapes and discs can be used any time. Piracy usually involves movies not available locally through tape outlets such as Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark. "Piracy doesn't hurt us. What it hurts is the movie industry." He explained most good films cost between $40 and $120 million alone. The studios then distribute those to movie houses. Most films make their investment cost back, but there are many that don't. For every film that makes it, there are 30 that don't, he says. Studios add to their money by selling movie rights to HBO, regular TV, and in video tapes. If the films are available through the black market, people will not pay money to see them on HBO. TV, and they will not rent or buy tapes from us," says McCausland. Every one of those things they don't do, takes money away from the movie industry people. Therefore, if it becomes unprofitable to sell good movies, they will quit making them. "That's why I encourage people not to buy pirated tapes, because it will hurt the industry and eventually the customer." Besides his Richfield store, McCausland has a branch in Salina and is looking to open in several other small southern Utah towns. And although there are five stores in Salina and a few in Richfield selling tapes or discs, they are doing it piecemeal, he says. Vector Video rents 250 tapes and 20 discs in Richfield. |