Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Picture Changing for Antelope Valley Cable : Television: Prompted by new legislation, stations will be added to the airwaves beginning today, broadening cultural and ethnic diversity.

Cultural and ethnic diversity are coming to Antelope Valley airwaves today with the addition of several broadcasters to the offerings here on cable television.

The new stations will also bring several languages from around the globe to the televisions of Antelope Valley residents.

A European/Filipino station and a public broadcasting station are among those being added to the collection of broadcasters carried by Jones Intercable, which serves some 68,000 households in this north Los Angeles County region.

The additional stations are just the latest changes cable customers are finding as a result of the 1992 Cable Act, which, among other things, states cable companies must carry local broadcasters that request a channel spot, said John (Woody) Hutton, general manager of the cable company’s Antelope Valley operation.

Jones Intercable is adding KSCI, a San Bernardino European/Filipino station; KMEX, a Spanish-language station from Los Angeles; KLCS, a public broadcasting station operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District; KRCA, an Asian/Armenian station from Riverside, and KPAL, a small independent channel from Palmdale.

Although KRCA is scheduled for channel 32, Jones will not begin broadcasting the station Monday because some technical upgrades are needed, Hutton said. KMEX is the third Spanish-language station Jones is offering its viewers, and KLCS is the second public station.

Jones Intercable--which provides cable service to 71% of the Antelope Valley households in its distribution area--will also be carrying ESPN2, an all-sports network, once it comes on the air later this week.

The additional stations mean that the channel location of numerous broadcasters will change, Hutton said.

Besides having to relearn channel locations, other changes are coming to subscribers as a result of the 1992 Cable Act. More than three-quarters of Jones’ subscribers have had their rates decrease because of the new regulations.

Congress passed the comprehensive cable reform bill last fall over the veto of then-President George Bush. It represents congressional efforts to resume federal regulation of cable pricing after the 1986 deregulation of the industry.

The next significant change for cable customers in the Antelope Valley, where television reception is limited without cable, is the loss of KCBS, the Los Angeles CBS affiliate, and KTTV, an independent Los Angeles broadcaster better known as Fox.

The 1992 Cable Act prohibits cable companies from carrying a broadcast signal without the consent of the station. Broadcasters can be included in cable lineups through the arrangement requiring cable companies to carry local broadcasters seeking a channel or through a second option called “retransmission consent.”

Retransmission consent allows the broadcasters to negotiate for payment or other compensation to be carried by a cable company. Among the broadcasters that opted for retransmission consent, KCBS or KTTV have not yet reached agreements with Jones.

Hutton said Colorado-based Jones Intercable believes it should not have to pay for a broadcast that non-cable television viewers receive free. Broadcasters contend cable firms are willing to pay fees or other compensation to air cable networks, so they should do the same to pick up their signals.

The FCC has set Oct. 6 as the deadline for cable companies and broadcasters to reach retransmission consent agreements. Hutton said if Jones Intercable does not have agreements with KCBS and KTTV, it may turn their signals off.