PAX TV's effort to become a real broadcast network continues -- albeit slowly.
PAX TV is built on a string of 116 low-power UHF stations -- 71 of which are owned by Paxson Communications -- and, since its debut this past September, it has operated more like a cable network than a broadcast one. Its programming consists mainly of reruns of old series, with a sprinkling of relatively low-budget original material.As a matter of fact, PAX TV looks a lot like the old Family Channel, back before Fox bought it and turned it into a kid-driven cable service. And PAX TV's goal remains to attract the same audience that was attracted to Family, with shows like "Touched by an Angel."
That pattern remains this fall, with PAX building its schedule around reruns of the made-in-Utah series "Touched," which will be shifting back an hour to weeknights at 8 p.m. beginning Monday, Aug. 23.
Repeats of "Diagnosis Murder" will follow weeknights at 9 p.m., with "Highway to Heaven" moving to weeknights at 10 p.m. Various original programs will be seen at 7 p.m.
"Our strategy for fall is clear," PAX TV President Jeff Sagansky said in a prepared statement. "By introducing original programming across the weekdays at (7) p.m., we want to take the network to a higher ratings mark and establish in the viewers' minds that PAX TV is the place to go for quality fresh and original family entertainment. Our new prime-time block demonstrates that PAX TV is dedicated to putting family back into the family hour."
(Of course, getting a higher ratings mark wouldn't take much -- PAX has averaged a .8 rating in its first season. You know you've got room for improvement when a 1 rating would be a step up.)
PAX TV's slim schedule of original programming will be boosted by four new programs come August. They are:
"The Star Machine" (Mondays at 7 p.m., with a repeat Saturdays at 7 p.m.) is more or less a revival of "Star Search" and comes from the same producer. Taped in Hawaii, it's supposed to "serve as a career launching pad for many of the new millennium's hottest talents" in the areas of vocalists, family acts, models and comedians.
"Chicken Soup for the Soul" (Tuesday at 7 p.m., with a repeat Sundays at 7 p.m.) will feature dramatizations of stories drawn from the series of inspirational books.
"Twice in a Lifetime" (Wednesdays at 7 p.m., with a repeat Sundays at 9 p.m.) comes from the producer of "Cagney & Lacey" and "Christy." It's a one-hour drama about an angel of sorts who guides each episode's guest star on a journey to meet a younger self and try to influence a major life decision.
"Hope Island" (Sundays at 8 p.m.) is an hourlong drama about a newly ordained preacher (Cameron Daddo of "Models Inc.") who is assigned to minister to a flock of 1,997 -- the quirky inhabitants of a small island. It's based on the British series "Ballykissangel."
The new shows join three other original series -- "It's a Miracle" (Thursay at 7 p.m. with a repeat Sundays at 7 p.m.) and "Flipper: The New Adventures" (Saturdays at 6 p.m.); and "Little Men" (Fridays at 7 p.m with a repeat Saturdays at 8 p.m.)
COMING FROM CANADA: UPN has announced that it will air 13 episodes of the made-in-Canada series "Power Play" beginning Monday, June 14, at 8 p.m.
It's a drama about a "powerful New York sports agent who returns to his hometown of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, to run its professional hockey team -- the least successful in North America -- then struggles to turn its fate around and stop the embattled team owners from selling the franchise to a Houston conglomerate."
UPN is describing it as "a cross between 'Jerry Maguire' and 'Providence.' " Hmmmmmm . . .
OK, so hockey may not be the most popular American sport. And American critics haven't seen the series yet.
But, if nothing else, it will be something new at a time of year when we're inundated with reruns.
FAREWELL TO HUGH DOWNS: There are a couple of reasons why Hugh Downs' announcement that he's leaving "20/20" at the end of the season comes as no surprise.
First, he is 78 and retirement at that age is hardly shocking.
And, second, Downs is a classy guy who appears to value journalistic integrity. And there's not much room for people like that on network news magazines in general and "20/20" in particular.
In northern Utah, PAX TV programming can be seen on Paxson Communications-owned KUPX-Ch. 16. In southern Utah, PAX TV is carried on KCSG-Ch. 4, which is owned by Bonneville International (which is also the owner of KSL-Ch. 5).