PAXSON MAKES TV PITCH; MEDIA GIANT BIDS FOR CHANNEL 63.

Byline: Dave McNary Daily News Staff Writer

Paxson Communications Corp., which plans to become the seventh national TV network next year, agreed Monday to buy Oxnard-based KADY-TV Channel 63 for $8 million.

Paxson, owner of more TV stations than any other entity in the United States, reached the deal with KADY owner Riklis Broadcasting, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year, and court-appointed trustee John W. Hyde. The pact could be voided if Paxson's bid is topped when the court supervising the bankruptcy holds an auction in the late summer or early fall.

KADY has continued broadcasting throughout the bankruptcy and became an affiliate of the United Paramount Network in October. Its signal can be picked up from Malibu to San Simeon in San Luis Obispo County.

Paxson, of West Palm Beach, Fla., has 55 stations including one Los Angeles-area affiliate with KZKI-TV Channel 30 in Rancho Cucamonga.

Paxson, which has been buying and selling stations at a quick pace this year, did not disclose if it would change programming at KADY. Most of Paxson's stations show ``infomercials'' - commercials that are at least 15 minutes long and resemble regular programs - but the company has been negotiating with major broadcast networks, studios, and cable operators and programmers with the goal of starting a mainstream network by mid-1998.

The company is headed by Lowell ``Bud'' Paxson, 62, best known for helping start the Home Shopping Network in the late 1970s. He has committed to spending more than $700 million on properties this year, including the Travel Channel and WBIS in New York City, and recently agreed to sell 46 radio stations for $693 million in order to finance the continued expansion of his company's TV holdings.

The company, which had 1996 revenues of $165 million, plans to raise funds later this year in a combined stock and bond offering. Detractors say Paxson has little chance of success given the costs of building a programming service and establishing a brand name, but other observers believe his strategy will pay off because cable systems are obliged to carry his signals and because the advent of digital television will drive demand for more programming packages.

``Pioneers always take arrows in the back but value will win out over the long term,'' said Bishop Cheen of First Union Capital Markets. ``I think what Paxson's doing makes a lot of sense.''