Affiliates to Get More Time on CBS A.M. Show : Networks: Move will give local outlets more control over air time on third-ranked morning television program.

Faced with low ratings and rebellion among its affiliated stations, CBS on Friday gave the local outlets significantly more control over air time during its morning news magazine, “CBS This Morning.”

Starting Oct. 26, CBS will allow its stations to break in for 12 minutes each hour of the two-hour program to provide local news--triple the four minutes now allotted stations. The change will reduce the length of time the network is on the air with news to 35 minutes each hour. Commercial time will remain at 13 minutes an hour.

In addition, the network plans to produce a new, one-minute opening segment for the show, which will allow local anchors to identify themselves at the beginning of each hour as if they are part of a team with CBS’ network staff.

ABC and NBC give their local stations the same window CBS used to have: five minutes total per hour, with one minute going to commercials and four going to news.

“We continued to be third place in the ratings,” said Anthony Malara, president of CBS affiliate relations. “And the thinking here is that if you give the local stations the opportunity to do more of what local viewers find to be important and compelling, you will draw more viewers to the broadcast.”

Malara said the changes were prompted by affiliate concerns about winning viewers to the program. He said that several stations had told the network that they were considering dropping it, in part because of low ratings and in part because they were faced with increased competition from local news programs in their home markets. In Los Angeles, for example, KCBS-TV Channel 2 has been getting beaten not only by the rival network shows on ABC and NBC but also by a local news program on KTLA-TV Channel 5.

Two affiliates, in Detroit and Atlanta, are dropping “CBS This Morning” altogether, Malara said, and the rest were holding off until CBS came up with a plan to address their concerns.

KCBS-TV spokeswoman Carol Kinsey said that the station had not yet decided whether it would take advantage of the additional time.

She said that while the station, which is owned and operated by CBS, was aware that change was in the works, it had not been formally notified about the details.