ABC Chief Cites Subject Matter in Shows’ Axing

ABC’s decision to yank two prime-time specials from its schedule stemmed from the particular subject matter of the two programs, not from a loss of faith in the so-called “reality-based” genre, John B. Sias, ABC Television Network Group president, said Thursday.

ABC had said Wednesday that, in the wake of shelving “Crimes of Passion 2” and “Scandals II,” it was re-examining “the appropriate role for reality-based programs on our schedule,” with pending shows in that category to be studied on a “case-by-case” basis.

But Sias said in an interview Thursday that this doesn’t mean ABC plans to avoid reality-based programs, in which real stories sometimes are re-enacted. Such programs are produced or commissioned by network entertainment divisions, not their news departments.

Sias cited “Unclaimed Fortunes,” which ABC plans to air Thursday, as one such “reality” project that has passed muster. Twenty-five other reality-based shows by former “National Geographic” producer Dennis Kane also are in the wings, he said.

“So we’re still very much in the reality-based (program) business, and we’re still very much doing movies, some of which are going to get advertisers concerned,” he said, referring to the fact that the network had said it was unable to drum up sponsors for “Crimes of Passion 2.”

“But it was our judgment in these (two) cases, and with no prejudice against anybody, that these subjects . . . were not something that we prefer to run. And so we pulled them. And they will not be showing up later.”

Both hourlong programs were sequels to shows that ABC had aired last fall. “Crimes of Passion 2,” which was to have aired last Saturday, featured such stories as a woman who assaulted her boyfriend’s wife and a man who murdered his wife and stepson. “Scandals II,” which had been scheduled for Saturday, had segments about children being kidnaped and film director Peter Bogdanovich marrying the sister of murdered model Dorothy Stratten, with whom he had been involved.

Sias said that the decisions to withdraw the two shows were made in light of ABC’s efforts, over the last three years, “to improve the image of our prime-time offerings.”

“And obviously, there’s sort of a feeling that when we get into the reality (program genre) area, we have to be very careful not to convey something that gives the impression of being at odds with our efforts to improve the image of the network, the quality image.”

ABC initially cited a lack of advertisers as the reason for pulling “Crimes of Passion 2” from the lineup at the last minute--a claim that several Madison Avenue executives found hard to believe, despite increased concern by sponsors over backlash by viewers and groups protesting what they consider offensive shows.

“There weren’t any advertisers,” Sias insisted Thursday. “Probably if we’d scrounged around we could have gotten something. But it really was not going to be any significant amount.”

A “secondary” factor in pulling “Crimes of Passion 2,” he said, “was that the program, subject-wise, just was something we felt we would be better off not running.”

That feeling, he said, also applied to “Scandals II,” which, unlike “Crimes of Passion 2,” did have sponsors. Had ABC aired it, Sias said, the network “actually would do better, advertiser-wise,” than it will with the replacement show, “Three of a Kind,” a pilot for a series ABC decided not to order.

One network official, requesting anonymity, said that because of the proliferation of so-called “trash” or “tabloid TV” shows, advertisers are “clearly more sensitive” to possible backlash from viewers.

He cited NBC’s broadcast last fall of Geraldo Rivera’s much-criticized special on Satanism, which one knowledgeable source at the network later said had cost NBC at least $500,000 because of advertiser pullouts.

Sias said that “the issue of advertiser sensitivity has been there for a long time. Many of the major advertisers are indeed quite careful about where they will permit their stuff to run.”

He cited as one example ABC’s April 16 broadcast of “Deadly Silence,” a TV movie about a teen-age girl who had been sexually molested as a child by her father, and who got her boyfriend to kill him.

The film was made with sensitivity, taste and skill, Sias said, yet “we still had some significant advertiser pullouts from it.” He declined to say which sponsors pulled out and how much, if anything, it cost ABC.

In an unrelated development Thursday, NBC denied a published report that it had decided not to air “The Prize Pulitzer” this month, a TV movie based on Roxanne Pulitzer’s sex-spiced book about her life with, marriage to and divorce from newspaper heir Peter Pulitzer.

NBC never scheduled the show for broadcast during the May ratings “sweeps,” a spokesman said. The idea was discussed last year, he said, but was dismissed in January because NBC had plenty of other movies available for May. “The Prize Pulitzer” definitely will be shown next season, the spokesman said.