NETWORK CHIEFS OK PROGRAMS

Prime-time television is on a “steady, solid course,” and TV viewers can look forward to more of the same, according to the heads of the entertainment divisions of the three networks.

On the occasion of an annual appearance before the International Radio and Television Society to discuss “the state of television programming,” the three executives--NBC’s Brandon Tartikoff, CBS’ B. Donald Grant, and ABC’s Brandon Stoddard--told an audience of several hundred at the Waldorf-Astoria here Thursday that the “mix” of prime-time programming now in place on their networks is well suited to the varied tastes of the American television audience.

Except for some “shuffling” in their schedules to “give another shot” to programs that are performing poorly, the executives said they don’t plan to tinker with the current TV diet in the foreseeable future.

Earlier this week, the broadcast and advertising industries--those represented at the Waldorf Thursday--issued a report indicating that fewer viewers turned away from the networks last year in favor of cable or home video than in any of the recent past several years.

“There is a lot of fear that we will become power-hungry and arrogant,” said Tartikoff of the positive outlook at NBC now that the network ranks first in audience ratings. “But we must be reaching a lot of people, and we plan to continue with the same kind of programs that brought us to No. 1,” he added.

He cited such varied programs as “The A-Team,” “The Cosby Show,” “The Golden Girls,” and “Hill Street Blues.” He also said that NBC would stick with and try to “nurture” its news magazine, “American Almanac,” which will move from a monthly program to a weekly presentation (Tuesdays at 10 p.m.) starting March 4.

Both Grant and Stoddard expressed similar sentiments about staying on their current programming course. They cited, respectively, recent shifts in the schedule of “Mary” and “The Equalizer,” and “Spenser: For Hire” to what are considered stronger time periods for the programs. They also said that “the cycle of prime-time soaps is over,” but they said that their two networks will continue on course with still-popular series such as “Dallas” and “Falcon Crest,” and “Dynasty.”

In looking ahead over the next year, all three executives sounded both optimistic and cautiously conservative. They echoed one another in predicting that “the basic forms will remain the same.”

“We will just try not to clone this year’s hits,” Tartikoff said.

“We will try to identify more programs like ‘Murder, She Wrote,’ ‘Cagney & Lacey,’ and ‘Kate & Allie,’ ” Grant said.

“We’ll just try to survive ,” quipped Stoddard, recently appointed to his position at ABC to try to rescue the network from its current third place in the ratings.

“There is one lesson I learned from the movies,” Stoddard said seriously, referring to his recent tenure at ABC’s now-defunct motion picture division and to “test marketing”: “Audiences are very smart and very quick, and latch on to things very quickly.”

Referring to the networks’ apparently healthy relationship with the viewers at the moment, Stoddard added, “We should take advantage of the opportunity we have just now to bring back some respect for our audience. It’s not just us against them . In some cases, they are smarter than we are.”