SOVIETS LICENSE ABC FILM ABOUT NUCLEAR HORROR

“The Day After,” ABC’s 1983 TV movie depicting a nuclear holocaust in the U.S. heartland, will be telecast in the Soviet Union, the network said Friday.

ABC Entertainment President Brandon Stoddard, speaking before a gathering of the nation’s TV critics at the Century Plaza, said that negotaiations between Soviet Gostelradio and ABC Video Enterprises had concluded Thursday night.

Stoddard said that negotiations had been instigated by the Soviets about five weeks ago and had been “protracted, difficult.”

Among the agreements reached with Gostelradio is that the translation will accurately follow the script provided by ABC and that no commentary will be inserted into the telecast, he said.

Gostelradio has purchased rights to air the show any time in the next three years, beginning Feb. 1, but Stoddard said that there was as yet no set air date in the Soviet Union. He did not disclose the licensing fee.

One possible plan disclosed by Stoddard would be to rebroadcast the two-hour film in this country on the same day it is to be seen in the USSR.

Poland was the first Soviet Bloc country to air the film, which was produced by ABC and directed by Nicholas Meyer. It has been seen in theatrical form throughout much of the world.

SCHEDULE CHANGE: CBS said Friday that it is dropping out of the Sunday-night movie fight with ABC and NBC. Beginning Feb. 1, it will return to series programming between 9 and 11 p.m.

All three networks have been slugging it out in that time period with movies.

CBS plans to bring back “Designing Women” and “Together We Stand,” two first-year comedies that have been on hiatus recently, from 9 to 10 p.m. Then at 10 p.m. it will introduce “Hard Copy,” a new drama series about crime reporters. It stars Michael Murphy, Dean Devlin and Wendy Crewson.

ON THE MOVE: “Rock ‘n’ Roll Evening News,” the hourlong syndicated show featuring music-industry news and interviews, moves to KNBC Channel 4 from KCBS-TV Channel 2 tonight. It will follow “Saturday Night Live” at 1 a.m.

The move comes as the series is “fighting to stay alive,” according to executive producer Andy Friendly. King World, the distributor and backer of the first 17 episodes, dropped the show last month, citing poor ratings performance.

Friendly, however, noted that “Rock ‘n’ Roll” typically wins its time slot on WNBC in New York, where it has consistently followed “Saturday Night Live.”

Orbis Communications is syndicating the series for three weeks while a new distributor is sought. Upcoming episodes will originate from the L.A. club scene.

DAYTIME EMMYS: The failure of the two television academies last month to work out a merger agreement will not affect the Daytime Emmy Awards this year, but it will thereafter.

The Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences says it is proceding with the administration of the daytime awards, which actually are under the ageis of the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

The Los Angeles organization, which presents the nighttime Emmy Awards, took over the administration of the daytime prizes two years ago, after they had been off the air for several years because of questions about the intregrity of the selection process.

That agreement was the first step in what many academy officials thought would lead to a reunification of the organizations, which broke apart in 1976. But negotiations aimed at bringing that about broke off last month.

As a result, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences says it won’t administer the Daytime Emmys after this year--thus throwing into question whether they will continue to be broadcast.