FIRST OFF . . .

NBC President Robert C. Wright, predicting the death of the three-network television system under current regulatory pressures, urged the government Wednesday to free the networks from the financial interest and syndication limits that he complained have made their advertising revenues “as flat as sales on the Ollie North doll.” Speaking at a broadcasting industry luncheon in Washington, Wright said: “The only network making a few bucks happens to be NBC, thanks largely to a few more hit shows than the other guys have and a gentleman named Bill Cosby, who cannot be expected to carry us over the top forever. Given the economics of the network business today, the depressing fact is that you have to be the first-place network to keep your head above water.” Wright complained that the networks are now hampered by “outdated rules” that limit their financial interest in programs produced by other companies and their syndication rights, and he proposed suspending those federal regulations for five years “to see if real marketplace solutions can be found to our problems.” In offering this idea to television producers recently, Wright said he drew a response “quieter than a one-handed applause,” but he held out hope that the next administration in Washington can make it work.