NBC’s Tartikoff Takes Heat for Rivera’s Satanism Show

In spite of NBC’s cozy No. 1 prime-time position, top network executives over the weekend were forced to defend their turf against charges that the Peacock Network is headed for the “trash TV” heap.

Entertainment division President Brandon Tartikoff went just a step short of formally apologizing to a gathering of national newspaper writers and critics for Geraldo Rivera’s controversial November special, “Devil Worship: Exposing Satan’s Underground,” which featured gruesome reports of torture, ritual murder and interviews with alleged sexually abused children. One part included graphic descriptions of what Rivera said were devil worshipers skinning human babies.

“I would not say it was our finest hour,” Tartikoff told the writers gathered at the Universal Registry Hotel on Saturday for the network’s annual press tour. “I don’t think you’ll be seeing more programs like that from NBC, with Geraldo or anybody else. We’ll leave that to the world of syndication.”

In a separate appearance before the writers, Tartikoff’s boss, Robert Wright, NBC president and chief executive officer, defended the program. Wright called the topic “exciting and newsworthy” and said some high school teachers who had criticized the broadcast also thanked the network for shedding light on a taboo subject.

But most of the mea culpas for the Rivera special and other recent network programs were taken by Tartikoff.

Expecting the onslaught of pointed questions from the critics who had roundly trashed Rivera’s effort, Tartikoff opened his remarks with a tongue-in-cheek swearing on a stack of Bibles carried by an actor dressed as a priest that he would (a) “not buy any more specials by Geraldo Rivera” and (b) not buy a sequel to “Goddess of Love,” a fluff movie starring letterperson Vanna White, which Tartikoff had scheduled as counterprogramming to ABC’s “War and Remembrance.”

Tartikoff said Rivera offered NBC four different topic choices when he agreed to do a special, and that NBC chose satanism.

“Knowing what I know now, I certainly would have sicked him on something else,” Tartikoff said.

Tartikoff added that due to production delays, the network did not know far enough in advance that Rivera’s material would be so graphic; nor did Rivera until his investigation was complete. “He did not come in saying, ‘I’ve got something you’re going to love--skinning babies!’ ” Tartikoff said. “It was a difficult situation. I would say on behalf of Geraldo, he delivered everything he said he was going to deliver.”

Nor does Tartikoff think that NBC’s fall miniseries, “Favorite Son,” excoriated by many critics for its gratuitous violence and sex (People magazine praised it), is further indication that the network is losing its luster.

“It was a good yarn,” he argued. “It was never intended to be anything but a good yarn.” Tartikoff added that he thinks the press went off the deep end in calling NBC irresponsible for airing a film about a handsome but unqualified young vice presidential aspirant during an election year featuring Dan Quayle. Wright and Tartikoff blamed NBC’s weaker-than-usual fall programming on last summer’s Writers Guild of America strike (“We are disappointed a little bit in what we were able to put on,” admitted Tartikoff) and argued that comparatively low ratings for their coverage of the Summer Olympics in Seoul had to do with the Games being scheduled in the early fall rather than late summer.

While both executives admitted to some gaffes on the entertainment side, they were unwilling to take much responsibility for the poor ratings performance of their Summer Olympic coverage.

Wright acknowledged that “we were probably a little too heavy-handed, a little too journalistic, rather than entertaining” in the coverage, but blamed most of the Olympic audience drop-off from the record audiences for ABC’s Winter Olympic coverage on school and other fall commitments that cut into the available audience.

And their coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona will be much more entertaining, Wright said.

“Barcelona is a sunny summer day in Spain,” he said. “It will give us a chance to (improve) production values.” He added that although he could promise no major cut in commercial time, NBC would do a better job next time around of not scheduling commercials during crucial moments in the games.

While defending NBC’s $401-million investment in the Barcelona games, Wright attacked CBS for its recent $1-billion acquisition of four years of rights to telecast major league baseball, beginning in 1990, wresting coverage of the World Series and other games from NBC. Wright called the expenditure a “desperate move” on the part of the No. 3 network to try to buy back viewers.

“We would not have done what CBS did,” he said. “We’re not sure those major sports events have that kind of punch in them.”

Tartikoff also announced that NBC would air a “Night of 100 Laughs” Feb. 6, in which it will run new episodes of six hit comedies--”Cosby,” “ALF,” “Golden Girls,” “Empty Nest,” “Cheers” and “Night Court” from 9-11 p.m.