NBC President Pleads for Easing of Constraints

With more than 8,000 people in attendance, 1990’s convention of the National Assn. of Television Programming Executives is the largest ever.

And along with more people, this annual marketplace for syndicated television programs also features more participants from foreign countries--including China and the Soviet Union--and a new crop of cable companies eager to negotiate their share of the syndicated shows that traditionally have been gobbled up by network affiliates and independent TV stations.

With such a varied, international and competitive guest list, it seemed only fitting that NBC President Robert C. Wright, this year’s keynote speaker, would kick off the event Tuesday with his oft-voiced complaint about the government’s financial interest rulings, which prevent the networks from striking up production and ownership deals with cable companies and other TV networks at home and abroad.

Wright described the Big Three networks as being locked behind “a Berlin Wall” denying them the right of free trade. He protested that, while cable can draw revenues from its subscribers and advertisers, and syndicators and producers may hawk their wares to virtually anyone, the networks remain locked into gleaning profits from only one source: advertising.

Wright noted that Japan’s Sony Corp.’s recent acquisition of Columbia Pictures and Lorimar’s purchase by Time Warner have already broken down traditional barriers between the movie, music and television industries.

He said that he hopes the 1990s will bring “the financial techniques of motion picture film making into television,” allowing creative deal-making between producers and networks.

“There are no boundaries anymore, except for the wall of network regulations surrounding three companies--ABC, CBS and NBC,” he said.

Wright added that, if current regulations cause the networks to lose their competitive edge in acquiring the best entertainment shows, their news, sports and local programming could suffer as well. “If we stumble, and if we fall, all of you are going to feel the impact,” he said.