ABC Postpones ’60 Minutes’ Competitor Until January

ABC’s latest newsmagazine series--planned as an assault on “60 Minutes”--has been postponed until January.

As recently as last week, when Forrest Sawyer was named chief anchor for the untitled program, the network had said that it was going ahead with plans to premiere the show this summer.

But when its fall schedule was announced Monday, ABC had put the drama “Life Goes On” back in its familiar spot at 7 p.m. Sunday opposite CBS’ long-running newsmagazine. Executives in the news division explained that they had asked for more time to develop and staff their “60 Minutes” challenger.

“It was a mutual decision (between news and entertainment), and it will be beneficial to us both,” ABC News vice president Joanna Bistany said. “We’ve always wanted more time to get the show ready. We’ve been hiring behind-the-scenes talent, but we only have one person, Forrest Sawyer, signed for the on-air talent. The network is committed to the show, and we will premiere in January.”

According to network sources, executives at Capital Cities/ABC have wanted ABC News, the top-rated network news division, to go head-to-head with “60 Minutes,” hoping in part to weaken CBS’ ratings domination on Sunday and to build for the future, given the age of several key “60 Minutes” staffers (correspondent Mike Wallace is 74, for example, and executive producer Don Hewitt is 69).

Even with the postponement, the program is still intended to go up against “60 Minutes,” but it could wind up going into another time slot in January, depending on how the network’s fall entertainment series perform.

Capital Cities/ABC also is said to be committed to a second new prime-time newsmagazine from the news division, which would join “20/20” and “PrimeTime Live” in a weeknight berth, but the launch of the Sunday magazine will take priority.

Meanwhile, Sam Donaldson is still negotiating for a new contract with ABC, with a decision expected this week. Network sources said that, in the new era of downsizing, ABC wants to cut his annual salary from a reported $1.7 million to $1.2 million.

Donaldson, co-anchor of “PrimeTime Live” and a regular on “This Week With David Brinkley,” could not be reached for comment Monday, and his agent, Robert Barnett, said that he does not comment on his clients’ contract negotiations.