TELEVISION - June 4, 1992

‘Nightline’ in Danger?: ABC News President Roon Arledge said Wednesday that “Nightline,” the network’s signature late-night news series, may be canceled if local stations continue to preempt its 11:30 p.m. broadcast. “There’s a chance that we could lose ‘Nightline,’ ” Arledge said via satellite hookup from New York during the ABC affiliates convention. The 12-year-old program hosted by Ted Koppel directly follows late-night local news broadcasts in only 62% of the country. In other markets, stations carry syndicated entertainment programming in that time slot and bump “Nightline” to a midnight or later broadcast time, eroding ratings and advertising revenue. However, ABC News Executive Vice President Steve Weiswasser insisted the network has no immediate plans to cancel the prized news series.