NBC to Keep Programming Chief : Television: The move ends talk of Warren Littlefield leaving. Network has seen ratings gains this season.

NBC, on a ratings rebound after several years mired in third place, has renewed the contract of programming chief Warren Littlefield for three years.

The renewal ends speculation that Littlefield would leave the network. The talk began after NBC President Robert C. Wright recruited producer Don Ohlmeyer to oversee the program division last year.

NBC is the only network to post gains this season in all three key ratings categories: overall households, adults 18 to 49, and adults 25 to 54. Much of the gain has come from renewed strength on Thursday nights with the hits “Seinfeld” and “Frasier.”

Littlefield acknowledged the uncertainty about his future after Ohlmeyer was named president of NBC West Coast, effectively adding a new layer of management between him and NBC executives in New York. The appointment was widely seen as a move by Wright to halt the ratings slide at the network in the wake of previous programming chief Brandon Tartikoff’s departure two years earlier.

“Neither of us knew how it would progress,” Littlefield said. “But it’s worked out well. And I’m having fun again.”

NBC is currently developing shows for next season. Littlefield said NBC will order about 15 comedy pilots and about eight drama pilots from which to pick the fall’s prime-time schedule. He estimated the network will replace four to five hours of programming.