ENTERTAINMENT : Iger Reportedly Ready to Move Up at Capital Cities/ABC

Sources are confirming reports that Robert Iger, president of ABC Television Network Group, will soon be named president and chief operating officer of Capital Cities/ABC, with the promotion possibly coming as early as the Capital Cities/ABC board meeting next week.

David Westin, president of production for the network group, would be named to succeed Iger as head of the network, sources say. The promotion would also place Iger in line to succeed the 69-year-old Capital Cities/ABC Chairman Thomas S. Murphy when he retires.

Sources cautioned that the board could wait until its next meeting in December to make the executive appointments, but said that it is likely that the changes will come at this month’s meeting. ABC is enjoying a record year in terms of advertising sales for its fall programming, with hits such as “Home Improvement” and “Roseanne.”

The 43-year-old Iger, who was named to head the television network in 1993, is given high marks for his management, programming and financial skills. There had been some speculation on Wall Street about the line of succession at Capital Cities/ABC since longtime executive Daniel Burke retired as president in February. But, said one executive, “this is not a surprise within ABC. The management has been very pleased with the job Bob has done.”

Iger, who joined ABC as a studio supervisor in New York in 1974, became a programming executive at ABC Sports before being named executive vice president of the television group in 1988. He was named president of the ABC entertainment division on the West Coast before being joining Capital Cities management in New York.

The 42-year-old Westin, who came to ABC as corporate counsel in 1991, has been working with West Coast producers in the development of in-house ABC programming, an area that is expected to grow at all three broadcast networks. ABC’s in-house unit developed nine pilots for the upcoming season, seven for ABC and two for CBS.