COVER STORY : You’re Under Their Influence : Who has the real power when it comes to shaping what’s on the air these days? Here’s a look at the obvious--and not so obvious--players.

A new television season arrives this week, and not a moment too soon for many in the industry.

After a summer rocked by unprecedented upheaval, the annual rite of throwing dozens of new series into the prime-time pit and watching them battle one another for survival represents a comforting return to business as usual.

Producers, performers and programmers--still reeling from Disney’s purchase of Capital Cities/ABC Inc., the departure of super-agent Michael Ovitz from Creative Artists Agency to join Disney, Westinghouse’s bid for CBS, Barry Diller’s acquisition of Silver King Communications and the Time Warner-Ted Turner courtship--are hoping that some of the new comedies and dramas provide at least momentary diversion.

Still, the dust has far from settled, and many in the industry are evaluating the evolving landscape to see not only where they stand but also who has the real power and influence when it comes to shaping what’s on television these days.

Calendar decided to find out. Interviews with network executives, writers, producers, agents and attorneys identified a pack of high-profile and low-profile insiders and institutions that appear to be the most defining programming forces in television today. They ranged from the obvious--network and cable executives who have the final say as to what gets on the air; the people who actually make the shows--to the not so obvious, such as agents and attorneys who specialize in complicated deals and packaging.

Those names were then winnowed to a consensus list of 39, in tribute to 1939, the year of the first regular television broadcasts.

The list reflects the people and factors judged to have the most influence on programming, not the overall television business. So it includes, for example, the presidents of the entertainment divisions at ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox ( see profiles, this page ) but not their bosses in the corporate offices. Ditto cable, the studios and the talent agencies.

Also missing from the list, with one exception, is anyone who isn’t white. Although minorities are running and starring in TV shows and wielding influence--among them Quincy Jones and Martin Lawrence--only Oprah Winfrey is considered among the power elite. In addition, just a few white women made the list.

“The entertainment industry is still sexist and exclusionary, and television is no different,” observed entertainment attorney David Colden. “It is changing but slowly.”

Even with these exclusions, it’s easier to pin Jell-O to a wall than determine who’s actually responsible for the entertainment programming viewers see on television today. The creation of a program involves, to varying degrees, writers, producers, directors, actors, network and studio executives, agents and attorneys. The prominence of each differs from project to project.

Ultimately, of course, it is the network or cable channel that decides what to put on the air. But any of the key players can have a role in the genesis of a program. A good idea helps, but what’s even more important these days is a good “package”--an assortment of talent connected to the project, both in front of and behind the camera.

Talent shops such as the William Morris Agency, United Talent Agency and Creative Artists Agency hold internal meetings and strategize about how to team up various clients. Then they package those elements, with the help of attorneys, and target a studio, production company or network that needs the product.

“The powerbrokers are the agencies,” said Warren Littlefield, president of NBC Entertainment. “These are people who have tremendous impact on the talent that goes into the marketplace and ends up on the air.”

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Take, for example, ABC’s new generational sitcom “Maybe This Time.” Marie Osmond plays a divorced mother who runs a coffee shop with help from her fun-loving mother (Betty White) and her free-spirited daughter (Ashley Johnson).

What sounds like a cute concept, however, is actually a textbook case of Hollywood maneuvering. Last year at this time, William Morris agent Lee Rosenberg sat down with two of his clients, Michael Jacobs and Bob Young, executive producers of ABC’s “Boy Meets World.” Rosenberg ran down a list of available clients at William Morris to see if the pair was interested in working with any of them.

Jacobs’ ears perked up when he heard Osmond’s name. “I felt that was a real interesting name, especially for this political climate,” said Jacobs, who thought it would be fun to pair Osmond with White, another William Morris client.

Meanwhile, Jacobs and Young had a series commitment from ABC, and the network had expressed interest in doing a show with Osmond after scouting her in a stage production of “The Sound of Music.” But just to ensure ABC’s continued interest, the producers offered to include Johnson--a young actress ABC had a deal with.

“From a political and creative standpoint, it made a lot of sense,” Jacobs said.

Now all they needed was a concept. Enter another William Morris client, Susan Estelle Jansen, who produced “Boy Meets World” last season. She helped Jacobs and Young create “Maybe This Time.” Yet one more William Morris client, David Trainer, was brought into the mix to direct and produce.

“This is a William Morris party,” Jacobs said wryly.

For packaging all these people, William Morris will receive 5% of the license fee paid by ABC and 5% of the back-end revenues, including syndication and overseas markets, according to industry sources. This is in lieu of collecting the usual 10% fee on each client’s salary.

At least 80% of the TV series on network television are packaged in some fashion.

“Right now, the TV packaging agents almost drive the business,” said one literary agent. “The networks certainly still have the power, but they really do listen to the agencies. They’re very successful forcing packages down the networks’ throats. To get an actor it really wants, sometimes a network has to take another actor it might have otherwise passed on. Or a network will placate an agency by taking a package to make sure it doesn’t miss out on the next package.”

Oftentimes, the package doesn’t consist of anything more than the writers themselves, as in the case of “Friends.” CAA’s deal with NBC last season for what was, at the time, an uncast ensemble show was made with a package commission attached, based solely on the participation of creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman.

“There are a lot of writer-producers who, when represented in the marketplace, have overall exclusive deals where a package commission is the price of admission,” said Kerry McCluggage, chairman of the Paramount Television Group.

That’s a sign of their power. Unlike motion pictures, where directors and actors reign supreme, the clout in television is with producers, who keep the show running, cranking out 22 episodes a season, year after year. If they are writers themselves, so much the better.

“Show runners share a mutual power base with the network, because the network executives depend on us to have the passion of the product,” said Jonathan Axelrod, a former ABC executive who is now executive producer of “Dave’s World” and the new CBS comedy “Can’t Hurry Love.”

Nearly all the top writer-pro ducers have deals with studios, which underwrite the production costs in exchange for distribution rights. David E. Kelley produces “Picket Fences” and “Chicago Hope” at Twentieth Television, for example, while David Angell, Peter Casey and David Lee of Grub Street Productions make “Frasier” at Paramount.

If a show runner is especially hot, he or she will receive series commitments from networks before a project is even conceived. After co-creating “Hill Street Blues” and “L.A. Law,” for instance, Steven Bochco got a seven-series deal at ABC and scored big with “NYPD Blue.” His final show for ABC arrives this month, “Murder One,” then he’s got a multi-series deal at CBS.

But even without an outright series guarantee, being a successful show runner frequently means a series pickup and a favorable time slot from a network. When Angell, Casey and Lee developed “Pursuit of Happiness,” NBC not only picked up the show but also gave it a choice time slot behind “Frasier.”

“If you have a hit, you have more power,” observed Ken Levine, creator and executive producer of “Almost Perfect,” a new romantic comedy on CBS starring Nancy Travis. “I’m sure if [“Seinfeld” creator] Larry David wanted to create four different shows and took a day and met with all four networks, he could get all four series on the air.”

Also playing a powerful but more hidden role in the deal-making are the attorneys who represent producers and performers.

“The reason why the agents would like us involved is that we have such a breadth of deal experience,” said Ernest Del, whose clients include CBS Entertainment President Leslie Moonves. “They like that extra level of expertise. There’s a certain respect to what lawyers bring to the proceedings.”

For the series creators who don’t have such commitments, there is another group of people who can wield influence over a project: the development executives at the networks and studios. Before a project ever reaches the people who can actually put it into production, it has passed through a complicated maze where rejection looms around every corner. Creative executives act as human filters, sifting through the barrage of ideas and plucking out the ones they think their bosses should consider. Their taste affects what people see.

“Everyone assumes the guy who can green-light the project is where the power lies, and I don’t think people realize how many projects compete for the few slots that are available,” said Jeffrey Kramer, president of David E. Kelley Productions.

“The creative executives have the power over the idea ,” Kramer said. “Several thousand ideas get pitched a year to the studios and networks. Out of that, maybe 300 scripts get written. Out of that, maybe 50 to 60 pilots get made. Out of that, maybe 30 series get made. Out of that, maybe a handful last longer than a season. So between the idea and the successful show, there’s a lot of ideas that have been rejected.”

In the end, all the glad-handing in Hollywood amounts to noth ing if the audience doesn’t respond to the programming, pointed out Robert Nathan, executive producer of “John Grisham’s The Client,” a new drama for CBS.

“We can give all the credit we want to producers or executives, but ultimately it’s the viewers,” Nathan said. “There’s a silent license that goes on between the audience and the storyteller. Television is always one step behind the audience. The audience is always standing there waiting to be led to the material.”

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MISTER BIGS

TED HARBERT

President, ABC Entertainment

This master scheduler, 40, took over ABC’s prime-time slate in January, 1993, adding such fare as “NYPD Blue,” “Grace Under Fire” and “Ellen.” Last season, it all came together when ABC became the No. 1 network for the first time in 15 years. After being courted by new MCA President Ron Meyer, Harbert is staying at ABC and hopes to home in even more successfully on adults in the 8 p.m. family hour.

JOHN MATOIAN

President, Fox Entertainment

The executive, 46, scored points with the creative community when he took the helm last year and started steering Fox away from cheesy movie biographies and loud, youth-oriented series. Now everyone is waiting to see if Matoian’s slate of more adult comedies can make the network more attractive to older viewers without losing the younger crowd that helped put it on the map.

LESLIE MOONVES

President, CBS Entertainment

Moonves, 45, was hailed as a conquering hero when he took this job in June. As president of Warner Bros. Television--the industry’s most prolific supplier of TV shows--Moonves was the biggest advocate for producers in town. Warner Bros. shows produced under his guidance include “ER,” “Friends” and “Murphy Brown.” His eye for talent will come in handy as he tries to lift CBS from the cellar.

DON OHLMEYER, WARREN LITTLEFIELD

President, NBC West Coast; President, NBC Entertainment

The Odd Couple: Ohlmeyer, 50, is the tall, sports-loving, sweater-wearing one, Littlefield, 43, the smaller, bearded one who often helps Jay Leno ridicule him on “Tonight.” Insiders say the duo’s potent yin and yang (Ohlmeyer watching the big picture, Littlefield the details) is what has turned NBC around to challenge ABC for ratings leadership.

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Photo research by Katie Sauceda of Calendar’s television staff.

* THE POWER LIST: The rest of the people and institutions that shape television are profiled on Pages 8-9.