Hey, Big Spender

Leslie Moonves often wondered what it would be like to run a network entertainment division. Now that he does, the executive talks at times wistfully about life outside the fishbowl.

Friends, however, say not to believe him, and even Moonves acknowledges that despite the frustration associated with being the chief programmer at third-place CBS, by and large he’s having the time of his life.

After just over a year in the job, the 46-year-old onetime actor has arguably become the highest-profile TV executive since Brandon Tartikoff in NBC’s heyday a decade ago--serving as CBS Entertainment’s point man as the network begins seeking to rebound from two woeful years with a formula that officials chant like a mantra: new management and established stars.

Backed by corporate parent Westinghouse’s deep pockets, Moonves has pursued the star strategy with a vengeance, signing sitcom giants Bill Cosby (“The Cosby Show”) and Ted Danson (“Cheers”) to headline new comedies, with commitments of 44 and 22 episodes, respectively.

The CBS fall lineup, in fact, at times looks like a 1980s NBC alumni team, with Rhea Perlman (from “Cheers”), Scott Bakula (from “Quantum Leap”) and Don Johnson (from “Miami Vice”) starring in series as well. All told, the Eye network is putting on 10 new shows--only one fewer than a year ago, when it was widely agreed that CBS went too far, too fast in trying to rebuild its lineup.

Sitting in his CBS Television City office, which includes a prominently displayed placard that reads “Nothing Is Impossible,” Moonves maintains that the effect will be less jarring precisely because so many of those shows feature familiar faces. Besides the ex-NBC contingent, there is also Ken Olin (formerly of “thirtysomething”), Gerald McRaney (from “Major Dad” and “Simon & Simon”) and Peter Strauss (“Rich Man, Poor Man”).

“We think that some of these names that we’ve brought back are going to bring [viewers] back,” he says.

Some have nonetheless accused CBS of overpaying for the Cosby and Danson deals, which constitute major gambles in a business that often seems better at making stars (witness “ER” and “Friends”) than recycling them.

Still, observers say CBS’ spending spree has already gone a long way toward winning the battle of perception, overcoming the sense of malaise that plagued the network under tightfisted tycoon Laurence A. Tisch. The question is how soon more tangible rewards--among them ratings and profits--will follow.

“There’s two pieces to this,” says Jeff Sagansky, who occupied the same chair Moonves does for more than four years, leaving in 1994 (right before CBS’ slide) and subsequently joining Sony Corp. of America. “One part is the perception part. Les sort of thinks big, he talks big, and he spends big. He’s a showman in the best sense of the word.”

Yet that represents only the first hurdle in what promises to be a long road back. The next phase--whether viewers will again embrace those old stars--should be apparent one way or another not long after the season begins in mid-September, determining how much progress Moonves and his newly assembled management team have made in a short period of time.

“By Nov. 1, you’ll know a lot,” says one former network executive, who remains skeptical about CBS’ chances.

For his part, Moonves stresses the significance of landing Cosby while simultaneously seeking to downplay pressure for the series to succeed in the ratings.

“Forget about the show for a second,” he says. “The fact is, Bill Cosby was the biggest name in television for a decade. . . . The fact that CBS was able to say, ‘We have Bill Cosby,’ just perception-wise, said to the community, to the corporate world as well, ‘They are in the business. They are not afraid to spend some money.’

“I think we needed to make a statement that there is life here. I think it picked up spirits throughout the company--that here is a big-time deal, which could have gone anywhere, that came to CBS.”

CBS does appear to have come a long way in establishing a semblance of renewed vitality, benefiting in part from tumult elsewhere in the business.

“What he’s done really effectively is shown that there’s no piece of talent and no deal that CBS won’t be a competitor for,” Sagansky says. “He’s landed a couple of really big fish. Whether those fish turn out to be winners or not, the fall season will answer that.”

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That CBS even warrants such speculation is something of an accomplishment in itself. After a three-year reign as the top-rated network, CBS made an unprecedented plunge directly into the prime-time cellar two years ago. The network finished last season not only third in homes but also fourth--trailing Fox--in the key audience demographics that dictate advertising rates.

The crash occurred under then-Entertainment President Peter Tortorici, who inherited a leaky ship from Sagansky in 1994. Despite topping the ratings, CBS had failed to develop new hits while series such as “Murphy Brown,” “Rescue 911” and “Murder, She Wrote” aged.

At the time, CBS’ shortcomings were obscured by the network’s strong movie results and major sporting events, including the World Series, the Super Bowl and two high-rated Winter Olympics. Those rights lapsed, however, and Fox weakened CBS’ distribution system by stealing away pro football and eight major-market affiliated stations.

Reacting to the problem, the Tortorici team tried a complete overhaul of the prime-time schedule. Last September, the network introduced 11 new series--including “Central Park West,” “Bless This House” and “American Gothic”--designed to shift its traditional older audience profile toward the younger urban crowd prized by Madison Avenue. In another symbolic move, the network moved “Murder, She Wrote”--one of TV’s oldest-skewing series--from its traditional Sunday slot to Thursdays, opposite NBC’s “Friends.”

Although some of the freshman shows were well received, the strategy proved too jarring and flopped. Viewers didn’t even sample most of the new offerings, and only one of the 11--the comedy “Almost Perfect”--was renewed for this season.

In retrospect, says Joe Abruzzese, CBS’ president of sales, “all these shows were pretty well out of the hitting zone for us.”

Along came Moonves, looking for new mountains to climb after having established himself at Warner Bros. Television as the most successful TV studio executive in Hollywood.

He had started out as an actor, working on stage and in television after graduating from Bucknell University. (When he exited Warner Bros., his staff presented him with a tape that included his guest shot on “The Six Million Dollar Man.”) He moved on to producing plays and then became a development executive at actor Gregory Harrison’s Catalina Productions, later joining 20th Century Fox and, in 1985, Lorimar Television.

Rising through the executive ranks, Moonves was named president at Lorimar in 1989 and--after the company was acquired by Warner Bros.--eventually was put in charge of the combined TV operation, which produced such shows as “Full House,” “Knots Landing” and “Murphy Brown.”

During his tenure, the studio consistently sold more series than anyone else but generated few blockbusters. Then in the same year, 1994, came the NBC mega-hits “Friends” and “ER”--an achievement capped in the spring of 1995 when Warner Bros. placed an unprecedented 20 series on the networks, nearly twice as many as its nearest competitor.

Running Warner Bros. Television, however, wasn’t quite the same as a major network, which offers final control over what goes on the air and where it is scheduled. “There’s only a few of these jobs in the world,” Moonves says.

So the executive agreed to join CBS in May 1995, around the time his predecessor was previewing last year’s revised schedule to affiliates. Moonves signed a five-year deal foran estimated $5 million a year. Tortorici resigned, later joining Carsey-Werner Co., which coincidentally is producing Cosby’s new sitcom, “Cosby.”

Because of the timing, Moonves couldn’t tinker much with the schedule, but after officially joining the network in July, he quickly started about the task of reshaping CBS Entertainment.

Having operated closely with his staff at Warner Bros., Moonves--citing “palpable” tension within CBS--immediately replaced several top executives, bringing in Executive Vice President Billy Campbell and several others who worked under him at the studio. In the past year, CBS Entertainment has turned over nearly every department head.

Moonves (who counts former Laker Coach Pat Riley among his buddies and often turns to sports analogies) prides himself on a collegial atmosphere, noting that the team of executives he has assembled shares a common drive to win.

“Clearly, [there were] certain people I wanted with me,” he says. “I had worked with them before. There was a real comfort factor.”

That wasn’t the only shaking around CBS. After months of denying rumors, Tisch finally agreed to sell the network to Westinghouse last August for $5.4 billion. Unfortunately, the long-discussed deal came to fruition a day after Disney and ABC stunned the industry with their $19-billion merger, creating the world’s largest entertainment company. The timing seemed to continue CBS’ streak of bad luck.

In the last six months, however, CBS has gotten some breaks. ABC slumped badly during the second half of last season and has experienced its own executive turmoil in the Disney merger’s wake. Fox has been haunted by rumors as well and has been unable to replace its aging anchor shows, with “The Simpsons” and “Married . . . With Children” heading into their eighth and 11th seasons, respectively.

Uncertainty elsewhere has allowed CBS to only half-jokingly bill itself as “the stable network,” despite the fact that most key staffers have been in place a year or less.

Perhaps most important, Westinghouse has demonstrated its determination to revive the network. Peter Lund, the well-regarded CBS Inc. president, has been left in charge and given a free hand, installing new heads of news and affiliate relations while in turn providing Moonves a wide berth overseeing entertainment.

In addition to financing programming deals, the company is moving back into cable (assets Tisch shed to focus on broadcasting) and made a huge commitment to radio with its $4.9-billion Infinity Broadcasting acquisition, creating the largest radio station group in the United States.

“All these things are giving them a sense that management’s behind them,” says Jon Feltheimer, president of Sony Television Entertainment.

From a competitive standpoint, ABC’s decline helped CBS to finish second in homes during the February and May ratings sweeps, heartening affiliates, who use those periods to determine local ad rates.

Though the consensus is that NBC will dominate the coming season, CBS could challenge for second place in homes. Granted, a network’s performance in household ratings is of limited significance, since audience demographics determine advertising rates--underscored by the $2 billion NBC has sold in advance of the coming season, compared to an estimated $1.6 billion for ABC and $1.2 billion for CBS’ older-skewing lineup. Still, getting back in the thick of things even in households would provide a symbolic morale boost and some evidence of the momentum CBS brass have discussed as the new season approaches.

CBS will clearly look different in September. Even its fall theme, “Welcome Home,” seeks to convey a variety of like-minded messages: Welcome back to the old CBS, welcome to a place where you can watch family-oriented entertainment, and welcome (those of you who fled to cable) to the network that gave you “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” not “Central Park West.”

The campaign represents “a real concerted effort that has a marketing orientation and a programming orientation,” says Jim Warner, CBS Television Network president.

“The clients are looking for [the networks] to take different roads,” says Abruzzese, the president of sales. “The clearer your message, the better off you are.”

After hyping the lineup’s merits, Moonves now finds himself playing the cautious cheerleader, discussing prospects for night-by-night ratings growth but also the need for patience. Quoting his pal Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC West Coast, he calls the prime-time race a marathon, not a sprint.

Patience, however, isn’t a trait that comes naturally to Moonves, someone so competitive that friends recall him playing the basketball game H-O-R-S-E--with $100 riding on the outcome--at nearly 2 a.m. after a party he hosted at his house.

Moonves hates to lose and concedes it’s been difficult waking up to poor ratings--TV’s equivalent of having sand kicked in one’s face.

“We are expecting some improvement, but it’s going to be baby steps,” he says. “I don’t want expectations to be too high. I think we’re going to do better, [but] it’s not monumental. You stop the bleeding, you start turning the ship around--but it is a large ship, and it’s going to be awhile.”

In the interim, Moonves has already proved himself a master when it comes to wooing talent, from Cosby (who patiently held court at the network’s TV critics event, fielding questions for hours) to David Letterman, who recently agreed to a three-year contract extension through the 2001-02 season.

“He’s a perfect guy for this position,” says Cosby, who showered praise on Moonves in front of the network’s affiliates. “These guys have to understand Les is the man. The truth of the matter is this is the guy who places the shows.”

Winning over Letterman was another coup, especially after the host publicly talked about leaving when his contract expired. CBS even persuaded the late-night host to tone down making fun of the network, after disparaging Top 10 lists two years ago--as CBS’ fall lineup was going down in flames--such as “New CBS Promotional Slogans” (example: “CBS: Come Back, Suckers”) and “Ways CBS Can Improve Its Prime Time Ratings” (which included “Create a new show about a family that sits down to watch ABC show”).

CBS in essence told Letterman such gags are self-defeating--that he was indicating to young fans of his show that it isn’t cool to watch CBS, a perception that could backfire by reducing his own lead-in from prime time. Moonves even displayed his own sense of humor by sending Letterman a sequined skating outfit for his birthday, responding to the comedian’s jokes about CBS’ penchant for ice-skating specials.

Moonves is not without detractors, who say he can be controlling with suppliers, dictating decisions in a manner he at times complained about while on the other side at Warner Bros. Loyal as he is to his friends, he can also be harsh--some say unnecessarily so--in dealing with those who aren’t part of his inner circle.

“I’m a good friend, and I’m not a great enemy,” he concedes.

In May, for example, Moonves abruptly dismissed CBS’ head of comedy development in the midst of setting the network’s fall schedule, instead of waiting until after the process was completed. While it was anticipated that the executive would be replaced, the timing made even the usual face-saving pretense of amicability difficult to maintain.

That said, most in the industry credit Moonves with being exceedingly direct and attacking problems head-on.

“You can disagree with Les about his direction, but no one’s confused what the direction is, and that’s a change,” says Tim O’Donnell, producer of CBS’ “Dave’s World.”

If CBS is pursuing a long-term approach, this year’s goal is to establish building blocks for the future. The network already has another TV veteran, Tom Selleck, lined up to star in a comedy for the 1997-98 season and expects a new drama from producer Steven Bochco (“Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law,” “NYPD Blue”), whose first CBS show, the new sitcom “Public Morals,” has generated controversy over its bawdy language.

“Les and I have been friends for years, so I was thrilled [when he came in],” Bochco says. The producer is impressed as well with Westinghouse Chairman Michael Jordan, whom he calls “very down-to-earth, very smart and very prepared to let these guys run the network.”

Moonves says he’s been surprised at times by the amount of scrutiny the position entails. Still, those close to him say he’s generally relished the spotlight--which has included being featured in GQ, being interviewed on PBS’ “The Charlie Rose Show” and playing golf with President Clinton.

His time as an actor, he says, has helped with the job’s public aspects. Moonves will even appear as himself in a cameo on HBO’s new series “Arli$$.”

“I think he’s having a great time,” says Sony’s Feltheimer, one of Moonves’ best friends. “He has given them a sense of leadership, a sense of accomplishment, and that’s going to help them in all the businesses that they’re in.”

Says Sagansky: “If there was ever anybody who spent his whole career training for that job, it’s Les.”

Even so, Moonves already talks about being a one-term president. If he can turn CBS around, the theory goes, he’ll be positioned to assume a highly placed studio job, as Sagansky, Tartikoff and Moonves’ former boss, Warner Bros. Chairman Bob Daly, all did after leaving similar network posts.

“At this point in time I don’t see serving more than five years,” Moonves acknowledges. “I am amazed at the longevity of Warren [Littlefield, NBC Entertainment president] and Ted [Harbert, ABC Entertainment chairman]. To do these jobs well, they are 24-hour-a-day jobs. You go home at night, you don’t leave your problems at the door--I don’t, anyway.

“I’m 46 now. When my term is up I’ll be 50. There will be time for another career if I want it. I don’t want to state what the goals are, but anything’s possible, and the future feels very good.”

Moonves pauses, the competitive fire showing.

“Maybe it’s different,” he says, “when you’re in first place.”

‘We are expecting some improvement, but it’s going to be baby steps. I don’t want expectations to be too high. I think we’re going to do better, [but] it’s not monumental. You stop the bleeding, you start turning the ship around--but it is a large ship, and it’s going to be awhile.’