The Reverend’s Special Sets a Network Asunder

When “Roseanne” rebounded from some down weeks to beat CBS’ openly spiritual “Promised Land” last week, she received an assist from a rather unlikely source: Billy Graham.

A few times every year, Graham takes a toll on network viewing in general and CBS in particular, as TV stations around the country preempt regular programming to show the evangelist’s latest televised crusade.

Network programming normally airs on a web of stations in more than 200 individual markets nationwide, but sometimes those outlets choose to broadcast other fare. Last Thursday, for example, only 155 of CBS’ 211 stations televised “Moloney,” the first-year drama starring Peter Strauss. With dozens of stations airing the one-hour Graham special in its place, the series reached just 79% of U.S. households, as opposed to 99% for shows with full coverage.

“Moloney” wasn’t alone. ABC’s “High Incident” cleared only 85% of the country in the same hour, and last Tuesday, more than 40 stations bounced CBS’ “Promised Land,” causing its ratings to dip substantially while “Roseanne”--its time-period competition--was largely unaffected.

The reason for taking one of Graham’s specials instead of network programming is as simple as cold hard cash.

Networks pay compensation to their affiliates to carry prime-time programs, selling advertising to cover the expense. Stations, however, retain the right to preempt shows in order to air local or syndicated programming.

This rarely happens in Los Angeles, where the ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox outlets are all owned by their respective networks. In smaller markets, however, where there are independent owner-operators, affiliates frequently exercise considerably more latitude in televising network fare.

Several stations refused to broadcast “NYPD Blue” when the series premiered, and the CBS station in Seattle, owned by the Mormon Church, didn’t air “Picket Fences” after an episode that was deemed to have portrayed the church in a negative light.

According to network sources, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. in Minneapolis pays stations about three times what the networks normally do for an equivalent hour of prime time. The Christmas special, “A Season for Peace,” is one of three Graham programs airing this month and will take its toll on network coverage again next week.

Because CBS garners much of its viewing from rural and Southeastern markets, the network usually gets hardest hit by the Graham specials and, as one executive put it simply, has to “grin and bear it.”

“We are sort of between a rock and a hard place,” said CBS Entertainment President Leslie Moonves, acknowledging that it’s hard to dissuade stations from occasional preemptions given the bottom-line benefits. The network has sought to at least mitigate damage in terms of which programs are preempted when, and plans to exclude low-rated telecasts of certain shows from their season-long ratings averages.

A press release from Graham’s association estimates that the specials will be seen “on every continent in more than 150 countries,” reaching a worldwide audience in the hundreds of millions. Locally, the initial special was shown Saturday on KTLA-TV Channel 5, preempting the popular syndicated program “Xena: Warrior Princess.”

The Graham specials are generally timed to air around the holidays or between sweeps periods.