Television : TOP 10 QUOTES ABOUT REGULATING TV

1. “I call on Congress to pass the requirement of a V-chip in TV sets, so parents can screen out programs they believe are inappropriate for their children.”

--President Clinton (Jan. 23)

2. “It is one thing to produce programs that children shouldn’t watch and to inform parents of the content of those programs. But it’s another thing entirely to produce programs that parents are proud to let their children watch. That is an important distinction I hope Hollywood understands.”

--Then-Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) (Feb. 28)

3. “It’s a bunch of people in Washington who don’t watch TV and can’t do anything about the major issues. Until somebody tells me it’s constitutional, I’m not going to worry about it. It’s not even something that enters into my mind.”

--Don Ohlmeyer, president of NBC West Coast (quoted in the Feb. 12 issue of Electronic Media)

4. “The Elegant Surrender--Industry Capitulates on V-chip Without Firing a Shot.”

--Headline in Broadcasting & Cable magazine (March 4)

5. “A TV program rating system is not the societal equivalent of the Salk vaccine. Program ratings will not turn the mean streets into tranquil gardens. Helping parents guide the TV watching of their young children is one small step.”

--Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Assn. of America (in July in an appearance before California broadcasters; quoted in the Oct. 20 issue of the Los Angeles Times Magazine)

6. “If ever we were looking at a Pandora’s box, this is it.”

--William Blinn, chairman of the Caucus of Producers, Writers and Directors (Sept. 10)

7. “I resent the implication that what we’ve done has made the world worse.”

--Marta Kaufman, co-creator and executive producer of “Friends” (Oct. 2)

8. “Folks, if you keep on down this road in a state of denial, there’s a group of folks behind me and [Rep. Edward] Markey that don’t have the same concern for the 1st Amendment that we do.”

--Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), addressing a TV industry audience (Oct. 2)

9. “The TV industry got pressured into this thing. Ninety-nine percent of all commercial television is pretty clean.”

--Burtch Drake, president of the American Assn. of Advertising Agencies (quoted in the Los

Angeles Times Magazine, Oct. 20)

10. “There’s too much sleazy, stupid, violent stuff on television; that’s why we’re getting the V-chip.”

--Ted Turner (Nov. 4)

HIGHEST-RATED BROADCASTS OF 1996

Program, Date, Viewers (in millions)

1. Super Bowl XXX (Jan. 28), 94.1 (NBC)

2. Super Bowl Postgame (Jan. 28), 69.9

3. Friends (Jan. 28), 52.9 (NBC)

4. NFC Championship Game (Jan. 14), 52.7 (Fox)

5. Clinton-Dole debate (Oct. 6), 46.1 (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox)

6. Academy Awards (March 25), 44.9 (ABC)

7. Summer Olympics (women’s gymnastics, July 23), 42.2 (NBC)

8. Summer Olympics (women’s gymnastics, July 25), 41.7 (NBC)

9. NFC Championship Postgame (Jan. 14), 40.8 (Fox)

10. Summer Olympics (gymnastics, track, July 29), 40.2 (NBC)

EXECUTIVE SUITE

How long each network program chief has been on the job

1. Warren Littlefield of NBC, 6 1/2 years

2. Les Moonves of CBS, 1 1/2 years

3. Jamie Tarses of ABC, six months

4. Kathy Quattrone of PBS, six months

5. Peter Roth of Fox, three months

THE BIG GET BIGGER

Media sales and acquisitions, listed by buyer and what was acquired

1. Disney: ABC, $19 billion

2. Turner: Time Warner, $7.5 billion

3. Westinghouse: CBS, $5.4 billion

4. Westinghouse: Infinity Broadcasting, $4.7 billion.

5. Fox: New World, $2.5 billion

6. MGM (to Kirk Kerkorian, management), $1.3 billion

QUICKEST CANCELLATIONS OF THE YEAR

“Public Morals” (CBS), 1 episode

“Aliens in the Family (ABC), 2

“Love & Marriage” (Fox), 2

“Champs” (ABC), 4

“Common Law” (ABC), 4

“The Louie Show” (CBS), 4

“Lush Life” (Fox), 4

“Party Girl” (Fox), 4