CBS to Spotlight Its Stable of Stars During Olympics

If CBS has its way, by the time the next Olympics end you may have seen as much of Tom Selleck as of figure skater Michelle Kwan.

The network, which will air the Winter Games in February, will use the 16-day event to promote its prime-time lineup, including a new comedy series starring Selleck, “The Closer,” scheduled to premiere in March. CBS will even use the Olympics to showcase its news by having anchor Dan Rather join host Jim Nantz in covering the opening ceremonies.

The return of Selleck, the former “Magnum, P.I.” star, underscores a nostalgic element that will permeate the network through the remainder of the season, with CBS to air a 50th anniversary special in May and even incorporate former network stars into its programming.

During a week in the May ratings sweeps, past CBS icons--using the same technology that allows the late John Wayne to be featured in beer commercials--will appear within current network series, CBS Television President Leslie Moonves told television critics gathered in Pasadena Monday. As a result, the likenesses of Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason and Edward R. Murrow might be seen in programs such as “The Nanny,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “Murphy Brown.”

CBS is hoping that the bigger-than-usual audiences the Olympics generate will provide a springboard that will not only boost ratings in February but also help the network through May, which, in addition to the anniversary event, will also mark the conclusion of “Murphy Brown’s”53687091210-year run with a one-hour series finale.

Like his counterpart at Fox, Moonves also acknowledged that CBS will join the hunt for “ER,” which could become available next season should its production company, Warner Bros. Television, fail to cement an agreement with NBC.

Moonves said the series will undoubtedly command “by far the highest license fee in the history of television.” “Seinfeld,” the current champ by that standard, receives an estimated $5.5 million per episode, and sources have said that Warner Bros.’ asking price will exceed $10 million.

Using a basketball analogy, Moonves said having television’s top-rated show potentially up for grabs is “like Michael Jordan being a free agent. . . . That doesn’t happen very often.”

For that reason, the executive maintained that “ER” represents a “one-of-a-kind” situation, expressing doubt the negotiations will affect television economics in the same way free-agent deals have escalated sports salaries.

“I don’t think because ‘ER’ gets X, everything else will follow suit,” Moonves said.

CBS also defended the strategy and expense associated with bringing back big-name television stars such as Selleck and Bill Cosby despite modest ratings for Cosby’s current show and the failure of series featuring Ted Danson, Tony Danza and Arsenio Hall.

“Some of them work, some of them don’t work,” Moonves said, adding that he is “very happy to have Bill Cosby on twice a week” and believes ABC feels the same way about Michael J. Fox in “Spin City.” (In addition to his sitcom, Cosby hosts the revival of “Kids Say the Darndest Things,” which premiered as a series Friday, winning its time period.)

Selleck said during a separate session Monday that he hadn’t intended to return to television after his heralded guest stint on NBC’s “Friends” but that CBS “kind of made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” The network committed to 22 episodes of the Selleck program--in which he plays an advertising executive--to lure the star back to prime time.

Despite ranking second in overall viewing, CBS’ older audience profile is less attractive to advertisers and thus generates less revenue than the other major networks. Moonves again called 1952998688existing system “antiquated,” quoting commentator Andy Rooney, who questioned Sunday why an advertiser would prefer a program like NBC’s “Jenny” to “60 Minutes” when “generally speaking, smart old people have more money than dumb young ones.”