ABC Execs Defend Merger of Production, Network Arms

ABC executives sought to defend not only the programs they will put on the network this fall but also the new manner in which they will choose what goes on the air during an interview session with TV reporters in Pasadena on Tuesday.

Under a directive from corporate parent the Walt Disney Co., ABC is being merged with the studio’s television production arm. The decision has given rise to fears within the entertainment industry that Disney eventually intends to provide all of the network’s prime-time programs, freezing out other program suppliers.

While ABC executives acknowledge wanting to own and control more of the network’s programming, they insisted the network will remain open to outside producers and that Disney will continue to produce series for the other networks.

Officials maintained having ABC and Disney under the same tent will streamline the way in which programs are created, strategically pinpointing shows to what the network’s needs are. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to re-engineer the way this is all done,” said the ABC Entertainment Television Group’s new co-chairman, Lloyd Braun.

Disney also mandated the consolidation in part to reduce costs, and sources say there will be a human toll, with layoffs affecting duplicative areas between ABC and Disney Television to soon follow. A spokeswoman had no comment on the timetable of those personnel cuts.

ABC executives expressed contrition regarding the major topic of this year’s press gathering--namely, a shortage of minority characters in new network shows. “Clearly, we have an obligation to reflect society as it exists,” said Co-Chairman Stu Bloomberg.

Several ABC programs, including “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” and the new series “Wasteland,” “Once and Again” and “Talk to Me,” have added minorities to their casts since being presented to advertisers in May. ABC Entertainment President Jamie Tarses said the network approached all of its producers about the possibility of adding minority characters but didn’t want to compel them to make changes.

“We asked them to make the effort, [but] we didn’t demand it of them, because we defer to their vision of the show,” she said.

ABC TV Network President Patricia Fili-Krushel added that the commitment to diversity must take place both in front of and behind the camera. Echoing sentiments expressed by the other networks, she offered to meet with the NAACP, which has threatened legal action over the issue. “At a certain point, talk, I know, is cheap,” Fili-Krushel said.

In a separate announcement, ABC’s “The Drew Carey Show” will air a live episode in November, performing the show three times that night so that it will be live in every time zone. “ER” used a similar idea to kick off the 1997 season, doing a live show for the East and West coasts.