TV Academy Will Not Renew President’s Contract

After a tumultuous year that included twice postponing the Emmy Awards because of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences opted Wednesday to let President Jim Chabin leave when his three-year contract expires in April.

A committee of elected officers and TV executives appointed by academy Chairman Bryce Zabel, the independent producer who narrowly was elected to that post in August, decided not to renew Chabin’s contract.

Sources within the nonprofit organization, which hosts the television industry’s most-prestigious awards program, said Zabel and Chabin have had disagreements in recent weeks and Zabel recommended that a new president be sought. Since assuming the elected but unpaid post overseeing the academy, insiders said Zabel has adopted a hands-on management style--which has included taking an office at the academy--that has created friction with some of the paid staff.

Notably, Zabel campaigned for the position by specifically stating he would not turn the academy into a full-time job, a criticism that some leveled at his predecessor, Meryl Marshall-Daniels.

Academy officials declined to comment, and Chabin could not be reached. It is not clear when a successor will be named, but sources said Chabin may leave before his deal lapses.

The change comes as the academy finds itself at a crossroads. In the short term, the Emmy postponements and relocation of the ceremony to a smaller venue where fewer tickets could be sold dealt the organization a financial blow. Income from the awards--the group’s primary source of revenue--fell $1.6 million below pre-Sept. 11 expectations.

Moreover, the academy soon will begin negotiating a new Emmy broadcast deal. The organization receives a fee of roughly $3 million a year under the current agreement, in which the show rotates among the four major networks, but has hoped it can as much as quadruple that figure--bringing the TV-rights fee more in line with that paid for the Grammys.

Finally, speculation began this summer that the academy will seek reunification with its New York-based counterpart, the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, following the death in June of longtime NATAS President John Cannon. A merger would heal a rift formed when the two branches split amid considerable discord in the 1970s.