Scheduling Prompts an HBO-NBC Tussle

After taking aim at “The Sopranos” last year, NBC has again irked Home Box Office officials--this time by scheduling a fact-based movie about the 1998 slaying of gay youth Matthew Shepard to run the same night HBO was going to run its own movie related to that topic.

HBO announced a few weeks ago that “The Laramie Project,” adapted from Moises Kaufman’s stage play based on interviews with townspeople about the much-publicized murder, would premiere March 16. Earlier this week, NBC tentatively selected that night for “The Matthew Shepard Story,” which stars Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston as the title character’s parents and was originally earmarked for October.

Executives at HBO reacted by saying that NBC is either trying to undermine their film or piggyback on the pay channel’s publicity and promotion. They were especially puzzled that NBC would slot its production on a Saturday, when HBO traditionally launches movies and NBC normally broadcasts theatrical films because of the night’s lower viewing levels.

Chris Albrecht, HBO’s president of original programming, said the films explore complementary sides of an important issue and NBC’s scheduling would do a disservice to both. “It’s taking this whole one-upmanship thing to a new low,” he said. “I’m just surprised that they would damage their [own] movie ... and sacrifice what should be an important project for the sake of I don’t know what.”

NBC, however, maintained the network was unaware HBO had chosen the same date and that the scheduling was happenstance, not a counter-programming strategy. “Why would we ever pay attention to them?” said NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker, alluding to the channel’s modest ratings relative to the major networks, adding that the Saturday airdate does not reflect a lack of faith in the NBC movie, whose producers include actress Goldie Hawn.

Albrecht said HBO will likely shift “Laramie” to a different night but hasn’t made a final decision. Zucker said NBC has yet to lock in the date with affiliates and a move is possible, agreeing that the movies shouldn’t run the same night.

Scott Seomin, entertainment media director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, lauded both films but expressed disappointment over the scheduling fracas. “If they’re competing against each other, no one wins,” he said.

This is only the latest skirmish involving the two networks. Last May, NBC Chief Executive Robert Wright wrote members of Hollywood’s production community soliciting feedback regarding HBO’s “The Sopranos.” Accompanied by a tape of a particularly explicit episode, the letter noted that the pay television drama is “a show which we could not and would not air on NBC because of the violence, language and nudity.”

Wright insisted he was simply trying to provoke a dialogue about the hit program’s cultural significance and what that might mean for network television, but HBO executives suggested there were ulterior motives, among them expressing disapproval of “The Sopranos’” content prior to voting for the Emmy Awards.

HBO officials also intimated that NBC executives were annoyed when the pay channel nearly swept the recent Golden Globe Awards, which were televised on NBC. Zucker laughed off that notion, saying HBO should stop worrying about NBC and “go get itself some viewers” for best drama winner “Six Feet Under.”

Broadcast networks have become increasingly aggressive in seeking to torpedo rival networks--a mind-set most recently demonstrated when ABC and Fox raced to get similarly themed quiz shows “The Chair” and “The Chamber,” respectively, on the air first. For its part, NBC is running a special Playboy model edition of “Fear Factor” Sunday versus Fox’s coverage of the Super Bowl halftime show and has let episodes run beyond their usual end times--bleeding into the next hour--to siphon viewers from competitors. Still, HBO generally draws a smaller audience and has been immune to such actions.

MTV televised its own movie on the Shepard case, “Anatomy of a Hate Crime,” in January 2001.