ABC Network May Oust Top Programmer

Walt Disney Co. is stitching together a plan to shake up its troubled ABC network by tossing out its top programmer and turning the reins over to one of the company’s rising stars.

Details of the new management structure were far from settled Tuesday. But company sources said Anne Sweeney, president of the ABC Cable Networks Group and Disney Channel Worldwide, was expected to take over as president of the broadcast network, which continues to lag behind its competition.

Still being sorted out were the roles and titles of several other key players, sources said. According to one source, tensions were building over questions about the ultimate chain of command.

But this much is clear: ABC Entertainment Television Group Chairman Lloyd Braun won’t be in the picture. Braun, who as the network’s chief programmer has often clashed with Disney President Robert Iger, will soon leave his position, sources said.

And to make room for Sweeney, they said, Alex Wallau, the network’s president and a former boxing commentator, is expected to step down, although he is likely to remain with the network he joined in 1976.

The shuffling would probably give more power to Susan Lyne, ABC’s entertainment president. She was tapped two years ago to become one of the top programmers, reporting to Braun, but has struggled to get some of her favorite shows on the air in marquee time slots.

Compared with rival broadcast networks, scheduling decisions at ABC can be cumbersome, involving the approval of many people, including Iger, a former ABC president, and Disney Chief Executive Michael Eisner.

Disney and ABC executives declined to comment Tuesday.

Published reports about the possible changes led some Wall Street analysts and industry insiders to wonder whether those changes would be enough to reverse the network’s flagging fortunes. One veteran television executive who has worked for other networks said Disney didn’t appear to be planning to hire any fresh blood, calling the potential moves “rearranging the deck chairs.”

The anticipated shake-up comes as Eisner fends off calls for his own resignation after a 43% vote of no-confidence from shareholders last month.

He is under particular pressure to fix ABC. The network’s poor performance was highlighted in February when Comcast Corp. launched an unsolicited bid for Disney and Comcast executives said ABC was dragging down the company’s earnings.

The network remains in fourth place. Its total viewership has slipped to an average of 9.3 million viewers, down from a year ago when ABC broadcast the Super Bowl and averaged 10.3 million viewers. In addition, ABC’s ratings are 13% lower than last year in the 18-to-49 age group that advertisers pay the most to reach.

What’s more, recently launched shows have sputtered, including the mobster family saga “Line of Fire,” Stephen King’s “Kingdom Hospital” and a legal drama set in Los Angeles, “The D.A.,” which Lyne wanted to get on the schedule earlier in the season; it ended up launching on the same night the NCAA tournament started.

That leaves just two ABC shows in the Top 30: the long-running “Monday Night Football” and the unscripted dating show, “The Bachelor,” at No. 12 in the 18-to-49 age group. The network’s best performance for a scripted series, “According to Jim,” ranks No. 35 in that category.

Several months ago, Disney board members told Eisner that they weren’t happy with ABC’s management and that he should make some changes, according to a source close to the board. Board members have been briefed on the proposed management overhaul, including placing Sweeney in charge of the network, the source said.

It wouldn’t be the first time the Disney brass turned to Sweeney. In October, Eisner gave her the responsibility of managing the ABC Family cable channel that Disney acquired in 2001 for $5.2 billion.

Wall Street analysts praised Sweeney’s performance. Since joining the company in 1996, she has developed a strategy for the Disney Channel to target pre-teenage girls in addition to its core audience of toddlers.

“You have to go with someone who has established a track record, and that’s Anne Sweeney,” said David C. Joyce, media analyst with Miami-based investment banking firm Guzman & Co. If the changes at the top come to pass, he said, “it seems that Lloyd Braun is going to be the main scapegoat so that the company can show it’s being proactive and trying to fix things.”

The makeover would come at a crucial time for the network. Next month, ABC will select pilots for its fall schedule and unveil the lineup before thousands of advertisers in New York.

The uncertainty about ABC’s revamping is creating anxiety for Hollywood producers, who are casting and shooting pilots that are in contention for a slot on the network’s schedule.

Advertisers said Tuesday that they were closely watching the situation.

“Ideally, you’d rather have a more stable situation like at CBS or even NBC,” said Brad Adgate, a senior vice president at Horizon Media, an advertising buying firm whose clients include Geico Corp., Ace Hardware Corp. and Mutual of Omaha Cos.

“ABC executives have got to prove themselves with some shows that work,” Adgate said. “There’s too much riding on this for advertisers to just give them the benefit of the doubt.”

Disney shares rose 9 cents Tuesday to $26.59 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Times staff writers Scott Collins and Richard Verrier contributed to this report.