ABC gets cold feet on ‘Wild’ title for series

ABC News had a wacky time coming up with a title for its new five-part wedding series anchored by Diane Sawyer, not settling on the final title until shortly before its Monday night premiere.

The program, which features segments on notable nuptials, was originally dubbed “Weddings Gone Wild: Anything for Love.” TV listings featured it as “Weddings Gone Wacky, Wonderful and Wild: Anything for Love.” By the time it aired Monday -- after an article in Monday’s Calendar called attention to the title’s similarity with the raunchy “Girls Gone Wild” video series -- the name was shortened to “Weddings,” even though a backdrop with the original title remained visible during the program’s opening.

An ABC spokesman declined to provide a reason for the switch. “We always reserve the right to change [or] edit our work up until the very moment of air, including the title,” he said.

Whatever the title, “Weddings” did not dominate the ratings. The 10 p.m. program averaged 6.4 million viewers, a distant second place behind a repeat of CBS’ crime drama “CSI: Miami” (14 million), according to early figures from Nielsen Media Research. But ABC had better luck than NBC, which bombed with its new reality series, “Next Action Star” (5 million).

-- Scott Collins