Abc Television Network

A review of Richard M. Nixon Administration documents has turned up a memo indicating that Texas billionaire Ross Perot, now preparing for an independent run for the presidency, offered to buy a television network in 1969 to aid Nixon's public relations. In an interview with the Associated Press, Perot insisted that his contacts with the Nixon White House were limited 99% of the time to his widely publicized efforts to free American prisoners of war in Vietnam.

The ABC television network and media agency MindShare North America on Monday said they would develop television shows together in a deal that would allow advertisers to weigh in early on the programs they sponsor. ABC, a unit of Walt Disney Co., and MindShare, a unit of advertising conglomerate WPP Group, said they would first focus on creating scripted series for family audiences, with the two companies sharing development costs.

In a cost-cutting move aimed at improving the stock price of the world's second-largest media company, Walt Disney Co. is restructuring its network television operations by combining them into a single unit at ABC. Walt Disney Television Studio, including Buena Vista Television Productions, will be merged with ABC's prime-time division to form a new unit called ABC Entertainment Television Group.

Soon, the TV world will not have Ned the Pie Maker or the dysfunctional Darlings or Eli Stone/George Michael. ABC President of Entertainment Steve McPherson broke the news Thursday afternoon that the network was giving up on three sophomore shows, "Pushing Daisies," "Dirty Sexy Money" and "Eli Stone. " Although McPherson never uttered the words "You're canceled" to producers, the message was clear to the cast and crews: They had been dumped. The network is not ordering more episodes of the three series, though it will complete production and air all produced episodes of each.

Taking a major leap of faith, ABC is hoping "Dinotopia"--a fantasy world in which humans and dinosaurs coexist--can help breathe life into a struggling television network that lives in a real world where big-budget, special effects-laden movies have been on the verge of extinction. The miniseries comes at a time when other networks have cut back on or abandoned the genre after audiences seemed to lose interest. But ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney Co.

There was a time when hockey was a simpler matter, hardly more complicated than lacing one's skates, removing one's teeth and being versed in terms such as "icing," "high-sticking" and "mild contusion." Things change, of course, and hockey is no different. It's as likely to be played on a cul-de-sac as on a frozen pond these days; witness the sport's popularity here in Orange County, an area better known for ocean breezes than winter freezes.

Did she . . . or didn't she? Agree to tell all, that is. Donna Rice, her manager and the ABC television network are feuding over the plot of a planned ABC made-for-TV movie on Rice's life--specifically, if the ex-model agreed to reveal whether she had slept with former presidential candidate Gary Hart. Rice herself said Wednesday she would make no deals with anyone that required she reveal whether she was intimate with Hart.

Walt Disney Co.'s ABC television network will offer some of its most popular shows, such as "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," free on the Internet in a two-month trial, the company said Monday. The move was the latest effort by leading U.S. media companies to experiment with the delivery of programs through new technologies and still maintain revenue as viewership for prime-time television schedules slowly erodes.

Ted Harbert, the ABC executive credited with putting the hit television series "America's Funniest Home Videos" on the air, has been named the network's chief programmer. Harbert succeeds Robert Iger, who last month was promoted to president of the ABC Television Network Group, overseeing the entertainment, news and sports divisions. The appointment elevates Harbert, 37, to the senior ranks of TV executives in Hollywood.

ABC Television Network said Thursday it plans to change the formula it uses to guarantee advertisers a certain number of viewers--an effort that could save the network tens of millions of dollars next year. The change appears to be designed to protect ABC against ad revenue lost because of a sharp drop in the number of people watching TV. ABC presented the plan to sponsors for the first time Thursday, and the network said it was too soon to gauge reaction.