Jeff Sagansky

Sony Pictures Entertainment promoted Bob Wynne to the position of co-president, formalizing his role in assuming day-to-day control of the Culver City-based studio's operations. Wynne, 55, remains corporate operations chief and continues to report to studio chief John Calley, the studio said. Jeff Sagansky, the other co-president, is in charge of worldwide TV, international business and strategic planning.

Dennis Miller, one of the Sony's top television officials, resigned Friday after a two-year run as executive vice president of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Miller was left without a portfolio after a recent management restructuring at Sony brought in John Calley as president and chief operating officer and Jeff Sagansky as co-president. Sagansky, the former president of CBS Entertainment, oversees the television operation, making Miller's position duplicative.

The presidents of the four major network television entertainment divisions will appear together for the first time Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Robert Iger of ABC, Jeff Sagansky of CBS, Warren Littlefield of NBC and Peter Chernin of the Fox Entertainment Group will participate in a round-table discussion about the future of the television industry from the Observation Room of the Starship Enterprise on the set of "Star Trek: The Next Generation."

Producer Settles With Law Firm, TV Unit: Philip L. DeGuere Jr. is receiving an undisclosed amount in settling his lawsuit against the powerful entertainment firm Ziffren, Brittenham & Branca and Columbia Pictures Television. The suit alleged that his television pilot "Triangle" was canceled in 1989 as part of a scheme to conceal payments related to CBS' hiring of Jeff Sagansky as its entertainment chief.

Bob Newhart, whose long-running "Newhart" series comes to an end this season, will star in his third TV series for CBS in the 1991-92 season, the network said Friday. "Newhart," which premiered in 1982 and starred Newhart as the owner of a New England inn, will air its last original episode May 21. Previously, Newhart starred in the 1972-78 series "The Bob Newhart Show" as a Chicago psychologist. No premise has been set for the new show, which will be produced by Arthur Price Productions.

With Vice President Dan Quayle's charge that "Murphy Brown" is causing the breakdown of "family values" and the Thomasons' visibility in the Clinton campaign, CBS will have four sitcoms in the political spotlight this fall. But CBS Entertainment President Jeff Sagansky, who declined comment during the Murphy Brown-Dan Quayle controversy, isn't worried. He predicts that the Republican camp will not attack the Thomasons' three series. "They have other fish to fry," he said.

The newly appointed president of CBS Entertainment says the network must overhaul its antiquated prime-time lineup to rise out of last place in the ratings. Jeff Sagansky, who joined CBS two weeks ago from his position as president of Tri-Star Pictures, said the schedule appeals to viewers "well over 45" years old and that the network "is programming too narrowly in that direction." "I don't think the network can be just a narrow casting vehicle," Sagansky said Monday night.

Paxson Communications Corp. accused General Electric Co.'s NBC of breach of contract and is trying to block NBC's proposed $2.7-billion purchase of Telemundo Communications Group Inc. NBC owns 32% of Paxson, which operates the Pax TV network and station group, and has an option to raise its stake if TV station ownership rules change. Paxson claims that buying Telemundo would raise regulatory hurdles for NBC to acquire the rest of Paxson, violating the companies' 1999 purchase agreement.