Television Industry

Is the Internet opening Pandora's box for television? The last two years have seen an explosion of electronic mail, television network and production company sites on the World Wide Web as well as countless executives and producers surfing Net chat rooms for viewer response to their shows. But that access has a dangerous downside--namely, eliminating the layer of agents, lawyers and corporate mail rooms that buffer script buyers from unsolicited pitches from aspiring producers and writers.

Faced with a threat from Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) to introduce legislation requiring a content-based TV ratings system, the television industry's chief ratings architect vowed Thursday to go to court to fight any government intervention in its age-based code. "This system was supposed to be voluntary," Jack Valenti told reporters in declaring that the TV industry would not accept a system different from what his implementation committee plans to unveil next week. Referring to Rep.

Although the TV ratings system was conceived at the behest of lawmakers and was launched at a high-profile White House meeting, the actual unveiling on Thursday will occur without politicians.

The television industry, dogged by growing public criticism of the TV ratings system that it will unveil today, plans to put its scheme into practice next month even before government regulators have had time to finish reviewing it. A spokeswoman for the Motion Picture Assn. of America, which coordinated development of the system, said that the four major television networks would announce each show's rating immediately before its broadcast.

Even before the TV industry has finished devising its first ratings system, pressure mounted on Tuesday from critics who favor an approach that gives parents more information about how much sex, violence and coarse language each program contains. Several children's advocates met in Washington with ratings committee chairman Jack Valenti and made it clear they are not happy with the direction of the ratings, which will be announced on Dec. 19.

Under sharp attack from critics even before its work is finished, the chairman of the group devising a television ratings system will meet with reporters in Washington today to defend the decision to classify programs in age-based categories.

As the television industry puts the finishing touches on a controversial TV ratings system, a children's advocacy group reported a sharp increase in sexual content during the prime-time hours when children are most apt to be watching. The report, "Sex, Kids and the Family Hour," also found that parents are as concerned about the sex their children see on television as the violence.

The government cleared the way for MCI Communications Corp. to beam satellite TV directly into homes, despite protests from rival cable companies concerned that the right could soon belong to a foreign company. The Federal Communications Commission approved a license for MCI to provide nationwide direct broadcast satellite even though the telephone giant has announced plans to merge with London-based British Telecommunications.

After promising nothing less than a revolution in the way Americans watch television and spending close to a half a billion dollars in the attempt, three regional telephone companies are disbanding the joint venture they formed last year to deliver new forms of television programming. The partners, Bell Atlantic, Pacific Telesis, and Nynex, are negotiating multimillion-dollar severance agreements with the top management of the venture, called Tele-TV, according to sources close to the talks.

Considering it's Hollywood, and taking into account that a handful of actors is working in close proximity, the mood is surprisingly convivial on the set of the ABC-TV series "Coach." The cavernous stage on the Universal back lot is dank and cold on this Thursday, camera blocking day. The cast is walking through scenes, scripts in hand, muffing lines and laughing.