Television Programming

"Blinking back tears, Ray hurries to pick up a ball and glove lying on the field. He swallows hard and throws. John smiles tenderly. . . . Their smiles grow wider as they throw the ball easily back and forth. . . . Light floods the field as father and son continue to toss the ball." The emotional conclusion to "Field of Dreams" would be lost to those who are blind or visually impaired.

In an effort encouraged by CBS Entertainment President Jeff Sagansky, CBS News producers are quietly developing several newsmagazines as possible prime-time series for next season. The hope is that the shows will give the news division much-needed outlets for programming, while providing CBS with low-cost shows at a time when prime-time entertainment hits are getting harder to find and more expensive to buy.

In an unusual arrangement to shore up its weakness in distributing TV programs, Sony Television Entertainment on Wednesday formed a company with CBS and the talent management firm 3 Arts Entertainment to produce prime-time shows. While rivals such as Warner Bros., Paramount, Disney and Fox studios have bought or started TV networks to lock in shelf space for their shows, Sony has made no such alliance and lacks the cable reach of its competitors in the U.S.

To the average TV viewer, it might be hard to comprehend a prime-time schedule that requires choosing between "NYPD Blue" and "Law & Order," sets quiz shows "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" and "Weakest Link" against each other in several time zones and places "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and its spinoff, "Angel," not only on different nights but on different channels. The best way to analyze decision-making in television these days, however, boils down to a simple phrase: Follow the money.

Faced with low ratings and rebellion among its affiliated stations, CBS on Friday gave the local outlets significantly more control over air time during its morning news magazine, "CBS This Morning." Starting Oct. 26, CBS will allow its stations to break in for 12 minutes each hour of the two-hour program to provide local news--triple the four minutes now allotted stations. The change will reduce the length of time the network is on the air with news to 35 minutes each hour.

CBS Corp.might be a titan of old media but its first-quarter earnings were boosted by gains in new media: the digital distribution of its television programming and the sale of e-books. The New York-based broadcasting company beat analyst estimates with 80% higher net earnings for the quarter ended March 31. The company earned $363 million, or 54 cents per diluted share, up from $202 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, compared with the year-earlier period. The substantially higher margin came from growth in operating income as well as lower weighted average shares as a result of the company's stock repurchase program.

Twenty years ago, the movie "Network" satirized television by depicting programs featuring on-air murders and prime-time psychics. Based on recent trends, some people wonder if that fictional past has become our present. Several programs relying on real video footage of death and destruction--among them the Fox specials "When Disaster Strikes" and "When Animals Attack"--have prompted some discussion within the TV industry about boundaries of taste.

Admitting what he said were the shortcomings of his own TV networks, Ted Turner exhorted an audience of broadcasters to "strive for excellence" in programming, not just ratings and profits. "There's too much sleazy, stupid, violent stuff on television--that's why we're getting the V-chip," Turner told an an audience that included CBS President Peter Lund, Court TV President Stephen Brill and CBS anchorman Dan Rather.

Last year, there were almost none. This year, there are more. After months of intense heat about a noticeable lack of cultural diversity in prime-time casts for the 1999-2000 television season, the four major networks came to the annual New York upfront presentations with a range of new shows for the fall that include a greater degree of inclusion for minority actors.

The major networks have repeatedly used newsmagazines in recent years to put out fires and plug gaps in their prime-time lineups. Two weeks into the 1999-2000 TV season, some are wondering if they have gone to that particular well too often. Even with ratings for some new dramas cooling a bit last week, dramatic programs appear to be enjoying something of a resurgence this fall--in certain time slots at the apparent expense of newsmagazines.