Going into this season, a big ratings battle was projected between ABC's "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" and NBC's "seaQuest DSV."
And, while the battle has been intense, the ratings haven't been big for either show. Basically, each show is holding the other back.While CBS's "Murder, She Wrote" dominates the time period in terms of household ratings, a huge proportion of those viewers are over the age of 50. Fox's "Martin" and "Living Single" attract teens and 20s.
And "seaQuest" and "Lois & Clark" are splitting the 18-49 audience that advertisers prefer.
(Interestingly, both "Lois & Clark" and "seaQuest" charge more for their advertising spots than "Murder, She Wrote" because "Murder's" skew is so old.)
The phrase that's often coined for the ABC vs. NBC showdown is that the two sides are nose to nose and neither will blink - neither dares to move its show first for fear that it would make a hit out of the competitor.
Which is why ABC Entertainment President Ted Harbert states categorically that he will not move "Lois & Clark" to a different time slot - at least not this season.
"We've got quite a situation here," he said, "with both shows performing at just about the same (ratings) numbers. `seaQuest' did better than we did in the early part of the season in September, and since October we've been edging them out. But I'd call it pretty much an even draw.
"I think if we left the time slot their show would go up a few share points, and if they left the time slot our show would go up a few share points."
That's the same assessment NBC Entertainment President Warren Littlefield makes of the situation.
"I think there is a bit of a face-off there," he conceded. "No, we don't intend to move it (`seaQuest') at all. We get our engines jump-started at o'clock and provide the best lead-in we've had to our Sunday night movies in probably six years. That's very, very important to us."
Indeed, both NBC and ABC worry that moving either "seaQuest" of "Lois & Clark" would mean lower ratings in the Sunday at 7 p.m. time slot, and lower ratings there would hurt in the very important Sunday night movie battle.
While neither network is doing great in the time slot, both could be doing a lot worse.
"I don't think either network knows what they'd do in the time period that would get them the 15 or 16 share if we left," Harbert said. "So I think this is a bit of an overstatement, but we're kind of mutually assured destruction here. And I think it's unfortunate - it's two shows going after 30 share points."
He pointed out that when ABC aired a repeat two-parter of "Lois & Clark" on successive Wednesdays at 9 p.m. in December, the show's ratings were up considerably from its Sunday numbers, suggesting it would do better in a different time slot.
So why not move it?
"The reason is that I really don't have a clue as to what would go in Sunday at o'clock and perform at even this level," he said. "The last thing we can do is go back to the old days . . . of being a 10 share in that time period and lead into the Sunday movie with that."
Harbert then backed off from his "destruction" metaphor - "We're both there not destroying each other but holding each other down and I think NBC would love us to blink and we'd love them to blink and I don't think either one of us plans to."
NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer, who is Littlefield's boss, reaffirmed that, saying "seaQuest" is on Sunday nights to stay for the foreseeable future.
"We have no intentions of moving it," he said. "We won't blink to that ol' Ted Harbert."
To which Harbert responded, "He's a non-blinker guy, that Don Ohlmeyer."
- FIGHTING BACK: Robert Iger, president of the ABC Network Group, is obviously getting rather sick and tired of the network bashing that's been going on in Congress over the issue of violence.
"I don't think the networks, when it comes to violence, have anything to be guilty about," he said. "I'm not here to plead guilty on that subject at all.
"I certainly don't think we've done anything to warrant the kind of government intervention or certainly government legislation that's being threatened. Absolutely not."
On the contrary. Iger said he thinks the networks have been "extremely successful" over the years at self-censorship.
"I don't believe, for instance, that we have catered to the lowest common denominator or the lowest instincts or interests of our audience. We don't put on what just anybody wants to see," he said.
"We are not, in my opinion, a primary cause of violence in our society. And I do not, in any way, endorse any form of government intervention or legislation."
As a matter of fact, Iger strongly opposes any such efforts on the part of the Congress and Attorney General Janet Reno.
"I think it is dangerous and frightening," he said. "In fact, if I could quote one newspaper . . . the New York Times in an editorial about Attorney General Reno said at one point that they considered her statements and actions a dangerous embrace of a seductive form of censorhip.
"And I concur with that wholeheartedly."
Iger said he would favor some sort of independent, qualitative look at network programming content in terms of violence - one that took things in the context in which they are portrayed. He scoffed at one survey mentioned in a Senate hearing that his sitcom "Thea" ranked among the 10 most violent shows on television.
"To me, nothing points out how dangerous governmental intervention and legislation on this subject is than that . . . some group getting together and determining that `Thea' is a violent program."
Iger also echoed the comments of others in the industry who believe that this show of resolution in Congress is only a show - a smokescreen to hide Congress' inability to deal with real violence in America.
"We're sitting ducks," he said. "I think we're an easy mark in Washington. I don't think you're going to get too many people, in terms of the voting public, to stand up and say to their congressman or senator, `Lay off of television.' "
And he alluded to the obvious confusion among some senators, congressional representatives and the attorney general about network television programming in general.
"The people who watch us the least want to legislate us the most," Iger said. "I don't know the real motivation behind it, except that as I said earlier, I think we're easy (targets)."