The "Three Men" Theme

The CBS shakeup, if nothing else, played right into the plans of the reform-bent Federal Communications Commission, whose chairman, E. William Henry, has long deplored TV's "discouraging degree of sameness." Commission investigators have been busy pinpointing the power over TV programming held by what the industry calls "the three men": ABC's Tom Moore, NBC's Bob Kintner, and until last week, CBS's Jim Aubrey. The FCC's Draconian cure: divest the big three of half their prime programming time (7-11 p.m., E.S.T.), hand the task over to sponsors and independents.

TV executives are understandably concerned. "This," said one, "involves principles--and money." It most emphatically does. Networks currently own in whole or in part some 91% of the programs in TV's prime time. It is the profit from such shows, as well as from the time they sell, that provides the revenue to finance their public service and documentary series.

TV advertisers, an agency executive points out, are currently putting some 70% of their budget into spots, and there is no indication that they would venture sponsorship of a whole program, much less speculative pilots that might not make the air for two years--if ever. And there is the point raised last week by Indiana's Democratic Senator Vance Hartke: "What assurance does the commission have that the public interest will be better served by advertiser selection of programs than by network selection of programs?"

In rejoinder, the FCC claimed that "the great diversity among advertisers should equate with the diversity in audience taste." As the FCC's 1962 report indicates, "a willing advertiser who does not rely entirely on mass circulation finds it difficult to persuade [rating-obsessed] network managers to place his program in a desirable time period."

Having originally hoped to promulgate the new rule last week, the FCC at the last minute delayed it for perhaps another fortnight. And even when the regulation is issued, the networks will be given several years to appeal and adapt. But as one network vice president said last week, "Just talking about it could take dollars off our stock."

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