ABC spells mediocrity
You reach a certain level in corporate America and it is almost impossible to fail. Stay away from spousal abuse and kiddie porn and you've pretty much got it made; even if forced to make a sudden exit from your executive suite, you'll be outfitted with parachutes of gold, platinum or titanium and drift to earth essentially unscathed.
It's an old story made new by the spectacular failure of the ABC Television Network under the somewhat less-than-inspired guidance of Co-Chairmen Stu Bloomberg and Lloyd Braun. They have compounded failure with failure and brought the network to new lows, and have been recently rewarded with extensions of their contracts, the equivalent of a hearty "well done," apparently, from the top management at dizzy old Disney, the corporate owner.
What's galling about ABC's magnificent Mouse-ka-flop is that executives there are reputedly pointing the finger at a show that was once a network hero and is now vilified as if it were mailroom anthrax: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," a once-thriving game show hosted by an ever-buoyant Regis Philbin.
The story's well known: how ABC overburdened the show by airing it four nights a week, delighted no doubt at the combination of low production costs and high ad revenue -- but now points at it as being responsible for the network's overall ignominious ratings slide. Disney is notoriously a short-term, shortsighted outfit that will leap at the opportunity to save a buck today without thinking what that may cost tomorrow....
