Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to The New Forums. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Koppel Leaving 'Nightline' in December
Topic Started: Apr 3 2005, 04:06 PM (40 Views)
Canucks fan
Numero uno
Admin
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/01/business...artner=homepage

Ted Koppel, who during a quarter-century as the host of "Nightline" on ABC has provided a hard-news alternative to the monologues and banter of Johnny Carson, Jay Leno and David Letterman, will leave the network when his contract expires in early December, ABC News announced yesterday.

Mr. Koppel said in an interview that he did not know what he might do next. And it was not immediately clear how ABC intended to replace him.

Network executives offered assurances yesterday that the 11:35 p.m. time slot of "Nightline" would remain in the hands of ABC News, at least in the months immediately after Mr. Koppel leaves. But industry executives noted yesterday that the network, owned by the Walt Disney Company, is leaving as much as $100 million a year on the table by not scheduling an entertainment program at that hour.

In recent months, ABC executives have asked the news division to develop proposals for alternative programming for the "Nightline" slot that might prove more popular and draw a younger audience than Mr. Koppel's program, which generally focuses on one serious topic a night, and frequently follows it over several nights.

The ideas produced thus far include an expanded one-hour "Nightline" developed by members of Mr. Koppel's staff, and two programs in more irreverent or informal styles, including one in a nightclub setting with audience members seated at round tables decorated with candles.

Both the network and Mr. Koppel - who is 65, and entitled under his contract to work only three nights a week - agreed that he was not a viable candidate to lead the next incarnation of "Nightline," which is intended to be live each night. (Mr. Koppel often prerecords his programs.) Instead, two executives briefed on the matter said, the network offered Mr. Koppel only one real alternative: to take the reins of the weakly rated Sunday program "This Week," succeeding George Stephanopoulos.

After mulling that proposal during a nearly three-week vacation that ended this week, Mr. Koppel told David Westin, the president of ABC News, that he was not interested.

The seeds of ABC's announcement yesterday were sown three years ago, when the network sought, without Mr. Koppel's knowledge, to woo Mr. Letterman from CBS to the "Nightline" time slot on ABC.

At the time, an ABC executive was quoted as saying "Nightline" no longer seemed relevant, especially with growing numbers of Americans getting their news on the Internet - an assertion that angered Mr. Koppel.

While the sides ultimately struck a deal to extend "Nightline" at least two more years, the wariness between Mr. Koppel's team and the network - and the network's concerns about "Nightline" - never abated.

Asked if his disappointment in how the network handled the Letterman courtship had ever gone away, Mr. Koppel said, "I can't tell you to what degree there is something lingering under the surface."

Mr. Koppel's bosses remained mindful that "Nightline" continued to lag in the ratings behind the first half-hour of both Mr. Leno's "Tonight" show on NBC, the most-watched program at that hour, and Mr. Letterman's "Late Show."

Still, while ABC explored the possibility in recent months of moving Mr. Koppel off "Nightline" when his contract expired in December, the network had hoped to keep him at ABC News. With the recent departures of Tom Brokaw and Dan Rather from their evening news programs, Mr. Koppel's departure will leave only Peter Jennings, anchor of "World News Tonight" on ABC since 1982, as a broadcast journalist with comparable longevity and star power.

In an interview, Mr. Koppel acknowledged that one job he had considered at ABC - though he would not say whether it had been formally offered to him - was "This Week," which trails in the ratings behind "Meet the Press" on NBC and "Face the Nation" on CBS.

"It was a possibility and it's certainly a fine platform and it's an interesting broadcast," Mr. Koppel said. "But by the same token, I really feel there are other things I would rather do."

Mr. Koppel said he had been concerned about what he saw as the uniformity of all the Sunday public affairs programs - particularly when a viewer can flip from one channel to the other and see people like the secretary of defense or secretary of state interviewed on each.






Will you miss him?


lol, the best thing I remember about him was that episode on The Simpsons where Homer becomes Flander's friend. Ned suddenly wakes up, all shocked, in the middle of the night and says "I think I hate Homer Simpson!" Then it quickly flashes over to Homer also waking up, all sweaty and surprised and he says "I think I hate Ted Koppel!" Then a few seconds later in a calm voice he says "No wait, I find him witty and informative. Good night Marge."
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Lustre
Member Avatar
I'm On Top Of The World
Admin
lol, the Simpson's.

I haven't seen Nightline in ages so won't miss him.

Like the article said, lots of news guys are leaving now. Some new and young blood should be coming up now.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · TV · Next Topic »
Add Reply