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EXCLUSIVE: I’m told Disney/ABC is, gulp, may be finally ready to start pinkslipping studio and network showbiz execs as part of the fallout from the January merger of ABC Entertainment and ABC Media Studios. 
“Steve McPherson has been having a series of closed door meetings over the last two weeks,” one of my sources says. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be the first time Hollywood changed plans because of bad publicity. Yet even with pilots casting, reading, shooting, and in post, I hear McPherson was skedded to leave for a week-plus trip to NYC to “meet with sales.” Most think he’s getting out of town when the ax comes down in order to avoid witnessing the bloodbath he created. Which would be contemptible enough even if he hadn’t publicly scolded Ben Silverman to “be a man” when their mutual friend Kevin Reilly was fired at NBC Entertainment with no advance warning. “But then bullies are like that…,” one of my sources snarks.
Of course, it was McPherson who engineered Mark Pedowitz’s ouster as head of ABC Media Studios (the former Touchstone Television) because Steve had been wanting that division brought under his control for a very long time. 
So now people are starting to speculate about Mark’s next move since everyone knows that his current gig as the senior advisor to the Office of the Co-Chairman reporting to Anne Sweeney, is just a placeholder. “Whenever you hear the term ‘special adviser’ in a press release, you immediately feel sorry for somebody,” one of my sources says. ”The world knows he got fucked. Even after 18 years working for ABC, first under Cap Cities and then under Disney. So much for loyalty. He’s beloved by the business and creative community, he’s made the studio the most profitable it’s been in its history, and he gets axed. Something’s wrong.”
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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Since they canceled life On Mars, they can all get fired for all I care. Now there is not one single show I watch on ABC.
McPherson is a major league prick – - that is well known at ABC as was his desire to take over Ped’s job. However, I wouldn’t give Pedowitz all the love for ABC/Touchstone’s success. What has he done in the last three years that has been profitable?
Who feels sorry for Pedowitz losing his job? He makes crap loads of money. His new title – - BFD – - he is still making crap loads of money. Crying me an FKing river.
Now, McPherson will either fall or die on his own. Considering his track record of the last three years, I won’t be betting on him. His shows suck.
Times be tough. But hopefully this won’t last and good, competent people that lose jobs will get them back asap.
In the meantime, can we please use this thinning of the herd to get rid of some shitty ABC shows that nobody gives two shits about and start generating some real interest? Honestly, is Jimmy Kimmel Live necessary anymore, Steve? We get it, he’s like everyone else and so we should like him. Fine…make him like everyone else…unemployed!
The few times I interacted with him, Steve was the nicest, most down to earth person at any studio or network with whom I’ve ever spoken. That he has so much power and seems to me to be such a great guy just blows me away. These aren’t the best of times. He probably can’t stand letting go of people. Good. From what I know of him, he’d be my first choice of a boss in that town, if I ever go back. I’m probably not good enough to work for him, but if I could pick any ten-percentery, studio, production company, or network, I’d pick the one with him in charge.
Steve used to run the studio and so it’s logical that he’d want it back, not to mention being fully qualified for the job. Further, all of the advertisers and ad agencies are in New York so we all have to schlep out there, and especially with this economy and lesser buys. Of the few people I know on the television side, Steve is the one with the biggest cojones, he never shrinks from doing anything and so it’s unfortunate that he undergo character assassination or be compared to Ben Silverman, but I repeat myself.
Times be tough. But this won’t last and good hopefully, get them back asap, competent people that lose jobs will. Hmmmmmm.
In the meantime, to get rid of some can we please use this thinning of the herd. Yeesssssss.
Abc shows that nobody gives two cents about and start generating some real interest, hmm? Honestly, is jimmy kimmel live necessary anymore, steve, hmm? It, we get it, like him, he’s like everyone else and so we should. Like everyone else…unemployed fine…make him!
Fire ALL the leftist America-hating sellouts at ABC!!!
During the housecleaning at ABC can someone please sweep out Anne Sweeney too? It’s time for some new blood in the executive ranks.
Can I just take a sec to be the elephant in the room and observe who really cares about network line-ups anymore?
The “majors” (and i’m being ironic when i call them the “majors”) can keep dreaming up programming for shrinking time slots..but, at the end of the day, aren’t they all coming up with filler in spaces no one in the desirable demo watches all that much anymore.
Let’s all hold our noses and be honest…in the next few days MTV will finish writing up the script for The Hills and prob in mid June will can watch Heidi/Spence recite lines about how their love will last.
Then we will watch 15 episodes of the same.
If that starts to get boring (it should have been boring 2 years ago but for a scary number of people it will remain entertaining) we can just flip up a few channels and watch the Iron Chef reveal Pigeon Meat, watch some re-runs on the Great Race, then do a full body shudder over The Real Housewives of (nouveau riche enclave which is supposed to be desirable but really isn’t).
…and then, after that…just shove The Dark Knight dvd (which i just grabbed for 9.99) into your player and figure that’s the best we’ve had in sometime and the best we’ll have in sometime.
I’d say fire McPherson also he’s such complete ass in my book. I agree he’s was all lovey dovey over Life on Mars when they brought the project onboard with Appelbaum, Nemec and Rosenberg. Then he goes and tosses it on hiatus for two months losing viewership momentum and then can’s it earlier this month. He doesn’t know what he is doing. No show on ABC is appealing to me anymore and guess that’s why many viewers like myself watch basic cable now.
We can now add Better Off Ted and Castle to Steve’s greatest hits over the past 4 years at ABC, along with such epic shows as The Great American Dream Vote, In Case of Emergency, Big Day, Knights of Prosperity, What About Brian, Day Break, Show Me The Money, Men In Trees, Six Degrees, The 9, Help Me Help You, Sons And Daughters, Hot Properties, The Night Stalker, Jake In Progress, Emily’s Reasons Why Not, Rodney, Freddy, The War At Home, In Justice, Miracle Workers, American Inventor, Crumbs, Commander In Chief, Invasion,October Road, The Evidence, Notes From The Underbelly, The Benefactor, Life of Luxury, Blind Justice, Eyes, Life As We Know It, Complete Savages, Carpoolers, Big Shots, Women’s Murder Club, Dance Wars, and Cavemen. Coming up next, this week’s In The Motherhood.
Here is the reason why Stephen McPherson is in New York this week. He could get fired himself because there is very little if anything people watch on ABC. Yes some reality has gotten high ratings lately, but ratings are down and the shows he picked aren’t working including hits in Ugly Betty and Samatha Who. He answers to Anne Sweeney doesn’t he?
“Huge Fan”-
Yes, those were all failures – but some of them were hits for a while and then destroyed by stupidities at the studio level… especially “What about Brian” and “Invasion”. The biggest mystery is till “Commander in Chief” which would have survived and remained a hit had it not been for the firing of Rod Lurie.
Everyone seems to be forgetting that LOST is kicking butt. I was done with it, but after the two hour shows and everyone getting off the island and all that stuff, I started watching, again. I’m more hooked than ever. Best show on TV, except for maybe 24 and Eastbound & Down.
Steve McPherson is a great guy. Anyone in that position will have to make decisions that anger certain people. But he champions good material and sticks by it. There should be more leaders like him. I’m so tired of the negative people here who write things anonymously. Wimps!
Yeah Scott,
Lost is a huge ratings success with 9.08 million viewers last week. It’s really kicking butt against Criminal Minds (13.4 mil) and American Idol at (23.7 mil). Keep dangling that carrot to others will you.
RTA,
LOST is still a top 5 show in the 18-49 demo. And that’s all that matters.
Why is everyone against Steve? He blames Nielsen when his ratings are bad, blames marketing when the ratings are bad, blames the promotion folks when things are bad, blames the research department when things are bad, but never, never, never blames Steve McP when his show fail to appeal to normal, everyday Nielsen people.
Maybe…just maybe….Steve is…how they say….flawed.
Why such anti-Steve stuff? No one cares more than he does. No one wants to win more than he does. Bully? Hardly. I hope all of the mid season shows kick ass.
What is it with this place? Nikki, you seem to hate anyone and everyone who has any modicum of power.
mcPherson is a decent enough guy – smart, passionate, wants t be a good leader. Sure, some of his choices suck – but so do everyone’s. And as far as I know, Steve is still in town, presidin over network testing for pilot casting…
It seems so those with the biggest axe’s to grind are the one’s who couldn’t get traction at the network. So let’s all take a beat here. Firings, or streamlining as it’s often called, happen all the time. Every industry grows fat in the good times and lean in the not so good times so let’s stop the drama and focus on the real issue. If Mark Pedowitz could have ousted Steve McPherson in a consolidation, he would have. But McPherson won that battle. These are high end struggles with people who succeed more because of their unwillingness to fail than any differentiation in skillset. The problems continue to be the cost of programming coupled with an ad sales business in free fall. But it’s also about programming and being lucky enough to make the right choices. However it’s the bubble shows that are the most dangerous because they cost too much and are not given any time to find an audience. History is full of shows that worked because they were given time. But today that’s very difficult so the networks need to streamline overhead and start to really look at business models that take some of the “fear” out of giving a show a shot to find an audience. Never has the time been better for alternative financing opportunities. Everyone grow up, stop whining and start thinking out of the box. The future is now and it doesn’t look or feel like anything we know. And like the McPherson/Pedowitz struggle, it’s a survival of the fittest and you’d best get in shape!
I worked under Steve McPherson’s direction for a long period of time; and he was one of the most creative people I ever encountered in my years at ABC. He is a decent and good man and he’s smart.
People in this business get kicked around and kicked out every single day. For better, for worse, that’s life and that’s this business. That’s any business.
Steve, at his best, is capable of inspiring, motivating and encouraging. I’d work for him in a heartbeat again.