Networks Plan to Offer Front-Row View of War

As the United States moves closer to a war with Iraq, the major television networks are scrambling to juggle extensive news coverage and major programming commitments such as the Oscars and the NCAA basketball tournament.

Executives at ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC expect to go "wall-to-wall'' with war news the moment the invasion of Iraq begins.

The networks and the cable news channels now have hundreds of reporters and support personnel in the Middle East, many with front-line U.S. military units, although some have withdrawn their staff from Baghdad. Viewers are going to have a front-row seat for the fighting because of improved technology since the Persian Gulf War more than a decade ago and because the Pentagon is allowing greater access to the battle zone.

Most expect the 24/7 coverage to last at least 48 hours, depending on events, with the networks dumping most of their other shows.

But ABC and CBS must deal with coverage of two events with big audiences and major advertising: the Academy Awards, scheduled for Sunday on ABC, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament, which begins its first round Thursday on CBS.

For now, the producers of the Academy Awards are saying the show will go on as scheduled.

In the event's 75-year history, the Oscars have never been canceled -- even during World War II -- and have been postponed only three times: in 1938, when floods ravaged Los Angeles; in 1968, after the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.; and in 1981, after the assassination attempt on President Reagan.

"I guarantee that if the show goes on and we're at war, the tone of the show will be substantially different than if we were not at war,'' Gil Cates, executive producer of the Academy Awards, said last week. "We'll still celebrate excellence in American filmmaking, but we'll celebrate with a small `c.' ''

An ABC spokesman said Monday that, at this point, the network is planning to air the show with news breaks if events warrant.

CBS has an even more complicated problem with the NCAA tournament, which is scheduled to pre-empt most of the network's regular daytime and prime-time programming for four straight days, starting Thursday.

"We really have to play Solomon in this situation,'' said CBS Sports President Sean McManus. "We're trying to come up with a game plan that will minimize inconvenience to viewers.''

At this point, that game plan involves moving many of the early games to ESPN and ESPN2, with some games turning up on CBS's sister cable channels, such as TNN. But the ESPN option is viable only through Saturday because of that channel's commitments to the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

For most of the networks' regularly scheduled shows, pre-emption for war coverage is not a problem because many are in repeats this time of year. But there are some programs that will take a hit.

Two big reality hits -- highly rated "Survivor: Amazon'' on CBS and "American Idol'' on Fox -- have their schedules carefully calibrated so that their finales air at the end of May sweeps. Episodes will have to be juggled if news coverage pre-empts any installments.

And Fox's "24,'' which returns next Tuesday after a couple weeks off, not only has a schedule geared to end during May sweeps but also is in the midst of a story involving the United States invading three Arab nations.

That could be just a touch too close to reality for some viewers.