Word: silverman
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...found his spiritual home: a company that is as aggressive, hungry and fast-moving as he is, unencumbered by the bureaucratic snares that come from long years of success. Without so much as making a phone call, Silverman can ?and often does?guarantee the commitment of hundreds of thousands of ABC's dollars to a producer. According to lore, Silverman can give a producer a yes or no within 15 minutes. B. Donald ("Bud") Grant, his counterpart at CBS, will say, "I'll think it over." At NBC, Irwin Segelstein will say, "We're having a meeting...
...Though Silverman is given credit for helping boost ABC to the top, most industry observers feel that it would have got there anyway?if not now, then some time soon. Partly because it had fewer affiliates in the boondocks and partly because CBS's relatively sophisticated programs had cornered the older, educated audience, ABC was forced to court younger, urban viewers with fast action, sex and unsophisticated comedies. When the "family hour," the 60 minutes from 8 to 9 o'clock, was instituted in 1975, banishing blood and gore to later hours, ABC was ready with its comedies. Simple enough...
...also wise in the choice of Fred Pierce as president in 1974. The best-rounded of all the major network executives, with experience in research, sales, promotion, as well as programming, Pierce moved deftly to take advantage of his rivals' confusion. Almost immediately he tried to hire Silverman away from CBS. It took a while, but finally, in May 1975, Silverman crossed the street. Silverman's own success is tied to Pierce's, and, together, the two form the best team...
...Silverman go so easily is a mystery, but Silverman's reasons for leaving are clear enough. Although he was certainly well paid?around $250,000 a year at CBS?he was not given what the trade appropriately calls "keeping money": stock options and other benefits that enable an executive to build personal capital. (His salary at ABC is reportedly about the same now, but will rise to $350,000 next year. In addition, he has stock options and all the perks previously denied ) Worse, he was denied entrance to "the club," an elite group that really runs CBS. Following...
Money has never mattered to Freddie," adds Mike Dann, Silverman's mentor and the man who preceded him as CBS's top programmer. "What he really wanted was respect for the tremendous role he was playing in the company. Freddie quit almost 250 times at CBS, but, far more important, during at least half his time there I can count three network presidents who wanted to fire him." Silverman's own explanation for his leave-taking is the most poignant: "I found I wasn't laughing any more...