Page 47 - Abc Network News Today

Having a coming-out episode with ellen. >> im 35 years old. im so afraid to tell people. i mean, i just -- susan, im gay. >> ellen coming out was a huge moment for me personally because, you know, i was a closeted gay guy. gay child at that time. and it was the bravest thing i saw. >> that felt great. that felt so great. >> initial report suggests abc made a bundle on ellens highly publicized outing on national tv last night. the broadcast was accompanied by coming-out parties all around the cou...

Im seeing a woman. >> in the 90s, gay characters were always secondary or third. there was never a gay character that was the lead of a show. >> so you want to go look at apartments tomorrow? >> great idea! >> ellen degeneres, the comedian, was about to come out. as a lesbian. and she does it on "time" magazine. yep, im gay. but they decide that the character that ellen plays on tv will also come out. >> it is just reprehensible that abc, now owned by disney of all companies, is going to feature...

>> in 1990, 91, there was not a whole lot of original programing for cable, but they were airing movies. so we needed to compete and i felt that if we didnt, we were going to kind of get swept out. so i came up with a notion of doing a cop show that was r-rated. when abcs broadcast standards read our script, they went berserk. >> i was sitting with a pad and a pencil drawing pictures of breasts to try to show them what we would show and what we wouldnt show. grown-ups sitting in a room doodling....

Tgif was on abc on friday, and it was their block of family-oriented comedies. >> i cant take it. i need that cake. >> it was not sophisticated television. but these were shows that people adored. [ laughing and snorting ] >> cbs. >> cbs was in a really bad spot. they had just fallen apart over the early part of the 90s and they had gone through a couple different network executives. >> but then suddenly they had this hit with an unknown comic. this was the year of seinfeld, no hugging, no learn...

>> the machine that was nbc in the 90s for comedy was untouchable. >> youre not from around here, are you? >> it generated so much viewership and money and awards. >> you do not need this. >> its the top of our wedding cake. >> were not -- its not a scrapbook, its a freezer. >> no! >> we were all kind of part of this chapter in television where we realized we were in the right place at the right time. >> lets see how you like this, naughty boy. >> we certainly associate nbc of the 90s of having ...

Rated-rr rated-r. >> in 1990, 91 there was not a lot of original programming for cable, but they are airing movies. so, we needed to compete. i felt if we didnt, we were going to kind of get swept out. so, i came up with the notion of doing a cop show that was r rated. when abcs broadcast standards read our script, they went berserk. ♪ >> i was sitting with a pad and a pencil drawing pictures of breasts to try to show them what we would show, what we wouldnt show. grown ups in a room, doodling...

A new era of technology and competition is forcing network news operations to reexamine the way they do business. >> new owners spent billions buying the networks recently. ge buying nbc, capital cities, abc, and lowes tissue brothers bying cbs and all of them want their moneys worth. >> well have a stronger network, this is going to be one dynamite company. >> there is danger news will be mixed up with other -- >> to early 1980s it seince was real good -- some of the broadcasting time to public...

Moment for me personally because, you know, i was a closeted gay guy. gay child at that time. and it was the bravest thing i saw. >> that felt great. that felt so great. >> initial report suggests abc made a bundle on ellens highly publicized outing on national tv last night. the broadcast was accompanied by coming-out parties all around the country, including one in birmingham, alabama, where the local abc station refused to broadcast the show. >> she did a great thing. she was brave. >> i made...

>> so you want to go look at apartments tomorrow? >> great idea! >> ellen degeneres, the comedian, was about to come out. as a lesbian. and she does it on "time" magazine. yup, im gay. but they decide that the character ellen plays on tv will also come out. >> it is just reprehensible that abc, now owned by disney of all companies, is going to feature ellen as coming out of the closet. it wont be long before god knows what, you know. bestiality, incest, who knows. >> we were getting bomb threats...

Me, you have to push hard and people have to listen. >> that was valerie jarrett, connecting the dots between the grossness of the white house and the cultural grossness incited by it, demonstrated this week by comedian rosanne barrs tweets about race. she compared jarrett to an ape and a terrorist. the abc network canned barrs highly successful pro-trump reboot of her 90s sitcom. i found the synergy striking. on the same day that starbucks was correcting itself, another brand was controlling a ...