Pierce, Frederick S. the supervision of Roone Arledge as president of ABC without time for the series to develop an audience. As Sports, sports coverage became a central source of rev- president of ABC. Inc.. he surrounded himself with al- enue for ABC. The quest for a hit sports event meant lies, including Tony Thomopoulous, president of ABC Pierce's approval of large outlays of money for pro- Television, Pierce's most cherished area. gramming such as the Olympics and championship Pierce reached the top of ABC as numerous ventures boxing matches. When one event was a success, it jus- stalled in development, when money was already com- tified Pierce's spending but kept the company in a pre- mitted to major events, and shareholders were de- carious position for the long term. manding fiscal prudence. After ABC was purchased by The news division received the least amount of at- Capital Cities, Pierce needed Tom Murphy, the new tention from Pierce until he convinced Goldenson to chair and chief executive officer, to position ABC for appoint Arledge president of ABC News in 1977. the future. Pierce. however. had no inclination of what Pierce believed sports and news held a conceptual the future held. CapCities' assessment of ABC and common ground. Arledge agreed and successfully ap- what needed to he done significantly excluded him. By plied engaging production techniques with commenta- the time of his resignation in 1986, he expressed tors seeking celebrity status in American homes. amazement and disbelief at the turn of events. suggest- Although Pierce believed Arledge could assist the ing an inability to perceive the complex and unstable news division, Pierce also made the dramatic move of structure he helped build. hiring Barbara Walters as an additional safeguard. Since leaving ABC Pierce has continued to he active Since Pierce was driven by a lifelong commitment to in the entertainment industry. With his two sons, ABC. he expected the same loyalty in return. He stated Richard and Keith, he founded the Frederick S. Pierce publicly that he sought the presidency of ABC. hut in Company, dedicated to quality films and television January 1974 Goldenson first appointed him executive programs. The company's projects included the four- vice president in charge of ABC Television. with the part 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (ABC, 1997) and added responsibilities of developing the company's ca- the Emmy-winning The Positively True Adventures of ble, pay -per -view, and video projects, before naming the Alleged Texas Cheerleader -Murdering Mohr him president of ABC Television in October of that year, (HBO, 1993). Since 1998 Pierce has been an executive responsible for five divisions: entertainment, finance and producer of the American Film Institute's centennial planning, the TV network. ABC -owned stations. and salute to American cinema, including the institute's sports. However, Pierce had difficulty positioning ABC 100 Years, 100 Passions in June 2002. Pierce comes to in the larger media puzzle with some of the projects he this yearly project after serving as chairman of the initiated. From 1978 through 1980, Pierce baffled the in- American Film Institute's Board of Trustees from dustry with his statements against cable. calling for the 1992 to I996. protection of tree television and criticizing cable's unre- RICHARD BARTONE stricted content. But other statements soon followed, de- See also American Broadcasting Company; scribing cable as a tool for diverse programming. Arledge, Roone; Diller, Barry; Eisner, Michael; Pierce's credibility began to he questioned. Goldenson, Leonard; Programming; Silverman, In the 1970s Pierce was surrounded at different Fred times by such prominent figures as Arledge. Fred Sil- verman, Barry Diller. and Michael Eisner. He pursued Silverman for the position of president of ABC Enter- Frederick S. Pierce. Born in New York City. April 8, tainment, and they worked efficiently together. But 1933. Educated at Bernard Baruch School of Business upon Silverman's departure. Pierce became highly Administration, City College of New York, B.A., critical of Silverman's limitations, minimizing his con- 1953. Served with U.S. Combat Engineers, Korean tributions to ABC's turnaround. Pierce was self- War. Married: Marion; children: Richard, Keith, and consciously basking in the glory of establishing ABC Linda. Began career as analyst in TV research, ABC, as a powerful network. The situation began to change. 1956; director of sales planning, ABC, 1962; vice pres- Pierce all but abandoned action -adventure series by ident of planning, 1970; vice president in charge, 1980, when they were partly responsible for securing ABC-TV planning and development, and assistant to young, urban male viewers. He did not recognize the president, 1974, president of ABC TV. 1974; president changes developing in television's collaborative ar- and chief operations officer. ABC, Inc., 1983, resigned rangements with Hollywood. He continued to depend from ABC, Inc., 1986; founder, Frederick Pierce Com- on the "living schedule," with its rush to find a hit pany. 1988, and Pierce/Silverman Company with Fred within four weeks, and in so doing alienated producers Silverman, 1989. Chairman of the Board of Trustees, whose programs were removed from the schedule American Film Institute, 1992-96.

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