Aaron Barnhart's TVBARN.COM

Upfronts start today
Reports: 'Sports Night' a goner, 'Frasier' moved

NEW YORK — This is the week when the big six TV networks present their fall schedules to advertisers. TV Barn is here to cover all the pageantry and absurdity. Read my preview in Monday's Kansas City Star

As is traditional, NBC will begin this year's upfronts (named for the annual rite in which broadcasters sell out most of their commercial time for the upcoming season ... up ... front). The network has rented out the Metropolitan Opera House for this year's big gig. And if you think that's expensive, read how much money they had to pay to keep the "Friends" on their network.

How farfetched was it that NBC would actually drop "Friends" from its schedule? Perhaps about as much as ABC continuing to air the poor-performing "Sports Night." This weekend, a member of a "Sports Night" discussion list posted a message saying that she had e-mailed series creator Aaron Sorkin asking if it was true the show had been cancelled. This was the response she posted: "Sarah, I'm sorry to report that it's true. Tommy [Schlamme] and I are absorbing the news for the moment, and we'll re-group tomorrow to discuss the future. In the meantime, don't miss Tuesday night's show."

ALSO:

Variety: "Frasier" moved off Thursdays in "aggressive" NBC schedule shuffle (story also reveals some ABC, WB plans)

"Friends" pact worth $207 million

View "Friends" fan pages — all named after the "Central Perk" coffee shop — in Spanish, French, and I'd list one for English, but I can't find one that doesn't come with a ridiculous pop-up screen

ABC to affiliate: Don't air our show!

Less than five days after ABC angrily demanded that its programs be returned to Time Warner Cable systems across the country, an ABC official called Kansas City affiliate KMBC-TV and asked the station not to run an ABC show.

The bizarre request came after the network learned that many of its affiliates would not be airing last Sunday's edition of "This Week," the news program anchored by Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts. KMBC program director Pat Patton was told that affiliates were pre-empting "This Week" to carry ABC's coverage of the NHL playoffs.

KMBC had no such conflict. The hockey game started a half-hour after "This Week" was scheduled to end. Yet Patton was asked if he could find a way to pre-empt the show anyway.

The reason: All those defections would certainly hamper the Nielsen ratings average for "This Week." However, if just a few more stations agreed to pre-empt, Nielsen would not have a sufficient nationwide sample to include in "This Week's" season-long Nielsen rating.

In golf terms, ABC was asking for a mulligan — and got it. The network went ahead and broadcast "This Week," but many stations didn't air it, including KMBC, which filled the hour with infomercials. Some viewers complained, and Patton said he understands their frustration, but honoring network requests is part of being a good affiliate.

Still, Patton admitted, "I've done this job a long time, and I've never gotten a call like this."

Said an ABC spokesman, "It was a network decision, an extremely rare one, not likely to happen again ... on a regular basis."

(A version of this story appeared in Saturday's Kansas City Star.)

The politics of "Jesus"

Missed the first night of the "Jesus" miniseries on CBS? That's okay. It's not like you can't figure out what went on. (Though you may need to know this: Joseph died in the first act.) But aside from the novel efforts to retell The Greatest Story Ever Told, I was struck by the political subtext of "Jesus." I'm not even sure the program's producers were quite aware of the movie's anti-war message. Read my story in Sunday's Kansas City Star

Part two of "Jesus" airs 9 p.m. Wednesday on CBS.

Pick To Click: Women in Prison: Another Visit

Last year Ted Koppel visited the California Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, Calif., and used it as the backdrop for six terrific ``Nightline'' programs on the conditions of women's prisons. Through the miracle of cable, you'll be able to revisit Chowchilla — and see two hours of brand-new programs on women and prison — during this week's editions of Court TV's "Crime Stories" (10 p.m. weeknights).

Among the themes explored this week: motherhood behind bars, the ``revolving door'' effect of prison on women, a profile of a female serial killer and a look at the effect of mandatory drug-sentencing laws on the female prison population.

Catherine Crier's daily newsmagazine "Crier Today" (1 p.m., Court TV) also will devote itself to the subject of women and prison. She'll interview Koppel on Tuesday's show.

Also in lockup: "Investigative Reports" (9 p.m., A&E) profiles three convicts in Nevada as their cases are heard by the state parole board.