Fall TV schedule delayed

Suggesting that in the current national atmosphere it would be impossible to build excitement over their new fall shows, ABC and CBS on Thursday followed the lead of NBC the day before and said that they would delay next week’s scheduled launch of their fall lineups. Privately, TV news execs indicated that they were concerned that a launch next week might be interrupted anyway by coverage of whatever military response the U.S. intends to take. (News crews were reportedly being dispatched to Islamabad, Pakistan near Afghanistan in case of a U.S. attack on the Taliban. Networks were also reportedly beefing up other news crews in the Middle East.) Programmers also indicated that they wanted more time to examine the content of the shows to determine its propriety in the wake of the tragedy. CBS spokesman Chris Ender told today’s Boston Globe: “Our programming executives are looking at every script, every episode, to make sure nothing inappropriate gets broadcast in light of what’s happened.” HBO took the unusual step Thursday of yanking its ad and promotional campaign for the epic miniseries Band of Brothers but leaving the show itself on its schedule. The third episode of the $125-million series is scheduled to air this Sunday.