The Post-Crescent from Appleton, Wisconsin • 22

i i I i Leisure July 1 2, 1 986 Th Post-rscnt 'Monday Night Football' may be dumped because of large expense "inn iyj le, MM. Deeb "Monday Night Football" may be something of the past next year. Unless ABC Sports president Dennis Swan son can convince the National Football League commissioner, Pete Rozelle, to lower the television rights fee substantially, the network is likely to dump the long-running prime-time football series and substitute with regular entertainment programming. "Football is a product that's very successful, the audience ratings were up last season and yet there's no way we can set our advertising rates high enough to avoid a huge loss," Swanson said. "The numbers just don't add up, and I hope Pete and the other top people in the NFL will real- A Jl 11 1 ize that when it comes time for a contract renewal." Swanson said the current NFL television deal was negotiated during a time of overwhelming inflation five years ago.

It was expected that our nation's inflation rate would continue at a double-digit clip for an indefinite period, and therefore ABC's contract with the NFL made sense at that time. But under President Reagan, annual inflation has plummeted from 13 to a puny 3 to 4 a nice situation for most Americans, but absolute poison for ABC. Thus, the "Monday Night Football" setup that looked so favorable a few years ago now ranks as the No. 1 contributor to the annual $40 million deficit at ABC Sports. And, inside sources say Swanson isn't engaging in mere saber-rattling when he beefs about the tremendous expense of the Monday football telecasts; he's dead serious about dropping the games in 1987 if he can't cut a deal that'll wipe out future losses for his network.

On another front, Swanson says it'll be impossible for ABC to avoid heavy losses on its two weeks of coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. That $309 million Olympic agreement was put together by Swan-son's predecessor, the legendary Roone Arledge, but Swanson now says ABC won't spend nearly as freely in the future. Should the pro football power brokers refuse to cut their rights fees by a considerable amount, there's still one strong possibility that could salvage "Monday Night a major advertiser could split the rights fee with ABC in exchange for a retitling of the telecasts. In other words, starting next year, we could be watching "The Miller Lite Beer Monday Night Football Game." Besides pro football, you can bet that both ABC and NBC will shoot for big reductions in the rights fees for major league baseball. The age of runaway pricing in television sports definitely is coming to an end.

And ABC the network that triggered the cost escalation in the last 1970s and early '80s now looms as the pioneer in reversing that trend. NETWORKING: NBC News is taking a lot of bows because last week Comedy was the first time since 1981 that "The CBS Evening News" with Dan Rather tumbled into last place in the network news audience battle. The fact is that CBS is getting clobbered nearly every night in the prime-time entertainment numbers, particularly during the summer rerun season, and there's no way that Rather Co. can avoid getting damaged by a spillover of those rotten Nielsen ratings. Meanwhile, NBC's entertainment schedule continues to be far and away No.

1 and the modest increase in viewership for Tom Brokaw's "NBC Nightly News" is less of a vote of confidence for Brokaw than it is an overflow of NBC's nighttime popularity in general. Cloris Leachman returns to TV LOS ANGELES (AP) Cloris Leachman will return to television in "The Facts of Life," after a nine-year absence from the small screen. Leachman earned best supporting actress Emmys in 1974 and 1975 for her role as the quirky Phyllis Lind-strom in the "Mary Tyler Moore Show." That role spun off into her own television show, "Phyllis." Leachman, who has a total of six Emmys and an Academy Award for best supporting actress in "The Last Picture Show," will be introduced in the fall as Beverly Ann, sister of Edna Garrett, the character portrayed by Charlotte Rae on the NBC-TV series, which enters its eighth season this fall. Alan King stars as a business tycoon who gives up Wall Street to teach college and Dina Merrill plays his wife, Nan, in "The Alan King Show," a half-hour comedy to be broadcast today on CBS. Trekkies ready for next film given by Starlog magazine, a publication for Trekkies.

This much is known for certain: The Enterprise crew goes back in time to present-day San Francisco where they meet with a marine biologist who helps them try to solve a 23rd century problem. LOS ANGELES (AP) There's no group more tenacious than the Trekkies, those people who collect, discuss and follow all there is to know about "Star Trek," both as a television series and movies. The Trekkies are such big fans that even the most carefully guarded secrets of "Star Trek" movie plots are common knowledge among them months in advance of the film's release. "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," due out in December, is no exception. Rumors were rampant at the recent "Star Trek" 20th anniversary party Obsessed Michael Douglas stars as a man so obsessed with the chance to run in the Olympics that he is willing to risk the 1 love of his wife and family for the one shot at glory in "Running," the ABC Saturday Night Movie tonight.

TV schedule y-- 5-9 Wheel of Fortune 7 It's a Living 11 Music Cltv U.S.A. 38 G.I. Diary 7 p.m. 2-7 The Alan King Show 5-9 Different Strokes 11 Facts of Life 26 Movie Concrete Cowboys 32 Goodwill Games 38 Saturday Express 7:38 a.m. 5-9 Benson 11227 8 a.m.

2-7 Movie The Cowboys 5-9 Movie Running 11 The Golden Girls 8:18 p.m. 11 Me and Mrs. 38 Special: Stone Carvers 9 p.m. 11 Remington Steele' Miniseries 32 Honno-Barbera 38 The Ultimate High 9:10 a.m. 5 Christian Children's Fund 7 Face the Nation 11 Jimmy Swaggert 38 European Journal 18 a.m.

5 It is Written 7 Day of Discovery 26 AWA Wrestling 38 The MacLoughlin Group 14:14 a.m. 2 Mork and Mindy 5- 9 This Week with David Brlnklev 7 Choice Is Yours 11 Day of Discovery 32 Kids Inc. 38 Washington Week in Review II a.m. 2 Laverneond Shirley 7 Jerry Goetsch 6 Telephone Auction Shopping Program 11 Meet the Press 26 Telephone auction shopping program 32 Goodwill Games 38 Wall Street Week 11:18 a.m. 5 Muppets 9 Lome Green's Wild Outdoors 11 Sportsman's Friend 38 Market to Market 7 Slor Search Pr' '9 Wrestling 32 Dudley Do-Right II Saturday Night :10 Live 7 Abbott and costello 26 Tales from the 9 World of Lifel 1 Darkside Eight is Enough 38 Brass 32 Terrahawks 11:88 a.m.

m. 5 Star Trek 2 Mass for the Shut- 26 Movie The Castle ins of Terror 5 Children Caught In a 32 The Canned Film Crossfire Festival 7 Mass 38 Non Fiction Tele- 9 Jerry Falwell vision 11 Jacques Cousteau 11:18 p.m. 26 Dr. James 7 Solid Gold Kennedy 9 Movie Dressed to 32 Kldeo TV Kill 38 Sesame Street MIDNIGHT 7:38 a.m. 2 CHIPS 2 Expect a Miracle 5 MTV top 20 7 Lundstroms 11 Movie Night of the 8 a.m.

Blood Monster 2 Sunday Morning 12:38 a.m. 5 Hour of Power 7 Entertainment 7 Sunday Morning Tonight 9 Jimmy Swaggert 32 Route 66 26 Ken Copelond 1:88 a.m. 38 Six Gun Heroes 26 Solid Gold a.m. 1:18 a.m. II Jery Falwell 9 Untouchables 32 Super Sunday 3:18 a.m.

9 a.m. 9 News 5 The World Tomor- SUNOAV row 4 a.m. 9 Movie Spook Cha- 2 CHIPS sers e. 26 Dr. Frederick 26 Ernest Anglev ing 38 Modern Maturity 9:18 a.m.

5-9 Ewoks and Druids 11 Punky Brewster 32 Fishing the West 38 This Old House 1 a.m. 2 CBS Storybook 7 Richie Rich 11 Alvin ond the Chimpmunks 26 Wrestling 32 Great American Outdoors 38 Victory Garden 18:18 o.m. 2-7 Dungeons and Dragons 5-9 Super Powers 11 Ktdd Video 32 New Wilderness 3 The Malic of Oil Painting II a.m. 2 Land of the Lost 5 Flipper 7 Pole Position -ABC Weekend 11 Wrestling 26 Star Search 32 Tha Goodwill Games 38 Dining kt Fronce II a.m. 2 Charlie Brown and Snoopy 5 American Bands tand 7 Get Along Gong 9 The Joy ol Gardening 38 Frugal Gourmet SATURDAY P.M.

Noon CHIPS 7 U.S. Farm Report 9 Hawaii Flve-0 11 Greatest Sports Legends 26 Polka Show 38 The Woodwright's Shop 12:31 em. 5 U.S. Farm Report 7 Muppets 11 Baseball 26 In Search 38 Outdoor Wisconsin 1 a.m. 2 Movie Frankenstein 5 Gentle Ben 7 Popcorn Playhouse 9 North Country Sportsman 26 Movie Geronimo 38 Motorweek 1:18 a.m.

2 Guns moke 5-9 U.S. Women's Opem 38 Bodywotch 2 a.m. 38 Novo O- I a.m. 26 Incredible Hulk 38 Moneymakers 3:18 P.m. 7 Winston Cup 5 9 Wild World of Sports 1 1 Anheuser-Busch Golf Classic 38 Cats ond Dogs 4 a.m.

6 Greatest American Hero 38 The Cinema of Hopolong 5 a.m. 2 Mork ond Minday 5 Wild Kingdom 7 Alice 9 Rocky Mountain Inn 11 Hee Haw 26 Puttln' On the Hits 32 The Dance Machine 38 Hopolong Cassldv 5:18 p.m. 2-7 CBS News 5-9 World News Tonight 26 It's A Living 38 Sneak Previews 4 P.m. 2-5-7-9-11 News 26 Lifestyles of the Rich ond Famous 32 Black Sheep Squadron 38 Nashville Skyline 6:38 a.m. 2 Happy Days SAT'IRDAY A.M.

a.m. 2 Chips 5 Inquiry a.m. Weekend Special 7 Muppets 9-oullwlnkla 24 Jem 7 a.m. 2-7 The Wuizles 5-9 Pink Panther 8, Sons 11 Snorks 26 Whil Kids TV Hlah School 7:19 a.m. 1- 7 The Berensteln Bean 5-9 The Littles II Gummi Bears 32 Sea lab 2020 I a.m.

2- 7 Muppet Babies and Monsters 5-f Bugs Bunny 11 The Smurts 26 B.J. Lobo 32 Check It Out 38 Six Gun Her os a.m. 31 Ted Knlaht Show a.m. 2-7 Hulk Hoaan's Rack n' Wrestling 5-9 Laff-o-Lvmpie 26 Kuna Fu 12 The Jov of Garden 26 MTV Summer Con Mack Crawford (Joseph Bottoms) marries physical therapist Susan French (Tess Harper) after she helps rescue him from a crippli.ig injury after a serious college football mishap in part one of "Celebrity." The 6'2-hour miniseries begins on the NBC Sunday Night at the Movies. cert 38 Austin City Limits 18 p.m.

2-5-7-9-11 News 26 Donee Fever 18 Yes Minister 19:14 a.m. Grli 2 Movie Killer Iv 5 Benny Hill.