Frederick S. Pierce began working at ABC Television 13 years after the company’s birth. Starting as an analyst in television research in 1956, Pierce held over 14 positions until resigning as vice chairman of Capital Cities/ABC in January 1986. Pierce’s period of greatest accomplishment came from 1974 through 1979, when he served as president of ABC Television. However, he began formulating policies and strategies during the 1950s and 1960s as ABC defined its path in network broadcasting.

Before ABC’s programming department built momentum, CBS and NBC were already entrenched, funneling talent from their established artist bureaus in radio to television affiliates. Both networks had money and leverage, which were an attraction to advertisers, and had independent producers ready to invest. ABC, relying on inexpensive and varied programs, targeted different audiences; Leonard H. Goldenson, ABC’s founder and ex-owner of United Paramount Theaters, sought product and collaborative efforts in Hollywood. In this programming environment, Pierce moved up through research, sales, development, and planning until becoming president of ABC Television in October 1974.

On a daily basis, Goldenson phoned the research and sales development department, requesting sales and rating numbers from Pierce, a practice that started a professional and personal bond between them. In the 1950s and 1960s, ABC pursued the youth market with programs such as American Bandstand and Maverick and relied on a mixture of programs, hoping to find a niche in the diversity of Bewitched, Mod Squad, and Marcus Welby, M.D. The network experimented with violent program content, such as Bus Stop, and stressed nontraditional sports, including rodeo and wrestling. Pierce’s singular characteristic of persevering within these boundaries made ABC an industry power. Reaching number one in prime time in 1976–77, and maintaining the position for two more seasons, Pierce captured the young, urban viewer with comedy and action, produced longer and more elaborate miniseries and special programs, offered glossy production values in sports programming, and even redirected afternoon soaps toward youth. As president of the Television Division, Pierce introduced three megahits, Happy Days, Taxi, and Mork and Mindy. The violence and tame sexual content of The Rookies, Baretta, S.W.A.T., and Charlie’s Angels that angered critics was a natural progression of ABC under Pierce’s leadership, the outcome of taking risks and looking—for more than a decade—for any different approach.

Pierce brought passion and dauntless optimism to the conception, development, and scheduling of ABC programming. The news programs Nightline, 20/20, and Good Morning, America were introduced under his leadership. The network’s strategy stemmed from innovation, experimentation, risk, and diversity—words Pierce frequently employed. He introduced the “living schedule,” the practice of testing five to eight new series in late winter and the spring, each for a month or more, in preparation for fall scheduling. Pierce also referred to this practice, to be adopted by the other networks, as “investment spending,” and he thought of it as a way of respecting and responding to audience feedback. When the “family-viewing hour” was instituted, Pierce scheduled comedies and other fare from 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. and followed with action-adventure programs, Monday through Friday. The strategy, called “ clotheslining” or “ridgepoling,” succeeded in holding viewers.

Before and after ABC’s hold on first place, Pierce brought a new perspective. If an ABC program ranked third in its time slot, it was a failure by industry standards. In his view, though, and therefore the view of ABC, even a third-place program was a success if its rating with a specific target audience was large, for these numbers could translate into value to the advertiser. The other networks soon followed Pierce’s view of program assessment and focused attention and efforts on material developed with specific demographic groups in mind.

In the drive for success, Pierce programmed “events” that could draw critical attention and viewership. The miniseries was transformed into such a television event, at times lasting, as in the cases of Roots and The Winds of War, more than seven nights. Under the supervision of Roone Arledge as president of ABC Sports, sports coverage became a central source of revenue for ABC. The quest for a hit sports event meant Pierce’s approval of large outlays of money for programming such as the Olympics and championship boxing matches. When one event was a success, it justified Pierce’s spending but kept the company in a precarious position for the long term.

The news division received the least amount of attention from Pierce until he convinced Goldenson to appoint Arledge president of ABC News in 1977. Pierce believed sports and news held a conceptual common ground. Arledge agreed and successfully applied engaging production techniques with commentators seeking celebrity status in American homes. Although Pierce believed Arledge could assist the news division, Pierce also made the dramatic move of hiring Barbara Walters as an additional safeguard.

Since Pierce was driven by a lifelong commitment to ABC, he expected the same loyalty in return. He stated publicly that he sought the presidency of ABC, but in January 1974 Goldenson first appointed him executive vice president in charge of ABC Television, with the added responsibilities of developing the company’s cable, pay-per-view, and video projects, before naming him president of ABC Television in October of that year, responsible for five divisions: entertainment, finance and planning, the TV network, ABC-owned stations, and sports. However, Pierce had difficulty positioning ABC in the larger media puzzle with some of the projects he initiated. From 1978 through 1980, Pierce baffled the industry with his statements against cable, calling for the protection of free television and criticizing cable’s unrestricted content. But other statements soon followed, describing cable as a tool for diverse programming. Pierce’s credibility began to be questioned.

In the 1970s Pierce was surrounded at different times by such prominent figures as Arledge, Fred Silverman, Barry Diller, and Michael Eisner. He pursued Silverman for the position of president of ABC Entertainment, and they worked efficiently together. But upon Silverman’s departure, Pierce became highly critical of Silverman’s limitations, minimizing his contributions to ABC’s turnaround. Pierce was self-consciously basking in the glory of establishing ABC as a powerful network. The situation began to change. Pierce all but abandoned action-adventure series by 1980, when they were partly responsible for securing young, urban male viewers. He did not recognize the changes developing in television’s collaborative arrangements with Hollywood. He continued to depend on the “living schedule,” with its rush to find a hit within four weeks, and in so doing alienated producers whose programs were removed from the schedule without time for the series to develop an audience. As president of ABC, Inc., he surrounded himself with allies, including Tony Thomopoulous, president of ABC Television, Pierce’s most cherished area.

Pierce reached the top of ABC as numerous ventures stalled in development, when money was already committed to major events, and shareholders were demanding fiscal prudence. After ABC was purchased by Capital Cities, Pierce needed Tom Murphy, the new chair and chief executive officer, to position ABC for the future. Pierce, however, had no inclination of what the future held. CapCities’ assessment of ABC and what needed to be done significantly excluded him. By the time of his resignation in 1986, he expressed amazement and disbelief at the turn of events, suggesting an inability to perceive the complex and unstable structure he helped build.

Since leaving ABC Pierce has continued to be active in the entertainment industry. With his two sons, Richard and Keith, he founded the Frederick S. Pierce Company, dedicated to quality films and television programs. The company’s projects included the four-part 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (ABC, 1997) and the Emmy-winning The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom (HBO, 1993). Since 1998 Pierce has been an executive producer of the American Film Institute’s centennial salute to American cinema, including the institute’s 100 Years, 100 Passions in June 2002. Pierce comes to this yearly project after serving as chairman of the American Film Institute’s Board of Trustees from 1992 to 1996.