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ABC shelves Ellen
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April 24, 1998: 4:22 p.m. ET
ABC joins sitcom shuffle, analysts say new era ahead for Big Three networks
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New York (CNNfn) - ABC confirmed on Friday it has cancelled the sitcom "Ellen" which prompted controversy and falling ratings since its main character came out as a lesbian.
ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co., will air the last Ellen episode May 13, one day before NBC says goodbye to the smash hit Seinfeld.
Ellen, now in its fifth season, was the first program with an openly homosexual lead character.
Ratings for the program peaked during the celebrated episode last April when the show's lead character, Ellen Morgan, and actress Ellen DeGeneres herself, walked out of the closet on coast-to-coast television.
But the ratings began to drop shortly thereafter.
"I loved doing the show every week," DeGeneres said in a statement. "This was an important chapter of my life and although I'm disappointed the show was canceled, I look forward to moving beyond the stereotype. Look for me in my new sitcom, 'Two Girls, a Horse and Some Wine Coolers.'"
"Ellen" episode sparked strong reactions
The decision to bring "Ellen" out of the closet triggered strong reactions in Hollywood as well as Washington. Even Vice President Al Gore commented on the episode, saying Hollywood had allowed Americans to "look at sexual orientation in a more open light."
But, when it came to ratings, "Ellen" failed to hold onto its audience.
ABC ratings took a hit during the latest sweeps week from Feb. 25 - March 4, hurt by the viewer rejection of shows like "Soul Man" and "Cracker" - not to mention the drop in Ellen's ratings.
For the first time ever, Fox Broadcasting Co. beat out one of the Big Three networks in the all-important sweeps week period, blowing past ABC on the success of hit shows "Ally McBeal" and "The X-Files."
Some analysts, however, say the broadcast networks are no longer alone in the race for market share.
"The jury is still out on what's going on at the networks," said PaineWebber analyst Christopher Dixon.
"Whether or not these broadcasters are number one or number three is a little like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic," he said. "To me, the most interesting thing is the shift between broadcast networks as a whole and the cable industry."
To compete with the growing cable networks, Dixon added, broadcasters will have to step up their coverage of high profile events like the Olympics, National Football League events and the Academy Awards.
That's already starting to happen.
ABC playing catch up in ratings war
CBS dominated the recent sweeps with its coverage of the Nagano Winter Olympics, according to Nielsen Media Research.
ABC and NBC will have to catch up, Dixon said.
"ABC is in a development season - this is the first time the new management team has put it altogether," he said. "We won't really know until the fall what it's going to look like."
Raymond L. Katz, an analyst covering The Walt Disney Co. for Bear Stearns in New York, said the canceling of Ellen has no direct financial effect on investors in the $90 billion entertainment company.
The network, he said, has a "long list of pilots" in the hopper, not to mention the still-growing potential of the The Drew Carey Show and Dharma and Greg.
-- by staff writer Shelly Schwartz 
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