Disney marches ahead with plan for own parade.

Disney marches ahead with plan for own parade

In the 1969 Andy Griffith film "Angel in My Pocket," parades for competing political candidates meet face-to-face on a town street, each insisting the other back up and get out of the way.

Last week, KCAL-TV (Channel 9) started what could become a local battle of Desert Storm parades, but the processions involved won't have to worry about meeting on the same roadway.

Indignant about an exclusive deal negotiated between KTLA-TV (Channel 5) and Mayor Tom Bradley's office for sponsorship and broadcast rights to a homecoming parade for Persian Gulf troops down Hollywood streets, KCAL said it plans to hold its own parade the same week - at Disneyland.

Meanwhile, KNBC-TV (Channel 4) has discovered a U.S. District Court decision from Illinois, in which the court found that parades are not subject to copyright protection and that arrangements worked out between promoters and stations do not prohibit another station from telecasting the same parade.

KNBC and KCAL were outraged last month when they learned KTLA had obtained the support of the City of Los Angeles and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, along with broadcast and syndication rights, for a May 19 parade welcoming home soldiers from Operation Desert Storm. Although the parade was KTLA's idea, KCAL and KNBC said it was illegal to exclude them from broadcasting a civic event on public streets.

Bradley offered the stations a compromise under which they could air the KTLA parade if they contributed $250,000 to a parade expense fund (as KTLA did) and agreed not to syndicate the event, put it on network television or air commercials during the parade. None of the stations agreed to the terms.

Matt Cooperstein, program director at KCAL, which is owned by Walt Disney Co., said KCAL is making plans to welcome home the troops in its own way during Armed Forces Week, the week of the KTLA parade.

While the plans are "not in stone," Cooperstein said they tentatively include hosting a parade at Disneyland in Anaheim. He said he was unsure whether attendance would be limited to those paying Disneyland admission but he stressed that the park is always open to other television stations.

"Maybe they (the public) wouldn't pay admission. Maybe they'll have free admission for the troops. I don't know whether the park would be open to the public," said Cooperstein. "The media has open access to Disneyland at all times."

He said his "first inclination" is to allow equal access to any station wishing to broadcast the Disney parade.

"I personally don't agree with the position KTLA is taking," said Cooperstein.

KCAL is continuing to talk to other Los Angeles stations about pool coverage of the KTLA parade and is planning a week of special newscasts from military bases across California, said Cooperstein. KCAL airs three hours of news during prime time daily.

"We may do something that entire week. It should be more than one event. It should be more than just KTAL's parade," said Randy Reiss, executive vice president of Walt Disney Studios. "They (KTLA) are trying to make a buck without looking at the full exposure possibilities. . . . I don't think there's a lot of money to be made; I think it's a bigger issue. They're trying to make it small."

Told about the possibilities of a Disneyland parade, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce President Bill Welsh said only: "Congratulations. I could do nothing about it."

But KTLA parade organizer Johnny Grant said he thinks the Disney parade is "a wonderful idea."

"I hope every community and every entity has a celebration to welcome home the troops," said Grant. "If they want my help, I'll come out and help them for free."

The Illinois court case that KNBC says supports it's position sprung from a situation in which WGN-TV of Chicago planned to broadcast a Christmas parade, after parade promoters had made a deal to grant exclusive rights to WLS-TV, an ABC station. Ironically, WGN, which won the case, is owned by the same company that owns KTLA - Tribune Entertainment Co.

In the Illinois case, the parade promoters, Production Contractors Inc., sued to stop WGN from televising the parade, claiming PCI held a negotiable copyright and that the WGN-threatened broadcast would violate laws against deceptive advertising by implying that WGN was a sponsor.

The court found that: "Parade promoter had no cause of action under federal copyright and unfair trade practices laws to prevent live telecast of Christmas parade by television station other than that authorized by promoter."

Welsh declined comment on the precedent case, noting that it was Bradley's office that negotiated the KTLA deal.

Mayor Bradley's spokesman did not return repeated phone calls last week.

Grant declined to comment further on any issues related to the exclusive broadcasting deal, saying: "They can all go out there. I really don't care."