• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, September 13, 2003

Shares of ABC parent Walt Disney Co. fell 2.1% Friday as news spread of the untimely death of "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" star John Ritter. The surprise development also left media buyers and ad execs scrambling over what to do about their ABC primetime schedules less than two weeks before the start of the new season.

The sudden death couldn't have come at a worse time for the network or its parent, which was beginning to stage a rally in its stock price. But investors apparently lost some confidence following news of Ritter's death at the age of 54.

Ritter was filming the fourth episode of the new sophomore season of "8 Rules" when he collapsed on the set and died of undiagnosed heart ailment. "8 Rules," which was schedule to launch its second season on Sept. 23, was the centerpiece of ABC's primetime turnaround strategy, leading of its 8 p.m. Tuesday night slot.

ABC executives were scrambling to come up with contingency plans and had no comment on how they might adjust their schedule, or if and how "8 Rules" might continue production. The show likely figured prominently in 2003-04 upfront advertising deals and industry practices would require ABC to let some advertisers out of buys involving that show if it did not air.

At the very least, ABC would likely have to provide "8 Rules" advertisers with substantive upgrades involving replacement series. While "8 Rules" ranked only 43 of the 190 shows airing during the 2002-03 season, it was a critical hit and showed the kind of traction that many media buyers expected would result in long-term success.