• by Ken Liebeskind , August 20, 2001

Last week’s reports about CBS pulling rerun episodes of Family Law because Procter & Gamble pulled ads from the show seem somewhat inaccurate.

As reported by media many outlets last week, the broadcaster had scheduled the episode, which dealt with kids and gun violence, to air on Aug. 13. But CBS then pulled the episode and replaced it with another repeat after execs were reminded that consumer products giant Procter & Gamble would not advertise in the episode.

MediaPost spoke with Vicky Mayer, a P&G spokeswoman, who set the record straight, noting that P&G hadn't advertised on those shows when they first ran, so their decision not to advertise on the reruns was insignificant. "It's a non story," she said.

She also said the reason CBS pulled the shows wasn't because of P&G but because of a "lack of support among advertisers." All advertisers, not just P&G. A CBS spokesman declined to comment.

CBS released a statement on Friday after the story broke, confirming Mayer's statement. "Neither Procter & Gamble nor its agency asked for or suggested these changes," the network said. It made the move in an effort to "rebroadcast episodes that have the most sales potential," it said.

But CBS may have made the move to placate P&G, which recently signed a $300 million advertising contract with CBS's parent, Viacom. The amount represents about a third of the money P&G spends on U.S. network and cable TV.

The issue prompted cries of censorship on the part of TV advertisers, but P&G isn't censoring network TV. It pulled ads from the CBS reality show Big Brother earlier this summer, but it didn't censor the show.

MediaPost has also reported on P&G's participation in the Family Friendly Programming Forum, an Association of National Advertisers initiative to fund family friendly script development. That has led to a few prime time shows P&G supports, a better tactic, perhaps, than removing ads from other shows.