THE REST OF TV’S BIGGEST POWER PLAYERS

DAVID ANGELL, PETER CASEY, DAVID LEE

Writer-producers

These three have scored a Tuesday hat trick--in addition to their hits “Frasier” and “Wings,” their new show, “The Pursuit of Happiness,” will premiere with the potent “Frasier” lead-in this fall. The trio has prospered while working with Paramount, and insiders say they could walk into any network and come away with a deal.

ROONE ARLEDGE

President, ABC News

Arledge, 64, continues to be a dominant force in television as he eases into his 18th year at the helm of what was a third-place division when he started. Now “World News Tonight” is the longtime ratings leader among nightly newscasts, “Nightline” often ranks first in late night, and “20/20” and “PrimeTime Live” are going strong in prime time.

BEST-SELLING AUTHORS

Last year we got Tom Clancy’s “Op Center,” Danielle Steel’s “Perfect Stranger” and “Family Album” and Stephen King’s “The Langoliers.” Michael Crichton gave us “ER” as well. This season there’s the series “John Grisham’s The Client.” As they are in feature films, authors are increasingly valuable as sources for television film and series material.

STUART BLOOMBERG

Executive Vice President for Prime Time Entertainment, ABC

Bloomberg is widely considered to be one of the best developers in the business. He is also known to have a prickly relationship with some creators. “Some of these producers want their asses kissed more than Stuart is willing to do,” said one insider. “He’s very honest, and he demands honesty in return.”

STEVEN BOCHCO

Writer-producer

Probably the most powerful and well-regarded producer and creator in television, Bochco, 51, is seen as a true visionary who has changed the face of television with such series as “Hill Street Blues,” “L.A. Law” and his current “NYPD Blue.” Long-term deals with ABC, and now CBS, ensure that what he dreams up gets on the air.

JAMES BURROWS

Director

The Sultan of Sitcoms. Burrows, 54, is regarded as the man with the golden touch, having directed the pilot episodes of such hit series as “Friends,” “Cheers,” “Frasier,” “NewsRadio” and “Wings.” Although he has had his share of flops, his sharp eye for getting the most out of a script has made him one of TV’s most sought-after directors.

MARCY CARSEY, TOM WERNER

Producers

The Carsey-Werner Co. is considered one of the most successful comedy producers on television, having built huge hits around popular comedians Roseanne, Bill Cosby and Brett Butler. The former ABC executives are noted for their ability to attract great stars and have often let the lead talent take control of the show.

ERNEST DEL

Attorney

With clients such as CBS Entertainment President Leslie Moonves and actor-producer Paul Reiser, Del, 43, is highly regarded as one of the few power attorneys in television. He is best known for putting clients together with studios or network executives in order to create a package.

JON FELTHEIMER

President, Sony Television

Feltheimer, 43, may be best known in industry circles as a smooth salesman, but his real strength lies in building TV divisions. In 1984, he successfully launched New World Television. When Sony acquired most of New World’s assets in 1991, he was asked to start from scratch again with TriStar Television. Result: “Mad About You” and “The Nanny.”

LEE GABLER

Creative Artists Agency

Gabler, 45, is president of CAA’s TV department and one of its three new co-chairmen. CAA represents such high-powered clients as David Letterman, Aaron Spelling and the production teams of Wind Dancer and Miller-Boyett. “Everyone likes Lee,” said one insider. “His strength is that he’s a practical, bottom-line guy.”

BRAD GREY

Manager, producer

Grey, 37, represents an aggressive new breed of personal manager with the pull to package and produce TV shows for his 100-plus clients. His charges include Garry Shandling, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman and a stable of premier TV writers. Grey and his partner, Bernie Brillstein, oversee “The Larry Sanders Show” and have a production deal with ABC.

ROBERT HALMI

Chair, Hallmark Entertainment

When it comes to TV movies, Halmi defies comparison. Last year, Hallmark bought out his RHI Entertainment empire for $365 million. The 72-year-old Hungarian will produce 58 movies this year for broadcast and cable, roughly one-fourth of the industry’s annual output. He’s winding down a 12-picture deal with ABC and gearing up for a 36-picture deal with Fox.

HBO

Under Chairman Michael Fuchs, the pay-TV channel has emerged as television’s torchbearer of quality. Feature producers, directors and actors claw to get their special projects made under HBO Pictures President Bob Cooper. Chris Albrecht heads original programming; industry observers are waiting to see if he’ll miss former colleague Bridget Potter, who resigned during the summer.

TONY JONAS

President, Warner Bros. TV

Promoted in July after four years in the No. 2 job, Jonas, 43, commands TV’s largest prime-time series factory, with 21 on the air. He’s known as an effective facilitator with performers and producers. His sales skills may not match those of his former boss, Leslie Moonves, but they may not have to since Moonves is now one of his principal buyers at CBS.

MARTA KAUFFMAN, DAVID CRANE, KEVIN BRIGHT

Writer-producers

The dynamic writing duo of Kauffman and Crane, with producing partner Bright, came to network TV three years ago after creating HBO’s risque “Dream On.” CBS gave them the idea for a family sitcom but they felt shackled, and it bombed. NBC gave them more freedom and they came up with “Friends.”

DAVID E. KELLEY

Writer-producer

Good thing this guy’s never heard of writer’s block. Kelley wrote more than 40 hours of TV last season for his CBS dramas “Chicago Hope” and “Picket Fences.” The former Boston attorney was a protege of Steven Bochco on “L.A. Law,” where he won five Emmys. Kelley, married to Michelle Pfeiffer, recently completed his first feature screenplay for Sony Classics.

DAVID LETTERMAN

Comedian

Yes, he bombed at the Oscars. Yes, Jay Leno is gaining ground. But with CBS’ ratings down across the board, his power will grow as “Late Show” proves one of the network’s steadiest sources of profit. The 47-year-old Letterman’s company already owns Tom Snyder’s “Late Late Show” and is producing a prime-time series, “The Bonnie Hunt Show.”

MARGARET LOESCH

President, Fox Children’s Network

Two years ago, who would have looked at the goofy “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers” and seen a revolution? Loesch did. She’s spent 24 years developing and producing more than 100 live-action and animated children’s programs. The 49-year-old former president of Marvel Productions has turned Fox into the leader in children’s TV revenues.

KERRY McCLUGGAGE

Chairman, Paramount Television

If ever there was a TV czar, McCluggage, 41, may be it. He reigns over the industry’s most successful syndication business, led by the ubiquitous “Star Trek” franchise. He runs a bustling TV studio that produces 40 hours of programming a week. He oversees a station group of 11 stations. Oh, yeah, and he designed Paramount’s new TV network, UPN.

JAMIE McDERMOTT

Senior vice president, prime-time series, NBC Entertainment

At 31, she’s television’s fastest-rising female executive. Last summer, the onetime studio casting director was put in charge of NBC’s entire prime-time development division. The other networks are largely patterning themselves after the young-adult shows she has shepherded, including “Friends,” “Frasier” and “Mad About You.”

MADISON AVENUE

Viewers watch the programs, but advertisers pay the bills. That gives them a big voice in calling the shots. Their demand to attract 18- to 49-year-old viewers set the agenda for this year’s network schedules. If more of them were interested in reaching people over 50, “Murder, She Wrote” wouldn’t be moving to Thursdays.

WILLIAM MORRIS AGENCY

Television’s deepest and most powerful agency stresses “the team approach.” TV head Bob Crestani oversees 50 agents worldwide, who work with much of the industry’s top talent. Under Sam Haskell, the agency will have 18 network series on this season, while Mark Itkin has more TV shows in syndication and cable than all his competitors combined.

GAVIN PALONE

United Talent Agency

Palone is president of the agency’s TV department, whose clients include Larry David, Ellen DeGeneres and Dick Wolf. He’s regarded as a master of recognizing and developing young writing talent but has also been called self-absorbed and tough. One industry executive refers to him as a “force of nature, like a hurricane. You just have to deal with it.”

ROSEANNE

Actress-producer

While many celebrities can throw their weight around to get a project on the air, few actually do it, and nobody does it like Roseanne. Rather than take her fee of $1 million-plus per episode and run, the 1990s comedy queen, 41, is on the move. Her production company, Full Moon & Tide, has a deal with ABC to produce up to four series.

AARON SPELLING

Producer

The man whom the Guinness Book of Records calls the “most productive television producer of all time” is still considered a powerhouse. “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Melrose Place” are still going strong, and another series is coming for midseason. Spelling, 67, is regarded as one of the nicest producers around, as well as one of the most reliable.

TABLOIDS

Forget “Hard Copy” and “A Current Affair.” All of TV has embraced elements of the tabloids. Murder and mayhem on the evening news. Sex and scandal on the talk shows. TV movies about O.J., Roseanne and Madonna. Michael Jackson on “PrimeTime Live.” Elizabeth Hurley on “20/20.” And there are at least three new prime-time series set at tabloids.

TED TURNER

Television mogul

Turner, 56, is one of the most influential executives in TV history. He was an early visionary in cable, making his Atlanta station TBS available by satellite. He then created the revolutionary CNN and followed with TNT, Headline News, Turner Classic Movies and the Cartoon Network. He occasionally commissions specific movies and documentaries.

DEAN VALENTINE

President, Walt Disney TV

Valentine has powerful responsibilities ranging from the supervision of “The Disney Afternoon” and Saturday morning cartoons to overseeing nine prime-time series, including the hits “Ellen” and “Home Improvement.” Disney is the only programming supplier to have at least one show on the four major and two fledgling networks.

WASHINGTON

TV stations are licensed to operate by the federal government. So when Congress rattles legislative sabers about curbing TV violence, or when the Federal Communications Commission suggests there should be more children’s shows, programmers take heed. V-chip, anyone?

MATT WILLIAMS

Writer-producer

Williams was a playwright when he joined “The Cosby Show” its first season. He went on to co-create “A Different World,” create “Roseanne” and team with David McFadzean and Carmen Finestra--his partners in Wind Dancer Productions--to develop “Home Improvement.” “Thunder Alley” didn’t survive, but they’ve got another series for midseason.

OPRAH WINFREY

Host-producer

Her ratings declined last season, and yet she still outdistanced her many talk show imitators: That’s how potent a force the 41-year-old Winfrey remains in daytime TV. Moreover, she’s parlayed her power beyond the genre, producing “Afterschool Specials” for ABC last season and now movies. Her Harpo Films has a six-picture deal with the network.

PAUL JUNGER WITT, TONY THOMAS

Producers

Witt, left, and Thomas--the duo behind “The Golden Girls,” “Soap” and “The John Larroquette Show”--always have at least a few series on the air. One reason for their success, insiders say, is Witt’s fierce competitiveness. “Everything must be the best for him--the best stars, the best time slot, the best everything,” said one.

KEN ZIFFREN

Attorney

Ziffren, a partner in the firm Brittenham, Branca & Fischer, has been called a quiet storm and probably the most powerful attorney working in television today. Ziffren, 55, structured the biggest network affiliation realignment in TV history with New World and Fox, and his firm represents one-third of TV’s prime-time producers.

BOB BRODER

Broder Kurland Webb & Uffner

In a town of flash, Broder would rather be known for substance. No problem there, considering he represents producers of such popular TV series as “The X-Files,” “The Nanny,” “Coach” and “Cheers.” Although he’s primarily a literary agent, the low-profile Broder receives a healthy packaging commission for gainfully employing his talented writers.

JIM JAKOWAY

Attorney

Jakoway’s list of clients, including David Letterman, Sally Jessy Raphael, Matt Williams and Wind Dancer Productions, makes many in the industry green with envy. Some find his negotiating style a bit too blunt, but he’s generally praised as a straight-ahead, no-nonsense attorney.