TCA: McPherson Looks Ahead 

By Ben Grossman -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/14/2007 6:07:00 PM

ABC entertainment president Steve McPherson said Sunday that sidelined series The Nine and Six Degrees still may return to the network before the end of the season.

He also did not rule out the debuts of The Traveler, Notes From the Underbelly and October Road before May as well.

McPherson also said the remaining episodes of the cancelled Daybreak will be put online by the end of February, after the resolution of a music rights issue.

Other highlights of McPherson’s presentation to reporters Sunday at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena:

· He is considering running Lost for 22 straight episodes next season, either in the fall or spring.

· He once again expects Fox to program American Idol as often as it can.  “I’m sure Fox will run as many two-hour Idols as they can to win the 18-49s and beat up on us a little,” he said.

· He backed ABC late-night franchise Jimmy Kimmel Live.  “[Jimmy] really deserves a lot of credit and we brought in a new executive producer [Jill Leiderman] and she deserves a lot of credit,” he said. “Late night is still a place we can earn a lot of money and have a lot of success and we think he will be a part of this network for a long time.”