GIVE US YOUR TV CAMERAS But only for 16 minutes, unless they belong to ABC

Producer David Wolper does not believe in small gestures, especially when large expensive ones will do. For next month's four-day extravaganza celebrating the refurbished Statue of Liberty, Wolper has lined up 850 drill- team members, 300 tap dancers, 200 Elvis Presley impersonators, 150 banjo players, two aircraft carriers and one President of the United States. To help pay the spectacle's $30 million bill, Wolper offered the TV rights to the networks. ABC bid $10 million, beating out NBC, the only other network that took part in the auction. ABC's competitors did not mind losing the mock Presleys, but they did have...

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