BIG BIRD SELLING OUT?

Public television's disdain for the corporate pitch may soon give way to soap-sponsored "Sesame Street" and paeans to petroleum on "Masterpiece Theater."Anticipating deep budget cuts threatened by the GOP, a new report commissioned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting proposes "enhanced underwriting," a euphemism for 15-to-30-second spots that could generate as much as $8.2 million for television in the first year. "We face the prospect of losing 14 percent of the system's gross revenues," Peter Downey, a PBS senior vice president, told the Associated Press. "Where do you turn?" The spots, which would not interrupt programming, first require FCC approval.