Wanted: Sponsor for 'Masterpiece'

Got a few million extra dollars lying around someplace? You could have your name attached to one of the more prestigious titles on television.

"Masterpiece Theatre" is about to get a new name.

After 35 years as, first, "Mobil Masterpiece Theatre" and, more recently, "ExxonMobil Masterpiece Theatre," it's going to go it alone after this season. And not by choice.

ExxonMobil announced nearly two years ago that it would no longer underwrite the series to the tune of $6 million to $8 million a year. And, despite the best efforts of the show's producer, WGBH in Boston, and PBS's top management, no replacement has been found.

"I've got to tell you -- I find this one completely confusing and perplexing," said PBS president Pat Mitchell. "This is one of the biggest brands in television. . . . It's just had two of the best seasons in its history. It's got another fantastic one coming up. I mean, all you have to do is look at this program. Who wouldn't want to be associated with this?"

Apparently, just about everybody. Because PBS has been beating the bushes to find an underwriter without success.

ExxonMobil ponied up more than $300 million over 35 years. "It's certainly the most amount of money that anybody's ever committed over that period of time," Mitchell said. "And it's also one of the highest levels of production costs."

The oil company's pullout doesn't mean the show is going to disappear. PBS itself is going to pony up the $12 million to $16 million "Masterpiece" needs to remain in operation for the next two years.

"It is absolutely, positively funded through 2006," said executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "And nothing else on PBS is funded beyond that, as far as I know. So we are continuing to do business absolutely as usual -- buying and co-producing programs with the money that we have still from ExxonMobil and from the additional money from PBS."

Asked if the question of funding would affect the quality of "Masterpiece Theatre" programming, Eaton quickly replied, "Absolutely not. . . . I can promise you, we would never use money, if we have less money, to buy lower-quality programs. Never."

And the search for a new underwriter -- or underwriters -- continues.

"It's a huge amount of money, and probably the days of one funder are long gone," Eaton said. "I think the idea is possibly to get several funders, in addition to the money from PBS, to keep the series going in the form and shape that it's been in.

"I think it's conceivable that any series could end at some point. There is no reason to think that will happen to 'Masterpiece Theatre.' "

But it might. Mitchell expressed confidence that underwriters could be found in the next two years, but she also expressed the same confidence two years ago and that hasn't happened.

"I just can't imagine that in those two years we won't find somebody who'll recognize this opportunity. . . . I hope we just haven't hit the right person yet, but we are all concerned and unhappy about it," she said. "I will tell you, though, just to assure all of us who are fans, that it is continuing for the next two years no matter what, because PBS has stepped up to meet the commitment."

E-mail: pierce@desnews.com

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