Which executive worked for CBS (1970-1975), ABC (1975-1978), and NBC (1978-1981) and later started his own production company?

• A. Fred Silverman
• B. David Sarnoff
• C. Thomas Ince
• D. Irving Thalberg

Answer: (A)

This question is about a TV executive whose career spans all three major networks and then moves into independent production. Fred Silverman fits this pattern exactly. He led programming at CBS during the late 1960s into the mid-1970s, then moved to ABC to take the top programming role in the mid- to late-1970s, and afterward headed NBC’s entertainment division in the late 1970s to early 1980s. After that stretch across the networks, he launched his own production company, continuing to shape television from the creative side.

The other names come from different eras or roles. David Sarnoff was a broadcasting pioneer and corporate leader associated with RCA and early NBC’s governance, not a three-network executive who started an independent production company. Thomas Ince and Irving Thalberg were prominent film producers from the silent and early sound eras, not TV executives who moved among the networks in the period described.