ABC chases NBC's "Apprentice" back to January 3 bow

Donald Trump, host of ''The Apprentice'', at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada February 10, 2007. NBC is taking the premiere of ''Celebrity Apprentice'' out of the cross hairs of the last original episode of ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'' . . . or so it seems.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A day after NBC said it would delay the January 3 premiere of "Celebrity Apprentice" by a week to avoid clashing with the last original episode of "Grey's Anatomy," ABC on Thursday moved its medical drama to January 10, forcing NBC to reverse its decision.

While scheduling tweaks in response to a rival network's scheduling changes are normal, multiple back-and-forths like those with "Grey's" and "Apprentice" are rare. They underscore the heated rivalry between ABC and NBC, whose respective top programming executives, Stephen McPherson and Ben Silverman, are engaged in a public feud.

On January 3, "Apprentice" will face the Orange Bowl on Fox as well as possible interruptions for news coverage of the Iowa caucus.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter