Did ABC Boss Tell Babs She Couldn't be Live?

Are the ABC bosses trying to make sure that Barbara Walters does not appear live on TV?

Page Six says that Walters’ live TV appearances are being limited by ABC chiefs as the network focuses on its revamped version of the “The View.”

Sources told us, as the show’s creator and former co-host, Walters had wanted to appear live on “The View” when it returned last week with its new panel. But ABC brass nixed the idea, and she instead appeared in a taped segment.

We’re also told Walters was asked to appear on NBC’s “Today” last week during the show’s Homecoming Week, where special guests appeared to co-host the 7 o’clock hour with Matt Lauer as fill-ins for Savannah Guthrie, but ABC advised against it.

A source told us: “They [NBC] asked Barbara, and she in turn asked ABC. There was a brief conversation, and ultimately she decided not to do it, because she wants to be loyal to ABC and not appear on the competition.”

Another source added of Walters, “She was very happy with the cute piece on the top of the show, where the new hosts kissed her ring.” The source added that Walters is “very savvy about TV and knows that if she was a live guest, all the headlines would be about that and not the new hosts.” Or perhaps that is what ABC chiefs feared.