Less than a month after it acquired “American Idol Rewind” from the shut-down Tribune distribution operation, Trifecta Entertainment has cleared the weekly syndicated series on the Fox-owned stations. In addition, executives said ad sales for the show soon will shift from Tribune to Trifecta.
“American Idol Rewind,” which continues to score every week in the demographics, will shift next season from key Tribune stations in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, among others, to Fox stations, with several of the outlets providing a double run of the series.
“We are bringing in 13 new stations for ‘American Idol Rewind’ and are very happy that these Fox stations will bring the show home,” said Hank Cohen, CEO of Trifecta. “The show is extremely healthy both on the network and in syndication, and as we work to contact every incumbent carrying the show, we expect to see the show cleared in 70% to 80% of the country in a short time.”
“American Idol Rewind” launched two seasons ago atop the ratings charts for its category, shattering the commonly held belief that unscripted network fare had no back-end success.
This season, the series is averaging a 1.8 household rating, tops among all unscripted weekly series, and a 0.9 among adults 18 to 34 for second place among all weekly programs.
Trifecta acquired the show after Tribune Entertainment ended a long run of program distribution and pulled out of the business last month. “American Idol Rewind” had ranked as the company’s top-rated performer since it launched for the 2006-07 season.
In addition, executives from both companies confirmed that ad sales for the show, still being handled by Tribune, soon would shift to Trifecta as well.
“This marks a great deal for everyone,” said David Shall, executive VP of business operations at FremantleMedia North America. “With double runs on six of the top 20 stations for Fox, including New York, L.A., Chicago and Dallas, it’s clear that Fox sees a bright future in the syndicated version, and we couldn’t be more happy about Fox’s decision to pick up the show.”
Trifecta Entertainment & Media was founded in late 2005 by former MGM Television executives Michael Daraio, Scott Spungin, Shelley Brown and Mr. Cohen. It currently distributes five shows in syndication, including “Punk’d” for 2008 as well as current offerings “UFC Wired” and “Jack Hanna’s Into the Wild.”