‘Iyanla’ cleared by KNBC
Buena Vista finally found the third jewel in the triple crown of stations markets, pinning down KNBC-TV, Los Angeles, for its upcoming talk show “Iyanla.” That takes the series’ total clearance past the 85 percent mark, including WABC-TV in New York and WBBM-TV in Chicago.
The NBC owned-and-operated station also joins ABC, Gannett, Scripps-Howard, Cox and LIN stations in airing the show this fall.
The series is executive-produced by Barbara Walters and her partner Bill Geddie.
ABC comedies gain: In a night heavily laden with rerun programming, ABC’s run of original episodes of 9 p.m.-to-10 p.m. (ET) Tuesday comedies-“The Drew Carey Show” and “The Job”-as well as drama “Once and Again” at 10 p.m. scored double-digit ratings gains week to week.
The Damon Wayans-led midseason comedy “My Wife and Kids” won the 8 p.m.-to 9-p.m. time slots for a third consecutive week of double-run episodes, posting a 4.7 rating/15 share average in adults 18 to 49, according to Nielsen Media Research fast affiliate data. However, “MW&K” did exhibit 11 percent erosion from last week’s 5.3/15 average.
“Drew” (5.4/15) and midseason entry “The Job” (4.8/13) won the
9 p.m.-to-10 p.m. hour, improving a combined 9 percent on the opening hour lead-in. They also turned in promising 13 percent and 12 percent increases, respectively, on their own previous-week averages in the demo.
ABC also saw its troubled “Once and Again” (4.0/12) finish second at 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. in adults 18 to 49 to NBC’s repeat of “Law of Order” (5.4/15), but the former increased 14 percent week to week.
But for the evening, ABC’s 4.6/13 in adults 18 to 49 was up just 2 percent from its previous week’s score while it increased 1 percent in households to a top-ranked 7.0/12. With 8 p.m.-to-10 p.m. dramas “Ed” (3.6/11) and “The West Wing” (4.9/13) also in repeats, NBC dropped
16 percent and finished in a first-place tie with ABC in adults 18 to 49.
Comcast uses TVGateway guide: Comcast Communications has deployed TVGateway’s interactive program guide to systems now providing digital video services to customers in Lower Merion and Willow Grove, Pa., and in Mobile, Ala.-a start to its plan to roll out the IPG to 250,000 households.
TVGateway is a joint venture comprising four cable operators-Comcast, Adelphia Communications Corp., Charter Communications and Cox Communications-and technology provider WorldGate Communications.
NTL links with QVC: The U.K.’s largest cable operator, NTL, announced a new three-year deal with QVC. The deal will provide a second digital satellite feed, this one to the Sirius satellite. NTL already provides QVC with an uplink to the Astra 2 as part of its end-to-end distribution of the channel’s programming. QVC broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to more than 8 million cable and satellite homes throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.
NTL Broadcast has also signed an uplinking deal with The Studio, Universal Studios’ new movie channel.
Sportel on track: More than 600 participants from more than 255 companies in 45 countries have signed up for the fifth annual Sportel/America market for international television sports executives. The market will be held at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami May 7-10.
The Sportel Organization reports that it expects to exceed last year’s record turnout of 874 participants. So far, 79 exhibition stands have been sold, already surpassing last year’s record of 73 stands.