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Broadcast Groups Say Gotta Danza!

Mar 1, 2004  •  Post A Comment

Tony Danza will keep his New York roots.
Buena Vista Television has confirmed that the upcoming daytime series will be broadcast live from New York for its fall launch and has given “The Tony Danza Show” a firm go for the season.
The new series has now claimed more than 65 percent of the country, including WABC-TV in New York. Stations from the ABC Owned Station Group, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Argyle, Post-Newsweek, Cox, Raycom, Young Broadcasting and Sinclair have all picked up the show. Although the distributor is still looking to pin down outlets in Los Angeles and Chicago, the recent sales momentum provided Janice Marinelli, president of BVT, with the ammunition needed to give the series a go.
“In the short time that we’ve been in the marketplace, the show has received extraordinary response, with clearances already totaling more than 65 percent of the country, with additional clearances being added every week,” Ms. Marinelli said. “Our station partners agree, Tony offers instant audience appeal with his natural talent, charisma and vast entertainment experience. The live format complements Tony’s interest in current events and generates a kind of energy that works particularly well in daytime television.”
Produced live weekdays from New York, “The Tony Danza Show” will tap Mr. Danza’s experience with the Big Apple. The venue is somewhat of a homecoming for Mr. Danza, a Brooklyn native who’s spent much of his career on the West Coast. Mr. Danza received a wrestling scholarship to the University of Dubuque in Iowa, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history education. After college, he was discovered by producer Stu Sheslow at a boxing gymnasium in New York.
“To succeed in this business you have to like interacting with the audience,” Mr. Danza said at January’s National Association of Television Program Executives convention. “That’s why I will be out to try to emulate Johnny Carson and appeal to people’s better angels and celebrate life as opposed to making fun of it.”