The Fox-owned station group is making moves to secure its programming lineup next season and beyond, and has now picked up CBS Television Distribution series “Everybody Hates Chris” for the 2009-10 season in addition to renewing Twentieth’s trio of court shows.
“Everybody Hates Chris,” created by comedian Chris Rock, has been cleared in a number of the Fox duopolies, including the all-important top markets New York and Los Angeles, as well as Dallas, Washington, D.C., and Houston, as its first round of sales is completed, according to sources close to the deal. In Chicago, the series was sold to Weigel’s WCIU-TV, as well as CBS-owned stations in Philadelphia, Detroit and Miami.
The series is now in its third season after launching as the third-highest-rated program in the history of UPN.
“Chris Rock is a really talented guy, and this series is the funniest family comedy to come around in a long time,” said Roger King, CEO of CBS Television Distribution. “These initial stations have told us they’re very excited to add ‘Chris’ to their lineups.”
Fox stations had already picked up syndicated runs of NBC Universal’s “The Office” for 2009 and are said to be in serious talks to bring “My Name Is Earl” into the fold as well, although Tribune is also in play for that series.
Meanwhile for the 2008-09 season, the Fox-owned stations have picked up a third season of Twentieth Television’s “Cristina’s Court,” which analysts had considered an “on the fence” series. The renewal completes the triad of court shows being renewed by the distributor, with “Divorce Court” and “Judge Alex” already announced.
“The overwhelming feedback from viewers and local stations made our verdict an easy one,” said Bob Cook, president and chief operating officer of Twentieth Television. “Twentieth Television’s powerful and engaging legal force of Alex Ferrer, Lynn Toler and Cristina Perez will continue to rule over television’s most fascinating cases.”
“Divorce Court” is averaging a 1.9 national rating this season, and most recently scored a 2.0 during its first full week of the November sweeps. “Judge Alex” is averaging a 1.8 this season while “Cristina’s Court” has pulled a 1.2.
The “Cristina’s Court” renewal blocks out another time period being targeted by some syndicators, al­though the Fox stations are said to be interested in a court show from Warner Bros. as well as Twentieth’s talk show with comedian Steve Harvey, which is potentially headed for a late-fringe run on the group’s MyNetwork affiliates.
Three Fox-owned stations—WAGA-TV in Atlanta, WOFL-TV in Orlando, Fla., and KPTV-TV/KPDX-TV in Portland, Ore.—mdash;have picked up daytime runs of Warner Bros.’ upcoming talk show hosted by Bonnie Hunt. The new additions to the “Bonnie Hunt” clearance slate bring the upcoming series’ clearance levels to more than 75% of the country.
New groups with stations signing on to broadcast “The Bonnie Hunt Show” include Media General, Weigel, Raycom, Mission, Max Media, New Vision, Journal Broadcast Group, Clear Channel, Meredith, Local TV, Gray, Bahakel, Block, California-Oregon Broadcasters, KHQ, Ramar, Sunbelt, United and Thomas. The distributor had previously announced deals that included the NBC-owned outlets in New York and Los Angeles, among others.
“Stations have been looking for the next daytime franchise for some time,” said Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. “By their actions—with 75% clearance in mid-November and their words of praise—mdash;it seems evident that they have decided Bonnie will be that franchise.”