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Starting This Fall, Hit ABC Show Will Be Aired on BET Just 8 Days After Each Episode Is Shown on ABC

Jul 16, 2013  •  Post A Comment

Starting this fall, cable channel BET will televise episodes of an ABC hit "just eight days after they premiere on ABC, under an unusual syndication deal announced on Monday," reports Brian Stelter of The New York Times.

The series is ABC’s "Scandal."

The article continues, "BET will also present a marathon of Seasons 1 and 2 of ‘Scandal’ before Season 3 starts in September."

The Times story notes: "Episodes of shows like ‘Scandal’ typically do not start to be replayed on other channels for several years. But owners of shows are increasingly willing to experiment with new business models that greatly shorten that time lag: CBS, for instance, is letting Amazon rerun episodes of ‘Under the Dome’ four days after their initial broadcast.

"The free version of Hulu, the video Web site, will continue to have the five most recent episodes of ‘Scandal’ available for catch-up viewing, and Netflix and the paid version of Hulu will continue to have full seasons available for binge viewing. But by giving the show another home on television, the BET deal might expose the show to first-time viewers and turn them into new fans, potentially benefiting both ABC and BET."

The Times story also says that "Scandal" is the No. 1  broadcast series among African-Americans. "The show’s star, Kerry Washington, is the first African-American woman to lead an American network drama since the 1970s," the story reports. However, The Times also explains: "The show is by no means niche: It has become one of ABC’s most watched and talked-about shows, attracting upward of 10 million viewers for new episodes when digital video recorder playback is included."

"Scandal" was created by Shonda Rhimes, who also created the ABC hit "Grey’s Anatomy."

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