Pavan
02-19-2004, 09:45 AM
Fox O&Os pay to snatch 'Raymond' from Tribune
Affiliates pick up popular syndie sitcom in March 2008 to September 2013 -- 5½ year deal
Fox-owned TV stations, hell-bent on cornering the market on the most popular rerun sitcoms, have bought "Everybody Loves Raymond" in eight cities, outbidding the Tribune stations in five of them, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The pickup of "Raymond" from King World follows the revelation last week that all 19 Fox O&Os have renewed Sony Pictures TV's "Seinfeld" in the third cycle, encompassing five more years of twice-a-day carriage through March 2011.
Citing the "Raymond" and "Seinfeld" deals, Lachlan Murdoch, chairman of the Fox TV stations, said his strategy is to "add more A-list product to our sitcom arsenal" while depriving Fox's main competitor, Tribune, of high-rated comedies.
The five Fox stations that are getting "Raymond" away from Tribune -- WNYW New York, KTTV Los Angeles, WFLD Chicago, KDFW Dallas and KRIV Houston -- take title to the series in March 2008 on a 5½-year deal. The three Fox stations that will renew "Raymond" on the same terms are KMSP Minneapolis, WTTG Washington and WUTB Baltimore.
The parties to the deal declined to discuss any of the financial terms. But syndication observers said Murdoch's aggressive bidding, a second-cycle strategy that's likely to continue in other markets where the Fox O&O doesn't own "Raymond," should easily bump the sitcom to a license fee higher than the $2.5 million an episode that the show racked up in the first cycle.
One indication of the seller's market for "Raymond" is that King World carved out three 30-second spots in the second cycle for sale to national advertisers, leaving 5½ minutes for the stations. That's the same barter split as the first cycle.
The renewal demand became fierce for "Seinfeld" and "Raymond" because none of the off-network sitcoms being offered in the marketplace has anywhere near the potential of harvesting big ratings for a decade or more in syndication.
In its eighth year of rerun syndication, "Seinfeld" is tied with Warner Bros. Domestic's "Friends" for the highest-rated sitcom, each averaging a gaudy 6.1 Nielsen rating. "Seinfeld" seems to be gaining in viewership, having increased its ratings this year by 5%.
"Raymond" is No. 3 in rerun syndication, behind "Seinfeld" and "Friends," averaging a 5.7.
Affiliates pick up popular syndie sitcom in March 2008 to September 2013 -- 5½ year deal
Fox-owned TV stations, hell-bent on cornering the market on the most popular rerun sitcoms, have bought "Everybody Loves Raymond" in eight cities, outbidding the Tribune stations in five of them, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The pickup of "Raymond" from King World follows the revelation last week that all 19 Fox O&Os have renewed Sony Pictures TV's "Seinfeld" in the third cycle, encompassing five more years of twice-a-day carriage through March 2011.
Citing the "Raymond" and "Seinfeld" deals, Lachlan Murdoch, chairman of the Fox TV stations, said his strategy is to "add more A-list product to our sitcom arsenal" while depriving Fox's main competitor, Tribune, of high-rated comedies.
The five Fox stations that are getting "Raymond" away from Tribune -- WNYW New York, KTTV Los Angeles, WFLD Chicago, KDFW Dallas and KRIV Houston -- take title to the series in March 2008 on a 5½-year deal. The three Fox stations that will renew "Raymond" on the same terms are KMSP Minneapolis, WTTG Washington and WUTB Baltimore.
The parties to the deal declined to discuss any of the financial terms. But syndication observers said Murdoch's aggressive bidding, a second-cycle strategy that's likely to continue in other markets where the Fox O&O doesn't own "Raymond," should easily bump the sitcom to a license fee higher than the $2.5 million an episode that the show racked up in the first cycle.
One indication of the seller's market for "Raymond" is that King World carved out three 30-second spots in the second cycle for sale to national advertisers, leaving 5½ minutes for the stations. That's the same barter split as the first cycle.
The renewal demand became fierce for "Seinfeld" and "Raymond" because none of the off-network sitcoms being offered in the marketplace has anywhere near the potential of harvesting big ratings for a decade or more in syndication.
In its eighth year of rerun syndication, "Seinfeld" is tied with Warner Bros. Domestic's "Friends" for the highest-rated sitcom, each averaging a gaudy 6.1 Nielsen rating. "Seinfeld" seems to be gaining in viewership, having increased its ratings this year by 5%.
"Raymond" is No. 3 in rerun syndication, behind "Seinfeld" and "Friends," averaging a 5.7.