BET Networks & FX Networks Nab ‘Black-ish’ Off-Network Cable Rights

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http://deadline.com/2017/04/blackish...ts-1202070848/

Disney/ABC has completed the off-network syndication sales for ABC’s praised comedy series Black-ish by licensing it to BET Networks in a shared cable window with FX Networks. Black-ish will make its debut on the cable networks in fall 2018 when the comedy also will launch in broadcast syndication with Tribune Broadcasting as the core station group (the show has been cleared in over 90% of the country). Additionally, Hulu recently picked up Black-ish‘s SVOD rights. With all three sales in the bag, Black-ish, now in Season 3, is certain to get a fourth-season renewal by ABC.

No one is commenting but I hear BET Networks was the first to nab rights to Black-ish for a license fee around or north of $500,000 per episode and an option to play the comedy on two Viacom networks at the same time. The shared window was then auctioned off, with FX Network landing it for what I hear is a license fee in the neighborhood of $300,000 an episode. It hasn’t been determined yet whether Black-ish will air on flagship FX or comedy-centric FXX.

Black-ish, which highlights the African-American experience while tackling stories with universal themes, is a rare awards contender broadcast comedy. Airing behind ABC flagship Modern Family, Black-ish also often tops its Wednesday 9:30 PM time period in adults 18-49.

“We’re excited to partner with Disney/ABC in bringing this bold and beloved series to our audience,” said Debra Lee, Chairman & CEO, BET Networks. “Black-ish has an incredible track record of crossing cultural lines and reflecting the universality of African-American life.”

In Black-ish, Andre ‘Dre’ Johnson (Anthony Anderson) and his physician wife, Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) are living the American dream: great careers, four beautiful kids, and a home in an upper middle class neighborhood. With a little help from Pops (Laurence Fishburne) and Ruby (Jenifer Lewis), Dre sets out to establish a sense of cultural identity for his family that honors their past while embracing the future.

Black-ish, produced by ABC Studios, stars Anthony Anderson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Laurence Fishburne, Yara Shahidi, Marcus Scribner, Miles Brown, Marsai Martin, Jenifer Lewis and Peter Mackenzie. The series, which has a spinoff headlined by Shahidi in the works, was created by Kenya Barris and is executive produced by Barris, Jonathan Groff, Anthony Anderson, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, E. Brian Dobbins and Corey Nickerson.