Why was Malibu, CA syndicated in the first place

[TMC]

If I remember correctly and have my facts straight, Malibu, CA primarily aired on affiliates of The WB (it was distributed by Tribune, who had a stake in The WB) on Saturday afternoons. But the first-run syndicated market in 1998 I don't think was the same as it was a decade and half prior.

My point is that is there any reason why it didn't air on NBC, considering that Peter Engel produced it. If not that, how come it wasn't on USA Network, which had hosted Engel's show USA High as well as reruns of Saved by the Bell: The New Class. I would imagine that those outlets would've provided much more stability than on syndication, where the stations that purchase the show can pretty much air it at any time of its choosing.

One theory that I read is that likely the presence of Priscilla Lee Taylor, who had already appeared in Playboy and showed a lot of skin on the show, was one reason why it was syndicated.

[darkrage6]

From what i've gathered the show actually did in fact air on NBC, episodes were shown on there on Sunday afternoons first and then it was shown in syndication afterwards on WB affiliates.