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Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Continues to Rack Up Major Network Affiliate Clearances for The Bonnie Hunt Show, Now Sold in Over 75% of the Country for Fall 2008 Launch
November 26, 2007
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution continues its successful rollout of The Bonnie Hunt Show � the highly anticipated new syndicated talk program from acclaimed comedy writer, producer, director and performer Bonnie Hunt � which has now been sold to a strong, network-affiliated station lineup comprising more than 75% of the United States, it was announced today by Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, and Rick Meril, Executive Vice President & General Sales Manager, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD).
The one-hour daily strip from Bob & Alice Productions and paraMedia, inc. in association with Telepictures Productions, has now been sold in 17 of the top 20 U.S. television markets, after only six weeks in the marketplace.
"Stations have been looking for the next daytime franchise for sometime. By their actions � with 75% clearance in mid-November and their words of praise � it seems evident that they have decided Bonnie will be that franchise," said Ken Werner. "We are pleased and flattered by their choice and can't wait for September."
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.
These sales follow quickly on the heels of an announcement last month that the show had been sold to stations from Hearst-Argyle, Gannett, Belo, Scripps, McGraw-Hill, LIN, Allbritton, Fox, Tribune, Young, Sinclair, Schurz, Miller, Bonten Media Group and Four Points. In September, WBDTD announced that Bonnie had been picked up for two years by nine stations from the NBC Local Media Division (formerly the NBC Owned and Operated Stations Group), including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
The station lineup includes major new sales denoted by *
New York: WNBC-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
Los Angeles: KNBC-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
Chicago: WMAQ-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
Dallas-Ft. Worth: KXAS-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
San Francisco/San Jose: KNTV-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
Boston: WCVB-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Atlanta: WAGA-TV (Fox Television Stations)
Washington, D.C.: WRC-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
Phoenix: KSAZ-TV (Fox Television Stations)
Tampa: WFTS-TV (Scripps Television Station Group)
Seattle: KING-TV (Belo Television Group)
Minneapolis-St. Paul: KMSP-TV (Fox Television Stations)
Miami: WTVJ-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
Cleveland: WEWS-TV (Scripps Television Station Group)
Denver: KWGN-TV (Tribune Broadcasting)
* Orlando, Fla.: WOFL-TV (Fox Television Stations)
Sacramento, Calif.: KCRA-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Portland, Ore: KPTV-TV/KPDX (Fox Television Stations)
Baltimore: WBAL-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Charlotte, N.C.: WCCB-TV (Bahakel Communications)
Indianapolis: WRTV-TV (McGraw-Hill)
San Diego: KNSD-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* Raleigh-Durham, N.C.: WNCN-TV (Media General)
Hartford: WVIT-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
Kansas City, Mo.: KMBC-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Cincinnati: WLWT-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Milwaukee: WMLW-TV (Weigel)
Salt Lake City: KJZZ-TV (Larry H. Miller Communications Corp.)
San Antonio: WOAI-TV (Clear Channel)
* West Palm Beach, Fla.: WPBF-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Grand Rapids, Mich: WOOD-TV (LIN TV)
Birmingham, Ala: WBMA-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
Harrisburg, Pa.: WHTM-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
Norfolk, Va.: WAVY-TV (LIN TV)
* Las Vegas: KVVU-TV (Meredith)
* Albuquerque, N.M.: KOAT-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Oklahoma City: KFOR-TV (Local TV LLC)
Greensboro, N.C.: WXLV-TV (Sinclair Broadcast Group)
Albany, N.Y.: WTEN-TV (Young)
* Louisville, Ky.: WLKY-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Jacksonville, Fla.: WLTV-TV (Gannett Broadcasting)
Buffalo, N.Y.: WGRZ-TV (Gannett Broadcasting)
Austin, Tex.: KXAN-TV (LIN TV)
* Providence, R.I.: WLWC-TV (Four Points)
* Knoxville, Tenn: WTNZ-TV (Raycom)
Tulsa, Okla.: KTUL-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
Mobile, Ala.: WALA-TV (LIN TV)
Dayton, Ohio: WDTN-TV (LIN TV)
Roanoke, Va.: WSET-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
Tri-Cities, Tenn.: WCYB-TV (Bonten Media Group)
Ft. Wayne, Ind.: WANE-TV (LIN TV)
Produced by Bob & Alice Productions and paraMedia, inc., in association with Telepictures Productions, The Bonnie Hunt Show will be executive produced by Hunt, Jim Paratore and Don Lake.
Hunt has built an impressive career of more than 20 years on stage, in feature films and on television. An alumna of Chicago's The Second City improvisational theater, Hunt served as executive producer, writer and star of the acclaimed comedy series The Building, The Bonnie Hunt Show and Life with Bonnie, receiving an Emmy� nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for her efforts. She also directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the feature film Return to Me, opposite David Duchovny, Minnie Driver and James Belushi. Her other film credits include Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire, in which she co-starred opposite Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger, and box-office hit Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequel, in which she starred opposite Steve Martin. Hunt's guest-hosting stints on both Late Show with David Letterman and Live with Regis and Kelly earned her praise and multiple offers to host a program of her own.
About Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) is one of the leading distributors of first-run and off-network programming in the domestic television marketplace. It handles the syndication of television series produced by Warner Bros. Television, Telepictures Productions, Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Horizon Television; selected HBO Independent Productions and the Lorimar Television library; current feature films from Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Independent Pictures; and the Studio's unmatched motion picture library.
In 2007-2008, WBDTD is distributing seven first-run series: Telepictures Productions' new daily strip TMZ (based upon TMZ.com, the #1 entertainment news destination on the Internet and now TV's #1 new syndicated program), The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tyra Banks Show, Extra and Judge Mathis, as well as The People's Court and Showtime at the Apollo. New in off-network syndication this fall are Two and a Half Men � the #1 comedy on network television � and George Lopez, as well as the weekend broadcast window of Cold Case. Other off-network programs also distributed via WBDTD include Friends, The Drew Carey Show, Will & Grace (from NBC Studios) and HBO's Sex and the City, as well as the weekend broadcast windows of Without a Trace, Smallville, ER and The West Wing, among others.
About Telepictures Productions
In the 2007-08 season, Telepictures Productions, an industry-leading producer of syndicated programming and winner of 49 Daytime Emmy� Awards, is producing six nationally syndicated strips. This includes the freshman season of TMZ, the #1 new syndicated program which brings the TMZ.com brand to television, expanding upon the website's mission as a 24-hour-per day, seven-day-per week entertainment news destination providing a fresh, unfiltered look at celebrities and their real lives; the third season of The Tyra Banks Show, a one-hour, daily talk show serving as a young woman's guide to life, hosted by Tyra Banks; the fifth season of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, winner of four consecutive Daytime Emmy� Awards for Outstanding Talk Show and three for Outstanding Talk Show Host; the ninth season of the hour-long court series Judge Mathis; the 11th season of The People's Court; and the 14th season of the pop culture newsmagazine strip Extra, as well as the legendary weekly variety show Showtime at the Apollo. Additionally, Telepictures produces CW Now, a new half-hour series on The CW Network which blends news and entertainment to create the ultimate source for everything that's hip, hot and happening right now in the world of young adults.
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