or


[07/06/06 - 12:00 AM]
Twentieth Television and Tribune Broadcasting Close Off-Net Syndication Agreement on Hit Sitcom "Family Guy"

[via press release from Tribune]

Twentieth Television and Tribune Broadcasting Close Off-Net Syndication Agreement on Hit Sitcom "Family Guy"

Seth MacFarlane's Emmy Award Series to Premiere on Tribune Stations in Fall 2007

LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO, July 6, 2006 -- Twentieth Television has cleared Seth MacFarlane�s hit Emmy Award-winning animated sitcom "Family Guy" on the Tribune Broadcasting station group for a fall 2007 launch in off-net syndication. The announcement was jointly made today by Bob Cook, president and COO of Twentieth Television; and John Reardon, president of Tribune Broadcasting, a division of Tribune Company.

Under terms of the agreement, the series about the Griffin family (father Peter, wife Lois, their kids and a very brainy dog) that pokes fun at everyday middle-class life will premiere in 20 major markets, representing 37.8% of the United States. Tribune stations set to premiere "Family Guy" in off-net include WPIX/New York, KTLA/Los Angeles, WGN/Chicago, WPHL/Philadelphia, WLVI/Boston, KDAF/Dallas, WDCW/Washington, KHCW/Houston, KCPQ-KTWB/Seattle, WBZL/Miami, KWGN/Denver, KTXL/Sacramento, KPLR/St. Louis, KWBP/Portland, WXIN-WTTV/Indianapolis, KSWB/San Diego, WTIC-WTXX/Hartford, WXMI/Grand Rapids, WPMT/Harrisburg and WGNO-WNOL/New Orleans.

Regarding the announcement, Cook stated, "We are very pleased to have entered into this agreement on �Family Guy� with Tribune Broadcasting. From the genius of Seth MacFarlane, �Family Guy� is a pop culture phenomenon that has accomplished extraordinary popularity. We expect this success to continue during its off-net window for the Tribune station group."

"We�re always looking to acquire engaging, high-quality programs to refresh our local lineups," added Tribune�s Reardon. " �Family Guy� fits that description and we look forward to the show having a positive impact on ratings and revenues across our group."

Since its debut in 1999, the Emmy Award-winning series has attracted an impressively loyal following of devoted fans and has sold nine million combined DVD units, outperforming "The Simpsons," "South Park," "Seinfeld," "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond." The show�s success on DVD, combined with the ratings records it set on the Cartoon Network�s Adult Swim block, prompted FOX to bring it back for a fifth season, making "Family Guy" the only series ever to return to television after being cancelled.

A multiplatform success, more than 500 "Family Guy" merchandise items have been licensed in over 10,000 consumer outlets, including such major retailers as Target, Wal-Mart and K-Mart. On the web, "Family Guy" was 2005�s third most searched television program of the year on Yahoo! and currently is the number one most downloaded cell phone television property, with 2.3 million ring tones, voice tones, wallpaper, ring backs and games downloaded to date. On stage, the hit "Family Guy Live!" events have sold out numerous performances in New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

"Family Guy�s" current season, its fifth, continues with more distinctively twisted and irreverently outrageous trials and tribulations of Peter Griffin (MacFarlane) and his not-quite-so-average family. Immersed in television�s most clever storylines and scripts, Lois (Alex Borstein) is Peter�s loving wife, who struggles to maintain a modicum of normalcy in their home life. Then there are their kids: angst-ridden, 16-year-old Meg (Mila Kunis), who only really wants to get noticed; 13-year-old Chris (Seth Green), a sweet-natured slacker; and 1-year-old Stewie (MacFarlane), a diabolically clever baby who�s already bent on world domination. Rounding out the Griffin household is Brian, the family dog who has a penchant for dry martinis and Shakespearean sonnets.

In addition to the regular cast, "Family Guy" has featured a diverse range of guest voice appearances, including Jennifer Love Hewitt, Lee Majors, Will Ferrell, Jimmy Kimmel, Drew Barrymore, Kiefer Sutherland, the legendary rock group KISS, James Woods, Phyllis Diller, Robert Downey, Jr., Carol Channing, and New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, among others.

The program won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2000, and in 2002 won an Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics. "Family Guy" has been nominated for Outstanding Animated Program in 2000 and 2005.

"Family Guy" is a 20th Century Fox Television production. MacFarlane is creator/executive producer and David Goodman is executive producer and show runner. Chris Sheridan also serves as executive producer.

:: :: ::

TRIBUNE (NYSE:TRB) is one of the country�s top media companies, operating businesses in publishing and broadcasting. It reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households and is the only media organization with newspapers, television stations and websites in the nation�s top three markets. In publishing, Tribune operates 11 leading daily newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Newsday, plus a wide range of targeted publications. The company�s broadcasting group operates 26 television stations, Superstation WGN on national cable, Chicago�s WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team. Popular news and information websites complement Tribune�s print and broadcast properties and extend the company�s nationwide audience.

A leader in the U.S. program production and distribution arena, Twentieth Television is a unit of Fox Television and headed by Fox Television Stations� chairman Roger Ailes while CEO Jack Abernethy oversees day-to-day operations. Twentieth Television provides a wide array of first-run and off-network programming, as well as feature film packages, to the syndication and cable marketplaces. First-run programs distributed by Twentieth Television include �Geraldo at Large,� the news strip hosted by Geraldo Rivera, and the popular court shows �Divorce Court� and �Judge Alex,� the number one new first-run program of the 2005-06 season. In fall 2006, the company will launch the primetime drama strips �Desire� and �Fashion House� on the new general entertainment broadcast television network MyNetworkTV. Furthermore, the company is set to launch the new first-run syndicated court show �Cristina�s Court,� hosted by Cristina Perez, in fall 2006. Twentieth Television also oversees the domestic sales of one of the most extensive libraries of off-net programming in the entertainment industry. Last fall, the company launched the groundbreaking drama �24,� starring Kiefer Sutherland, and The Peabody Award-winning sitcom �The Bernie Mac Show� in off-net syndication. Twentieth Television sells national advertising units retained by the company in off-network, theatrical and first-run programming, as well as oversees advertising sales for DIRECTV.





  [july 2006]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
      


· EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND (CBS)
· FAMILY GUY (FOX)
· FRIENDS (NBC)
· SIMPSONS, THE (FOX)
· SOUTH PARK (COMEDY CENTRAL)





[02/11/25 - 01:15 PM]
FOX "Super Week" Kicks Off, Breaking Records with "The Floor" as Season's #1 Entertainment Series Telecast and New Survival Competition "Extracted" Off to a Wild Start
For six consecutive seasons, FOX has delivered the highest-rated unscripted entertainment series telecast.

[02/11/25 - 12:28 PM]
HBO Announces the End of Filming for the Second Season of "City of God: The Fight Rages On"
The second season, consisting of six episodes, was filmed in several locations in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

[02/11/25 - 12:00 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of Feb. 3: "Kinda Pregnant" Delivers, "The Night Agent" Holds Strong in Top 10
Fans also basked in the Southern charm of Season 4 of "Sweet Magnolias," which debuted at No. 4 in English TV (4 million views), and flocked to the Australian limited series "Apple Cider Vinegar" (No. 5 in English TV, 3.8 million views).

[02/11/25 - 11:38 AM]
FOX Sports' Presentation of Super Bowl LIX Delivers Most-Watched Super Bowl of All-Time with 127.7 Million Viewers Across All Platforms
Philadelphia's big win in the bayou peaked at 137.7 million viewers in the second quarter (8:00 PM - 8:15 PM ET), per Nielsen Media Research.

[02/11/25 - 11:24 AM]
TNT Sports to Showcase NBA All-Star 2025 Across TNT, TBS, truTV, Bleacher Report & Max, Feb. 14-16, from San Francisco Bay Area
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game - TNT's 23rd consecutive year airing the event - will feature a new mini-tournament format, with the 24 NBA All-Star selections divided evenly into three teams and the fourth team composed of the Castrol Rising Stars champions.

[02/11/25 - 11:08 AM]
Karl Ravech, David Cone, Eduardo Perez and Buster Olney Return for Fourth Season as ESPN "Sunday Night Baseball" Broadcast Team
The 36th season of "Sunday Night Baseball" begins on March 30, when the San Diego Padres host the Atlanta Braves at 7 p.m. ET.

[02/11/25 - 11:04 AM]
Paramount+ to Exclusively Premiere "Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party" on Tuesday, March 11
The news marks the first time the fully restored version of the classic '80s documentary from legendary and Academy Award-winning director Cameron Crowe will be widely available to a global audience.

[02/11/25 - 11:01 AM]
"The Day of the Jackal" Becomes Peacock's Most-Watched New Original Drama Series
Viewership of the series in its first 75 days has surpassed that of any other original drama series in the same timeframe.

[02/11/25 - 10:00 AM]
Video: Starz Releases Gripping Trailer for Season Four of Its Hit Series "Power Book III: Raising Kanan"
Season three of "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" averaged over 9M viewers per episode, hitting a high compared to the prior season.

[02/11/25 - 10:00 AM]
"Beyond the Gates: Welcome to the Neighborhood," An "Entertainment Tonight" Five-Part Behind-the-Scenes Special, to Air Monday, Feb. 17 Through Friday, Feb. 21 on CBS
The five-part news special, hosted by Kevin Frazier and comedian and television host Sheryl Underwood, airs in the week leading up to the series premiere, Monday, February 24 (2:00-3:00 PM, ET; 1:00-2:00 PM, PT) on the CBS Television Network, and streaming on Paramount+.

[02/11/25 - 09:56 AM]
Amy Adams Joins Javier Bardem in "Cape Fear" - A New Series Coming to Apple TV+
The duo will star in Nick Antosca's adaptation of the classic thriller.

[02/11/25 - 09:39 AM]
First Look and Date Announcement: "Jessica Kirson: I'm the Man"
The special will premiere on Friday, April 25 and is the sixth original special in Hulu's new stand-up comedy initiative, Hularious.

[02/11/25 - 09:31 AM]
Video: "Deli Boys" - Official Trailer - Hulu
When their convenience store-magnate father suddenly dies, a pair of pampered Pakistani American brothers (Asif Ali, Saagar Shaikh) lose everything and are forced to reckon with their Baba's secret life of crime as they attempt to take up his mantle in the underworld.

[02/11/25 - 09:31 AM]
Dave Chappelle Named President's Award Recipient for "56th NAACP Image Awards"
Previous recipients include Usher, Gabrielle Union-Wade, Dwyane Wade, Rihanna, LeBron James, Kerry Washington, Spike Lee, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter, and Ms. Lauryn Hill.

[02/11/25 - 09:18 AM]
Showtime Original Series "Dexter: Resurrection" Adds Emmy and Golden Globe Winner Peter Dinklage
Dinklage will play the series regular role of Leon Prater, a billionaire venture capitalist.