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Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Has Sold The Bonnie Hunt Show in Over 55% of the Country for Fall 2008 Launch
October 29, 2007
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has sold The Bonnie Hunt Show � the highly anticipated new syndicated talk program from acclaimed comedy writer, producer, director and performer Bonnie Hunt � to a rock solid base of strong affiliated stations comprising over 55% of the United States for a fall 2008 launch. The one-hour daily strip from Telepictures Productions has been cleared in 15 of the top 20 U.S. television markets, it was announced today by Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD).
"NBC selected The Bonnie Hunt Show as their top choice for fall '08, and in a little over three short weeks, many prominent broadcasters have also joined the Bonnie Hunt fan club," said Ken Werner. "They have all selected the show as the top contender to become the next syndicated franchise, and we are thrilled to be in partnership with this terrific lineup of powerful stations."
The new series has been sold to stations from the following groups: Hearst-Argyle, Gannett, Belo, Scripps, McGraw-Hill, LIN, Allbritton, Fox, Tribune, Clear Channel, Young, Sinclair, Schurz, Miller, Bonten Media Group and Four Points. These sales come just one month after WBDTD announced a two-year pickup for "The Bonnie Hunt Show" on NBC owned and operated stations in nine markets.
The station lineup for The Bonnie Hunt Show includes:
New York: WNBC-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
Los Angeles: KNBC-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
Chicago: WMAQ-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
Dallas-Ft. Worth: KXAS-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
San Francisco/San Jose: KNTV-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
Boston: WCVB-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Washington, D.C.: WRC-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
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 Universal Television Stations)
Cleveland: WEWS-TV (Scripps Television Station Group)
Denver: KWGN-TV (Tribune Broadcasting)
Sacramento, Calif.: KCRA-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Baltimore: WBAL-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Indianapolis: WRTV-TV (McGraw-Hill)
San Diego: KNSD-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
Hartford: WVIT-TV (NBC Universal Television Stations)
Kansas City, Mo.: KMBC-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Cincinnati: WLWT-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
Salt Lake City: KJZZ-TV (Larry H. Miller Communications Corp.)
San Antonio: WOAI-TV (Clear Channel)
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)
Greensboro, N.C.: WXLV-TV (Sinclair Broadcast Group)
Albany, N.Y.: WTEN-TV (Young)
Jacksonville, Fla.: WLTV-TV (Gannett Broadcasting)
Buffalo, N.Y.: WGRZ-TV (Gannett Broadcasting)
Austin, Tex.: KXAN-TV (LIN TV)
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.
"We are extremely enthusiastic about the overwhelmingly positive response by stations to Bonnie Hunt. We are excited that they believe what we believe; she is a breakthrough talent possessing an original point of view with the skills, breadth of experience and relatability necessary to become the next talk show franchise," said Hilary Estey McLoughlin, President, Telepictures Productions.
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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