Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a
broadcast network
A terrestrial network (or broadcast network in the United States) is a group of radio stations, television stations, or other electronic media outlets, that form an agreement to air, or broadcast, content from a centralized source. For example, ...
. It is common in the United States where
broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent
affiliates. Syndication is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates. Shows can be syndicated internationally, although this is less common.
Three common types of syndication are: ''first-run'' syndication, which is programming that is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show and is made specifically to sell directly into syndication; ''off-network'' syndication (colloquially called a "
rerun
A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated.
Variations
In the United Kingdom, the word ...
"), which is the licensing of a program whose first airing was on network TV or in some cases, first-run syndication;
[Campbell, Richard, Christopher R. Martin, and Bettina Fabos. "Sounds and Images". Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. 224–25.] and ''public broadcasting'' syndication.
Types
First-run syndication
In first-run syndication, a program is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show. Often it is made specifically to sell directly into syndication and not made for any particular network.
Off-network syndication
In off-network syndication, a program whose first airing was on network television (or, in some cases, first-run syndication) is licensed for local broadcast on individual stations.
Rerun
A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. There are two types of reruns – those that occur during a hiatus, and those that occur when a program is syndicated.
Variations
In the United Kingdom, the word ...
s are usually found on stations affiliated with smaller networks like The CW or MyNetworkTV, especially since these networks broadcast one less hour of prime time network programming than the
Big Four television networks
In the United States, there are three major traditional commercial broadcast television networks — CBS (Columbia Broadcasting System), NBC (National Broadcasting Company), and ABC (American Broadcasting Company) — that due to their longev ...
and far less network-provided
daytime television
Daytime is a block of television programming taking place during the late-morning and afternoon on weekdays. Daytime programming is typically scheduled to air between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., following the early morning da ...
(none at all for these networks). A show usually enters off-network syndication when it has built up about four seasons' worth or between 80 and
100 episodes
In the U.S. television industry, 100 episodes is the traditional threshold for a television series to enter syndicated reruns. One hundred episodes are advantageous for stripped syndication because it allows for 20 weeks of weekday reruns (depe ...
, though for some genres the number could be as low as 65. Successful shows in syndication can cover production costs and make a profit, even if the first run of the show was not profitable.
Public broadcasting syndication
This type of syndication has arisen in the U.S. as a parallel service to
member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service (
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
) and the handful of independent
public broadcasting
Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...
stations. This form of syndication more closely resembles the news agency model, where nominally competing networks share resources and rebroadcast each other's programs. For example, National Public Radio (
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
) stations commonly air the
Public Radio Exchange
The Public Radio Exchange (PRX) is a non-profit web-based platform for digital distribution, review, and licensing of radio programs. The organization is the largest on-demand catalogue of public radio programs available for broadcast and internet ...
's ''
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internatio ...
'', which may contain stories produced by NPR journalists.
When syndicating a show, the
production company
A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...
, or a distribution company called a syndicator, attempts to license the show to one station in each
media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...
or area, or to a commonly owned station group, within the country and internationally. If successful, this can be lucrative, but the syndicator may only be able to license the show in a small percentage of the markets. Syndication differs from licensing the show to a television network. Once a network picks up a show, it is usually guaranteed to run on most or all the network's affiliates on the same day of the week and at the same time (in a given time zone, in countries where this is a concern). Some production companies create their shows and license them to networks at a loss, at least at first, hoping that the series will succeed and that eventual off-network syndication will turn a profit for the show. A syndicated program is licensed to stations for "cash" (the stations purchase the rights to
local insertion
In broadcasting, local insertion (known in the United Kingdom as an opt-out) is the act or capability of a broadcast television station, radio station or cable system to insert or replace part of a network feed with content unique to the local st ...
some or all of the advertisements at their level); given to stations for access to airtime (wherein the syndicators get the advertising revenue); or the combination of both. The trade of program for airtime is called "
barter
In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...
."
In the United States (as a result of continued relaxation of station ownership regulations since the 1970s), syndicated programs are usually licensed to stations on a group level, with multiple stations owned and/or operated by the same broadcasting group carrying the program in different markets (except in areas where another station holds the market rights to the program) – making it increasingly more efficient for syndicators to gain widespread national clearances for their programs. Many syndicated programs are traditionally sold first to one of six "key" station groups (
ABC Owned Television Stations
ABC Owned Television Stations is a division of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution operated by Disney Networks Group that oversees the owned-and-operated stations of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a division of The Walt Disney ...
,
NBC Owned Television Stations
NBC Owned Television Stations (formerly NBC Local Media and NBC Television Stations Division (TVSD)) is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees the NBC owned-and-operated television ...
,
CBS Television Stations
CBS News and Stations (formerly CBS Television Stations) is a division of the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global that owns and operates a group of American television stations. , Paramount owns 28 stations, broken down as follows ...
,
Fox Television Stations
Fox Television Stations, LLC (FTS; alternately Fox Television Stations Group, LLC), is a group of television stations located within the United States, which are owned-and-operated by the Fox Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of the Fox Co ...
,
Telemundo Station Group
Telemundo Station Group is the division of NBCUniversal Owned TV Stations (NBCUniversal), a subsidiary of Comcast that oversees their Telemundo owned-and-operated television stations and the TeleXitos network. The NBC owned-and-operated stations ...
, and
TelevisaUnivision
TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in New York and Mexico City, which owns the American Spanish language broadcast network Univision. 45% of the company is held by the ...
), allowing their programs to gain clearances in the largest U.S. TV markets (such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
, where all six aforementioned groups each own stations), before striking deals with other major and smaller station owners. Shows airing in first-run syndication that are carried primarily by an
owned-and-operated station of a network may sometimes be incorrectly referenced as a network program, especially if said network's syndication wing distributes the program, regardless to its distribution to stations of varying network affiliations and despite the fact it is not part of an individual network's base schedule.
Since the early 2000s, some programs being proposed for national distribution in first-run syndication have been test marketed on a selected number of or all stations owned by certain major station group, allowing the distributor to determine whether a national roll-out is feasible based on the ratings accrued in the selected markets where the program is being aired.
While market penetration can vary widely and revenues can be unreliable, the producers often enjoy more content freedom in the absence of network's
standards and practices departments; frequently, some innovative ideas are explored by first-run syndicated programming which the networks are leery of giving airtime to. Meanwhile, top-rated syndicated shows in the United States usually have a domestic market reach as high as 98%. Very often, series that are aired in syndication have reduced running times. For example, a standard American sitcom runs 22 minutes, but in syndication it may be reduced to 20 minutes to make room for more commercials.
Syndication can take the form of either weekly or daily syndication. Game shows, some "tabloid" and entertainment news shows, and talk shows are broadcast daily on weekdays, while most other first-run syndicated shows are broadcast on a weekly basis and are usually aired on weekends only. Big discussion occurred in the 1990s and 2000s about whether previously aired episodes of a show could become syndicated while new episodes of it continued to air on its original network. There had been much opposition to this idea and it was generally viewed to lead to the death of the show. However, licensing a program for syndication actually resulted in the increased popularity for shows that remained in production. A prime example is ''
Law & Order''.
First-run syndication in the U.S.
As with radio in the U.S., television networks, particularly in their early years, did not offer a full day's worth of programming for their affiliates, even in the evening or "prime time" hours. In the early days of television, this was less of an issue, as there were in most markets fewer TV stations than there were networks (at the time four), which meant that the stations that did exist affiliated with multiple networks and, when not airing network or local programs, typically
sign-on and sign-off
A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...
. The loosening of licensing restrictions, and the subsequent passage of the
All-Channel Receiver Act
The All-Channel Receiver Act of 1962 (ACRA) (), commonly known as the All-Channels Act, was passed by the United States Congress in 1961, to allow the Federal Communications Commission to require that all television set manufacturers must include ...
, meant that by the early 1960s, the situation had reversed. There were now more stations than the networks—now down to three in number after the failure of the
DuMont Television Network—could serve. Some stations were not affiliated with any network, operating as
independent stations. Both groups sought to supplement their locally produced programming with content that could be flexibly scheduled. The development of
videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...
and, much later, enhanced
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
downlink access furthered these options. While most past first-run syndicated shows were shown only in syndication, some canceled network shows continued to be produced for first-run syndication or were revived for syndication several years after their original cancellation. Until about 1980, most syndicated series were distributed to stations either on 16mm film prints (off-network reruns, feature films, and cartoons) or
videotape
Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasse ...
(topical series such as the talk shows of
Mike Douglas and
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own t ...
, and variety and quiz shows).
Ziv Television Programs, after establishing itself as a major radio syndicator, was the first major first-run television syndicator, creating several long-lived series in the 1950s and selling them directly to regional sponsors, who in turn sold the shows to local stations. Ziv's first major TV hit was ''
The Cisco Kid
The Cisco Kid is a fictional character found in numerous film, radio, television and comic book series based on the fictional Western character created by O. Henry in his 1907 short story "The Caballero's Way", published in '' Everybody's Magaz ...
''. Ziv had the foresight to film ''The Cisco Kid'' in color, even though color TV was still in its infancy and most stations did not yet support the technology. Among the most widely seen Ziv offerings were ''
Sea Hunt
''Sea Hunt'' is an American action adventure television series that aired in syndication from 1958 to 1961 and was popular for decades afterwards. The series originally aired for four seasons, with 155 episodes produced. It stars Lloyd Bridges a ...
'', ''
I Led Three Lives'', ''
Highway Patrol
A highway patrol, or state patrol is either a police unit created primarily for the purpose of overseeing and enforcing traffic safety compliance on roads and highways, or a detail within an existing local or regional police agency that is prima ...
'' and ''
Ripcord''. Some first-run syndicated series were picked up by networks in the 1950s and early 1960s, such as the ''
Adventures of Superman'' and ''
Mr. Ed
''Mister Ed'' is an American television sitcom produced by Filmways that aired in syndication from January 5 to July 2, 1961, and then on CBS from October 1, 1961, to February 6, 1966. The show's title character is a talking horse which orig ...
''. The networks began syndicating their reruns in the late 1950s, and first-run syndication shrank sharply for a decade. Some stalwart series continued, including ''
Death Valley Days
''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...
''; other ambitious projects were also to flourish, however briefly, such as ''The Play of the Week'' (1959–1961), produced by
David Susskind
David Howard Susskind (December 19, 1920 – February 22, 1987) was an American producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a TV talk show host. His talk shows were innovative in the genre and addressed timely, controversial topics beyond th ...
(of the syndicated talk show ''Open End'' and also producer of such network fare as ''NYPD'').
Among other syndicated series of the 1950s were
MCA's ''
The Abbott and Costello Show
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (vaudeville-style comedy) and
Guild Films
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...
' ''
Liberace
Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...
'' (musical variety) and ''
Life With Elizabeth
''Life with Elizabeth'' is an American television sitcom starring Betty White as Elizabeth and Del Moore as her husband Alvin; Jack Narz is the on-camera announcer and narrator. The series aired in syndication from October 7, 1953, to September ...
'', a domestic situation comedy that introduced
Betty White
Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...
to a national audience. In addition to the ''Adventures of Superman'', many other series were based on comic strips and aimed at the juvenile audience, including ''
Flash Gordon'', ''
Dick Tracy'', ''
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle
Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine, originally published primarily by Fiction House during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was the first female comic book character with her own title, with he ...
'', and ''
Joe Palooka''. Original juvenile adventure series included ''
Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion
''Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion'' is an American half-hour black-and-white television series about the French Foreign Legion starring Buster Crabbe in the title role. Crabbe's real-life son Cullen Crabbe played the Legion mascot, with cowb ...
'', ''
Cowboy G-Men
''Cowboy G-Men'' is an American Western series that aired in syndication from September 1952 to June 1953, for a total of thirty-nine episodes.
Synopsis
Russell Hayden and former child actor Jackie Coogan (who would later perform as Uncle Feste ...
'', and ''
Ramar of the Jungle
''Ramar of the Jungle'' is an American television series that starred Jon Hall as Dr. Tom ReynoldsMcNeil, Alex (1996). ''Total Television''. Penguin Books USA, Inc. . P. 683. (the titular "ramar" being an African title for a white medicine man). ...
''. Series based on literary properties included ''
Sherlock Holmes'', ''
Long John Silver
Long John Silver is a Character (arts), fictional character and the main antagonist in the novel ''Treasure Island'' (1883) by Robert Louis Stevenson. The most colourful and complex character in the book, he continues to appear in popular cult ...
'' (based on ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...
''), and ''
The Three Musketeers
''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight ...
''. Several of these were co-productions between U.S. and European (usually British) companies. ''
Crusader Rabbit
''Crusader Rabbit'' is the first animated series produced specifically for television. Its main characters were Crusader Rabbit and his sidekick Ragland T. Tiger, or "Rags". The stories were four-minute-long satirical cliffhangers.
The concept ...
'' pioneered in the area of first-run animated series; followed by ''
'', ''
Colonel Bleep
''Colonel Bleep'' is a 1957 American animated TV series, which was the first color cartoon series made for television. It was created and written by Robert D. Buchanan and Jack Schleh in June 8, 1956, and was animated by Soundac, Inc. of Miami. ...
'', ''
Spunky and Tadpole'', ''
Q. T. Hush
''Q.T. Hush'' is a 1960–61 American animated cartoon released in syndication, beginning on September 24, 1960. The show's 100 three-and-a-half-minute episodes, all in color, were directed by veteran animator Rudy Cataldi, and produced by Animat ...
'', and others. (All of these were five-minute shorts designed to be placed within locally hosted kiddie shows.) Syndicated sports programming included ''Championship Bowling'' and ''All-Star Golf'', both produced by Chicago-based Walter Schwimmer, Inc.
In addition to regular series, syndicators also offered packages of feature films, cartoons, and short subjects originally made for movie theatres. Until late in the 1950s, however, much of the theatrical product available consisted of low-budget secondary features (mainly Westerns) with relatively few notable stars. One syndication company,
National Telefilm Associates
National Telefilm Associates (NTA) was an audio-visual marketing company primarily concerned with the syndication of American film libraries to television, including the Republic Pictures film library. It was successful enough on cable television ...
, attempted to create a "
NTA Film Network
The NTA Film Network was an early American television network founded by Ely Landau in 1956. The network was not a full-time television network like CBS, NBC, or ABC. Rather, it operated on a part-time basis, broadcasting films and several f ...
" of stations showing its lineup of first-run series, which included syndicated programs such as ''
Police Call'' (1955), ''
How to Marry a Millionaire'' (1957–1959), ''
The Passerby'', ''
Man Without a Gun
''Man Without a Gun'' is an American western television series produced by 20th Century Fox Television and presented on the NTA Film Network and in first-run syndication in the United States from 1957 to 1959. Set in the town of Yellowstone near Y ...
'' (1957–1959), and ''
This is Alice'' (1958). The venture lasted five years and closed down in 1961.
By the late 1960s, a ''de facto'' two-tiered system had developed in the United States, with the major network affiliates (usually on longer-range VHF stations) consistently drawing more viewers than their UHF, independent counterparts; syndicators thus hoped to get their programs onto the major network stations, where spots in the lineup were far more scarce.
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) rulings in 1971 curtailed the U.S. networks' ability to schedule programming in what has become known as the "
fringe time
In broadcast programming fringe time refers to two dayparts -
* early fringe - the hour lead-in prime time
* late fringe - the late night television program slot following late-night news
Definition
Fringe time is widely used in television to ...
", notably the 7–8 p.m. (
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
and
Pacific Time
The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00). ...
) hour of "prime time", with the stated hope that this might encourage more local programming of social and cultural relevance to communities (off-network syndicated repeats were also banned); some projects of this sort came to fruition, though these were usually relatively commercial and slick efforts such as
Group W's ''
Evening/PM Magazine'' franchise, and such pre-existing national projects as the brief commercial-television run of
William F. Buckley Jr.
William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American public intellectual, conservative author and political commentator. In 1955, he founded ''National Review'', the magazine that stim ...
's interview/debate series ''
Firing Line''. The more obvious result was an increase in Canadian-produced syndicated dramatic series, such as ''
Dusty's Trail
''Dusty's Trail'' is an American Western/ comedy series starring Bob Denver and Forrest Tucker that aired in syndication from September 1973 to March 1974. The series is a western-themed reworking of Denver's previous series '' Gilligan's Island'' ...
'' and the
Colgate-sponsored ''
Dr. Simon Locke
''Dr. Simon Locke'' (on-screen title is ''Doctor Simon Locke'') is a Canadian medical drama that was syndicated to television stations in the United States from 1971 to 1974 through the sponsorship of Colgate-Palmolive.
Plot
The series was in ...
''. Game shows, often evening editions of network afternoon series, flourished, and a few odd items such as ''
Wild Kingdom
''Wild Kingdom'', also known as ''Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom'', is an American documentary television program that features wildlife and nature. It was originally produced from 1963 until 1988, and it was revived in 2002. The show's second ...
'', canceled by
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
in 1971, had a continuing life as syndicated programming tailor-made for the early fringe.
1970s and 1980s
In 1971, the U.S. FCC passed the
Prime Time Access Rule
The Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) was a broadcasting regulation that was instituted in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1970 to restrict the amount of network programming that a local television station either ...
and
Financial Interest and Syndication Rules
The Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, widely known as the fin-syn rules, were a set of rules imposed by the Federal Communications Commission in the United States in 1970. The FCC sought to prevent the Big Three television networks from mon ...
, which prevented networks from programming one particular hour of prime time programming on its television stations each night and required the networks to spin off their syndication arms as independent companies. Although the intent of the rule was to encourage local stations to produce their own programs for this time slot, budgetary limits instead prompted stations to buy syndicated programs to fill the slot. This, coupled with an increase in UHF
independent stations, caused a boom in the syndication market. In the 1970s, first-run syndication continued to be an odd mix: cheaply produced, but not always poor quality, "filler" programming. These included the dance-music show ''
Soul Train'', and
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
's ''That's Hollywood'', a television variation on the popular ''
That's Entertainment!
''That's Entertainment!'' is a 1974 American compilation film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to celebrate the studio's 50th anniversary. The success of the retrospective prompted a 1976 sequel, the related 1985 film ''That's Dancing!'', and a ...
'' theatrically released collections of film clips from the
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...
library.
There were also many imported programs distributed this way. These include the documentary series ''Wild, Wild World of Animals'' (repackaged by
Time Life
Time Life, with sister subsidiaries StarVista Live and Lifestyle Products Group, a holding of Direct Holdings Global LLC, is an American production company and direct marketer conglomerate, that is known for selling books, music, video/DVD, ...
with narration by
William Conrad) and
Thames Television
Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992.
Thames Television broa ...
's sober and necessarily grim ''
The World at War
''The World at War'' is a 26-episode British documentary television series that chronicles the events of the Second World War. It was produced in 1973, at a cost of £900,000 (), the most expensive factual series ever produced. It was produ ...
''. ''
The Starlost
''The Starlost'' is a Canadian-produced science fiction television series created by writer Harlan Ellison and broadcast in 1973 on CTV in Canada and syndicated to local stations in the United States. The show's setting is a huge generational ...
'' (1973) was a Canadian series, apparently modified from the vision of science fiction writers
Harlan Ellison and
Ben Bova. Britain's
ITC Entertainment
The Incorporated Television Company (ITC), or ITC Entertainment as it was referred to in the United States, was a British company involved in production and distribution of television programmes.
History Incorporated Television Programme Compan ...
, headed by
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...
, made ''
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
'' (1970) and ''
Space: 1999'' (1975). These two series were created by
Gerry Anderson
Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...
(and his associates), previously best known for
Supermarionation (a combination of puppetry and animation) series such as ''
Thunderbirds''. The most successful syndicated show in the United States in the 1970s was probably ''
The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a s ...
'', also from Lew Grade's company. Animated series from the 1980s ''
Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds
''Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds'' (Spanish: ''D'Artacán y los Tres Mosqueperros''; Japanese: ''ワンワン三銃士 Wan Wan Sanjuushi'', lit., ''Woof Woof Three Musketeers'') is a children's animated television series that adapts the cl ...
'' and ''
Around the World with Willy Fog'' came from Spanish animation production company
BRB Internacional
BRB Internacional S.A.U is a Spanish licensing and production company of animated television series as ''Around the World with Willy Fog'', ''Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds'' and ''The World of David the Gnome''. On 31 January 2018, WildBrain ...
and their Japanese co-producers
Nippon Animation
is a Japanese animation studio. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, with chief offices in the Ginza district of Chūō and production facilities in Tama City.
Nippon Animation is known for producing numerous anime series based on works of ...
.
Game shows thrived in syndication during the decade. Nightly versions of ''
What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'', ''
Truth or Consequences
''Truth or Consequences'' is an American game show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards (1940–1957) and later on television by Edwards (1950–1954), Jack Bailey (1954–1956), Bob Barker (1956–1975), Steve Dunne (1957–1958), ...
'', ''
Beat the Clock
''Beat the Clock'' is an American television game show that involves people trying to complete challenges to win prizes while faced with a time limit. The show was a creation of Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions.
The show began on radio as ' ...
'' and ''
To Tell the Truth'' premiered in the late 1960s and found loyal audiences for many years. Several daytime network games began producing once-a-week nighttime versions for broadcast in the early evening hours, usually with bigger prizes and often featuring different hosts (emcees were limited to appearing on one network and one syndicated game simultaneously) and modified titles (''
Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelis ...
PM'', ''The $100,000
Name That Tune
''Name That Tune'' is an American television music game show. Originally created and produced by orchestra conductor Harry Salter and his wife Roberta Semple Salter, the series features contestants competing to correctly identify songs being p ...
'' or ''The $25,000
Pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
'', for example). A few independent game shows, such as ''
Sports Challenge
''Sports Challenge'' is a sports-centered game show that aired in weekly syndication from 1971 to 1979, with a separate version that aired briefly on CBS weekends from May 20, 1973 to September 9, 1973. Dick Enberg was host. Johnny Gilbert, Art Ja ...
'' and ''
Celebrity Bowling
''Celebrity Bowling'' is an American syndicated bowling sports series hosted by Jed Allan that ran from January 16, 1971, to September 1978. The series was produced in Los Angeles at Metromedia Square, the studios of KTTV.
Each week, the show fea ...
'', also entered the syndication market around this time. Of these shows, ''
Let's Make a Deal
''Let's Make a Deal'' (also known as ''LMAD'') is an American television musical comedy variety-game show that originated in the United States in 1963 and has since been produced in many countries throughout the world. The program was created an ...
'' and ''
Hollywood Squares
''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...
'' were the first to jump to twice-a-week syndicated versions, in about 1973. Another popular daytime show to have a weekly syndicated version was ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'', which began concurrently in weekly syndication and on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
; the syndicated "nighttime" version was hosted by
Dennis James
Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other telev ...
for its first five years, after which daytime host
Bob Barker took over for another three years of weekly episodes (even though, by this point, the daytime and nighttime shows had diverged noticeably). The nighttime version of ''
Family Feud
''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has had three separate runs, th ...
'' (1977) quickly jumped from once-weekly to twice, and finally to five-day-a-week airings, and its massive popularity, along with that of new five-day-a-week entries like Jack Barry's ''
The Joker's Wild
''The Joker's Wild'' is an American television game show that aired at different times between 1972 and 2019. In the show, contestants answer questions based on categories determined randomly by a mechanism resembling a slot machine. The show's ...
'' (1977) and ''
Tic-Tac-Dough
''Tic-Tac-Dough'' is an American television game show based on the paper-and-pencil game of tic-tac-toe. Contestants answer questions in various categories to put up their respective symbol, ''X'' or ''O'', on the board. Three versions were produc ...
'' (1978), the move of ''Match Game''s daily run from CBS to syndication (1979), and
Chuck Barris's increasingly raunchy remakes of his 1960s hits ''
The Newlywed Game
''The Newlywed Game'' is an American television game show that puts newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know or do not know each other. The program, originally create ...
'' and ''
The Dating Game
''The Dating Game'' is an American television game show that first aired on December 20, 1965, and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s. ABC dropped the show on July 6, 1973, but it ...
'', brought an end (with rare exceptions) to the era of once-a-week games. Also popular in first-run syndication and daytime was ''
The Gong Show
''The Gong Show'' is an American amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to ...
'', hosted by Barris throughout most of its run (
Gary Owens
Gary Owens (born Gary Bernard Altman; May 10, 1934 – February 12, 2015) was an American radio announcer, personality, disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offered deadpan recitations of total nonsense, wh ...
hosted the first syndicated season).
A number of half-hour musical-variety shows were also offered in the early 1970s, generally built around personable middle-of-the-road singers like
Bobby Vinton
Stanley Robert "Bobby" Vinton (born April 16, 1935) is a American former singer and occasional actor, who also hosted his own self-titled TV show in the late 1970s. As a teen idol, he became known as "The Polish Prince", as his music paid trib ...
,
Bobby Goldsboro
Robert Charles Goldsboro (born January 18, 1941) is an American pop and country singer and songwriter. He had a string of pop and country hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including his signature No. 1 hit "Honey", which sold over 1 million copies in ...
,
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
, and
Andy Williams, or groups like
Sha Na Na
Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s. After ga ...
,
The Johnny Mann Singers
John Russell Mann (August 30, 1928June 18, 2014) was an American arranger, composer, conductor, entertainer, singer, and recording artist.
Career
Johnny Mann's began his music career in the late 1940s in his hometown of Baltimore before serving ...
, and
The Golddiggers
The Golddiggers was a female singing and dancing troupe created for ''The Dean Martin Show.'' They performed on TV, on live tours and internationally with the USO. The group was formed in 1968, dissolved in 1992, and reorganized in 2007, and has ...
. ''
Wait Till Your Father Gets Home
''Wait Till Your Father Gets Home'' is an American comedy animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that aired in first-run syndication in the United States from 1972 to 1974. The show originated as a one-time segment on ''Love, ...
'' (1972) was a
Hanna-Barbera cartoon series attempting to ape the ''
All in the Family
''All in the Family'' is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS for nine seasons, from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. Afterwards, it was continued with the spin-off series ''Archie Bunker's Place'', which picked up where ''All in ...
''-style sitcoms; ''
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' (1969), an Australian children's series, or ''
Gentle Ben
Gentle Ben is a bear character created by author Walt Morey and first introduced in a 1965 children's novel, ''Gentle Ben''. The original novel told the story of the friendship between a large male bear named Ben and a boy named Mark. The story pr ...
'' (a decade later, the decidedly not-for-children Australian ''
Prisoner: Cell Block H'' would have a brief U.S. syndicated run); and a Canadian sketch-comedy series began appearing on U.S. television stations in 1977—''
Second City Television'', which would eventually find a home, for two seasons, on NBC, as ''SCTV Network 90'' (and on
premium cable
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...
channel
Cinemax
Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...
by 1983).
The
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
/
Paramount
Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to:
Entertainment and music companies
* Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...
-produced package of original programming, ''
Operation Prime Time
Operation Prime Time (OPT) was a consortium of United States, American independent station (North America), independent television stations to develop prime time programming for independent stations. OPT and its spin-off syndication company, Tel ...
'', began appearing on ''ad hoc'' quasi-networks of (almost by necessity) non-network stations in the U.S. in 1978, with a mini-series adaptation of
John Jakes
John William Jakes (born March 31, 1932) is an American writer, best known for American historical and speculative fiction. His Civil War trilogy, ''North and South'', has sold millions of copies worldwide. He is also the author of The Kent Fam ...
' ''The Bastard''. From the later 1960s into the late 1970s, Westinghouse also found considerable success with ''
The Mike Douglas Show
''The Mike Douglas Show'' was an American daytime television talk show that was hosted by Mike Douglas. It began as a local program in Cleveland before being carried on other stations owned by Westinghouse Broadcasting. The show went into natio ...
'', a variety/talk show hosted by a singer with an easygoing interview style, which aired in the afternoons in most markets; similar programs soon followed featuring
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own t ...
, who had been the host of
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
' most sustained late-night answer to ''
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...
'' previously, and another network veteran,
Dinah Shore
Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
. Also notable was the growing success of audience-participation talk shows, particularly that of the innovator of the format,
Phil Donahue
Phillip John Donahue (born December 21, 1935) is an American media personality, writer, film producer and the creator and host of ''The Phil Donahue Show''. The television program, later known simply as ''Donahue'', was the first talk show forma ...
.
First-run syndication in the 1970s also made it possible for some shows that were no longer wanted by television networks to remain on the air. In 1971,
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
canceled ''
The Lawrence Welk Show
''The Lawrence Welk Show'' is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1 ...
'', which went on to produce new episodes in syndication for another 11 years, and currently continues to much success in weekend reruns (with new segments featuring Welk cast members inserted within the episodes) distributed to
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
stations by the
Oklahoma Educational Television Authority
The Oklahoma Educational Television Authority (OETA) is a state network of PBS member television stations serving the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The authority operates as a statutory corporation that holds the licenses for all of the PBS stati ...
. Also in 1971, CBS dropped ''
Lassie'' and ''
Hee Haw
''Hee Haw'' is an American television variety show featuring country music and humor with the fictional rural "Kornfield Kounty" as the backdrop. It aired first-run on CBS from 1969 to 1971, in syndication from 1971 to 1993, and on TNN from 1 ...
'', the latter show's run ending as part of the network's cancellation of all of its rural-oriented shows (known then as "
rural purge
The "rural purge" of American television networks (in particular CBS) was a series of cancellations in the early 1970s of still-popular rural-themed shows with demographically skewed audiences, the majority of which occurred at the end of the ...
", which also resulted in the cancellations of ''
The Beverly Hillbillies
''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...
'' and ''
Green Acres''). ''Lassie'' entered first-run syndication for two years, while ''Hee Haw'' continued to produce new episodes until 1992.
First-run syndicated comedy
Throughout the mid-to-late 1980s into the early 1990s, sitcoms continued to enter first-run syndication after being canceled by the networks, the most successful of which were ''
Mama's Family
''Mama's Family'' is an American sitcom television series starring Vicki Lawrence as Mama (Thelma Harper). The series is a spin-off of a recurring series of comedy sketches called " The Family" featured on ''The Carol Burnett Show'' (1967–78 ...
'' and ''
Charles in Charge''. Other sitcoms during this time to enter first-run syndication after network cancellation included ''
Silver Spoons
''Silver Spoons'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982, to May 11, 1986, and in first-run syndication from September 27, 1986, to May 30, 1987. The series was produced by Embassy Television for the f ...
'', ''
Punky Brewster
''Punky Brewster'' is an American Situation comedy, sitcom television series about a young girl (Soleil Moon Frye) being raised by a foster parent (George Gaynes). The show ran on NBC from September 16, 1984, to March 9, 1986, and again in Broad ...
'', ''
Webster'', ''
It's a Living
''It's a Living'' (renamed for season two as ''Making a Living'') is an American sitcom television series set in a restaurant at the top of the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. The show aired on ABC from October 30, 1980, until June 11, 1982. ...
'', ''
Too Close for Comfort
''Too Close for Comfort'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from November 11, 1980, to May 5, 1983, and in first-run syndication from April 7, 1984, to February 7, 1987. Its name was changed to ''The Ted Knight Show'' w ...
'', ''
9 to 5'', ''
What's Happening!!
''What's Happening!!'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from August 5, 1976, until April 28, 1979, premiering as a summer series. Due to other shows being cancelled across the network, and good ratings and reviews from ...
'', and ''
WKRP in Cincinnati
''WKRP in Cincinnati'' is an American sitcom television series about the misadventures of the staff of a struggling fictional radio station in Cincinnati, Ohio. The show was created by Hugh Wilson and was based upon his experiences working ...
''. Many of these sitcoms produced new shows in syndication mainly to have enough episodes for a profitable run in reruns. Other sitcoms, such as ''
Small Wonder Small Wonder or variants may refer to:
Film, television and theatre
* ''Small Wonder'' (TV series), a 1985–1989 American sitcom
* '' A Small Wonder'', a 1966 Australian television film
* '' Small Wonders'', a 1995 documentary film
* ''Small Wond ...
'', ''
Out of This World'', ''
The Munsters Today
''The Munsters Today'' is an American sitcom and a revival of the original 1964–66 sitcom '' The Munsters'' that aired in syndication from October 8, 1988, to May 25, 1991.
Plot
The series concerns the day-to-day life of a family of benign m ...
'', and ''
Harry and the Hendersons'' (as well as more
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
oriented series like ''
Superboy
Superboy is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in American comicbooks published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series featuring ...
'' and ''
My Secret Identity
''My Secret Identity'' is a television series starring Jerry O'Connell and Derek McGrath. Originally broadcast from October 9, 1988 to May 25, 1991 on CTV in Canada, the series also aired in syndication in the United States. It was later shown ...
'') enjoyed success in syndication throughout their entire run.
Dramatic first-run syndicated programs
The broadcast networks aired many
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
programs from the 1950s to the 1980s. By the late 1980s, however, increasing production costs made them less attractive to the networks. Studios found that reruns of one-hour dramas did not sell as well as sitcoms, so they were unable to fully recoup the shows' costs using the traditional
deficit financing Television deficit financing is the practice of a network or channel paying the studio that creates a show a license fee in exchange for the right to air the show, and in which the license fee is less than the cost of the show. A major broadcast ne ...
model.
When NBC canceled the television series adaptation of ''
Fame'' after only two seasons, the producers made special arrangements with
LBS Communications
The Lexington Broadcast Services Company (first known as Lexington Broadcast Services and later known as LBS Communications) was a television production and syndication company formed on November 15, 1976, by advertising pioneer Henry Siegel, wh ...
, which resulted in MGM reviving the series for first-run syndication in the fall of 1983, where it continued for four more seasons, with the last first-run episode airing in the U.S. on May 18, 1987.
''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'' debuted in 1987, and became the most-watched syndicated show throughout its seven-year run. Its great success caused many others to debut. ''
Friday the 13th: The Series'' (a horror series which shared its title with the successful
movie
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
franchise) also debuted in 1987. The next syndicated shows that debuted in 1988 were ''
War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...
'' and ''
Freddy's Nightmares
''Freddy's Nightmares'' is an American horror anthology television series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' film series, each episode is introduced by Freddy Kruege ...
''. ''
Baywatch
''Baywatch'' is an American action drama television series about lifeguards who patrol the beaches of Los Angeles County, California, and Hawaii, starring David Hasselhoff. It was created by Michael Berk, Douglas Schwartz, and Gregory J. Bo ...
'', which debuted in 1989 on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and was canceled after one season also became one of the most watched syndicated shows throughout its ten-year-run, garnering a worldwide audience.
By 1994, there were more than 20 one-hour syndicated shows.
''
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' and ''
Renegade
Renegade or The Renegade may refer to:
Aircraft
*Lake Renegade, an American amphibious aircraft design
*Murphy Renegade, a Canadian ultralight biplane design
*Southern Aeronautical Renegade, an American racing aircraft design
Games
*'' Comman ...
'' were also syndicated. ''
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...
'' and its
spin-off series ''
Xena: Warrior Princess'' were also popular, often tying Deep Space Nine at 5% to 6% of the Nielsen-monitored audience. ''
Forever Knight
''Forever Knight'' is a Canadian television series about Nick Knight, an 800-year-old vampire working as a police detective in modern-day Toronto, Ontario. Wracked with guilt for centuries of killing others, he seeks redemption by working as a ho ...
'' drew devoted "cult" audiences (3% rating). ''
Psi Factor
''Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal'' is a Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all ...
'' and ''
Poltergeist: The Legacy'' attempted to draw on the audience for the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
series ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction drama television series created by Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson), who ...
'' (as did the short-lived spinoff ''
Baywatch Nights
''Baywatch Nights'' is an American police and science-fiction drama series that aired in syndication from 1995 to 1997. Created by Douglas Schwartz, David Hasselhoff, and Gregory J. Bonann, the series is a spin-off from the television series, '' ...
''). Among the other series were ''
Relic Hunter'', ''
V.I.P.'', ''
High Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another.
Tide tables c ...
'', ''
She Spies
''She Spies'' is an action-adventure television show that ran from July 20, 2002 until May 17, 2004 in two seasons. The show was sold into syndication but the first four episodes were premiered on the NBC network, whose syndication arm was one of t ...
'' and ''
Once a Thief''.
''
Babylon 5
''Babylon 5'' is an American space opera television series created by writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski, under the Babylonian Productions label, in association with Straczynski's Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Warner Bros. Domestic Tele ...
'' began life in 1993 on the
Prime Time Entertainment Network
The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN) was an American television network that was operated by the Prime Time Consortium, a joint venture between the Warner Bros. Domestic Television subsidiary of Time Warner and Chris-Craft Industries. Fir ...
(PTEN), moved into syndicated distribution when its network was displaced by WB/UPN-affiliated stations, and eventually ended its final season on TNT (1998). In 1997 ''
Earth: Final Conflict'', based on ideas from
Gene Roddenberry, premiered in syndication. Three years later, a second Gene Roddenberry series, ''
Andromeda'' also premiered in syndication. As emerging networks WB and UPN signed contracts with formerly-independent stations, and the syndication market shrunk, Andromeda season 5 moved to the
Syfy Channel (2004).
There was not another first-run syndicated drama (or a first-run scripted series in syndication) until 2008, when
Disney-ABC Domestic Television and
ABC Studios
ABC Signature is an American television production studio that is a subsidiary of Disney Television Studios, a division of Walt Disney Television, which is part of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Company. ...
teamed up with
Sam Raimi to launch a new first-run syndicated series, ''
Legend of the Seeker
''Legend of the Seeker'' is an American television series created by Sam Raimi, based on the fantasy novel series ''The Sword of Truth'' by Terry Goodkind. Distributed in U.S. by Disney-ABC Domestic Television, ABC Studios produced the series f ...
'', based on
Terry Goodkind
Terry Lee Goodkind (January 11, 1948September 17, 2020) was an American writer. He was known for the epic fantasy series ''The Sword of Truth'' as well as the contemporary suspense novel ''The Law of Nines'' (2009), which has ties to his fantasy ...
's ''
Sword of Truth'' novel series. Another gap in first-run scripted series in syndication followed for four years after ''Legend of the Seeker'' was canceled in 2009, until
Trifecta Entertainment & Media
Trifecta Entertainment & Media is an American entertainment company founded in 2006. The company's founders previously held jobs as executives at MGM Television. Trifecta is primarily a distribution company and also handles advertising sales in exc ...
(a company that mainly distributes programs for off-network syndication) began producing ''
SAF3'' (pronounced "safe") in 2013.
Animated series
During the late 1970s and 1980s, independent stations signed on in mid-sized and many small markets. The market for made-for-television cartoons grew as a result to include a branch for such stations. It usually had a greater artistic freedom, and looser standards (not mandated by a network). The older
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
and
Popeye
Popeye the Sailor Man is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar.[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anim ...](_blank)
'', ''
Inspector Gadget
''Inspector Gadget'' is a media franchise that began in 1983 with the DIC Entertainment animated television series '' Inspector Gadget''. Since the original series, there have been many spin-offs based on the show, including additional animated ...
'', ''
Heathcliff'', ''
ThunderCats'', ''
My Little Pony'', ''
The Transformers'', ''
G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...
'', ''
Voltron
''Voltron'' is an animated television series franchise that features a team of space explorers who pilot a giant Super Robot known as "Voltron". Produced by Peter Keefe (Executive Producer) and Ted Koplar through his production company World ...
'', ''
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...
'', and reruns of ''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...
'', ''
Garfield and Friends
''Garfield and Friends'' is an American animated television series based on the comic strip ''Garfield'' by Jim Davis. The show aired on CBS as part of its Saturday morning children's lineup from September 17, 1988 to December 10, 1994.
The sho ...
'', and ''
The Pink Panther
''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...
'', among many others.
In 1987,
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
tried its luck at syndication; ''
DuckTales
''DuckTales'' is an American animated television series produced by Disney Television Animation. The original cartoon series premiered on syndication and on Disney Channel on September 18, 1987 and ran for a total of 100 episodes over four sea ...
'' premiered that September and would eventually last for 100 episodes. The success of ''DuckTales'' paved the way for a second series two years later, ''
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers''. The following year, the two shows aired together under the umbrella block ''
The Disney Afternoon
The Disney Afternoon (later known internally as the Disney-Kellogg Alliance when unbranded), sometimes abbreviated as TDA, was a created-for-syndication two-hour programming block of animated television series. It was produced by Walt Disney T ...
''. In the fall of 1990, Disney added another hour to ''The Disney Afternoon''; the block continued in syndication, running additional first-run animated series until 1999.
These cartoons initially competed with the ones that were nationally televised on the broadcast networks. In the 1980s, national broadcast networks only aired cartoons on
Saturday-morning cartoon
"Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...
, not competing with the weekday and Sunday syndication blocks aired by local independent stations; however, by the 1990s, Fox and then
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...
launched their own weekday afternoon children's program blocks. By the end of the 1990s, both syndication distributors and broadcast networks ended up losing most of their children's market to the rise of cable television channels aimed at that audience such as
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
and
Cartoon Network, which provided appealing children's entertainment throughout the week at nearly all hours.
Syndication remains a method of choice for distributing children's programming, although this has gradually shifted to only produce programs to satisfy the federally mandated "
" (E/I) rule imposed in the late 1990s as part of an amendment to the
Children's Television Act of 1990
The broadcast of educational children's programming by terrestrial television stations in the United States is mandated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), under regulations colloquially referred to as the Children's Television Act (C ...
that requires stations to air three hours of educational children's programs every week, regardless of the station's format. Syndication is generally a less expensive option for a local station than to attempt to produce its own locally originated E/I programming; not all networks provide their own E/I programs, so stations that are affiliated with networks that do not carry children's program blocks acquire E/I programs off the syndication market to fulfill the requirements.
News programming and late-night talk shows
Also in the 1980s, news programming of various sorts began to be offered widely to stations. ''
Independent Network News'', which was produced by
WPIX
WPIX (channel 11) is a television station in New York City. Owned by Mission Broadcasting, it is operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Nexstar Media Group, making it a ''de facto'' owned-and-operated station and flagship of Th ...
in New York City, was a half-hour nightly program that ran from 1980 to 1990 on
independent stations (in some markets, ''INN'' was paired with a locally produced primetime newscast);
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
would offer a simulcast of programming from its sister network Headline News (now
HLN) to broadcast stations later, as did its rival
All News Channel
All News Channel (ANC) was an American satellite television news channel that was owned by CONUS Communications, a joint venture between Viacom and Hubbard Broadcasting. The channel was carried mainly on direct-broadcast satellite provider D ...
, although both were used mainly to fill overnight time periods and were effectively discontinued in syndication when All News Channel folded in 2002 and HLN launched a "Headline Prime" talk show block in 2006. In 2019,
NewsNet
NewsNet (stylized as NEWSnet) is an American news-oriented free-to-air television network and newscast production company owned by Bridge News, LLC, which itself is owned by Bridge Media Networks. The network is structured to broadcast a tigh ...
began offering a similar service to its affiliates. ''
Entertainment Tonight'' began its long and continuing run as a "soft" news daily strip, with a number of imitations following (among which have included such entertainment news shows as ''
TMZ on TV
''TMZ on TV'' (also known as ''TMZ on Fox'' and simply as ''TMZ'' or ''TMZTV'') is an American syndicated entertainment and gossip news television show that premiered on September 10, 2007 (its major carriage is among television stations owned ...
'', ''
Extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
'' and ''ET''s own spin-off ''
The Insider''); and "tabloid" television, in the wake of
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''
20/20
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'' and, more immediately,
20th Television
20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...
's ''
A Current Affair
''A Current Affair'' may refer to:
* ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network
* ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...
'', would become a syndication staple with such series as ''
Hard Copy
''Hard Copy'' is an American tabloid television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. ''Hard Copy'' was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence.
The original hosts of ''Hard Copy' ...
'' and ''
Real TV
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...
''.
Another area where network dominance was challenged by syndicated programming in the 1980s was with
late-night talk shows; ''
The Arsenio Hall Show
''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall.
There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...
'' was the only very successful one (it would be canceled after five years in 1994 due to ratings declines spurred by many CBS affiliates pushing the show to later timeslots following the debut of the ''
Late Show with David Letterman'', and was later revived in 2013), but similar programs were attempted such as
Alan Thicke
Alan Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffrey; March 1, 1947December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is the father of singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. Thicke was be ...
's earlier short-lived ''
Thicke of the Night
''Thicke of the Night'' is an American late-night talk show starring Alan Thicke and broadcast in first-run syndication during the 1983–1984 TV season.
Among the regulars on ''Thicke of the Night'' were Richard Belzer, Arsenio Hall, Rick Duco ...
'',
Lauren Hutton's innovatively shot ''Lauren Hutton and...'', and talk shows hosted by
Dennis Miller
Dennis Michael Miller (born November 3, 1953) is an American talk show host, political commentator, sports commentator, actor, and comedian.
He was a cast member of ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1985 to 1991, and he subsequently hosted a stri ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
,
David Brenner
David Norris Brenner (February 4, 1936 – March 15, 2014) was an American stand-up comedian, actor and author. The most frequent guest on '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' in the 1970s and 1980s, Brenner "was a pioneer of obser ...
and
Keenen Ivory Wayans
Keenen Ivory Desuma Wayans (born June 8, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is a member of the Wayans family of entertainers. Wayans first came to prominence as the host and the creator of the 1990–1994 Fox sketch comedy ...
;
Magic Johnson's ''
The Magic Hour'' was seen as a massive flop, similar to ''Thicke of the Night''. The popularity of syndicated talk shows fell dramatically in the mid-1990s as network and cable offerings expanded in the wake of
Johnny Carson's retirement.
Reality and live-action children's shows
Long before their popularity on network television from the 2000s onward, reality competition shows in one form or another, such as ''
Star Search
''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...
'' and ''
American Gladiators'', enjoyed popularity in syndication as early as the mid-1980s. Since the now-defunct networks
UPN
The United Paramount Network (UPN) was an American broadcast television network that launched on January 16, 1995. It was originally owned by Chris-Craft Industries' United Television. Viacom (through its Paramount Television unit, which pr ...
and The WB began offering their affiliates additional nights of prime time programming in the late 1990s, there have been fewer first-run scripted series in syndication, at least, in the U.S.; much as with the closing of windows that provided opportunity for Ziv in the 1950s and various producers in the early 1970s. The more expensive dramatic projects are less attractive to syndicators (particularly when they might be sold, with somewhat less risk, to cable channels); "reality" series such as ''
Cheaters
Cheater or Cheaters may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Films
* ''The Cheaters'' (1930 film), an Australian silent film
* ''Cheaters'' (1934 film), an American film directed by Phil Rosent
* ''The Cheaters'' (1945 film), directed by Joseph Ka ...
'' and ''
Maximum Exposure
''Maximum Exposure'' (also known as ''Max X'') is an American reality TV program showcasing video clips on a variety of subjects. It ran from October 7, 2000 until May 25, 2002. As its various slogans attest, the show was targeted at teens and ...
'' and several dating series began to be more common in the early 2000s. Some of the more low-key programs in this category were designed to appeal to children, such as ''
Beakman's World
''Beakman's World'' is an American educational children's television program. The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate syndicated comic strip ''You Can with Beakman and Jax'' created by Jok Church. The series premiered on Wednesday, ...
'', ''
Disney's Sing Me A Story with Belle'', ''Animal Rescue'' and ''
Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures
''Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures'' is a nature documentary video/television series that ran in first-run syndication from 1993 to 2008, and remains in active distribution. The series was hosted by Jack Hanna, Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo ...
''. They were able to get significant clearance because of stricter
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
(FCC) enforcement of rules on
children's television
Children's television series (or children's television shows) are television programs designed for children, normally scheduled for broadcast during the morning and afternoon when children are awake. They can sometimes run during the early evenin ...
programming.
Game shows
Several game shows are currently syndicated; historically, the most popular have been ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
'' and the current version of ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...
'', both created by television personality
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own t ...
, respectively premiering in 1983 and 1984. The shows have been No. 1 and No. 2 or No. 1 to No. 3 in the syndication ratings consistently since at least the late 1980s. In fact, according to the ''
Guinness Book of World Records'', ''Wheel'' is the most popular syndicated television program both within and outside the United States. ''
Family Feud
''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has had three separate runs, th ...
'', created by
Mark Goodson
Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.
Early life and e ...
and
Bill Todman
William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created ...
, ended its first syndication run in 1985. Three years later, a revival of the program featuring
Ray Combs
Raymond Neil Combs Jr. (April 3, 1956 – June 2, 1996) was an American actor, comedian and game show host.
Combs began his professional career in the late 1970s. His popularity on the stand-up circuit led to him being signed as the second host o ...
as host became a moderate hit and continued for seven seasons, its last year featuring the return of original host
Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Heroe ...
in a failed attempt to save the series. A third revival hit the airwaves in 1999 and has gone through four hosts. The first three hosts (
Louie Anderson
Louis Perry Anderson (March 24, 1953 – January 21, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and game show host. Anderson created the cartoon series '' Life with Louie'' and the television sitcom '' The Louie Show'', and wrote fou ...
,
Richard Karn
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
and
John O'Hurley
John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, singer, author, game show host and television personality. He is known for his portrayal of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', and was the sixth host of the ...
) struggled in their respective runs and only lasted three to four years. The current run of the program, hosted by
Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts '' The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', '' Family Feud'', ''Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss ...
, has been a major ratings success; on the week of June 12, 2015, for the first time ever, ''Family Feud'' was the highest-rated syndicated program in terms of average household ratings.
While the current version of ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
'' (another Goodson-Todman game show) has enjoyed tremendous success on the CBS daytime schedule since its inception in 1972 under hosts
Bob Barker and
Drew Carey
Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, '' The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
, it has also produced three spinoffs, two of which failed after one season. The most successful syndicated edition was the 1972–80 weekly version that was initially hosted by
Dennis James
Dennis James (born Demie James Sposa, August 24, 1917 – June 3, 1997) was an American television personality, philanthropist, and commercial spokesman. Until 1976, he had appeared on TV more times and for a longer period than any other telev ...
, but in 1977, daytime host Bob Barker also hosted the nighttime version for the final three seasons. For the 1985–86 season,
Tom Kennedy Thomas or Tom Kennedy may refer to:
Politics
*Thomas Kennedy (Scottish judge) (1673–1754), joint Solicitor General for Scotland 1709–14, Lord Advocate 1714, Member of Parliament for Ayr Burghs 1720–21
* Thomas Kennedy, 9th Earl of Cassilis ...
hosted a daily syndicated version, and in 1994–95,
Doug Davidson
Douglas Donald Davidson (born October 24, 1954) is an American Emmy Award winning television actor. He has portrayed Paul Williams on the CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'' since May 1978, making him the series' longest-serving cas ...
emceed his own daily syndicated version, titled ''
The New Price Is Right''. Unlike the daytime series, which expanded to its current one-hour length in 1975, the syndicated versions of ''Price'' were 30 minutes long. A ''
Hollywood Squares
''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...
'' revival also thrived beginning in 1998 under host
Tom Bergeron
Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, game show host, comedian and actor, best known for hosting ''Hollywood Squares'' from 1998 to 2004, ''America's Funniest Home Videos'' from 2001 to 2015, and ''Danci ...
, running six seasons until its 2004 cancellation. By far the most successful entry into the market in the 2000s has been the daily version of ''
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
''Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'' (often informally called ''Millionaire'') is an international television game show franchise of British origin, created by David Briggs, Mike Whitehill and Steven Knight. In its format, currently owned and l ...
'', which premiered in September 2002 and was canceled in May 2019 after 17 seasons in syndication (and a total run of 20 seasons dating back to the show's premiere in August 1999).
Because game shows are very inexpensive to produce, with many episodes completed each day of production, successful ones are very profitable; for example, in 1988 ''Jeopardy!'' cost an estimated $5 million to produce but earned almost $50 million in revenue.
New game show concepts (that is, not based on an existing or pre-existing format) are rarely tried and usually unsuccessful in syndication; somewhat of an exception to this was ''
Street Smarts'', which lasted from 2001 to 2006 (despite the series airing in late night slots in many markets). Between 2003 and 2007, no new game shows debuted in syndication, marking four consecutive seasons where no new shows with that genre debuted, a syndication first. That streak ended with the fall 2007 debuts of ''
Temptation
Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...
'' and ''
Merv Griffin's Crosswords
''Merv Griffin's Crosswords'' (also simply called ''Crosswords'') is an American game show based on crossword, crossword puzzles. The show was created by its namesake, Merv Griffin, who died shortly after beginning production on the series. Ty Tre ...
'', bringing the daytime tally to six game shows; both ended production after one year, though ''Crosswords'' aired in reruns in some cities during the 2008–09 season before those reruns moved exclusively to cable.
More new shows were added for the 2008–09 fall season, including a daytime run of ''
Deal or No Deal
''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a. ...
'' (which featured certain elements that differed from the show's franchised format, most notably with prospective players instead of models holding briefcases that held the monetary amounts) and
an adaptation of the popular board game ''
Trivial Pursuit
''Trivial Pursuit'' is a board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures gam ...
''. While ''Deal'' caught on and was renewed for the 2009–2010 season, ''
Trivial Pursuit: America Plays'' suffered low ratings throughout its run and was canceled.
For the 2009–2010 season, the Fox game show ''
Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?'' moved to syndication with a new, less expensive format. ''
Don't Forget the Lyrics!
''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' is an international game show in the United States. The American show originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated sho ...
'' followed for the 2010–2011 season. ''Deal'', suffering from falling ratings, was canceled in February 2010, with the final episodes airing in late May of that same year; it would later be revived by
CNBC
CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...
in 2018. ''5th Grader'' and ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' were canceled the following year for the same reason (although ''5th Grader'' would later be revived by Fox and
Nickelodeon
Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Group. It ...
on two different occasions). Reruns of the popular
Discovery Channel show ''
Cash Cab Cash Cab may refer to:
* ''Cash Cab'' (British game show)
* ''Cash Cab'' (American game show)
* ''Cash Cab'' (Canadian game show)
* ''Cash Cab'' (Japanese game show)
* ''Cash Cab'' (Australian game show)
{{disambiguation ...
'' began airing in syndication in January 2011. Reruns of the
GSN dating game show ''
Baggage'' first aired in syndication as a test run in early 2011 on stations owned by the
Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, ...
, which preceded its full launch into other markets in fall 2012; although it was removed from syndication after one season.
The 2014–15 season saw the introduction of ''
Celebrity Name Game'', hosted by former ''
The Late Late Show'' host
Craig Ferguson; the series was renewed for a second season in January 2015, while Ferguson would also win a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
for
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given to honor the outstanding work of a ...
for his work on the program.
In January 2016, Fox owned-and-operated stations began a test run of ''South of Wilshire''—a game show produced by TMZ.
The 2017 summer season includes the game show ''
iWitness This article is about American game show, For Philippine Television Documentary, See i-Witness
iWitness was an American game show created and co-produced by Judge Judy Sheindlin. It aired on Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous m ...
'' created by TV judge Judith Sheindlin.
Stripped talk shows
The dominant form of first-run syndication in the U.S. for the last three decades has been the
"stripping" (or "strip") talk show, such as ''
Donahue Donahue is the Americanized version of Irish surname Donohoe, which, in turn, is an Anglicized version of the ancient Irish name "Donnchadh" (sometimes "Donncha").
Donncha was a common “first name” in 9th Century Ireland, and when the use of ...
'', ''
Oprah
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', b ...
'', ''
The Tyra Banks Show
''The Tyra Banks Show'', also known as and shortened to ''Tyra'' or ''The Tyra Show'', was an American talk show hosted by Tyra Banks that aired from 2005 to 2010.
While Banks's show covered a variety of topics, there was a sensationalized focus ...
'', and ''
Jerry Springer
Gerald Norman Springer (born February 13, 1944) is a British-American broadcaster, journalist, actor, producer, former lawyer, and politician. He hosted the tabloid talk show '' Jerry Springer'' between September 30, 1991 and July 26, 2018, an ...
''. Strip programming is a technique used for
scheduling
A schedule or a timetable, as a basic time-management tool, consists of a list of times at which possible tasks, events, or actions are intended to take place, or of a sequence of events in the chronological order in which such things are ...
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
and radio
programming to ensure consistency and coherency. Strip programming is used to deliver consistent content to targeted audiences. Broadcasters know or predict the times at which certain
demographics
Demography () is the statistical study of populations, especially human beings.
Demographic analysis examines and measures the dimensions and dynamics of populations; it can cover whole societies or groups defined by criteria such as ed ...
will be listening to or watching their programs and play them at that time.
As with game shows, talk shows are inexpensive to produce and very profitable if successful. In many markets, a stripped show will be seen twice daily, usually with different episodes (one being a more recent episode and the other being an episode from a previous season). Sometimes, station groups with more than one station in a market, or a "
duopoly", will run one episode of a strip on one of their stations in the morning, and the other available episode on another of their stations that night.
Meanwhile, the popularity of some of the audience-participation talk shows continues to encourage new participants, some of whom, such as
Morton Downey Jr.
Sean Morton Downey Jr. (December 9, 1932 – March 12, 2001) was an American television talk show host and actor who pioneered the "trash TV" format in the late-1980s on his program ''The Morton Downey Jr. Show''.
Early life
Downey's parents we ...
and
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American comedian, television producer, actress, author, and television personality. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series '' Star Search'' ...
, have brief periods of impressive ratings and influence; others, such as
Oprah Winfrey and
Maury Povich
Maurice Richard Povich (born January 17, 1939) is an American retired television personality, best known for hosting the tabloid talk show '' Maury'' which aired from 1991 to 2022. Povich began his career as a radio reporter, initially at WWD ...
, have a sustained run. A notable scheduling decision was made by
KRON-TV
KRON-TV (channel 4) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, KRON-TV maintains studios on Front Street in the c ...
in San Francisco: a 2000 dispute with NBC led to that station's disaffiliation from that network after 52 years, and since all the other larger networks were already represented in San Francisco, KRON decided to become one of the largest commercial independent stations by market size on the
VHF band in the U.S., and soon tried running ''
Dr. Phil'', a popular new stripped series hosted by Winfrey-associate Dr. Phil McGraw, in primetime, with impressive ratings results.
2000s
First-run syndicated shows in the United States include talk shows (e.g., ''
The Dr. Oz Show'', ''
Dr. Phil'', ''
The Real
In continental philosophy, the Real refers to the remainder of reality that cannot be expressed, and which surpasses reasoning. In Lacanianism, it is an "impossible" category because of its opposition to expression and inconceivability.
I ...
'', ''
The Doctors'', ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...
'' & ''
The Kelly Clarkson Show
''The Kelly Clarkson Show'' is an American daytime television variety talk show hosted by American singer Kelly Clarkson. It is produced and distributed by NBCUniversal Syndication Studios and features Clarkson interviewing celebrities and seg ...
''); tabloid/newsmagazine shows (e.g., ''TMZ Live''); crime/law enforcement shows (e.g., ''
Crime Watch Daily
''Crime Watch Daily'' is an American syndicated investigative news magazine television series. Premiering on September 14, 2015, the program was originally hosted by veteran Australian television journalist Matt Doran. The remaining two seaso ...
''); game shows (e.g., ''
Hollywood Squares
''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...
'', ''
Funny You Should Ask'', ''
Family Feud
''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has had three separate runs, th ...
'', ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given gene ...
'' and ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
''); reality court shows (e.g., ''
Judge Judy
''Judge Judy'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show featured Sheindlin as she adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtr ...
'', ''
Judge Mathis
''Judge Mathis'' is an American syndicated arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Judge Greg Mathis, a former judge of Michigan's 36th District Court and Black-interests motivational speaker/activist.
The courtroom series prem ...
'', ''
Judge Jerry
''Judge Jerry'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by Jerry Springer, who previously hosted ''Jerry Springer'' from 1991 to 2018. The series began its run in first-run syndication on September 9, 2019, and was dis ...
'', ''
Judge Faith
''Judge Faith'' is a syndicated American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Faith Jenkins. The show premiered on September 22, 2014 and ran for 4 seasons until its cancellation on ...
'', ''
Protection Court'', ''
Hot Bench
''Hot Bench'' is a nontraditional panel-based court show that made its debut in first-run syndication on September 15, 2014. The series is produced by ''Judge Judy''s Judge Judy Sheindlin, who also created the program and concept with executi ...
'' and ''
The People's Court
''The People's Court'' is an American arbitration-based reality court show, featuring an arbitrator handling small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. Within the court show genre, it is the first of all arbitration-based reality sty ...
''); and sitcoms (e.g., ''
The First Family'').
Influence on television schedules
The emergence of barter syndication in the 1980s caused the number of independent stations to grow from fewer than 100 in 1980 to 328 , as they did not need cash for programming. With the loosening of FCC regulations and the creation of new additional broadcast networks (such as
The CW
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
and
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
), most of these independents have joined one or another of these or smaller (religious or low-budget) networks.
In other cases, like those of
KCAL-TV in Los Angeles,
KMCI-TV in
Lawrence
Lawrence may refer to:
Education Colleges and universities
* Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States
* Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States
Preparator ...
-
Kansas City and
WMLW-TV
WMLW-TV (channel 49) is an independent television station licensed to Racine, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Milwaukee area. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting alongside CBS affiliate WDJT-TV (channel 58) and two low-power stations: T ...
in
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
-
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
, those independent stations are used to complement their network-affiliated sister station (respectively in the mentioned cases,
KCBS-TV,
KSHB-TV
KSHB-TV (channel 41) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Lawrence, Kansas-licensed independent station KMCI-TV (channel 38). Both stations share ...
and
WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV (channel 58) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS. It has been owned by Weigel Broadcasting since its inception (and is the company's only CBS affiliate), and is sister to Racine-licensed ...
) by allowing a duopoly control of more syndicated programming than would be possible on one station (and to spread it throughout the schedule of the two stations, often several times a day), or to air news programming in times unavailable on the larger network station, along with fulfilling network and syndicated programming commitments, which allows popular or network programming to be moved to the independent stations due to breaking news or sports commitments without the traditional inconvenience of a late night or weekend airing of the pre-empted show. A duopoly of a network-affiliated and independent station also allows a network station to move a low-rated syndicated program to their sister independent station to stem revenue losses.
Off-network syndication
Off-network syndication occurs when a network television series is syndicated in packages containing some or all episodes, and sold to as many television stations and markets as possible to be used in local programming timeslots. In this manner, sitcoms are preferred and more successful because they are less serialized, and can be run non-sequentially, which is more beneficial and less costly for the station. In the United States, local stations now rarely broadcast reruns of primetime dramas (or simply air them primarily on weekends); instead, they usually air on
basic cable channels, which may air each episode 30 to 60 times.
Syndication rights typically last for six consecutive showings of a series within three to five years; if a program continues to perform well enough in broadcast or cable syndication during the initial cycle, television stations or cable networks can opt to renew an off-network program for an additional cycle.
Syndication has been known to spur the popularity of a series that only experienced moderate success during its network run. The best known example of this is the original ''
Star Trek'' series, which ran for three seasons on NBC from 1966 to 1969, gaining only modest ratings, but became a worldwide phenomenon after it entered off-network syndication. Its success in syndication led to the
''Star Trek'' film series, ''
Star Trek: The Next Generation'', and the later versions in the franchise.
It is common for long-running series to have early seasons syndicated while the series itself is still in first-run network production. To differentiate between new and rebroadcast content, until the 1980s it was not uncommon for series to be syndicated under a different title than that used in their original broadcast run. Examples include ''
Bonanza'' (which was syndicated as ''Ponderosa''), ''
Gunsmoke'' (as ''Marshall Dillon'', a title still used to differentiate reruns from the early, half-hour and black-and-white episodes of the show from the later one-hour color episodes), ''
Emergency!
''Emergency!'' is an American action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing the two short-lived situa ...
'' (as ''Emergency One''), ''
Ironside'' (as ''The Raymond Burr Show''), ''
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to:
* ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series
* ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...
'' (as ''McGarrett''), ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richard Hooker.
Th ...
'' (as ''M*A*S*H 4077th''), ''
Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to:
* Marcus (name), a masculine given name
* Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name
Places
* Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44
* Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...
'' (as ''Robert Young, Family Doctor''), ''
CHiPs
''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The seri ...
'' (as ''CHiPs Patrol''), ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...
'' (as ''Happy Days Again''), and ''
The Andy Griffith Show
''The Andy Griffith Show '' is an American situation comedy television series that aired on CBS from October 3, 1960, to April 1, 1968, with a total of 249 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons—159 in black and white and 90 in color.
The ...
'' (as ''Andy of Mayberry'').
Syndication of older episodes can also increase exposure for a television show that is still airing first-run network episodes. In the case of the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
sitcom ''
The Big Bang Theory
''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady, both of whom served as executive producers on the series, along with Steven Molaro, all of whom also served as head writers. It premiered on C ...
'', its syndication, particularly on
TBS, is one of the reasons attributed for a rise in first-run ratings for its sixth season. The sixth-season episode "
The Bakersfield Expedition", for example, was the first episode of that series to attract 20 million viewers.
[Schneider, Michael (January 28, 2013). "Bigger ''Bang'' Than Ever". ''TV Guide''. pp. 6 and 7.]
Strip/daily syndication
Off-network syndication can take several forms. The most common form is known as
strip syndication or daily syndication, when episodes of a television series are shown daily five times a week in the same time slot. In the 1960s and 1970s, independent stations with no news departments began viewing strip syndication as a necessary means of obtaining effective
counterprogramming to the local news programs airing on network affiliates. Typically, this means that enough episodes must exist (88 episodes, or four seasons, is the usual minimum,
[Gerbrandt, Larry.]
Hour dramas face risky economics
''The Hollywood Reporter'', March 19, 2010. though many syndicators prefer a fully rounded
100 episodes
In the U.S. television industry, 100 episodes is the traditional threshold for a television series to enter syndicated reruns. One hundred episodes are advantageous for stripped syndication because it allows for 20 weeks of weekday reruns (depe ...
) to allow for continual strip syndication to take place over the course of several months, without episodes being repeated. However, there are exceptions, such as the 65-episode block (common in children's programming), which allows for a 13-week cycle of daily showings, so there will only be four repeats in a year.
In some cases, more than one episode is shown daily. Half-hour sitcoms are sometimes syndicated in groups of two or four episodes, taking up one or two hours of broadcast time. If a series is not strip syndicated, it may be aired once a week, instead of five times a week. This allows shows with fewer episodes to last long in syndication, but it also may mean viewers will tire of waiting a week for the next episode of a show they have already seen and stop watching. More often, hour-long dramas in their first several runs in syndication are offered weekly; sitcoms are more likely to get stripped. In recent years, there has been something of a trend toward showing two consecutive episodes of a program on Saturday and Sunday nights after prime time (generally following the local news). This pattern has been particularly prominent for shows which are still in production but have run long enough to have many previous episodes available.
As with commercial stations, not all the airtime nor all the perceived audience are met by the productions offered U.S. public-broadcasting stations by
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
; additionally, there are some independent public television stations in the U.S. which take no programming from that (somewhat) decentralized network. As a result, there are several syndicators of programming for the non-profit stations, several of which are descendants of the regional station groups which combined some, not all, of their functions into the creation of PBS in 1969.
American Public Television
American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and indepe ...
(APT) is the largest of these, nearly matched by the
National Educational Telecommunications Association
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective Identity (so ...
(NETA, a merger of Southern Educational Communications Association and the Pacific Mountain Network). The now defunct
Continental Program Marketing
Continental may refer to:
Places
* Continent, the major landmasses of Earth
* Continental, Arizona, a small community in Pima County, Arizona, US
* Continental, Ohio, a small town in Putnam County, US
Arts and entertainment
* ''Continental'' (a ...
was another of the syndicator-descendants (of the Northeastern, Southeastern, and Rocky Mountain educational networks, respectively) of the pre-PBS era. Among the other notable organizations in the U.S. are
Westlink Satellite Operations
KNME-TV, virtual channel 5 ( UHF digital channel 35), branded on-air as NM PBS, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Jointly owned by the University of New Mexico ...
(based at Albuquerque's
KNME) and
Executive Program Services
Executive (Exe (disambiguation), exe., Exec (disambiguation), exec., execu.) may refer to:
Role or title
* Executive, a senior management role in an organization
** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (exec ...
.
Off-network syndication in its various forms, including Internet, international and traditional direct-to-station sales, constitute roughly half of an individual television program's overall revenue stream, with the other half taken up by advertising.
Monetary rates
In 1993,
Universal Television
Universal Television LLC (abbreviated as UTV) is an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Universal Studio Group, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It serves as the network television production arm of NBC; a prede ...
became one of the first studios to cash in on the cable trend, first selling repeats of ''
Major Dad'' to
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
in 1993 for $600,000 per episode, the first time a network program was exclusively sold to a cable network for its first run rights. Later it sold reruns of ''
Law & Order'' to
A&E for about $155,000 an episode; in 1996, the studio got $275,000 from
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
for repeats of ''
New York Undercover
''New York Undercover'' is an American police drama that aired on the Fox television network from September 8, 1994, to February 11, 1999. The series starred Malik Yoba as Detective J.C. Williams and Michael DeLorenzo as Detective Eddie Torre ...
'', a far less successful show. ''Law & Order'' drew A&E's highest daytime ratings – one million viewers per episode.
Universal sold reruns of ''
Xena: Warrior Princess'' and ''
Hercules: The Legendary Journeys
''Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' is an American television series filmed in New Zealand, based on the tales of the classical Greek culture hero Heracles (Hercules was his Roman analogue). Starring Kevin Sorbo as Hercules and Michael Hurst as ...
'' to USA Network for $300,000 each. And even long-forgotten shows can find new life:
Paramount Network
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was ...
bought ''
The Dukes of Hazzard
''The Dukes of Hazzard'' is an American action comedy TV series that was aired on CBS from January 26, 1979 to February 8, 1985. The show aired for 147 episodes spanning seven seasons. It was consistently among the top-rated television serie ...
'' from
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
in 1997 for well over $10 million.
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
paid $750,000 for the rights to ''
Walker, Texas Ranger
''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film '' Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the ...
''; while USA's reruns of the show drew an average of 2.3 million viewers – outstanding by cable standards – Perth says the show will need "an enormous number of airings to have any sort of profitability."
Dramatic reruns: rerun prices
Sources: Industry sources and Paul Kagan Associates, Inc. Per episode
Not all programs in syndication are sold for a fee. Less popular programming may be distributed by ''barter'', in which the syndicator, instead of selling the show to a station, offers the show for free, with the caveat that the station give up its advertising time on other shows to the syndicator's advertisers. Barter syndication, in addition to the cost advantage, is popular because of its flexibility; a station can typically pick up a barter syndicated program for only a few weeks or months, without the long-term financial commitment of a traditional syndicated series, allowing the station to plug the show into its lineup to fill a hole in the schedule.
Types of deals
Cash deals are when a distributor offers a syndicated program to the highest bidder. A cash plus deal is when the distributor retains advertising space to offset some of the cost for the program. The station gets the program for a little less in exchange for some ad space for the producer.
Barter deals are usually for new untested shows or older shows. In this type of deal, distributors get a fraction of the advertisement revenue in exchange for their program.
For example, in a 7/5 deal the producer gets seven minutes of advertising time, leaving five minutes for the station to insert local as well as national advertisements.
Radio syndication
Radio syndication generally works the same way as television syndication, except that radio stations usually are not organized into strict
affiliate-only networks. Radio networks generally are only distributors of
radio shows
A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode.
Radio networ ...
, and individual stations (though often owned by large
conglomerates) decide which shows to carry from a wide variety of networks and
independent radio providers. As a result, radio networks such as
Westwood One
Westwood One is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming.
The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1978. The compan ...
or
Premiere Networks
Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. ...
, despite their influence in broadcasting, are not as recognized among the general public as television networks like CBS or ABC (many of these distributors ally themselves with television networks; Westwood One, for instance, is allied with
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
, while Premiere is allied with
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
). Some examples of widely syndicated
commercial broadcasting music programs include weekly
countdown
A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...
s like
Rick Dees
Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show '' The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Coun ...
' ''
Weekly Top 40
''Rick Dees Weekly Top 40'' (sometimes known as ''The Weekly Top 40'') is an internationally syndicated radio program created and hosted by American radio personality Rick Dees. It is currently heard on over 200 radio stations worldwide. It is di ...
'', the ''
American Top 40'', ''
American Country Countdown
''American Country Countdown'', also known as ''ACC'', is a weekly internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 40 country songs of the previous week, from No. 40 to No. 1, according to the ''Billboard'' Country Airplay ch ...
'' with
Kix Brooks
Leon Eric Brooks III, better known by his stage name Kix Brooks (born May 12, 1955), is an American country music artist, actor, and film producer best known for being one half of the duo Brooks & Dunn and host of radio's ''American Country Co ...
, ''
Canada's Top 20 Countdown
''Canada's Top 20 Countdown'' was a Canadian weekly syndicated radio chart program based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The countdown began in September 2009 and is owned and produced by Positive Number Productions.
The Countdown
The program was ava ...
'', the ''
Canadian Hit 30
CIHT-FM (89.9 FM, ''Hot 89.9'') is a radio station licensed to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Stingray Group, it broadcasts a CHR/Top 40 format. CIHT's studios are located on Antares Drive in Nepean, while its transmitter is located in Camp ...
Countdown'' and the nightly program, ''
Delilah
Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...
'', heard on many U.S. stations.
Syndication is particularly popular in
talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
. While syndicated music shows (with the exception of some evening and overnight shows such as ''Delilah'' mentioned above) tend to air once a week and are mostly recorded, most popular talk radio programs are syndicated daily and are broadcast live. Also, with relatively few 24-hour live talk radio networks (though this, in recent times, has been changing), most radio stations are free to assemble their own lineup of talk show hosts as they so choose. Examples of syndicated talk programs are Premiere Networks' ''
The Bob & Tom Show
''The Bob & Tom Show'' is a syndicated US radio program established by Bob Kevoian and Tom Griswold at radio station WFBQ in Indianapolis, Indiana, March 7, 1983, and syndicated nationally since January 6, 1995. Originally syndicated by Premier ...
'', Dial Global's ''
The Jim Bohannon Show
James Everett Bohannon (January 7, 1944 – November 12, 2022) was an American broadcaster who worked in both television and radio. He is best known for hosting the nationally syndicated late night radio talk show ''The Jim Bohannon Show'' orig ...
'', and the self-syndicated ''
The Dave Ramsey Show'' (more recently, talk networks such as
Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network (TRN) was an independent radio producer and syndicator of news and talk radio programming headquartered in Central Point, Oregon. TRN consists of a number of associated companies, which have launched or re-built some of the U ...
have been marketing and packaging all-day lineups, marking a departure from the syndication model; as such, popular shows such as
Cumulus Media Networks' ''
The Savage Nation
''The Savage Nation'' (also called ''The Michael Savage Show'') was an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Michael Savage. The program was heard by approximately 11 million listeners a week, which made it the 7th most listened to radi ...
'' and Premiere's ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show
''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...
'' now air as part of a broader network lineup in many markets, particularly on Premiere
owned-and-operated stations, though they continue to be syndicated to non-network stations as well). Talk syndication tends to be more prevalent because
voice tracking
Voice-tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations in radio broadcasting to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the radio st ...
, a practice used by many music stations to have disc jockeys host multiple supposedly local shows at once, is not feasible with live talk radio.
National Public Radio
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
,
Public Radio International, and
American Public Media
American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
all sell programming to local member stations in the U.S., most of which are subsidized through the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
but operated by private nonprofit organizations, universities, state or local governments. This is in contrast to centralized
public radio networks in other countries (such as Canada's
CBC, Australia's
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and the United Kingdom's
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
) that own and operate all of their stations as arms of the national government and run them as a strict network (from 1948 to 2013, the United States had a strict anti-propaganda law, the
to American audiences. The law was mostly repealed in 2013, but distribution of VOA or other federally produced radio programming is still rare). Two independently produced, non-commercial syndicated programs, heard on hundreds of
''. Some (in fact, most) radio programs are also offered on a barter system usually at no charge to the radio station. The system is used for live programming or preproduced programs and include a mixture of ad time sold by the program producer as well as time set aside for the radio station to sell.
Before radio networks matured in the United States, some early radio shows were reproduced on
and mailed to individual stations. An example of syndication using this method was RadiOzark Enterprises, Inc. based in
. The
, with national headquarters in Springfield, sponsored a half-hour program on the station called ''Sermons in Song.'' RadiOzark began transcribing the show for other stations in the 1940s, and eventually 200 stations carried the program. The company later produced
(260 15-minute episodes of ''The Tennessee Ernie Show'' were distributed), and more than 1,200 U.S. and Canadian stations aired the programs. Many syndicated radio programs were distributed through the
or another delivery service, although the medium changed as technology developed, going from transcription disks to phonograph records,
, cassette tapes and eventually CDs. Many smaller weekend programs still use this method to this day, though with the rise of the Internet, many stations have since opted to distribute programs via CD-quality
in the 1980s that live syndication became popular (though it could be transmitted through network lines, it was not particularly common because of cost, network congestion and quality issues). Since then, most syndicated radio programs are distributed using
technology. Shortly after satellite networks such as
become the first national talk radio superstar. At the same time, the FCC began issuing more
licenses to suburban and rural areas in the late 1980s, which allowed more room for music stations on the FM dial;
that were traditionally AM fixtures even after most pop and rock music moved to FM were now moving to FM as well, leaving much more room for talk formats on the AM dial. As the 1990s went on,
began their national shows, rising to become national icons. The
, facilitated the rapid deployment of both existing and new syndicated programs in the late 1990s, putting syndication on par with, and eventually surpassing, the
, syndicated talk radio saw a notably rapid rise in popularity, as networks rushed new national shows into syndication to meet the demand for discussion of national issues. Many of these, such as
, were openly critical of the government's actions and motives. After the
took control in the late 2000s, the gap between the two styles narrowed due to the mutual opposition of both camps to the government's actions, which allowed Jones greater clearance on stations.
In contrast to
has almost always been a network-driven model. The incompatibility of conservative and progressive ideologies and the lack of syndicated progressive hosts required solutions that could produce all-day programming to individual stations. It was not until
launched in 2004 that progressive talk would become viable; though it failed several years later, Dial Global now carries a network slate that is carried on most progressive talk stations.
is likewise mostly a network phenomenon, partially because the irregular nature of sports pre-emptions makes having a full-time network to be able to cut into and join in progress at any time highly convenient. Syndicated radio is not as popular in other parts of the world. Canada has a few independently syndicated shows, but the bulk of syndicated content there comes from the United States, and the sum total of syndicated programming is far less than most American stations, as Canadian stations rely more heavily on local content. Most other countries still follow the network radio model.
Syndication also applies to international markets. Same language countries often syndicate programs to each other – such as programs from the United Kingdom being syndicated to Australia and vice versa. Another example would be programs from the United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina being syndicated to local television stations in the United States, and programs from the United States being syndicated elsewhere in the world. One of the best-known internationally syndicated television series has been ''
in Hertfordshire, and was shown around the world, including the United States, where it aired in syndication (including the
aired the show. The 1970s was a time when many British comedies, including ''
'' were syndicated to the United States and worldwide. Many soaps and long-running series are also successfully syndicated around the globe.
The television show ''
'' earned $1.6 million per episode in its first cycle in cable syndication. There were many different versions of the show making it an international success. It was already popular in the U.S., so becoming a success internationally as well as within the U.S. made syndication sensible. Whether a series is produced in the U.S. or not is based on the economic value and potential viability of its sales internationally with the possibility of syndication.
Economic factors that influence production outside the U.S. play a major role in deciding if a television show will be syndicated, internally and internationally. International syndication has sustained a growing of prosperity and monetary value amongst the distributors who sell to them. Due to a rise in competition, syndicators have upheld high standards for different countries to buy the rights to distribute shows. During the 1990s poor ratings were common amongst syndicated shows, but distributors still made it possible for international competition to happen and buy U.S. shows. Colombian, Brazilian, Mexican and Venezuelan
are programmed throughout the Portuguese and Spanish-speaking world, and in many parts of India, China and Europe, while
, some other European countries, Western and Central Asia and North Africa.
Because of the structural differences discussed above, there are presently very few areas where a true U.S.-style syndication model operates, whereby programs are sold on a per-area basis (within a single country) to local or regional stations with differing (or no) network affiliations. Canada was historically one of the few exceptions. Until the mid-1990s, television stations in Canada, like those in the U.S., were typically run as separate local operations, with a small number of moderately sized ownership groups such as
. Those stations that were affiliated with a national network, i.e.
, did not always receive a full schedule of programming from that network.
At this time, it was not uncommon for U.S. syndicators to treat Canada as an extension of their domestic syndication operations, for both their first-run and off-network offerings. This is still the case for American radio programs; Canadian radio networks are not assembled as rigidly into networks (except for the CBC's radio division). However, an alternate form of first-run syndication was performed by some domestic broadcasters: as the Canadian rights to U.S. primetime series were often acquired by individual station groups (as opposed to full-fledged national networks), they would in turn resell local rights for those programs to stations in areas where they did not operate. A few of Canada's
, also resyndicated their own locally produced programs to other television stations. Unlike in the United States, however, few Canadian programs were ever created solely for syndication without officially belonging to at least one specific station or network; those that did exist were intended primarily to be syndicated into the American system, and even those were typically distributed in Canada as "network" programs rather than being sold to individual stations.
Since the late 1990s, as most stations have been consolidated into national networks consisting almost entirely of
s and with full-day network schedules, both types of syndication have largely disappeared from the Canadian broadcast landscape. Programs that are sold in syndication in the U.S. are now generally sold to Canadian media groups to air across all their properties, with per-market sales now being very rare. For example, American shows that air in syndication in the United States, such as ''
schedule. ''
'' appears to have been the last significant holdout to this model, having aired primarily on CTV stations, but in some markets airing instead on a
station, and even some CBC affiliates.
One syndication service remains in Canada,
, which serves the few remaining independent stations in the country with mostly American programs (''Judge Judy'', ''Wheel of Fortune'' and ''Jeopardy!'' are currently syndicated in Canada through Yes TV). These independent stations can also secure deals with American syndicators; CHCH, for example, has a direct deal with
library. They were also, in 1986, largely involved in production of the final incarnation of ''
'' game show, which was syndicated in U.S. by
.
There are three key reasons why a radio station will decide to pick up a syndicated show – the program is unique and has difficult to replicate content, has a decent ratings track record or offers a celebrity host.
New developing radio programs are generally able to claim one of these attributes, but not all three. Regional syndication attempts to replace these benchmark attributes with other benefits that are generally recognized by the industry as also being important. Given the financial downturn within the industry, the need for quality cost effective locally relevant programming is greater than ever before. Programs that offer regionally specific content while providing the economic benefits of syndication can be especially appealing to potential affiliates. Regional syndication can also be more attractive to area advertisers who share a common regional trading area versus assembling a radio network of stations that hopscotch across the United States.