A new repurposing arena
NBC's She Spies gets network sneak peek before being peddled on market
By Steve McClellan -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/14/2002 8:00:00 PM
Last week was a busy one for Ed Wilson and his team at NBC Enterprises. They signed deals to do two new joint-venture syndication shows for next season, adding new wrinkles to the way programs get repurposed and promoted.
In a venture with MGM, NBC will syndicate (and MGM produce) a weekly first-run action hour called She Spies ( formerly B.A.I.T). The second show, a one-hour strip called Trial by Fire, is a co-production with Court TV; it has no repurposing platform for now.
The She Spies deal, though, comes packaged with a unique promotion platform: The first four episodes will air on NBC this summer before debuting in first-run in the fall.
The premise of the show: Three beautiful women, all ex-cons, now fight crime. The network run is being called a "sneak peek" and will air in the network's summer prime time schedule.
That the show gets a creative promotional send-off shouldn't be a big shocker. One of its executive producers is Vince Manze, president of NBC Agency, the in-house promotion arm of the company, and his own one-man promotion machine. Natasha Henstridge (Whole Nine Yards and Bounce) has been signed to play the lead.
The initial commitment is for 20 episodes with those first four network episodes also kicking off the first-run launch. The show has already been cleared by the NBC stations and most of the Hearst-Argyle Television group, covering more than 50% of the U.S.
"This deal creates an excellent opportunity for stations to have a first-run series that brings network exposure and an impressive cast to the syndication marketplace," said Wilson. "We are pleased to provide stations the strength of a major network launch for She Spies and will continue to look for ways to offer them competitive advantages in today's marketplace."
The NBC-Court TV Trial by Fire venture is their first co-production and will be hosted by former prosecutor and Court TV anchor Nancy Grace. At deadline, no specific repurposing plans were in place for it, but Court TV confirmed that it does have the repurposing rights.
Other new first-run syndicated shows have confirmed repurposing plans, including Life Moments and TheCaroline RheaShow. NBC is also reserving the right to repurpose John Walsh's new first-run talk show.
Slated for launch in 2003, the Trial by Fire series is designed to bring the real-life drama of the courtroom to the talk-show format, the partners say, and will be distributed by NBC Enterprises Domestic Syndication. Using exclusive footage from Court TV's library of cases, it will be taped in front of a studio audience and provide an in-depth look at the court-trial process. Grace will interview key players in the cases—including victims, families, witnesses, prosecutors, defense attorneys and other experts—as she analyzes the issues and arguments in each proceeding. She will continue to anchor her daily Court TV show Trial Heat.
| Double Vision 2001-02 season and future signed agreements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Series | First Run | Second Run |
| *First four episodes Source: Broadcasting & Cable research |
||
| According to Jim | ABC | ABC Family |
| Alias | ABC | ABC Family |
| All My Children | ABC | SoapNet |
| Amazing Race | CBS | UPN |
| Charmed | The WB | TNT |
| General Hospital | ABC | SoapNet |
| The Job | ABC | Comedy Central |
| Last Call With Carson Daly | NBC | E! |
| Late Night With Conan O'Brien | NBC | Comedy Central |
| Law & Order: SVU | NBC | USA |
| Once and Again | ABC | Lifetime |
| One Life to Live | ABC | SoapNet |
| Port Charles | ABC | SoapNet |
| 24 | Fox | FX |
| The View | ABC | A&E |
| Weakest Link | NBC | Pax |
| Whose Line Is It Anyway? | ABC | ABC Family |
| Series | Syndicator | Network |
| Life Moments | Paramount | Hallmark Channel |
| The Caroline Rhea Show | Warner Bros. | ABC Family |
| Crossing Over With John Edward | Studios USA | Sci Fi |
| She Spies* | NBC Enterprises/MGM | NBC |
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