Syndie's Ellen Gets More Air at Oxygen
By Allison Romano -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/9/2003
Ellen DeGeneres is bringing her act to Oxygen. Sight unseen, the women's cable net plans to repurpose The Ellen DeGeneres Show, an upcoming syndicated talk show that will be on station schedules this fall.
Oxygen will repeat episodes of Ellen weeknights beginning Sept. 15, one week after they premiere on broadcast stations. The cable net must air the show after 10 p.m. on weeknights but hasn't picked the time slot. It also has rights to weekend plays.
According to Oxygen President of Programming Debby Beece, the network was approached by syndicator Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution and pounced on the second-window opportunity.
"Her brand of humor and comedy is exactly what we love," Beece said of DeGeneres. Oxygen has not decided what shows will lead in or out of the show.
The network will look for DeGeneres to do some promotion for the net, Beece added.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but Warner Bros., operating in a consolidated syndication market, found a way to generate additional revenue off Ellen by selling a second window to Oxygen.
In broadcast syndication, Ellen will air in major markets on NBC owned-and-operated stations. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution handles distribution to stations.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show is produced by Crazy Monkey Inc. and Telepictures Productions.
