Trading Spouses, Nanny 911 Heading to CMT
Twentieth Television Reaches Deal with Cable Network for Fox Reality Series
By Alex Weprin & Anne Becker -- Broadcasting & Cable, 2/27/2008 12:25:00 PM
Twentieth Television sold cable rights for Fox reality shows Trading Spouses and Nanny 911 to CMT.
The network will broadcast episodes of the series during the day, with repeats appearing in the early evening. The goal of the acquisition is to try to bring in new audiences that may not be familiar with the CMT brand.
The reality-show acquisition fits CMT’s ongoing strategy to expand from its music-centric roots to include other sorts of programming. The channel last year, for example, bought and ran the Miss America Pageant, although with little success. The network was down 15% in primetime during February to an average 392,000 total viewers.
“Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy and Nanny 911 are two family-friendly series that directly connect with the CMT audience,” said May Beth Cunin, vice president of programming strategy for CMT, in a statement. “We believe the addition of these family-based reality shows to our schedule will not only engage our core fans, but attract new viewers, as well.”
Trading Spouses will premiere March 3 at noon and 1 p.m., with repeats at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m., while Nanny 911 will debut March 4 in the same time slots.
