Complete Coverage: NATPE 2016
Having secured talent such as Wendy Williams and Steve Harvey for years to come, Debmar-Mercury copresidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein have themselves signed a new long-term deal with parent company Lionsgate, said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer on Wednesday.
“Mort and Ira are fantastic partners and we’re proud to extend our alliance with them for many years to come,” said Feltheimer. “They have built a visionary and entrepreneurial company that is the gold standard in television distribution and production, and they are an integral part of the continuing growth, diversification and scalability of our global television operations.”
During NATPE 2016 in Miami, Debmar-Mercury announced that talk show Wendy Williams was renewed out through 2019-20 on the Fox, Media General and Cox stations and that FremantleMedia North America-produced Celebrity Name Game, starring Craig Ferguson, will return for season three next year.
Lionsgate acquired Debmar-Mercury 10 years ago in 2006. Besides Wendy Williams and Celebrity Name Game, Debmar-Mercury also distributes Family Feud, which is hosted by Steve Harvey and produced by FMNA. It also distributes off-network and off-cable programs, such as Anger Management, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and South Park.
