‘TMZ’ Renewed In All Of U.S. Through 2011

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Warner Bros. has renewed its entertainment news half-hour, TMZ , through 2011 in nearly 100% of the U.S., Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) said Wednesday.

In November, Warner Bros. announced that the Fox station group had picked up TMZ for two more years. The Fox stations served as the show’s launch pad in Sept. 2007.

Over the past four months, the following station groups also have reupped: Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Broadcasting, Barrington Broadcasting, ComCorp, ACME Television, Grant Communications, Gray Television, Raycom, Hoak Media, LIN TV, Lambert Broadcasting, Newport Television, Max Media, Media General, Meredith, New Age Media, New Vision Television, Newport Television, Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Northwest Broadcasting, Pappas Telecasting and Smith Media, among others.

TMZ, executive produced by Harvey Levin and Jim Paratore, is averaging a 2.0 live plus same day household rating this season, even with last year, according to Nielsen Media Research. TMZ is the highest-rated entertainment news program in syndication among adults 18-34 and the second-highest rated entertainment news program in syndication among adults 18-49, women 18-49 and adults 25-54.   

TMZ’s companion Web site, TMZ.com, launched in Nov. 2005, is the Internet’s most visited entertainment news site, with nearly 60% of market share, according to Internet research firm, Hitwise.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.