'Earl' Opens Early On TBS
Network Will Begin Sitcom’s Syndicated Primetime Run Next April.
By Multi Channel News Staff -- Multichannel News, 9/24/2007 9:56:00 AM
TBS has pushed up its time frame for My Name is Earl.
After securing 2009 stripping rights for the NBC sitcom in June, the very funny network went back to Twentieth TV and now will open early-window rights for My Name in Earl next April.
Although it has not decided on which night the Jason Lee-starrer will air, TBS, according to a network spokeswoman, will present a pair of half-hour episodes back to back, a scheduling strategy it has employed with other shows it gained early syndication windows to: Sex and the City, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and The Office.
With its latest acquisition gambit, TBS will air Earl 18 months before the show begins running on TV stations in the traditional syndication window.
It was unclear how much TBS paid to secure the early-window rights to Earl, but published reports pegged episode costs in the $550,000 to$625,000 range under the original deal.
TBS declined to comment on the pricing, or which night it has earmarked for Earl.
The network's current schedule – before TBS breaks next month in deference to its coverage of Major League Baseball’s four division series and the National League Championship Series -- places The Office on Tuesday nights and House of Payne on Wednesdays. Sex and the City, Home Box Office's big comedy hit, is now stripped weeknights in late-night.
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