NBC Taps Court’s 'Detectives’
By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 5/30/2005
NBC will once again draw on Court TV for summer-programming options, agreeing last week to re-purpose episodes of the reality series Psychic Detectives.
The deal marks the third time NBC has gone to Court TV’s library to boost summer viewership: the Peacock Network aired episodes of Forensic Files in August and October 2002. During its NBC run, the show averaged around a 2.4 household rating on the broadcast network.
Psychic Detectives will air Wednesdays from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., serving as a lead in for repeats of Law & Order, said broadcast network officials.
“A good portion of NBC’s viewers have not sampled the show before, and it’s in an area that’s of great interest to everyone,” Court TV president Henry Schleiff said. “From our perspective, it’s a great opportunity to market the show and emphasize its regular presence on Court TV.”
Schleiff said the deal continues a “mutually beneficial” relationship with NBC that includes a co-producing venture on several Dateline/Court TV news specials and appearances of Court TV personalities on various NBC News shows, including Today.
Earlier this year, NBC aired sister cable network Sci Fi Channel’s Battlestar Galactica miniseries, before the cable channel debuted it as a regular series.
