Fox O&Os, WB Sign Multi-Series Renewals

In what they’re calling an unprecedented deal, Fox Television Stations and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution have signed a multi-year deal renewing daily syndicated series Extra, TMZ, TMZ Live and The Real, which will be reformatted to eliminate end breaks to allow for seamless viewing.

In making the announcement, Jack Abernethy, CEO, Fox Television Stations, said: “Seamless transitions between programs are long overdue in local television. We are proud to be partnering with Warner Bros. on such an industry game-changer. These programs are an important part of our lineup and we are happy that they will be back for multiple years with this new formatting.”

Jeffrey Schlesinger, president, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution, added: “Fox has offered unparalleled promotional and programming support for our series and we are very pleased these long-running franchises will continue to thrive on their stations, and even more so as a result of this new seamless format.”

Extra, now in its 26th season of entertainment news, moved to Fox for the first time this fall from the NBC-owned stations, and with new anchor and managing editor, Billy Bush, along with a new format, has earned the series a three-year renewal taking the series through the 2022-23 season.

Long-time Fox Television franchise TMZ (now in its 12th season) and TMZ Live (now in its seventh season) continue to play across multiple dayparts attracting a young demographic and has earned those two series three-year renewals as well.

Emmy-winning The Real (now in its sixth season) features four diverse hosts in a live hour of daily talk and has earned that series a two-year renewal taking the series through the 2021-22 season.

In addition, it was announced today that television’s original court show The People’s Court, has been cleared for three seasons on Fox’s flagship station WNYW New York.