Katz Nets Adding 3 More Off-Net Series

Scripps-owned Katz Networks on Monday announced three major off-network series licensing agreements:

• Escape, the over-the-air network targeting women 25-54 with stories of crime and mystery, has acquired the television rights to Law & Order and Boston Legal in two individual deals. Escape lands the first 12 seasons of Law & Order — the longest-running crime and investigation drama on American primetime television — in a multi-year licensing agreement with Universal Television. The complete series (five seasons) of Boston Legal comes from Twentieth Television.
• Laff, devoted to comedy around-the-clock, has landed the broadcast rights to all eight seasons of According to Jim, starring Jim Belushi, in an agreement with Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International.

Escape will launch both series on New Year’s Day. They join another hit off-network crime drama, Without a Trace, in the Escape lineup.

Laff will debut According to Jim in early 2019.

These agreements come on the heels of Katz sister network Bounce landing broadcast rights to Scandal, which just joined Bounce’s primetime lineup.