Byron Allen’s Syndie Target: Prime Access

What’s Byron Allen up to at NATPE this year? Funny You Should Ask.

That’s the title of a new syndicated comedy game show Allen is selling to station groups at NATPE in Miami Beach. On Tuesday, Allen and members of his sales team were meeting one-on-one with station-group programming executives in a poolside cabana at the Fontainebleau Hotel.

The execs were shown a sizzle reel and got a pitch from Allen, who is going for prime-access clearances for this combination game-and-entertainment strip.

In the show, a panel of comedians answers questions posed by host Jon Kelley (former correspondent on Extra). A pair of contestants will then compete to determine if the comedians’ answers — which are always delivered in the form of a joke — are true or false.

Comedians seen in the sizzle reel included Jon Lovitz, Cedric the Entertainer, Harland Williams, Howie Mandel, Louie Anderson and many others.

In his pitch, Allen is positioning Funny You Should Ask as a much-needed, fresh alternative to the long-running quiz shows and entertainment news magazines that have been staples of prime access for decades. The show uses 12 cameras and is filmed before a studio audience of 300, Allen said.

The show is being produced and distributed by Allen’s company, Entertainment Studios. He is chairman and CEO.

“We’re not here to fix a time period. We’re here to fix an industry,” said Allen, who is passionate about broadcast TV. “We’re investing over $300 million over the next five years to create new content, new ideas and new concepts. We’re bringing critical thinking for long-term strategic success.”

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