Sinclair Joins Tribune In Renewing ‘Friends’

The hit sitcom Friends has been renewed by the Sinclair Broadcast Group in all 16 its markets including Pittsburgh, Raleigh, N.C., and Baltimore, through 2017. The off-net third cycle of the series will begin December 2013 and will be available for the first time in TrueHD.

The Sinclair deal follows last month’s announcement that the Tribune Station Group had renewed the series on 15 of its stations including in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

To date, the series has been sold in more than 50% of the U.S. for its third cycle. The cash-plus-barter deal was announced Monday by Rick Meril, EVP-general sales manager, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.

The stations included in this deal are WPGH/WPMY Pittsburgh; WLFL/WRDC Raleigh, N.C.; WNUV/WBFF Baltimore; WZTV/WUXP Nashville; WSTR Cincinnati; WCGV/WVTV Milwaukee; WTTO/WABM Birmingham, Ala.; WTVZ Norfolk, Va.; WUTV/WNYO Buffalo, N.Y.; WDKY Lexington, Ky.; WVAH/WCHS Charleston, W.Va.; WSMH Flint, Mich.; KBSI/WDKA Paducah, Ky.; WUHF Rochester, N.Y.; WSYT/WNYS Syracuse, N.Y.; and WTAT/WMMP Charleston, S.C.

Friends is a Bright/Kauffman/Crane Production in association with Warner Bros. Television and is distributed by Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution.