‘T.D. Jakes’ Clearances Climb To 40%

Tegna Media has increased its clearances of T.D. Jakes to 40% of the U.S. and set a premiere date for the show — Monday, Sept. 12, the company announced today.

In an unusual move, the “inspirational” weekday talk show starring the Dallas-based minister was declared a “go” last December with clearances representing just 22% of U.S. TV households. That decision was based on clearances on just 29 stations — all owned by Tegna, which is distributing the show itself.

At the time, Tegna officials — along with syndication sales vet Scott Carlin, who has been assisting with Tegna’s sales efforts — said they would continue making an effort to clear the show on stations other than the Tegna stations.

As a result of those efforts, the show has now been cleared in 50 markets, and only 30 of them represent the company’s own stations, Tegna said today.

With the addition of the non-Tegna stations, the Jakes show can now claim clearances in a number of top markets, including Chicago (DMA 3) on WCIU, owned by Weigel Broadcasting; Detroit (DMA 13) on WMYD, owned by E.W. Scripps; Orlando, Fla. (DMA 19) on WFTV-WRDQ, owned by Cox Media Group; Baltimore (DMA 26) on WMAR, owned by Scripps; Memphis (DMA 50) on WHBQ, owned by Cox; and others.

“We’re proud to be one of the first broadcast partners to air the new T.D. Jakes show, which will enlighten, inspire and entertain our Orlando WFTV-WRDQ and Memphis WHBQ audiences,” said Jane Williams, EVP of television, Cox Media Group. “T.D. Jakes is a perfect fit for us.”

“T.D. Jakes is a powerful, highly visible and well respected figure across a variety of media and social platforms,” said Bob Sullivan, SVP of programming, Tegna Media. “His inimitable approach and innate ability to connect with people will bring a welcome, positive new addition to the daytime television landscape. With Jakes as host, we look forward to a long, successful run of impactful content,” he said in a prepared statement.

T.D. Jakes is a joint production of Tegna, 44 Blue Productions and enLight Productions. “It’s a thrill and a great honor to begin this new journey with such powerhouse media partners,” Jakes said. “I’m grateful for this exciting opportunity to bring meaningful, thought provoking content to audiences across the country.” 

Tegna’s efforts to clear the Jakes show in even more markets continues, a Tegna spokesman said.