Third Cycle Of ‘Friends’ Hits 90% Clearance

Friends has been sold in 90% of the country for its third cycle. The off-net series will begin December 2013 and will be available for the first time in TrueHD.  Ken Werner, president, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, has announced clearances in more than 130 markets.

Major groups renewing the program include Tribune Broadcasting, which will air the show on 15 of its stations in major markets including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group which will run the show on 16 of its stations in markets including Pittsburgh, Raleigh, N.C., and Baltimore.  Both of these groups have renewed the show through 2017.

Additional groups include CBS, Raycom, Cox, Hearst, Meredith, Local TV, Titan, Nexstar, Grant, New Vision, Univision, Weigel, New Age, Gocom, Comcorp, Bonten, Venture Tech, and Newport.

“We are thrilled by the response to the availability of Friends’ third cycle.  In five short weeks we have cleared 90% of the US.  It is obvious from the station response that Friends is one of those unique series that are the foundation of every station’s sitcom block today and for the foreseeable future,” said Werner.

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