ION Television February 2010: My Name is Earl on Weekends; USA Network Acquires CSI Starting Dec. 2010, Exclusive Rights Start Sept. 2014

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

ION Television February 2010: My Name is Earl on Weekends; USA Network Acquires CSI Starting Dec. 2010, Exclusive Rights Start Sept. 2014

ION Television has done very well in the ratings, especially in primetime, that they haven't made many schedule changes to their schedule lately. In February 2010, they will add two new shows to their line-up, while one show leaves. First off, they will add My Name is Earl to its weekends line-up whenever a movie doesn't start at 3pm. The series starts Saturday, Jan. 30 in the 3pm hour. It will also air Feb. 7 at 3pm, Feb. 13 from 3-4pm, Feb. 21 from 3-4pm, and Feb. 28 from 3-4pm. So it isn't anything regular, which is strange. It is replacing Family Feud at these times, but that show airs weekdays from 5-7pm anyway. I think ION is probably limited to airing My Name is Earl on weekends because broadcast stations are also airing the series on weekdays as is TBS on cable. It seems weird that it is only airing on weekends, though.
As for weekdays, starting Feb. 1, weekdays in the 4pm hour will now be back-to-back episodes of the court show Texas Justice, replacing Reba, which is now gone totally. Texas Justice was a court show which had cases that were judged by Larry Joe Doherty. The program was recorded at the studios of Fox station KRIV (Channel 26) in Houston, Texas. The series lasted for 4 1/2 seasons in syndication from January 2001 until it was cancelled in September 2005. Reba will remain on cable in Lifetime, so it isn't totally gone from television at least. No word when or if Reba will return to ION.
Other ION February 2010 notes includes a M*A*S*H sighting! But it is only one airing on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 3pm with the episode "The Pilot" airing. Strange, but at least an episode is airing. Movie premieres for ION in February are Basic, Twisted and Elopement. Movies encoring are Unbreakable, Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, City of Angels, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Guarding Tess, and The Pelican Brief.
View the full ION Television February 2010 schedule and highlights.

USA Network has acquired the rights to reruns of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for its second cycle. Under the agreement, USA will have non-exclusive rights to seasons 1-10 beginning December 2010 (shared with Spike TV). Starting Fall 2011, USA will also have the exclusive off-network rights to premiere CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Seasons 11 and beyond. Beginning September 2014, NBCU shall be the exclusive home of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, as Spike TV loses the rights to the series. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation will be available to air on other NBCU owned networks like Bravo. Sources close to the deal say USA is paying in the neighborhood of $500,000 per episodes for the CBS TV Studios-produced show.
CSI will join the rerun rose of NCIS, JAG, Law and Order: SVU, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, House, and more. NCIS spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles is also set to make USA its rerun home in Fall 2011 airing weekly then weekdays by Fall 2013. With a lineup of originals led by Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, & White Collar that continues to set ratings highs, USA was No. 1 basic cable network in 2009 in the 18-49 demo, increasing 29% from 2008.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Tuesday, November 12

The Conners - "Tempest in a Stew Pot" (ABC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Jackie and Becky pitch their business plan to Darlene in hopes of getting the Lunch Box back, but Darlene’s decision leads to hostility among the three. Meanwhile, Dan bans Odessa from the house, causing a rift with Harris; and Mark makes extensive Thanksgiving plans that may inevitably fall apart.

Bless This Mess - "The Visit" (ABC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Donna springs a last-minute trip to Nebraska on Mike and Rio, which she claims is to relax, but Mike and Rio soon find out she has other plans in mind when she steps into competitive mode to get them to participate in the harvest. Meanwhile, Constance’s son Brandon is driving her crazy working at the store, so she pawns him off on Rudy.

mixed-ish - "Puttin' on the Ritz" (ABC, 9:00PM ET/PT)
The kids are excited to learn more about their grandad after Harrison invites the crew to family day at his country club. Although Paul thinks it’s a bad idea, he is eventually overruled. Meanwhile, Alicia attempts to fit in at the country club but ends up fighting with Denise about keeping it real.

black-ish - "Daughters for Dummies" (ABC, 9:30PM ET/PT)
When Dre realizes that his relationship with Diane has been distant, he plans some daddy-daughter bonding sessions, but the plans backfire when he realizes the interest is one-sided. Meanwhile, Bow covers for Junior at his ChoreBoar gig.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 11)

Tuesday, November 12

Patrick Stewart (Blunt Talk) - Catch Patrick on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph (People of Earth) - Da'Vine appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Kristen Bell (The Good Place) - Kristen visits The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC. She also talks about Frozen 2 on ABC's Good Morning America sometime between 7-9am and on The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/Getting On/The Norm Show) - Laurie stops by The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Jenny Slate (Married/Parks and Recreation/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny is a guest on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Rob Schneider (Real Rob/Rob) and Esther Povitsky (Dollface/Alone Together) - Rob and Esther are panelists on Lights Out with David Spade at 11:30pm on Comedy Central.
Lizzy Caplan (Party Down/The Class) - Lizzy drops by Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Ilana Glazer (Broad City) - Ilana appears on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Laura Dern (F Is for Family/Enlightened) - Laura is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Robin Givens (Head of the Class) - Robin visits The Real, so check your local listings.
Donald Faison (The Exes/Scrubs/Clueless) - Donald appears on The Real, so check your local listings.
Nicole Byer (Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Tim Robbins (The Brink) - Tim talks about Dark Waters on New York Live on WNBC in New York at 11:30am ET.
Kristin Davis (Sex and the City/Bad Teacher) - Kristin talks about Holiday in the Wild on NBC's Today in the 9am hour.