Tuesday, January 24, 2012

NATPE 2012: Day 2 Has MeTV Acquiring Classic Media Series Like He-Man; Lifetime TV Pulls Reba From Schedule


He-Man and the Masters of the Universe

MeTV Network, Memorable Entertainment Television announced from NATPE an agreement with Broadcast Partners LLC and its Classic Media Library. MeTV will be adding a weekend morning animation block featuring multi-generational favorites such as Gumby, Mr. Magoo, He-Man and She-Ra. The programming will be added to the MeTV schedule beginning in the second quarter of 2012. Me-TV affiliates will have the option of carrying additional programming including the live action classics: Timmy and Lassie Hour; and The Lone Ranger; as well as the animated series: The Archies; Ghostbusters; Casper and Friends; and Bravestarr.
Neal Sabin, President of Content and Networks for Weigel Broadcasting Company, says He-Man is celebrating its 30th anniversary this summer. MeTV is now seen in more than 73% of the country.

Elsewhere at NATPE, in only four months, Katie Couric's highly anticipated nationally syndicated talk show, Katie, has already been cleared in 93% of the country. Katie will premiere on leading stations across the country in September 2012. Disney-ABC Domestic Television has secured outstanding station clearances and key early fringe time periods for the LIVE one-hour daily daytime talk show. Sales to date include 95 of the top 100 markets. In addition to the ABC Owned station group, Katie has also been sold to leading stations from broadcast groups including Allbritton Communications, Belo Corporation, Cox Media Group, Gannett Broadcasting, Granite, Griffin, Hearst Television, LIN Broadcasting, McGraw-Hill, Media General, Meredith, Raycom, Scripps Howard Broadcasting, Sinclair and Young Broadcasting, among others.
We'll have more from NATPE tomorrow with our annual look on what is being offered in first-run syndication and new off-network series.


Lifetime TV has made a last minute schedule change that will start next week (Monday, Jan. 30). It is a minor schedule change, but they will remove Reba from its weekday mornings at 8:00am & 8:30am timeslots. Instead, they will add another hour of Will & Grace, which already airs from 9am-11am. No word on when Reba will return, but it has been pulled before but it returned quickly after. No other schedule changes are being made at Lifetime TV, so expect Old Christine from 11am-1pm, Desperate Housewives at 1pm, Grey's Anatomy at 2pm & 3pm and an hour of How I Met Your Mother at 4pm to continue in daytime. From 5pm-4am will be a mix of original series encores and actual original series in primetime, like Dance Mom, America's Most Wanted and Project Runway. Lifetime also airs Wife Swap on some nights.
In other Lifetime news, in its world premiere Saturday night, the Lifetime Original Movie Drew Peterson: Untouchable, starring Golden Globe(R) and Emmy(R) Award nominee Rob Lowe (Parks & Recreation, Brothers & Sisters) and Kaley Cuoco (The Big Bang Theory, 8 Simple Rules), generated record viewership, averaging 5.8 million Total Viewers, making it cable's most watched original movie in the demo in two years since Lifetime's The Pregnancy Pact on January 23, 2010. Additionally, the 5.8 million Total Viewers represent a 241% jump versus Lifetime's original movie premiere average in 2011. Based on a true story about police officer Drew Peterson's (Lowe) fall from grace after the mysterious disappearance of his fourth wife (Cuoco), the movie posted Lifetime's best numbers for an original movie premiere among the key demos since the January 3, 2011, debut of The Craigslist Killer, including 2.5 million Adults 25-54 viewers (+233% vs. the network's original movie premiere average in 2011), 2.2 million Adults 18-49 viewers (+210%), 1.8 million Women 25-54 viewers (+215%) and 1.5 million Women 18-49 viewers (+178%), according to Nielsen Research. Drew Peterson: Untouchable also generated a 4.25 Household rating (+223%).
It was a really good movie and Rob Lowe did a great job with perhaps an Emmy nomination coming? Anyway, we'll have more on Lifetime should anything change, so stay with us!


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Saturday, July 5

Mind Your Business - "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" (Bounce TV, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Aaliyah and Mia try convincing Lucille that the owner of a new nearby lounge is up to no good; Alfonso and Kim deal with AJ's first relationship.

Mind Your Business - "The Boy Is Mine" (Bounce TV, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Alfonso tries to maintain his newfound bromance after Aaliyah breaks up with his new friend; Kim goes the extra mile to inject luxury into their lifestyle to impress the moms of a Black Excellence club.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of June 30)

Friday, July 4

  • Ayo Edebiri (Big Mouth/The Bear) - Watch Ayo on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Jay Pharoah (White Famous/Champaign ILL) - Jay is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Frankie Grande (Henry Danger/Danger Force) - Frankie appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
  • Mark Hamill (The Texas Wheelers) - Mark is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Cristin Milioti (The Resort/Made for Love/A to Z/How I Met Your Mother) - Cristin appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger (FUBAR) - Arnold is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Rob Riggle (Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy/Golan the Insatiable/Gary Unmarried) - Rob appears on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
  • Marsai Martin (black-ish) - Marsai chats with the ladies of The View on a repeat on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan) - Brooke guest co-hosts NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Mario Cantone (And Just Like That.../Sex and the City) - Mario talks about And Just Like That... on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
  • Billy Bob Thornton (Hearts Afire) - Billy Bob opens up about being married six-times and is sharing all about his new show Landman on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Justine Lupe (Nobody Wants This/Cristela) - Justine is telling Drew about her viral wardrobe moment with Kathy Bates and shares behind the scenes moments of filming Succession, revealing the cast member she had a crush on, on a repeat of The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series Frasier (2023) - Season Two Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered) Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

01/28 - Wait Till Your Father Gets Home - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/04 - The Wayans Bros. - The Complete Series
03/11 - Frasier (2023) - Season Two
04/01 - Abbott Elementary - The Complete Third Season
05/13 - The Drew Carey Show - The Complete Series* (missing 4 episodes and some music has been replaced or altered)
06/06 - Shoresy - Season 2
06/17 - Looney Tunes - Collector's Vault - Volume 1 (Blu-ray)
07/08 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


Recent SitcomsOnline.com News Blog Posts

07/04 - Happy 4th of July; Antenna TV's McHale's Navy Red, White and Navy Independence Day Marathon
07/03 - The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Season 3 Premieres August 6; South Park New Season Moves by Two Weeks
07/02 - FETV Acquires The Rookies; Hulu Renews The Bear for Season 5
07/01 - Bert Kreischer Gets Netflix Sitcom; NBC Gets Into Survival Mode This Summer
06/30 - The Comeback Makes Another...Comeback; First Look at Black Rabbit at Netflix
06/29 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 30, 2025)
06/28 - SitcomsOnline Digest: The Comeback Returning for a Third and Final Season; South Park to Remain on HBO Max
06/27 - The White Lotus Star Teams Up with Netflix; Remembering Bobby Sherman, Lynn Hamilton, and Rick Hurst
06/26 - The CW's Fall Movie of the Week; First Look at New York Comic Con 2025
06/25 - Netflix Renews Ransom Canyon for Season 2; My Life with the Walter Boys First Look for Season 2
06/24 - Marc Maron Gets Second HBO Comedy Special; Outlander Prequel Renewed for Season 2 Ahead of Series Premiere
06/23 - MeTV Summer Changes, Adds Adventures of Superman; Jimmy Kimmel Live! Summer Guest Hosts
06/22 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 23, 2025)
06/21 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Night Court Officially Dead After Not Finding New Home; Weigel Announces New WEST Network
06/20 - Great American Media Announces New Danica McKellar Movie; Jennifer Love Hewitt ID True Crime Series
06/19 - Bad Thoughts Renewed for Season 2 at Netflix; Zarna Garg Gets Hulu Special This July
06/18 - Weigel Broadcasting Announces WEST Network with Classic TV Westerns; Hulu's Season 2 of Such Brave Girls
06/17 - Gary Coleman's Ex-Wife on A&E Series; Digman! Returns July 9 on Comedy Central
06/16 - Hulu's Chad Powers Teaser; Prime Video's Jesse Williams Series
06/15 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 16, 2025)
06/14 - SitcomsOnline Digest: NBC Mulls Airing The Paper on Primetime Lineup; Fox Revives Baywatch Reboot Talk
06/13 - My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman Renewed for 2 More Seasons; Hanna-Barbera Developing Adult Animated Series
06/12 - Comedy Superstar Jack Black Is the King of Comedy at Nickelodeon; Doc Adds Felicity Huffman
06/11 - Celebrities for Celebrity Family Feud Season 11; Netflix's Little House on the Prairie Starts Production
06/10 - Warner Bros. Discovery Separates Company; Peacock's Jennifer Garner Series Adds to Cast
06/09 - Comedian Ms. Pat Gets Season 3 of Courtroom Series; Disney Branded Television Animated Slate
06/08 - Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows; This Week in Sitcoms (Week of June 9, 2025)
06/07 - SitcomsOnline Digest: Fox Cancels Alert: Missing Persons Unit and The Cleaning Lady; Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune Headed to Streaming
06/06 - Hulu's First Look at Amanda Knox Drama; Prime Video Lands Spy Thriller
06/05 - Disney's Electric Bloom Gets Premiere Date; Conan to Guest on NBC's Late Night
06/04 - Netflix Announces Haunted Hotel with Comedic Voices; Prime Video Unveils Trailer for Thriller