10 stations/8.04% of U.S.
Scripps Howard is going with the talk shows Iyanla
and Ananda
for many of its markets. The TV-station group picked up Iyanla
for WMAR-TV Baltimore; WXYZ-TV Detroit; KSHB-TV Kansas City, Mo.; KNXV-TV Phoenix; and WFTS Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla. The show will air mostly in the mornings or early afternoon, except in Detroit, where it will run in late night.
Scripps' KJRH Tulsa will carry Ananda
in the afternoon, and WPTV(TV) West Palm Beach, Fla., and WCPO-TV Cincinnati will run it in the morning. The group is also considering possible replacements for Dr. Laura, which airs in four Scripps markets.
"Basically, three or four of our stations needed next to nothing," says Gary Stark, director of programming and research for WEWS Cleveland. "We still have a couple of holes for this fall, and we're still looking. But most of the rest of the schedule is filled up."
Live With Regis, which is carried in several Scripps markets, has been renewed, and four stations renewed Oprah.
Both shows are still successful for the group, says Stark. "Oprah had one of her better books this year, compared to even last year."
Scripps is also exploring the option of adding some court shows, but Stark wasn't ready to reveal which ones. People's Court
airs in several markets. "[Court shows] are not a major part of any of our stations. Not because we don't like them, those shows just haven't been available."
And Scripps is happy with The View. "In our opinion, it's a big hit," says Stark. Indeed, he thinks that, if The View
had started as a syndicated show, it wouldn't have lasted a year. But because it was on the network and had Barbara Walters, it had more time to get itself going. "It's tough in syndication," he notes, "because you have to really get that push out of the box, especially with all the competition."
The group's lineup in access will remain the same, with some stations airing Wheel
and Jeopardy
while others carry Entertainment Tonight.
