King World Productions has sold CSI: Miami to stations covering 80% of the country for a fall-2006 debut, the syndicator said Monday.
King World hopes to follow in the footprints of CSI, which was an instant ratings winner when it debuted in syndication last fall.
Stations in CSI: Miami's lineup include those owned by Viacom (which also owns King World), Belo, Gannett, Scripps Howard, Emmis, Cox, Hearst-Argyle, Landmark, Meredith, Dispatch, Clear Channel, Freedom, Media General, New York Times, Post-Newsweek, Young, and Liberty.
King World currently delivers stations two episodes of CSI each week, which is averaging a 5.1 national household rating season-to-date and a 2.9 in adults 18-49, making it the tenth-highest-rated show overall in syndication and the second-highest-rated weekly show behind only the weekend edition of Sony’s Seinfeld at a 5.2. King World will also deliver two episodes of CSI: Miami each week.
King World has sold CSI and CSI: Miami in syndication using a format that differs from the norm. CSI was sold to Spike as a weekend hour in 2002 for $1.6 million per episode. In 2004, it became a Monday-Friday strip on Spike and was made available for broadcast stations in weekend syndication. In 2006, CSI will become a seven-day-a-week strip on Spike and exit broadcast syndication, with CSI: Miami taking its place.
CSI: Miami currently airs on weekends on A&E, which bought it for $1.3 million per episode. It will start as a Monday-Friday strip on A&E in 2006, when the weekend broadcast syndication run starts.
The latest show in the CSI franchise, CSI: New York, will get its start on weekend cable, likely Spike for about $1.9 million a pop, starting in fall 2006. The weekend broadcast run of CSI: NY will begin in fall 2008.
