Debmar-Mercury has renewed The Wendy Williams Show on the Fox stations through the 2011-12 season, the company said today.
Wendy Williams airs on Fox stations in top markets, including on WNYW New York, KTTV Los Angeles, WFLD Chicago, WTXF Philadelphia and KDFW Dallas. The show launched nationally in July after a six-week test on four Fox stations in summer 2008.
"There was no question that we wanted to renew The Wendy Williams Show given what we've seen thus far in both content and ratings," said Frank Cicha, Fox's senior VP of programming, in a statement. "We anticipate even further growth as the show continues to emerge as a key building block, and Wendy as a key personality, of our daytime landscape."
Fox also airs such first-run programming as Sony's Dr. Oz and many court shows.
Sources at Debmar-Mercury say that renewals from other station groups should be announced shortly.
In September and October, Wendy Williams has improved 23 percent in households, according to Debmar-Mercury. The show also is doing well among young female audiences that advertisers seek, increasing 43 percent among women 18-34, 38 percent among women 18-49 and 37 percent in women 25-54 compared to the show's first eight weeks on the air.
