NATPE 2016: Marcus, Bernstein Sign New Long-Term Deals With Lionsgate

By
( )
published

Complete Coverage: NATPE 2016

Having secured talent such as Wendy Williams and Steve Harvey for years to come, Debmar-Mercury copresidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein have themselves signed a new long-term deal with parent company Lionsgate, said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer on Wednesday.

“Mort and Ira are fantastic partners and we’re proud to extend our alliance with them for many years to come,” said Feltheimer. “They have built a visionary and entrepreneurial company that is the gold standard in television distribution and production, and they are an integral part of the continuing growth, diversification and scalability of our global television operations.”

During NATPE 2016 in Miami, Debmar-Mercury announced that talk show Wendy Williams was renewed out through 2019-20 on the Fox, Media General and Cox stations and that FremantleMedia North America-produced Celebrity Name Game, starring Craig Ferguson, will return for season three next year.

Lionsgate acquired Debmar-Mercury 10 years ago in 2006. Besides Wendy Williams and Celebrity Name Game, Debmar-Mercury also distributes Family Feud, which is hosted by Steve Harvey and produced by FMNA. It also distributes off-network and off-cable programs, such as Anger Management, Tyler Perry’s House of Payne and South Park.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.