Sony Pictures Television will distribute Meredith’s People (The TV Show!) in national syndication, the partners said Wednesday.
The entertainment magazine debuted Sept. 14 on Meredith-owned stations in 12 local markets, including Atlanta, Phoenix, St. Louis, Portland, Nashville, Kansas City, Hartford-New Haven, Greenville-Spartanburg, Las Vegas, Mobile-Pensacola, Flint-Saginaw, and Springfield-Holyoke, Mass. With this move, Meredith expects to significantly increase the show's reach.
Meredith acquired People Magazine in January 2018, along with the rest of Time Inc.'s assets in a $2.8 billion deal.
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Kay Adams and Lawrence K. Jackson host along with correspondents Jeremy Parsons and Sandra Vergara and special contributors Nancy O’Dell and Gretchen Carlson. The magazine strip is executive produced by Rob Silverstein, formerly of Access Hollywood. Meredith also brought on former CBS executive Lee Villas to facilitate distribution.
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“We are thrilled with the early success of People (the TV Show!) in Meredith’s markets and are excited to team with SPT to offer the show to other station groups for fall 2022,” said Patrick McCreery, President, Meredith Local Media Group, in a statement.
“SPT is focused on bringing the highest quality brands and content to television syndication. People has maintained the largest audience of any magazine brand in America, reaching close to 100 million consumers, and attracts blue-chip advertisers at premium rates,” said John Weiser, president, First-Run Television, SPT, in a statement. “Rather than presenting a pilot, we’re strategically taking the risk out of first-run television by offering stations a show that has already been on-air tested and is delivering great ratings. We are proud to partner with Meredith broadcasting in representing this well established first-class brand,”
