'TMZ Live' Renewed Through 2016-17 on Fox Stations

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The Fox Television Stations have renewed TMZ spin-off, TMZ Live, through the 2016-17 season, said Ken Werner, president, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution and Frank Cicha, senior VP, programming, Fox Television Stations.

“‘This deal to extend TMZ Live on the Fox Stations is the culmination of an extremely successful strategic roll out,” said Werner in a statement.   “Harvey and his team set out to create, develop and refine a completely new genre of show, incubating it as a live Internet based show and then successfully transitioning it to television. TMZ Live has emerged as a top-ranked talk show in the Fox markets among both women 25-54 and adults 25-54 and has proven its versatility, pairing successfully with other talk shows, news, magazines and court shows.”

“Besides its merit as a strong stand-alone program, TMZ Live accomplishes two important things for us,” said Cicha, also in a statement.  “First, it enhances one of our top first run brands.  Second, it breaks out of the traditional syndication model — which is clearly in need of an overhaul.”

Said TMZ executive producer Harvey Levin, who also stars on TMZ Live, chatting about the pop-culture news of the day with members of the TMZ staff: “We’re producing TMZ Live as a show that bridges the gap between broadcast and digital, using assets from both. It’s not TV and it’s not the Internet. It’s a blend.”

TMZ Live, which began online on both TMZ.com and as a live streaming webcast on UStream, has had a unique broadcast distribution rollout, after a March 2012 test on Fox’s KTTV Los Angeles. Following that test, the program debuted in June 2012 on Fox’s KSAZ Phoenix. In October 2012, Fox Television Stations then expanded the series to five additional stations: WFXT Boston, WFLD Chicago, KDFW Dallas, WJBK Detroit and KMSP Minneapolis.

This fall, the rest of the Fox group premiered the show, including WNYW New York, WTXF Philadelphia, WTTG Washington, D.C., WAGA Atlanta, KRIV Houston, WTVT Tampa and WOFL Orlando. This week, the series joined the daytime line-up on WJZY Charlotte.

TMZ Live is produced by Harvey Levin Productions, Inc. and paraMedia, Inc., in association with Telepictures.


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.