Primetime series find second home at MyNetworkTV

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Primetime series find second home at MyNetworkTV
Wed May 27, 2009

By James Hibberd

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - MyNetworkTV will air syndicated episodes of several primetime mainstays in the fall, including two shows recently canceled by broadcasters.

MyNet's fall lineup includes the upcoming syndication runs of former CBS drama "The Unit" and NBC's still-running "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," along with syndication versions of the canceled NBC game show "Deal or No Deal" and Fox's "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"

The News Corp.-owned sixth network recently said it was abandoning its strict broadcast programing ambitions to follow a syndication model.

MyNet also will carry the 10th season of "WWE Friday Night SmackDown," which continues to perform well.

With 1.6 million viewers last season, MyNet was up 46 percent in viewers compared with the previous year, making gains on fellow newbie broadcaster the CW, which declined overall. If shows such as "Unit" and "Deal" earn even half the ratings of their previous Big Four network versions, MyNet should make gains again.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)

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www.reuters.com/article/televisionNews/idUSTRE54R0MO20090528

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MyNetwork Makes 'Deal,' Gets 'Smarter'

by David Goetzl
May 27, 2009

With NBC opting not to place "Deal or No Deal" on its fall schedule, MyNetworkTV will apparently receive at least some prime-time exclusivity for the popular game show starting in September. The News Corp.-owned network will air the syndicated package of the series on Tuesdays -- with back-to-back half-hour versions in the 9 p.m. hour.

MyNetworkTV, which now refers to itself as a "programming service," will air syndicated off-network fare Mondays through Wednesdays when the fall season kicks off. A movie will come on Thursdays, and "WWE Friday Night SmackDown" the next night.

On Tuesdays, back-to-back half hours of Fox's "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" will precede "Deal."

Two episodes of "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" will fill Mondays and a double dose of "The Unit," on Wednesdays. The network will program from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. weeknights.

None of the off-network series are on broadcasters' lineups for the fall as they stand now, although they could be quickly added when shows fail. The exception is "The Unit," which CBS has dropped.

MyNetworkTV will not program Saturdays this fall as it has for its initial seasons. It has never offered programming on Sundays.

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