Bounce, the fastest-growing African-American network on television, has acquired the day & date repurpose rights to “The Wendy Williams Show” from Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury in a new agreement announced today.
The deal represents the first-ever repurposed programming arrangement done by a new-generation broadcast network, also known as a multicast network.
Starting Monday, March 5, Bounce will air “The Wendy Williams Show” weeknights at 11:00pm ET*/8:00pm PT* on the same day the episode premieres in syndication.
“The opinionated voice of The Wendy Williams Show has come to symbolize pop culture. We’re thrilled to welcome Wendy and her loyal fanbase to the Bounce family,” said Jonathan Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Katz Networks, which operates Bounce.
“Bounce offers a great home for African-American programming and Wendy,” commented Debmar-Mercury Co-Presidents Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein. “We are a company all about firsts, and are very pleased to make this historic multicast network repurposing deal with our friends at Scripps’ Katz Networks.”
Referred to as a “breakthrough in daytime” by The New York Times, “The Wendy Williams Show” is a daily one-hour entertainment talk show which features mother, wife and best-selling author Wendy Williams. Broadcast live from New York, the show features Wendy’s distinctive personality, accompanied by a mix of celebrity guests and popular segments such as “Ask Wendy,” where Wendy offers advice to audience members looking for solutions to problems and “Hot Topics,” Wendy’s honest and authentically opinionated take on headlines of the day. Prior to hosting this show, Williams enjoyed a successful 23-year career as one of radio’s most popular personalities. “The Wendy Williams Show” is produced and distributed by Debmar-Mercury.
About Debmar-Mercury
Debmar-Mercury produces and distributes The Wendy Williams Show; has U.S. distribution rights to FremantleMedia North America’s Steve Harvey-hosted Family Feud; distributes Tyler Perry sitcoms House of Payne and spinoff Meet the Browns, as well as Revolution/CubeVision’s Are We There Yet? (starring Ice Cube); and sitcoms including Anger Management (starring Charlie Sheen); and has U.S. TV distribution rights to South Park. Debmar-Mercury is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a premier next generation global content leader.
About Bounce
Bounce (@BounceTV) airs on the broadcast signals of local television stations and corresponding cable carriage, and features a programming mix of original and off-network series, theatrical motion pictures, specials, live sports, and more. Bounce has grown to be available in more than 99 million homes across the United States and 95% of all African-American (AA) television homes, including all the top AA television markets. Bounce is part of The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP).
*Approximately; actual start time depends upon length of preceding movie presentation.
