Live viewing, consistency and more concise advertising pods continue to be the hallmarks of a strong syndication business. But that doesn’t mean the market, which in recent years has lacked a new out-of-the-box hit, isn’t looking for its next big thing.
 
Although recent years have seen fewer syndication debuts, signs point to a renewed uptick. New shows “always excite the market,” says Irv Schulman, SVP of Disney/ABC Syndication Sales. “The advertisers are at the point right now where they are getting away from dayparts and they are buying on a program-specific basis. And they’re getting excited about programs.”
 
Last year’s splashy entry Harry, from NBCUniversal Domestic Television Distribution (also home to perennial heavy hitters Steve Harvey and Access Hollywood, among others), will return for a second season. Harry “offers an entertaining and wholesome environment. Harry Connick Jr. is one of the most hard-working and talented hosts on television and enjoys a great diversity of ad categories,” says Bo Argentino, SVP, media & advertising sales, NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution. “We look forward to continued success with our partners.”
 
This year’s new crop includes Sony Pictures Television’s The Goldbergs, currently in its fourth season on ABC, Warner Bros. Television’s comedy Mom, and a promising rookie– 20th Television’s Page Six TV, which has cleared 90 percent of the market for launch in September after a test run last summer in markets including NY, LA, Philadelphia, Dallas and Detroit.
 
Additionally, Harvey, a staple in Chicago for the past five years, is heading west and will relaunch in LA with a new show he’s co-producing with IMG.

Turning a New Page
Page Six TV hails from Endemol Shine North America and The New York Post, home of the gossip column from which it takes its name. It offers potential for synergies within News Corp, which owns 20th Television, The Post and distributor Fox stations, as well as deep brand integrations.
 
“The traditional entertainment news magazine shows are PR agenda-driven, and they have aged dramatically,” 20th Television EVP media sales Michael Teicher tells Cynopsis. “Where Page Six differentiates itself is that we are giving them the inside story about what’s happening in all things Hollywood.” Aside from the standing panel – which includes New York Post Page Six reporter Carlos Greer, John Fugelsang (SiriusXM, VH1), Bevy Smith (Bravo’s Fashion Queens) and Variety reporter Elizabeth Wagmeister – “we will have guest panelists rotate in, and under the right circumstances there could be interesting opportunities in entertainment, say for a theatrical release that might have a character or cast member that would be a perfect fit to be part of the cast for that episode,” Teicher says.
 
The show’s day-and-date production also affords opps to integrate messaging into the program and fan it out across digital outlets, a formula that’s been successful for Warner Bros. Television’s The Ellen DeGeneres Show, CBS Television Distribution’s Entertainment Tonight and 20th’s The Wendy Williams Show. “It’s not any secret marketers are looking for true 360 opportunities where they can surround the consumer with a consistent marketing message,” Teicher says.
 

Looking for the Next Big Thing
And the hunt is also on for yet another brand new daytime contender. Citing a mandate from new Disney-ABC Television Group president of business operations Bruce Rosenblum, Schulman tells Cynopsis, “We make the majority of our money in daytime.” Rosenblum “told us point blank, his goal is to launch a new first-run talk show in 2018,” he says. “Stability is key, but rather than just hit singles, on occasion you do need to swing for the fences.”
 
Expectations are also high for current king of daytime Harvey, who will reboot his talk show to pack more celebrity punch – and eliminate his commute to host Family Feud and Little Big Shots. “Steve Harvey has unparalleled popularity and is one of the most prolific talents on television,” says Argentino. “In September, Harvey will return to daytime for his sixth year hosting his own talk show and bringing it to Los Angeles.”
 
Other recent changes have paid off on the syndication front. Since bringing in Chris Harrison to host Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2015, Disney-ABC has seen a 30 percent rise in the selling demo year-over-year for the show, Schulman says.
 

Steady as She Goes
Of course, when it comes to syndication, it’s not all about the new and different. The business’ strongest selling point is that its same old story is one well worth repeating.
 
“No doubt about it, we offer a very straightforward proposition,” says Stu Zimmerman, EVP, advertiser sales for Sony Pictures Television (home to Dr. Oz, King of Queens and Seinfeld). “We offer some of the best live viewing, which I would argue even rivals sports with 94 percent of our audience or greater watching our shows Live + Same Day or within the C3 time period. “Even some of the most popular [broadcast and cable] shows have the hockey stick effect where so much of the audience comes in at the end of the seven-day period. For us, for C7, you’re just not going to see that much,” he says.
 
“These programs are the next best thing to sports and news because they are almost always viewed live and the advertiser’s message is seen and viewed in real-time,” says NBCU’s Argentino of the syndication market.
 

Fewer, shorter commercial pods also mean less clutter. For the upcoming The Goldbergs, the third most watched comedy in A18-49 behind Big Bang Theory and Modern Family, the longest break clocks in at about three minutes, the shortest about a minute, 45 seconds, Zimmerman says. “We have a lot of AB positions in that show, and that leads to better commercial retention. People pay a huge premium to be in sports and you don’t have to do that with syndication.”
 
What’s more, syndication is at it 52 weeks a year. “There are no huge rises and dips generally,” Zimmerman says. “So when you’re planning out the year, and Q3 is when some people take a real dive, syndication can be counted on.”
 
And then there’s the occasional sleeper syndication hit, as TBS found with Everybody Loves Raymond, and 20th Television is finding in Last Man Standing.
 
While the company’s younger-skewing fare including “family” triumvirate Modern Family, Family Guy and Family Feud (which Teicher allows “consumers at this point view more as a comedy than they do as a game show”) are steady performers, Last Man Standing has seen a ratings jump of nearly 50 percent across major demos.
 
“It’s one of those cases where a show has had moderate success on [broadcast] and really found its audience in its off-net run,” Teicher says.
 

Cynopsis Ad Sales: Mike Farina | VP, Sales | 203-218-6480
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