via Hollywoodreporter.com
The
Viacom-owned cable network has acquired off-network rights to ABC's breakout
hit Scandal, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.
Under
the pact, BET will begin airing seasons one and two of the Kerry Washington
political-fixer drama this summer. Additionally, original episodes
from the
upcoming third season of the Shonda Rhimes series will air no sooner than eight
days after original first-run episodes are broadcast on ABC. The deal for
off-network repeats extends to additional seasons of the drama if it should
continue its run (likely).
BET
will debut the first two seasons of the ABC Studios drama with a marathon
starting in August, continuing to air episodes up until the third-season
premiere on ABC in the fall (a formal third-season premiere date has not been
announced yet). The agreement extends season-one Scandal episodes to BET in
addition to Netflix, where they've been streaming since debuting in September 2012.
It marks the first time season two will air outside of ABC and ABC.com.
Financial terms of the deal were not immediately available.
The
move will likely help ABC broaden the serialized drama's audience among its
core demographic, though Rhimes has been vocal about the series not
specifically being a show catering to African-Americans. The series, about a
fixer with professional and personal ties to the president of the United States
.
"We're
thrilled to be joining forces with ABC in airing this dynamic series," BET
chairman Debra Lee said. "Scandal is a cultural phenomenon that has
resonated with viewers for the past two seasons and we're excited to be part of
its continued journey."
At
BET, Scandal comes as the Viacom-owned cabler continues to find success with
its original scripted fare.
Scandal
marks BET's first syndicated scripted drama acquisition. The network in the
past has aired repeats of comedies The Parkers, Moesha and Family Matters and
continues to air Wendy Williams' syndicated talk show.
No comments:
Post a Comment