The TMZ web gossip-news network will be launched as a television news magazine series, along the lines of its popular website.
All Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD) stations have committed to the series for fall 2007, and all will provide double runs, writes Broadcasting & Cable (via MediaBuyerPlanner). In the top three markets, the series has been cleared on both the primary Fox stations and the duopolies.
Under an unprecendented arrangement, station websites will be able to brand TMZ.com material as their own, selling a local banner ad on the TMZ portion of the site and the typical 5 1/2 minutes of local time within the show (the syndicator retains 90 seconds per half hour).
Production will be based in Los Angeles, and the show will be produced separately from the other magazine series from Warner Bros., Extra. Its budget is believed to be more than $1 million per week.
