It’s been a busy day for the syndication market. Fans of The Mentalist no longer have to wonder why NCIS:LA was sold into syndication and their show wasn’t.
According to the pact between TNT and Warner Bros. Domestic TV Distribution, “Mentalist” will begin running weekly on the cable network in fall 2011, followed by a full-blown launch in 2012.
Neither side would discuss the financials of the deal, but the Simon Baker starrer is said to have fetched from $2.2 million-$2.3 million an episode.
via THR.com
Everybody’s in Syndication! Next announcement: Hank!
I couldn’t be happier! The Mentalist is the best series on television! And that Simon Baker can win anybody’s heart with that smile of his!
The USA vs. TNT wars are in full swing except the fact that USA’s Raw will have a separate Monday Night War II battle in 2010 against SPIKE’s TNA. Cable’s wars are going to get interesting here.
I really wanted The Mentalist to get on USA as I saw that as a good fit and USA tends to do better with their procedural repeats than TNT does. USA still has a shot at getting second-run rights to The Mentalist later in that decade doing a CSI: NY maybe where the show is on two networks and by then Psych will probably be canceled.
This now opens up the door to another character focus procedural in Castle whose fan base has grown quickly. Castle would be a huge fit on USA and would be a huge deal breaker for ABC which needs some procedurals to ship out. USA can market the Castle character and Stana Katic’s character.
BTW, Jane is just the funniest character on all of television. This guy was in jail and brought hiself out of a potential beating.
The Mentalist is produced by the Time Warner owned Warner Bros and being sold to the Time Warner owned TNT. The CBS produced NCIS: LA is being sold to the NBCU owned USA network. I’m sure it’s at least partly (perhaps largely, or even 100%) a deficit in my brain that can’t grasp a deal going down under the umbrella of the same company actually being as lucrative as a deal between two companies that aren’t under the same umbrella. But yeah, my brain can’t grasp that as being as lucrative (even aside from NCIS: LA already costing more per episode based on the reports).
But I like the move regardless as all of the “broader” cable nets must be thinking “WOW, look at what NCIS reruns do on USA! WE need something like that.”
Holly, first Hank needs to be re-branded “According to Hank”
Coming soon! The greatest television series ever! Already sold into syndication on THREE cable channels! NEXT WEEK — THE PREMIERE!
‘Til Hank sounds even better.
Slow economy equals desparate deals, I suppose. WB could have gotten double had they waited two years, so that tells me there’s some cash flow problems.
I want in!
The Hank Lopez Show
Castle is next!
You must be thinking of Hankfeld.
Or Hankhouse?
So when is someone going to buy the syndication rights to Supernatural?
wow big salary for Simon Baker! who needs a movie when you get a million per episode in a TV Series
the ‘HANK FLIES’
So when does V sell into syndication to Syfy?
Next Dollhouse sold in syndication to the Travel Network for $5 and episode! Travel Network needs the 0.8 in the 18 to 49 the show captures.
People say that Serials dont work for syndication but thats not true. Heroes V for SYFY. Maybe not network syndication but cable it works.
Wasn’t there major litigation over how Fox was under selling syndication rights for X-Files to, well, Fox by “Fox”?
With all the syndication deals I guess that means that these shows are going to be renewed for a while? Does that affect your cancel/renew index?
Ummm, if Time Warner is selling a show from its studio to its network, they’re basically paying themselves, aren’t they? I know they have to report this on the books as a sale for each part of the company, but still, it’s not like money is really changing hands here.
While CBS is actually making money selling the show to another company, in this case NBC, right?
Is this an expensive sale for a show? 2 million or more?
@bigSkinnyJerk, Could it have gotten more than $2.3 million in a couple of years? Maybe, but it definitely wouldn’t have been twice that. It did get more than every other hour-long in syndication besides NCIS:LA. Not exactly a major discount there.
@Cody, Yes, Heroes is on G4 and MOJO, Lost is on Syfy, Grey’s Anatomy is on Lifetime, and ANTM is on…something. Serialized shows can and do get syndication, but it happens less often, they get much lower ratings, and generally get lower prices.
The Mentalist would have worked on USA but TNT makes sense as it means Warner Bros gets to reap the benefit, NCIS: LA must have been sought after too but having NCIS and NCIS: LA will probably work out for USA in the long run.
A lot of networks like TNT got burnt buying shows like Without a Trace and Cold Case only for them to undeperform, so naturally they have been hestitant to buy shows straight away for more money hence why A&E got Criminal Minds for a bargain and Ghost Whisperer was sold to Syfy, WE and ION.
I’m not sure I understand syndication, if someone could enlighten me.
I thought you had to have 100 episodes before you went into syndication, and that’s why shows like Ugly Betty and Til’ Death are still around.
ANTM is on MTV or Oxygen.. I don’t remember.
Johnthemon- 100 used to be the preferred number for syndication, to allow shows to run 5 days a week without being stale, but even then it was just a preference. Lately syndication deals (especially with cable nets) have been more lenient, and seen as a win/win between the channels with the syndicated eps and the networks airing originals (reruns have most definately helped NCIS & House for their respective networks)
But for the commentor saying that Mentalist should have gone to USA:
I highly doubt USA wanted to buy Mentalist, seeing as how they still air successful originals of the show that The Mentalist was based off of: Psych
Catherine, no change to the Index since both of these shows were locks to return next season because of their ratings. Is there a potential in a future year of potentially poor ratings for them to be kept on the air to achieve the number of episodes needed? Yes, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Not really a surprise, I could see this show lasting for years. I think The Big Bang Theory could be next
Yes!!!!! I love The Mentalist and Jane rocks I hate that Bosco I hate him hate him
This is wonderful news! I am a huge fan of this show, and Simon Baker is perfectly cast in the role of Patrick Jane. I can see this show continuing for several more seasons, and it is one of very few shows that I don’t mind watching in repeats. As Judy mentioned already, his smile and charm are irresistible. I really enjoy watching the entire cast/characters. Except for Bosco.