HBO, Col ink syndie deal
The Col agreement will cover future product from HIP, including any pilots picked up for next season and talent under development deals, according to sources familiar with the pact.
The arrangement leaves Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution with the syndication rights to the HBO production company's sitcoms "Roc" and "Martin."
WB has to turn away additional HIP product because its syndie plate is too full.
In addition to handling a number of off-network series from WB, Quincy Jones Entertainment, Witt-Thomas Prods. and the company's prolific Lorimar production arm (which has time-period winner "Step By Step" waiting in the wings), the distribution unit is heavily involved in the firstrun business with such projects as "The Jenny Jones Show,""Jane Whitney" and the Primetime Entertainment Network action hours.
For Col, the output arrangement with HIP could provide a much-needed flow of off-net sitcoms. Other than "Seinfeld," the distrib has little to offer stations in coming years.
Sources say Col has entered into a sliding scale distribution pact that could allow HIP to make a killing if it turns out a hit.
Under its terms, Col's distribution fee will reportedly decrease as grosses increase. So if Col normally takes, say, 35% ofthe gross receipts from the sales of an off-net show, the amount would drop in perhaps 5% increments as a HIP series surpasses certain revenue benchmarks in syndication.
WB, meanwhile, walks away from the deal with the syndie rights to the potentially lucrative "Martin," which has prospered in its first season on Fox Broadcasting.
Comfortably ensconced in the coveted Thursday night slot following "The Simpsons,""Martin" last week earned a 13.2 rating/20 share among households and garnered a healthy 21 share in the key 18-49 adult age group.
If the series can sustain strong young adult numbers over the next two or three seasons, it could prove to be a valuable player in the off-net market -- particularly since affiliates in the top-50 markets can air off-Fox series in the lucrative access hour leading into prime time.
Since Fox isn't considered a network, its shows are free from the constraints of the prime time access rule. PTAR prohibits access airings of off-net primetime fare in the major markets.
That would permit WB to target "Martin" to larger affils that want to counterprogram older-skewing powerhouses such as "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" It's a luxury the syndicator doesn't have with "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," which comes off of NBC.
None of the principal players involved in the HIP-Col output agreement have gone out of their way to publicize it. They all declined to comment on the matter.
