Broadcast syndication
Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates. Syndication is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates. Shows can be syndicated internationally, although this is less common.
Three common types of syndication are: first-run syndication, which is programming that is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show and is made specifically for the purpose of selling it into syndication; Off-network syndication, which is the licensing of a program whose first airing was on stations inside the television network that produced it, or in some cases a program that was first-run syndicated, to other stations; and public broadcasting syndication.
Types
First-run syndication
In first-run syndication, a program is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show. Often these programs are made specifically to sell directly into syndication and not made for any particular network.Off-network syndication
In off-network syndication, a program whose first airing was on network television is licensed for local broadcast on individual stations. Reruns are usually found on stations affiliated with smaller networks like The CW Plus or MyNetworkTV, especially since these networks broadcast one less hour of prime time network programming than the Big Four television networks and far less network-provided daytime television. A show usually enters off-network syndication when it has built up about four seasons' worth or between 80 and 100 episodes, though for some genres the number could be as low as 65. Successful shows in syndication can cover production costs and make a profit, even if the first run of the show was not profitable.Public broadcasting syndication
This type of syndication has arisen in the U.S. as a parallel service to member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service and the handful of independent public broadcasting stations. This form of syndication more closely resembles the news agency model, where nominally competing networks share resources and rebroadcast each other's programs. For example, National Public Radio stations commonly air the Public Radio Exchange's This American Life, which may contain stories produced by NPR journalists.Process
When syndicating a show, the production company, or a distribution company called a syndicator, attempts to license the show to one station in each media market or area, or to a commonly owned station group, within the country and internationally. If successful, this can be lucrative, but the syndicator may only be able to license the show in a small percentage of the markets. Syndication differs from licensing the show to a television network. Once a network picks up a show, it is usually guaranteed to run on most or all the network's affiliates on the same day of the week and at the same time. Some production companies create their shows and license them to networks at a loss, at least at first, hoping that the series will succeed and that eventual off-network syndication will turn a profit for the show. A syndicated program is licensed to stations for "cash" ; given to stations for access to airtime ; or the combination of both. The trade of program for airtime is called "barter."In the United States, syndicated programs are usually licensed to stations on a group level, with multiple stations owned and/or operated by the same broadcasting group carrying the program in different markets – making it increasingly more efficient for syndicators to gain widespread national clearances for their programs. Many syndicated programs are traditionally sold first to one of seven "key" station groups, allowing their programs to gain clearances in the largest U.S. TV markets, before striking deals with other major and smaller station owners. Shows airing in first-run syndication that are carried primarily by an owned-and-operated station of a network may sometimes be incorrectly referenced as a network program, especially if said network's syndication wing distributes the program, regardless to its distribution to stations of varying network affiliations and despite the fact it is not part of an individual network's base schedule.
Since the early 2000s, some programs being proposed for national distribution in first-run syndication have been test marketed on a selected number of or all stations owned by certain major station group, allowing the distributor to determine whether a national roll-out is feasible based on the ratings accrued in the selected markets where the program is being aired.
While market penetration can vary widely and revenues can be unreliable, the producers often enjoy more content freedom in the absence of network's standards and practices departments; frequently, some innovative ideas are explored by first-run syndicated programming which the networks are leery of giving airtime to. Meanwhile, top-rated syndicated shows in the United States usually have a domestic market reach as high as 98%. Very often, series that are aired in syndication have reduced running times. For example, a standard American sitcom runs 22 minutes, but in syndication it may be reduced to 20 minutes to make room for more commercials.
Syndication can take the form of either weekly or daily syndication. Game shows, some "tabloid" and entertainment news shows, and talk shows are broadcast daily on weekdays, while most other first-run syndicated shows are broadcast on a weekly basis and are usually aired on weekends only. Big discussion occurred in the 1990s and 2000s about whether previously aired episodes of a show could become syndicated while new episodes of it continued to air on its original network. There had been much opposition to this idea and it was generally viewed to lead to the death of the show. However, licensing a program for syndication actually resulted in the increased popularity for shows that remained in production. A prime example is Law & Order.
First-run syndication in the U.S.
As with radio in the U.S., television networks, particularly in their early years, did not offer a full day's worth of programming for their affiliates, even in the evening or "prime time" hours. In the early days of television, this was less of an issue, as there were in most markets fewer TV stations than there were networks, which meant that the stations that did exist affiliated with multiple networks and, when not airing network or local programs, typically sign-on and sign-off. The loosening of licensing restrictions, and the subsequent passage of the All-Channel Receiver Act, meant that by the early 1960s, the situation had reversed. There were now more stations than the networks—now down to three in number after the failure of the DuMont Television Network—could serve. Some stations were not affiliated with any network, operating as independent stations. Both groups sought to supplement their locally produced programming with content that could be flexibly scheduled. The development of videotape and, much later, enhanced satellite down link access furthered these options. While most past first-run syndicated shows were shown only in syndication, some canceled network shows continued to be produced for first-run syndication or were revived for syndication several years after their original cancellation. Until about 1980, most syndicated series were distributed to stations either on 16mm film prints or videotape.Ziv Television Programs, after establishing itself as a major radio syndicator, was the first major first-run television syndicator, creating several long-lived series in the 1950s and selling them directly to regional sponsors, who in turn sold the shows to local stations. Ziv's first major TV hit was The Cisco Kid. Ziv had the foresight to film The Cisco Kid in color, even though color TV was still in its infancy and most stations did not yet support the technology. Among the most widely seen Ziv offerings were Sea Hunt, I Led Three Lives, Highway Patrol and Ripcord. Some first-run syndicated series were picked up by networks in the 1950s and early 1960s, such as the Adventures of Superman and Mr. Ed. The networks began syndicating their reruns in the late 1950s, and first-run syndication shrank sharply for a decade. Some stalwart series continued, including Death Valley Days; other ambitious projects were also to flourish, however briefly, such as The Play of the Week, produced by David Susskind.
Among other syndicated series of the 1950s were MCA's The Abbott and Costello Show and Guild Films' Liberace and Life With Elizabeth, a domestic situation comedy that introduced Betty White to a national audience. In addition to the Adventures of Superman, many other series were based on comic strips and aimed at the juvenile audience, including Flash Gordon, Dick Tracy, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, and Joe Palooka. Original juvenile adventure series included Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion, Cowboy G-Men, and Ramar of the Jungle. Series based on literary properties included Sherlock Holmes, Long John Silver, and The Three Musketeers. Several of these were co-productions between American and European companies. Crusader Rabbit pioneered in the area of first-run animated series; followed by Bucky and Pepito, Colonel Bleep, Spunky and Tadpole, Q. T. Hush, and others. Syndicated sports programming included Championship Bowling and All-Star Golf, both produced by Chicago-based Walter Schwimmer Inc.
In addition to regular series, syndicators also offered packages of feature films, cartoons, and short subjects originally made for movie theaters. Until late in the 1950s, however, much of the theatrical product available consisted of low-budget secondary features with relatively few notable stars. One syndication company, National Telefilm Associates, attempted to create a "NTA Film Network" of stations showing its lineup of first-run series, which included syndicated programs such as Police Call, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Passerby, Man Without a Gun, and This Is Alice. The venture lasted five years and closed down in 1961.
By the late 1960s, a de facto two-tiered system had developed in the United States, with the major network affiliates consistently drawing more viewers than their UHF, independent counterparts; syndicators thus hoped to get their programs onto the major network stations, where spots in the lineup were far more scarce. Federal Communications Commission rulings in 1971 curtailed the American networks' ability to schedule programming in what has become known as the "fringe time", notably the 7–8 p.m. hour of "prime time", with the stated hope that this might encourage more local programming of social and cultural relevance to communities ; some projects of this sort came to fruition, though these were usually relatively commercial and slick efforts such as Group W's Evening/PM Magazine franchise, and such pre-existing national projects as the brief commercial-television run of William F. Buckley Jr.'s interview/debate series Firing Line. The more obvious result was an increase in Canadian-produced syndicated dramatic series, such as Dusty's Trail and the Colgate-sponsored Dr. Simon Locke. Game shows, often evening editions of network afternoon series, flourished, and a few odd items such as Wild Kingdom, canceled by NBC in 1971, had a continuing life as syndicated programming tailor-made for the early fringe.