As production quickly shut down across Los Angeles in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the Fox Television Stations turned to their syndication partners to help keep them in the day-and-date programming that they prefer.
And those partners stepped up, with Warner Bros.’ Extra staying on the air with a skeleton crew coming into the office, which also serves as its studio, and Harvey Levin and Warner Bros.’ TMZ switching to at-home production on a dime. And talent such as Dr. Mehmet Oz and Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz has remained both on the air and on other channels as everyone has scrambled to keep the cameras -- and laptops and phones -- rolling.
“This is broadcast’s time in a lot of ways,” said Frank Cicha, executive VP, programming, Fox Television Stations. “There are lots of stations doing local church services and local telethons to raise money. And a lot of the community stuff that stations do has been taken to a new level in the midst of all of this.”
