From syndication to network

[Stanislav]

Quite a few shows over the years gained an extended life by going into first-run syndication after being canceled by a network.

But can you name any shows that made the trip in the opposite direction? Started out as a syndicated series, then got picked up by a network?

I know there have been a few...not many, but a few. But none come to mind at the moment.

 

[wbhist]

Perhaps the most famous case was Mister Ed, which began in syndication midway into the 1960-61 season and was picked up by CBS starting in the 1961-62 season.

 

[radioman148]

Perhaps the most famous case was Mister Ed, which began in syndication midway into the 1960-61 season and was picked up by CBS starting in the 1961-62 season.

Ya got me I thought Mr Ed was always on CBS.

 

[wbhist]

Then there was the British import The Saint starring Roger Moore, which was first syndicated in the U.S. about 1963 or so. (It was in that year that, in New York, WNBC-TV first aired it late Sunday nights after the late news.) Then in 1967, the national NBC network picked up the series beginning with the first color episodes.

 

[mleach]

What about SCTV?

I am pretty sure they were syndicated BEFORE they went to NBC and later Cinemax. The SCTV and Cinemax thing had always confused me. Why? Would it had made a difference had SCTV went to HBO instead? I am pretty sure the reason why SCTV went to Cinemax in the first place back then was the result that early-mid 80's "war" between HBO/Cinemax and Showtime/The Moive Channel when the studios began to make exclusive deals with either HBO or Showtime. I believe that started with the movies "Flashdance" and "Trading Places" when Showtime got the rights to them and threw that in the face of HBO.

 

[Bob1370]

Lots of shows syndicated in the US began as network shows overseas before hitting either cable or broadcast networks in this country, IIRC, SCTV, even before it was syndicated in the US, was a Canadian network show on CTV, then went to syndication and finally to NBC late night. Same with the John Byner comedy revue Bizarre, which began as a CTV Network show in Canada before making its way to Showtime and then to syndication and finally late-night network play in the US.

And of course, there was Benny Hill, who was on the BBC network from 1963-69 and the UK's main commercial network ITV from 1969-89 in Britain, before he was syndicated in North America 1980-90...and was reportedly signed to a CBS contract for the 1993-94 season, with a weekly series meant to follow up a projected one-man Broadway show. But he passed away late in 1992 before he could launch the CBS project.

 

[Stanislav]

I think imports from outside the U.S. (SCTV, Benny Hill, the Saint, etc.) are a little out of the scope of what I was after -- they were, as the last poster pointed out, "network" shows in their native countries. I'm thinking more along the lines of the Mister Ed example -- a show produced in the U.S. for first-run syndication, and then later picked up by a "Big Three (or Four)" network, where additional new episodes air. I know over the years, I've heard of a very few more that went this route.

One I just thought of: didn't some of the early Hanna-Barbera cartoons start in syndication, then move to a network? In some cases, I think it was just repackaging of existing cartoons, but in others I think additional new episodes were done for the network.

 

[KML0224]

Benny was found dead in April of 1992, not late 1992. I know his death was within a few days of comedian Sam Kinison's that year. Benny Hill was awesome! WVIT-TV/DT (NBC) channel 30/digital 35 of New Britain/Hartford was his syndication home here until about 1990 or so. WVIT also carried Bizarre after Saturday Night Live for a time in the mid-1980s.

 

[mleach]

One I just thought of: didn't some of the early Hanna-Barbera cartoons start in syndication, then move to a network? In some cases, I think it was just repackaging of existing cartoons, but in others I think additional new episodes were done for the network.

The old Bugs Bunny/Warner Brothers cartoons maybe had went down this road.

The long defunct questionable gossip magazine TV-Radio Mirror I seem to remember saying in one of their issues ( part of my Aunt's collection LOL ) that at least one of the networks at the time ( early 70s ) was seriously considering making "Wait Til Your Father Gets Home" to be a part of a network line-up, of course that never happened.

 

[Markieo]

One I just thought of: didn't some of the early Hanna-Barbera cartoons start in syndication, then move to a network? In some cases, I think it was just repackaging of existing cartoons, but in others I think additional new episodes were done for the network.

Magilla Gorilla and Peter Potamus were originally syndicated in 1964, then moved to ABC 2 years later.

 

[Markieo]

I am pretty sure the reason why SCTV went to Cinemax in the first place back then was the result that early-mid 80's "war" between HBO/Cinemax and Showtime/The Moive Channel when the studios began to make exclusive deals with either HBO or Showtime. I believe that started with the movies "Flashdance" and "Trading Places" when Showtime got the rights to them and threw that in the face of HBO.

Actually, HBO got the exclusive rights to Paramount movies, which they had well into the 1990's.

 

[Stanislav]

One I just thought of: didn't some of the early Hanna-Barbera cartoons start in syndication, then move to a network? In some cases, I think it was just repackaging of existing cartoons, but in others I think additional new episodes were done for the network.

The old Bugs Bunny/Warner Brothers cartoons maybe had went down this road.

Well, the WB cartoons weren't originally produced for TV syndication, or for TV at all -- they were theatrical cartoons. When they first went to a network (The original Bugs Bunny Show on ABC in '60), new linking/introduction/continuity sequences were produced to bridge the old cartoons (and continued to be produced over the years as the show changed networks, format, title, etc.), but there were no new WB cartoon shorts specifically created for TV back then.

 

[wbhist]

There were, however, some WB cartoons released between 1948 and 1960, that had run in syndication since about 1970, and in 1990 were incorporated into ABC's The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show. If that's what was asked.

 

[Stanislav]

There were, however, some WB cartoons released between 1948 and 1960, that had run in syndication since about 1970, and in 1990 were incorporated into ABC's The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show. If that's what was asked.

Not so much. I was looking more for shows that in and of themselves, as entities, were produced for TV. Yes, some WB cartoons were sold in syndicated packages pre-1960 (though for many years, not the same cartoons for the most part -- WB split up the rights and most of what were aired on TV pre-1960 were pre-1948 shorts -- many, if not most of the cartoons used on The Bugs Bunny Show had not been released to TV previously).

Now, maybe if The Bugs Bunny Show as a unified, packaged entity, with the theme song, bridging sequences and the like, had first been syndicated, and then moved to ABC, that would be closer to my original concept.

 

[mleach]

Actually, HBO got the exclusive rights to Paramount movies, which they had well into the 1990's.

That is true later on ( late 80s ) but not at first. I think the deal between Showtime and Paramount came to be in either 1982 or 1983 however I think the relationship had came to an end by 1987. When Showtime aired Paramount's Flashdance in the fall of 1984, the network spent a lot of money ( for Showtime anyway ) promoting the fact such as that TV Guide ads at the time showing Flashdance's Jennifer Beales in her famous torn shirt saying that you are "not allowed" to see her "dance" on HBO.

Not to be outdone HBO made a deal with Columbia Pictures in 1982 which resulted in certain movies being labeled as "HBOnly" ( like "On Golden Pond" ). Come to think of it I think that relationship ended around the same time as Paramount/Showtime's.

 

[anotherguyTN]

There were, however, some WB cartoons released between 1948 and 1960, that had run in syndication since about 1970, and in 1990 were incorporated into ABC's The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show. If that's what was asked.

Not so much. I was looking more for shows that in and of themselves, as entities, were produced for TV. Yes, some WB cartoons were sold in syndicated packages pre-1960 (though for many years, not the same cartoons for the most part -- WB split up the rights and most of what were aired on TV pre-1960 were pre-1948 shorts -- many, if not most of the cartoons used on The Bugs Bunny Show had not been released to TV previously).

Now, maybe if The Bugs Bunny Show as a unified, packaged entity, with the theme song, bridging sequences and the like, had first been syndicated, and then moved to ABC, that would be closer to my original concept.

Here's an article on the division of the pre- and post-1948 Looney Tunes packages:
http://www.povonline.com/cols/COL225.htm

 

[anotherguyTN]

Apparently it was too late for me to edit my post AGAIN...  :

In reading the remainder of the article I linked it appears that this article was written in 1999 and doesn't account for the near total disappearance in recent years of Looney Tunes from television because of Time Warner's greed and stupidity, with the exception of the recent New Year's marathon on Cartoon Network.

Here is another article about WB and AAP, which is the one I was originally looking for:
http://www.geocities.com/argussventon/cartoondistributors/aap/aap.html

 

[bpatrick]

"The Merv Griffin Show" may be a borderline case.
Merv had had a 55-minute daytime show on NBC
in the 1962-63 season, which faired poorly against
"Day In Court" and "Seven Keys" on ABC, and "Password"
and "Art Linkletter's House Party" on CBS. In 1965
Westinghouse gave him a syndicated show which did well
enough for CBS to put him against Carson from August
1969-February 1972. Merv then went back into syndication
with his most successful show, for Metromedia, that lasted
until 1986.

Liberace is another who had great success in syndication,
less so on network. He had a short-lived show on NBC in
1952, then started his classic syndicated show with his
brother George that lasted in first-run and reruns through
most of the '50s (Alice Kramden even wanted a television set
so she could watch Liberace). He was less successful with
a daytime show on ABC in 1958 and as Red Skelton's 1969
summer replacement.

 

[Ultimajock]

...these two would count depending on whether or not one considers CNN to be a network for the purposes of this thread: Mike Douglas (briefly) and Larry King both went on CNN after their syndicated shows were cancelled...

 

[radioman148]

I don't remember Mike Douglas on CNN. I must not have had cable yet.