CBS Television Distribution and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) today announced a deal that combines the broadcasting power of THE INSIDER with the online reach of Yahoo!. As part of the deal, CTD's syndicated entertainment newsmagazine THE INSIDER will be renamed omg! Insider in January 2013 to create a multiplatform entertainment news series.
KEVIN FRAZIER and
Brooke Anderson will continue to host the TV show, as well as draw on Yahoo! talent such as Kristen Aldridge (omg! NOW) and Michael Yo (The Yo Show on Yahoo!). In addition, Yahoo!'s popular omg! entertainment news site, visited by nearly 30 million users each month, will be the exclusive home to video provided by the TV show.
omg! Insider will be a true web and on-air collaboration that aims to reinvent how consumers access entertainment news across screens. Online, Yahoo!'s omg! will provide continually updated coverage, including video clips, celebrity interviews, photo galleries, engaging editorial and a number of interactive social features. On air each evening, the TV show will offer a unique mix of informal in-studio conversations with celebrities and personality-driven discussions around the day's hottest topics and trends.
The new venture also will provide a substantial promotional platform for TV station partners - the web site will post breaking news throughout the day and continually promote the television broadcast later that night.
"We're excited to give our affiliate stations the opportunity to be associated with one of the largest entertainment news sites in the business," said Joe DiSalvo, President of Sales for CTD. "We're adding value to THE INSIDER by tapping into an online audience in the millions and taking advantage of Yahoo!'s omg! brand and its loyal following. Our stations will also get an unparalleled promotional opportunity online. This is the perfect example of what the convergence of broadcast and digital is all about."
"We're thrilled to bring together two of today's most popular entertainment news brands to create an 'always-on' content experience across TV, the Web and beyond," said Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo!. "Yahoo! is focused on bringing the most personalized and relevant information to our users. Original video content and branded multi-screen programming help us to deliver on that promise. We're proud to collaborate with CBS Television Distribution to bring omg! Insider to millions of viewers in such a unique and exciting way."
THE INSIDER, a spinoff of ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT and now in its 9th season, debuted on September 13, 2004, and averages 2.2 million viewers per night. Launching under Linda Bell Blue's leadership, THE INSIDER premiered as the highest-rated debut of any newsmagazine in syndication since 1996. Blue, who also executive produces the #1 entertainment newsmagazine ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, remains executive producer of the retitled show and has enlisted Brad Bessey as executive producer and day-to-day showrunner of omg! Insider. Bessey has served in various capacities at ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT, including as co-executive producer, and was the executive producer who launched CBS's daytime hit THE TALK. The renamed TV show will continue to be produced and distributed by CBS Television Distribution.
About Yahoo!
Yahoo! is focused on creating deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. Yahoo!'s unique combination of Science + Art + Scale connects advertisers to the consumers who build their businesses. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California.
omg!, founded in June 2007, is a celebrity and entertainment news site that provides the inside scoop on all things trending. omg! NOW is omg!'s daily online video news program hosted by Kristen Aldridge.
About CBS Television Distribution
CBS Television Distribution is the preeminent company in television syndication. CTD produces or distributes 12 first-run series and holds the largest distributed television library at 70,000 hours strong. Among CTD's critically-acclaimed programs are the #1 syndicated series Judge Judy; talk leader Dr. Phil; the #1 and #2 rated game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!; the Emmy Award-winning talk shows
Rachael Ray and The Doctors; the #1 newsmagazine Entertainment Tonight and its sister show The Insider; the #2 newsmagazine Inside Edition; court show Judge
Joe Brown; reality dating show Excused; the new talk show The
Jeff Probst Show; and popular off-network product, including the CSI and Star Trek franchises, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, NCIS, Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife, Blue Bloods, Hawaii Five-0, Hot in Cleveland and Undercover Boss. In addition, CTD handles the domestic television distribution of CBS News, CBS Films and Showtime. CTD is a unit of CBS Corp.
