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!
Insiderto 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. For
more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net)
or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).
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 TheJeff 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.