The upcoming Disney-ABC syndicated talk show hosted and executive produced by former NBC Newser Tamron Hall is starting to gain traction in the syndication marketplace.
Hearst TV and its stations across 24 U.S. markets will be distributing Hall’s daytime talker, according to Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, which is distributing the show.
This means that along with ABC Owned stations –which cleared the show back in September– Hall’s new show will cover half of all U.S. TV households and eight of America’s top 10 markets.
Hearst stations that will carry the program –which has a Fall 2019 launch– include WCVB-TV Boston, WMOR-TV Tampa, WESH-TV Orlando, KCRA-TV Sacramento, WTAE-TV Pittsburgh, WBAL-TV Baltimore, KMBC-TV Kansas City, WLWT-TV Cincinnati, WISN-TV Milwaukee and WPBF-TV West Palm Beach.
The ABC Owned Television Stations Group which already signed on to carry the show include the most-watched local station in America, WABC-TV in New York; as well as powerhouses KABC-TV in Los Angeles; WLS-TV in Chicago; WPVI-TV in Philadelphia; KGO-TV in San Francisco; KTRK-TV in Houston; WTVD-TV in Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and KFSN-TV in Fresno, CA.
“We are excited to once again be in business with our long-term partners and couldn’t be more pleased that Hearst has placed its confidence in Tamron Hall’s return to daytime television,” Jed Cohen, evp and general sales manager, U.S. content sales and distribution, Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International said in a statement. “These Hearst stations are among the finest in broadcast television and their commitment clearly places Tamron in the best environment for success in 2019.”
The one-time NBC Newser hosts Deadline Crime on Investigation Discovery, but this will be Hall’s first gig on live TV since her controversial departure from NBC News after her contract expired in February 2017.
Hall was a versatile talent at NBC News. She was well-respected for her work as co-host of Today’s 9 a.m. hour, before the arrival of Megyn Kelly. She anchored MSNBC’s 11 a.m. hour (MSNBC Live With Tamron Hall), was the host of Dateline Extra on MSNBC and occasional fill-in for Lester Holt as anchor for NBC Nightly News.
As more station groups pick up the program, the question becomes where in the daytime TV schedule will it fit?
For instance, after Kelly & Ryan at 9 a.m., the ABC station daytime lineup traditionally consists of Rachael Ray (on the East Coast) The View, Eyewitness News, GMA Day, game shows, General Hospital, and more Eyewitness News before World News Tonight.
The 2 p.m. hour makes the most sense. Hall would get a news program in GMA Day as a lead in the East and West Coasts, and it’s tough to see ABC pulling anything from their daytime schedules, aside from the game shows at this point in time.