The New York Times
After several sessions of all-night negotiations, NBC Universal and Sony Television concluded a deal late Friday night that will establish a home base of television stations for a new syndicated weekday show starring Nate Berkus, a design expert who rose to prominence as a regular guest on Oprah Winfrey‘s talk show.
The connection is relevant because “The Nate Berkus Show” is the latest syndicated hour to be hatched by Ms. Winfrey’s production company Harpo. It follows a few months after Ms. Winfrey’s declaration that she intends to step down from her own daily talk show in 2011, and a year after the company created the “Dr. Oz Show,” which is the newest syndication success this year. Like that show, the “Berkus” show will be co-produced and distributed by Sony Television.
Sony executives were especially enthused at the terms of the deal, which will pay Sony an undisclosed sum of money as well as give the company a split of the advertising revenue.
Local television stations have resisted such deals recently, insisting on only a split of the ad revenue with no cash commitment. More…