Twentieth Television will cease production on the syndicated Geraldo at Large in mid-January, with a weekend version of At Large with Geraldo Rivera returning to Fox News Channel (FNC). The move greatly strengthens the chances that Warner Bros. will gain a clearance this fall for its new celebrity magazine series based on the TMZ.com website that Time Warner owns, since it is geared toward the same early and late fringe slots that Geraldo had appeared in on the Fox stations. In the meantime, Fox is expected to carry additional runs of off-network sitcoms in the time slots. The magazine show was averaging a 1.6 rating season-to-date, not enough to justify its hefty production budget, which was estimated to be $500,000-$1 million per week. FNC is expected to absorb a majority Rivera’s forty person staff, which was informed of the decision at a meeting Thursday. Geraldo At Large had a slow roll out last season on the Fox stations and went into national syndication this fall. FNC will return Rivera’s show to Saturday and Sunday evenings in a yet to be determined time slot. In an announcement, FNC said the move is part of a new multi-year deal between Rivera and the cable network.
Broadcasting & Cable
I thought he was cancelled a while ago! Good luck to TMZ!
