'Desperate Housewives' Goes To Lifetime Television
Lifetime Television Acquires Exclusive Basic Cable Rights From Buena Vista
Television For Emmy Award-Winning ABC Series 'Desperate Housewives'
Beginning In 2008
- Lifetime Also Acquires First Season Repurposing Rights Beginning in
August '06 -
NEW YORK, April 7 -- The Women of Wisteria Lane have just
found a second home! Lifetime Television announced today that it has
acquired the exclusive basic cable rights from Buena Vista Television,
along with the repurposing rights, for the smash-hit, Emmy Award-winning
series "Desperate Housewives." Along with the repurposing rights starting
September 2008, Lifetime will begin airing the first season of "Desperate
Housewives" on a weekly basis this August.
Now in its second season, "Desperate Housewives," which stars Marcia
Cross, Teri Hatcher, Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan
in a comedic look at suburbia -- where the secret lives of housewives
aren't always what they seem -- averages 22.5 million total viewers and 8.3
million W18-49 during its 9PM (ET/PT) run on ABC and is the number one
scripted series among W18-49 in the current 2005-06 broadcast season.
In making the announcement, Leslie Glenn-Chesloff, Senior Vice
President, Planning, Scheduling & Acquisitions, Lifetime Entertainment
Services, said, "This brilliant water-cooler series makes us laugh and
makes us cry with its insightful windows into the lives, emotions, dreams
and disappointments of diverse women. As a pop-culture icon with powerful
appeal to women viewers, 'Desperate Housewives' is a perfect addition to
our schedule."
"We view Lifetime, the leader in women's television, as the ideal
partner for 'Desperate Housewives,'" added Jed Cohen, Executive Vice
President, General Sales Manager at Buena Vista Television. "'Desperate
Housewives' has had a tremendous impact on the primetime landscape and we
believe that Lifetime Television is the perfect environment to extend the
success of this distinguished and popular series."
Marc Cherry ("The Golden Girls") is executive producer and creator. Tom
Spezialy ("The District," "Ed") is executive producer of "Desperate
Housewives," which is from Touchstone Television.
Buena Vista Television (BVT) is the domestic television distribution
arm of The Walt Disney Company. BVT is a leader in the pay TV,
video-on-demand and pay-per-view arenas, and a pioneer in new media,
capitalizing on licensing opportunities within broadband, wireless and
digital technologies. The syndication veteran also boasts a powerful cache
of highly-anticipated off- network hits, first-run programming and top
movie packages. Buena Vista Television is a wholly owned subsidiary of
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated
basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME
is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information
programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and
their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real
Women, Lifetime Home Entertainment and Lifetime Online are part of LIFETIME
Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of The Hearst Corporation and
The Walt Disney Company.
SOURCE Lifetime Television
Web Site: http://www.lifetimetv.com
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