OWN, TLC License U.S. Undercover Boss

LOS ANGELES: OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and TLC have partnered to acquire the off-network rights to Undercover Boss from CBS Television Distribution for a fall 2012 launch.

The two networks, both under the Discovery Communications portfolio, will have access to the library and will determine their independent scheduling strategies. Scott Garner, senior VP of scheduling and acquisitions at OWN, called the show—based on an ALL3MEDIA International format from Stephen Lambert—"a great addition to OWN’s fall lineup. The self-contained episodes will serve as strong anchors to complement OWN original programming.”

Lambert added, “Undercover Boss seeks to change the American workplace, and we are delighted that CBS Television Distribution has found such a good home for the series on cable. Oprah helped launch Boss when she devoted a whole show to previewing the series just before its post-Super Bowl launch last year, so it’s wonderful that the off-network rights have now gone to her network. In tandem, TLC’s programming is focused on finding the extraordinary in the everyday, and nothing reflects that more than the journeys of the ‘bosses’ and the more than a million employees of the companies featured who have benefited from 73 company-wide improvements, as well as dozens of people who have been promoted or received scholarships.”