Escape & Grit Score Paramount Pictures Titles

ATLANTA: Katz Broadcasting's over-the-air networks Escape and Grit have inked a multi-year deal with Paramount Pictures covering the broadcast rights to almost 200 feature films.

Escape, targeting women 25 to 54, will be able to air titles such as The Accused, Dead Man Walking, Basic Instinct, The Hours, The Virgin Suicides and The Contender, among others. Grit, geared toward men 25 to 54 with western, war and action movies, is set to broadcast Escape from Alcatraz, Top Gun, Lock Up, Universal Soldier, a number of John Wayne movies and more.

The two networks launch this summer, with carriage in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Houston, Miami, San Francisco and other major markets. They already have deals in place with NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. for a raft of feature films.