Gannett & Debmar-Mercury in Programming Partnership

MCLEAN/NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES: Gannett Broadcasting and Lionsgate-owned Debmar-Mercury are teaming up to develop, produce, test and distribute first-run syndicated series that feature interactive elements.

The partnership is for first-run broadcast series across all genres for a variety of day parts. Gannett would be able to start testing them on its stations beginning in 2015. Central to the output will be interactive elements that allow the viewing audience to engage with the show. Debmar-Mercury will have distribution rights for the series.

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the talented team at Debmar-Mercury to produce the programming our viewers want,” said Dave Lougee, the president of Gannett Broadcasting. “We will work together to design shows to take advantage of how television has changed and create a new genre of syndicated programming. With more than 40 stations across the country, we will have the ability to experiment, test and refine programs throughout the development process. Local broadcasters, like Gannett, have an opportunity to tap into the organic relationship between television viewing and social media.”

Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, co-presidents of Debmar-Mercury, commented, “We are thrilled to be partnering with a premier station group like Gannett. With its strong roster of major-market affiliates and cutting-edge digital capabilities, we will be able to jointly create programming that is designed to meet both Gannett’s needs and those of network affiliates throughout the country. We are big believers in the on-air testing model, because it gives stations concrete information on which to base their buying decisions before making long-term commitments to a series.”