Fox Stations Renew ‘Wendy Williams’ Through 2012

Debmar-Mercury’s test roll-out is paying off for talk show.

Debmar-Mercury said its syndicated talk show "The Wendy Williams Show" has been renewed on the Fox Television Stations through the 2011-12 season.

The renewal includes Fox owned-and-operated stations in the top markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Dallas.

The announcement was made by Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, co-presidents of Debmar-Mercury, and Frank Cicha, senior VP of programming at the Fox Television Stations.

 

“Her substantial growth in the key ratings demos, which stations care about the most, has quickly put her program within striking distance of many of today’s most established and successful talk shows,” Marcus said.

Cicha said, “We anticipate even further growth as the show continues to emerge as a key building block, and Wendy as a key personality, of our daytime landscape.”

 

"Wendy Williams" launched nationally on the Fox-owned stations and other major groups in July after a successful six-week, four-market preview on Fox stations the previous summer.

From its first eight weeks on the air (July 13-Aug. 31) to its second eight weeksr (Sept. 7-Oct. 26), "Wendy Williams" has grown 23% in households in the national syndication barter rankings and posted major double-digit gains in all key demos: 43% among women 18-34, 38% with women 18-49 and 37% in women 25-54.

The show is sold on a cash-plus-barter basis, with 10 minutes of local and four minutes national advertising time available.

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