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Tribune Broadcasting and Universal
Television Enterprises Enter Co-Production Deal
Agreement
will create a first-run syndicated series to be cleared by
Tribune station group
CHICAGO, June 7, 2002 -- Tribune
Broadcasting, a unit of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB)
which owns and operates 23 major-market television stations,
and Universal Television Enterprises, a global producer-distributor
of hit series, today announced that they have entered into
an agreement to create a first-run, five-day-a-week series
to air in national syndication. The strip, to be co-developed
and co-produced by Universal and Tribune Entertainment, will
be cleared on Tribune's television stations.
UTE will handle station sales and Tribune Entertainment
will be responsible for advertising sales.
Tribune, the fifth-largest station group in
the U.S., has guaranteed a launch pad for the new series in
all of its television markets. Eight Tribune stations-including
WPIX-New York, KTLA-Los Angeles and WGN-Chicago-are located
in the top-10 markets and 14 are in the top 20.
"We have had a long and productive relationship
with Universal, which has included the top-rated action hours
'Xena: Warrior Princess' and 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,'
as well as its successful talk shows," said Pat Mullen,
Tribune Television president. "This partnership is an
extension of that relationship."
"By expanding our relationship with
Tribune beyond the traditional buyer-seller model, we have
guaranteed a launch group for a new syndicated strip in nearly
40% of the country," said Steve Rosenberg, Universal
Television Enterprises president. "This new venture is
remarkable because it gives us strong clearances in the top
markets at a time of extraordinary consolidation."
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Tribune Broadcasting owns and operates
23 major-market television stations, including national superstation
WGN-TV, and reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. television
households. The acquisition of WTTV-TV, Indianapolis, is expected
to close during the fourth quarter of 2002, pending regulatory
approvals. The group's investment interests include The WB
Television Network (22%) and TV Food Network (31%). Tribune
Entertainment Company develops and distributes first-run television
programming for the Tribune station group and for national
syndication. Tribune Broadcasting also owns and operates Chicago's
WGN-AM and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
Universal Television Enterprises produces
hit first-run television shows for the domestic and international
markets. It also distributes network, cable and syndicated
programming, theatrical and TV movie packages to broadcast
and cable outlets in the U.S. and Canada, as well as to the
worldwide pay television, pay-per-view and video-on-demand
markets. UTE is a unit of Universal Television, a division
of Vivendi UNIVERSAL Entertainment (www.universalstudios.com),
the U.S.-based film, television and recreation entity of Vivendi
Universal, a global media and communications company.
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