MGM Takes Over Distribution of Ron Hazleton's HouseCalls

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer said Monday that it picked up distribution rights to Ron Hazelton'sHouseCalls from Tribune.

The latter announced last month that it was getting out of the syndicated-program-distribution business.

The home-improvement series, currently in its ninth season, is cleared in more than 70% of the country and MGM is looking to line up clearance for the next two seasons during the National Association of Television Program Executives' show in Las Vegas this week.

MGM Worldwide Television co-president Jim Packer said in announcing the move that Tribune gave MGM a head-start toward those renewals "given the success they’ve had in clearing the show and selling the barter time.” 

MGM will sell 22 new episodes for each of the next two seasons of the half-hour, as well as nine years' worth of library episodes.


For complete NATPE coverage, click here.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.