Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution Continues to Rack Up Major Network Affiliate Clearances for The Bonnie Hunt Show, Now Sold in Over 75% of the Country for Fall 2008 Launch

Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution continues its successful rollout of The Bonnie Hunt Show – the highly anticipated new syndicated talk program from acclaimed comedy writer, producer, director and performer Bonnie Hunt – which has now been sold to a strong, network-affiliated station lineup comprising more than 75% of the United States, it was announced today by Ken Werner, President, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, and Rick Meril, Executive Vice President & General Sales Manager, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution (WBDTD).

The one-hour daily strip from Bob & Alice Productions and paraMedia, inc. in association with Telepictures Productions, has now been sold in 17 of the top 20 U.S. television markets, after only six weeks in the marketplace.

“Stations have been looking for the next daytime franchise for sometime. By their actions – with 75% clearance in mid-November and their words of praise – it seems evident that they have decided Bonnie will be that franchise,” said Ken Werner. “We are pleased and flattered by their choice and can’t wait for September.”

New groups with stations signing on to broadcast The Bonnie Hunt Show include Media General, Weigel, Raycom, Mission, Max Media, New Vision, Journal Broadcast Group, Clear Channel, Meredith, Local TV, Gray, Bahakel, Block, California-Oregon Broadcasters, KHQ, Ramar, Sunbelt, United and Thomas.

These sales follow quickly on the heels of an announcement last month that the show had been sold to stations from Hearst-Argyle, Gannett, Belo, Scripps, McGraw-Hill, LIN, Allbritton, Fox, Tribune, Young, Sinclair, Schurz, Miller, Bonten Media Group and Four Points. In September, WBDTD announced that Bonnie had been picked up for two years by nine stations from the NBC Local Media Division (formerly the NBC Owned and Operated Stations Group), including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

The station lineup includes major new sales denoted by *

* New York: WNBC-TV (NBC Local Media Division) Los Angeles: KNBC-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* Chicago: WMAQ-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* Dallas-Ft. Worth: KXAS-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* San Francisco/San Jose: KNTV-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* Boston: WCVB-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* * Atlanta: WAGA-TV (Fox Television Stations)
* Washington, D.C.: WRC-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* Phoenix: KSAZ-TV (Fox Television Stations)
* Tampa: WFTS-TV (Scripps Television Station Group)
* Seattle: KING-TV (Belo Television Group)
* Minneapolis-St. Paul: KMSP-TV (Fox Television Stations)
* Miami: WTVJ-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* Cleveland: WEWS-TV (Scripps Television Station Group)
* Denver: KWGN-TV (Tribune Broadcasting)
* * Orlando, Fla.: WOFL-TV (Fox Television Stations)
* Sacramento, Calif.: KCRA-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* * Portland, Ore: KPTV-TV/KPDX (Fox Television Stations)
* Baltimore: WBAL-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* * Charlotte, N.C.: WCCB-TV (Bahakel Communications)
* Indianapolis: WRTV-TV (McGraw-Hill)
* San Diego: KNSD-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* * Raleigh-Durham, N.C.: WNCN-TV (Media General)
* Hartford: WVIT-TV (NBC Local Media Division)
* Kansas City, Mo.: KMBC-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Cincinnati: WLWT-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* * Milwaukee: WMLW-TV (Weigel)
* Salt Lake City: KJZZ-TV (Larry H. Miller Communications Corp.)
* San Antonio: WOAI-TV (Clear Channel)
* * West Palm Beach, Fla.: WPBF-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Grand Rapids, Mich: WOOD-TV (LIN TV)
* Birmingham, Ala: WBMA-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
* Harrisburg, Pa.: WHTM-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
* Norfolk, Va.: WAVY-TV (LIN TV)
* * Las Vegas: KVVU-TV (Meredith)
* * Albuquerque, N.M.: KOAT-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* * Oklahoma City: KFOR-TV (Local TV LLC)
* Greensboro, N.C.: WXLV-TV (Sinclair Broadcast Group)
* Albany, N.Y.: WTEN-TV (Young)
* * Louisville, Ky.: WLKY-TV (Hearst-Argyle Television)
* Jacksonville, Fla.: WLTV-TV (Gannett Broadcasting)
* Buffalo, N.Y.: WGRZ-TV (Gannett Broadcasting)
* Austin, Tex.: KXAN-TV (LIN TV)
* * Providence, R.I.: WLWC-TV (Four Points)
* * Knoxville, Tenn: WTNZ-TV (Raycom)
* Tulsa, Okla.: KTUL-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
* Mobile, Ala.: WALA-TV (LIN TV)
* Dayton, Ohio: WDTN-TV (LIN TV)
* Roanoke, Va.: WSET-TV (Allbritton Communications Company)
* Tri-Cities, Tenn.: WCYB-TV (Bonten Media Group)
* Ft. Wayne, Ind.: WANE-TV (LIN TV)


Produced by Bob & Alice Productions and paraMedia, inc., in association with Telepictures Productions, The Bonnie Hunt Show will be executive produced by Hunt, Jim Paratore and Don Lake.

Hunt has built an impressive career of more than 20 years on stage, in feature films and on television. An alumna of Chicago’s The Second City improvisational theater, Hunt served as executive producer, writer and star of the acclaimed comedy series The Building, The Bonnie Hunt Show and Life with Bonnie, receiving an Emmy® nomination and two Golden Globe nominations for her efforts. She also directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the feature film Return to Me, opposite David Duchovny, Minnie Driver and James Belushi. Her other film credits include Cameron Crowe’s Jerry Maguire, in which she co-starred opposite Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger, and box-office hit Cheaper by the Dozen and its sequel, in which she starred opposite Steve Martin. Hunt’s guest-hosting stints on both Late Show with David Letterman and Live with Regis and Kelly earned her praise and multiple offers to host a program of her own.