The team behind “Dr. Phil” is branching out into buzzy news and gossip, setting a fall syndication launch for “DailyMailTV” in partnership with the British tabloid and CBS Television Distribution.
The strip has been picked up by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Tribune Broadcasting and other stations covering 66% of U.S. TV households. The show has been in the works for a while but was quietly pitched to station buyers earlier this year when it became apparent that there was a dearth of daytime syndie product in the market.
“DailyMailTV” is designed as a newsmagazine covering buzzy stories of the day in a range of fields, from celebrities and gossip to health, science and technology. The show will be produced by Jay McGraw’s Stage 29 Productions and Daily Mail On-Air. “Dr. Phil” exec producer Carla Pennington will exec producer with Jay McGraw, Phil McGraw and Daily Mail publisher Martin Clarke.
“DailyMailTV” is a unique and innovative program that hasn’t been seen in the television landscape before and will stand alone in the genre,” said Jay McGraw. The program will be offered to stations as two stand-alone half-hour segments per day.
The series appears poised to compete with another new entertainment strip, “Page Six TV,” coming from Fox’s Twentieth Television and the New York Post. Both shows are part of the larger trend of print publications looking to boost their brand-name value and revenue with TV extensions.
