Syndicated "Gerlado At Large" canned

from broadcasting and cable

Production To Cease on Geraldo at Large
By Jim Benson

Twentieth Television will cease production on the syndicated Geraldo
at Large in mid-January, with a weekend version of At Large with
Geraldo Rivera returning to Fox News Channel (FNC).

The move greatly strengthens the chances that Warner Bros. will gain a
clearance this fall for its new celebrity magazine series based on the
TMZ.com website that Time Warner owns, since it is geared toward the
same early and late fringe slots that Geraldo had appeared in on the
Fox stations.

In the meantime, Fox is expected to carry additional runs of
off-network sitcoms in the time slots.

The magazine show was averaging a 1.6 rating season-to-date, not
enough to justify its hefty production budget, which was estimated to
be $500,000-$1 million per week. FNC is expected to absorb a majority
Rivera’s forty person staff, which was informed of the decision at a
meeting Thursday.

John Gilmer...

"Doing the math," that works out to over $10,000 per staff member per week.

Where DOES all that money go?

Rob Jensen...

Trimming Geraldo's nose hairs, probably.

-- Rob

Jim...

Who gets custody of Laurie Dhue?

David B...

Me! ME!

Invid Fan...

Probably a good chunk went into non-staff production costs, and half of
the rest became Gerlado's paycheck with the other half going to the
staff.

Anim8rFSK...

Travel expenses, and they probably maintain an office.

Geraldo At Large had a slow roll out last season on the Fox stations
and went into national syndication this fall. FNC will return Rivera’s
show to Saturday and Sunday evenings in a yet to be determined time
slot.

In an announcement, FNC said the move is part of a new multi-year deal
between Rivera and the cable network.

The series marked the first syndicated entry for Roger Ailes,
chairman-CEO of Fox News, after adding duties as chairman of the Fox
Television Stations. Ailes noted that in addition to hosting his
signature program, Rivera will continue to make guest appearances on
The O'Reilly Factor and serve as a correspondent at large during major
breaking news events.

"Geraldo is a great talent and did a tremendous job for us in
syndication,” Ailes said. “His ratings were climbing in several
markets, including New York. However, with the soft ad marketplace,
the lack of an early news lead-in for his show in several cities and
the timeline for financial success, I've asked him to come back to Fox
News Channel. We look forward to bringing his special journalistic
skills back to FNC."

Added Rivera, "I'm proud to work for Roger and I'm a team player. Fox
News Channel is the best outfit in the business and the new deal
allows me to cover breaking news and work with one of the most
talented group of reporters in the world. Roger and I go back decades
and I want to thank him for another great opportunity.”

Rivera joined FNC in 2001 as a war correspondent.