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N E W S RELEASE.
UNIVERSAL, DOMESTIC TV UNVEILS NEW FIRST-RUN WEEKLY ACTION SERIES 'TEAM KNIGHT RIDER' FOR FALL 1997
Cleared by Chris-Craft/United and Other Stations In 40% of U.S., Including 15 of the lop-20 Markets
Universal City, California, Dec. 10, 1996 -- Universal Domestic Television will offer 22 one-hour episodes of the new weekly first-run action series Team Knight Rider for the 1997-98 season, it was announced today by Jim McNamara, President, Universal Television Enterprises.
TKR, which is being offered to stations on a straight barter basis, has already been cleared in 40% of the U.S., including 15 of the top-20 markets. The Chris- Craft/United stations in New York (WWOR), Los Angeles (KCOP), San Francisco (KBHK), Minneapolis (KMSP), Phoenix (KUTP) and Portland, Or. (KPTV), will serve as the primary launch group,
"We chose to go into the market with the Knight Rider franchise because it is already a proven winner on both network television and in syndication, having garnered phenomenal ratings as a series and two-hour movies," said Mr. McNamara, who heads the syndicator's domestic distribution, first-run production and international TV units. "And because this is coming from Universal, the world leader in action- adventure programming, 'TKR' will have all of the great writing, high production values and action that audiences have come to expect from us."
Added Universal Domestic Television Executive Vice President Steve Rosenberg, "From a strategic standpoint, it made the most sense to take a highly successful project like TKR into syndication rather than to a network. The first-run market allows us to control our own destiny by ofiering lengthier production commitments and the strongest available time periods."
With a unique visual style, TKR will revolve around a team of dynamic crime fighters who possess technologically advanced vehicles with unique personalities. Production is slated to begin in the spring and tasting will get underway shortly.
"This is not your father's Knight Rider," said Ned Nalle, Executive Vice President of Universal Television Enterprises Prods, "It will be smarter, hipper, with more complex story lines and more characters. As we have done so successfully with Hecules and Xena, we are seeking to turn out a show that two generations of the same household can watch together. Adults will find it smart and funny and kids will just find it plenty of fun."
Dan Filie, Senior Vice Prejident of Development, is the force behind the new series and has signed writer/excutive producers Rick Copp and David A. Goodman (The Adventres of Captain Zoom in Outer Space, Dream On, Wings, The Golden Girls) for TKR, Mr. Cropp and Mr. Goodman entered into an exclusive multi-year deal to create, develop and produce television programming for the Universal Television Group in April.
TKR extends a franchise, created by Glen. A Larson, that began in 1982 on NBC. The initial series performed so strongly that the network used it to solidify weak time periods over the course of its four year run.
During the 1990-91 season. Knight Rider 2000 aired on NBC and outscored all other action hours. The movie also delivered nearly as many key women viewers.
A two-hour feature titled Knight Rider 2010 aired in February 1994 on the Universal Action Pack. It ranked third among all syndicated programs that week with men 18-49 and 25-54. Additionally, the movie out-performed all other Universal Action Pack titles in households and male demos, including the Hercules movies that appeared that year before beioming a hit weekly syndicated series in January 1995.
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