‘Access Hollywood,’ ‘Steve Wilkos’ to End as NBCU Cuts Syndication

NBCUniversal is pulling the plug on original production for first-run syndication, a decision that brings the curtain down on “Access Hollywood” and “Access Hollywood Live” as well as talk shows “Karamo” and “The Steve Wilkos Show.”

The significant step is a sign of how hard it has become to draw an daytime TV audience in the era of YouTube and massive audience fragmentation. NBCUniversal said flatly that marketplace conditions no longer support the traditional model of syndication. “Access Hollywood,” the entertainment newsmagazine launched by NBC in 1996 to compete with CBS’ “Entertainment Tonight,” will produce original episodes through September.

“Karamo” and “Steve Wilkos” have already closed up production although original episodes will air through the summer. NBCUniversal had previously announced that its flagship daytime talker “The Kelly Clarkson Show” would also wrap up after seven seasons this year.

In first-run syndication, producers such as NBCUniversal sell TV shows to stations on a market-by-market basis rather than distributing them across a single network platform. The format was once a huge moneymaker for stars such as Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres and most recently Kelly Clarkson. But the tumult wrought by streaming and other changes have made it hard for big players to justify the investment amid diminishing returns.

“NBCUniversal is making changes to our first-run syndication division to better align with the programming preferences of local stations,” said Frances Berwick, chairman of Bravo and head of Peacock unscripted, who has oversight of the first-run syndication unit. “The company will remain active in the distribution of our existing program library and other off-network titles, while winding down production of our first-run shows. These shows have provided audiences with great talk and entertainment content for many years and we’re very proud of the teams behind them.”

This year, besides Clarkson, the first-run syndicated show Sherri Shepherd (from Debmar-Merucry) also announced that it would wrap by the end of the year. As Variety recently noted, with Clarkson’s and Shepherd’s exits, no new daytime talkers were yet in the wings to replace them. Longtime mainstay “Live With Kelly and Mark” remains the No. 1 daytime entertainment talk show and is expected to continue; among the industry’s remaining daytime talk strips CBS Media Ventures’ “Drew Barrymore” and Warner Bros./Telepictures’ “Jennifer Hudson” have been renewed so far.

“I think it’s symptomatic that the economics have changed,” Frank Cicha, the head of programming for Fox TV Stations, told Variety last month about the challenging world of daytime talk and syndication. “The levels of audiences that these shows were garnering just couldn’t justify the cost.”

“Access Hollywood” is in the midst of its 30th year and is hosted by Mario Lopez, Kit Hoover, Scott Evans and Zuri Hall. Executive producers are Mike Marson and Julie Cooper. Hosted by Karamo Brown, “Karamo” is in its fourth season and is executive produced by Kerry Shannon and Gloria Harrison-Hall. n its 19th season in national syndication, “The Steve Wilkos Show” is currently the second-longest running daytime talk show in current production. Executive producer is Rachelle Wilkos.

NBCU’s syndication unit — most recently dubbed NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, is the outgrowth of the 2004 merger between NBC and Universal, which combined NBC Enterprises and Universal Domestic TV Distribution into one entity.

“Access Hollywood” has a bit of a storied history when it comes to syndicated distributors. Although produced by NBC Studios and airing mostly on NBC stations since its launch in 1996, the show was initially distributed by New World/Genesis Distribution, then 20th Television, and then Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. When NBC launched its own syndicated division, NBC Enterprises took on distribution.