got this from hollywood reporter

March 02, 2004

TNT names low fee for 'Alias'

"Alias" has infiltrated TNT, which acquired syndicated rights to the ABC spy series for a relatively modest sum. Buena Vista Television Distribution sold "Alias" on a nonexclusive basis to the drama-heavy cable network for less than $200,000 per episode, sources said. The sum is well below not only Buena Vista's asking price six months ago, which approached $1 million, but less than the seven-figure bills TNT is footing for other primetime series, including CBS' "Without a Trace" and NBC's "Law & Order." "Alias" will begin airing five nights a week on TNT in fall 2005. Although the show is in its third season on ABC, TNT is believed to have rights to episodes until at least its fifth season. ABC and Touchstone Television, which produce the show, have "Alias" star Jennifer Garner under contract through the 2007-08 season (HR 8/1). (Andrew Wallenstein

hopefully this show can survive for at least five seasons

hmmm ... maybe the network is trying to get more fans so they can keep the series alive. This makes sense because of the complexity of Alias, new viewers have to start at the beginning.

I guess that's cool if you don't already own the seasons on dvd. TNT seems to show seasons and their eps in order.

yeah, but fall 2005 is still quite a ways off, so who knows if this will help at all, but I'm still in favor of the idea.

That is cool. Never watched it. Didn't want to blind buy the DVDs so this gives me a good chance to quickly watch them.

wonder if they'll edit episodes to add commercials.

That drives me crazy when watching Law & Order on TNT.

Awesome!

Yeah, but -- assuming the show lasts that long -- fall of 2005 would be the start of the fifth season. If the network is trying to keep the series alive, they should probably start sooner than that! It's pretty rare for a show to significantly increase it's viewer base after being around for five years.

It's more likely that the price dropped due to perceived low syndication ratings. The show is not doing well (#70-something overall in the ratings) and it also is not one that people would watch casually (like Law & Order) because you have to watch the episodes in order.


But, hopefully this "relatively modest sum" is enough to convince everyone to keep going for a couple more years (regardless of how the show is doing) and wrap everything up nicely after 5 seasons or so. I can live with that.

Just a reminder, that this starts next week on tnt at 6 pm. Unfortunatly, they are going to start on season 4 episodes, and not from the begining. Also the show is also in syndication on networks. My upn station is starting this saturday with the pilot, so if you wanted to check out the show, to see if its to your liking, here's a decent chance.