Mixing the old-world distribution moxie of broadcast syndication with the new realm of FAST streaming, Amazon MGM Studios said Wednesday that Sox Entertainment has secured the off-network run of Judy Justice in more than 100 markets via station groups including Nexstar, Sunbeam, Cox Media, Weigel and Mission Broadcasting starting next fall.
Also read: Scott Koondel Wants To Change Syndication Forever, Starting With ‘Judy Justice’
Sox CEO Koondel has been shopping Freevee's iteration of Judy Sheindlin's second-act court series to the broadcast syndication market for two seasons. The show sold to TV stations in all-barter deals, according to sources.
After wrapping up a 25-year run of the wildly successful first-run strip Judge Judy in October 2020, Sheindlin transitioned to a new iteration of her reality court show on free, ad-supported Freevee in March 2021. It’s expected there will be around 400 episodes of Judy Justice in the can by the time it launches in syndication next fall.
”Having firmly cemented her place as an icon of broadcast television, Judge Sheindlin took a pioneering risk bringing her new show and brand to a then-nascent service,” said Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD, unscripted, and targeted programming, Amazon MGM Studios.
Judy Justice joins CBS Media Ventures’ new game show The Flip Side, hosted by Jaleel White, as syndication's new fall entries. Debmar-Mercury's proposed new talker starring I Can See Your Voice's Ken Jeong was pulled from the marketplace after Fox renewed Warner Bros.’s Jennifer Hudson for a third season, limiting the quality time slots that would have been available to Jeong. Warner Bros. this week also renewed entertainment magazine Extra for season 31.
