CBS Television Distribution Acquires Domestic Distribution Rights For 'HOT IN CLEVELAND'

CBS Television Distribution has acquired the exclusive broadcast domestic distribution rights for TV Land's hit sitcom HOT IN CLEVELAND, it was announced by Scott Koondel, President of Distribution for CTD.

"When HOT IN CLEVELAND debuted it was immediately hailed as an instant classic by TV critics, in the same vein as traditional four-camera sitcoms such as 'Everybody Loves Raymond,' 'Friends,' 'Seinfeld' and 'Frasier,' " Koondel said. "In a marketplace where the sitcom pipeline is dry, there is a pent-up demand by stations for a big, broad-skewing sitcom like this. It will seamlessly slip into any TV station's lineup."

"HOT IN CLEVELAND placed TV Land at the forefront of the recent sitcom resurgence and boosted our position as a destination for original programming," said Larry W. Jones, President, TV Land. "Our audience has fallen in love all over again with these four sitcom veterans and we're sure the viewers who discover the show in syndication will fall in love with them too."

"HOT IN CLEVELAND has been a huge success for TV Land, and we see great potential for it in the off-network broadcast marketplace," said Eddie Dalva, EVP, Content and Program Enterprises, Entertainment and Music Groups, Viacom Media Networks. "We're thrilled to be working with the top syndicator in the business, CBS Television Distribution, to sell the show so even more people can enjoy it."

Debuting June 2010, HOT IN CLEVELAND's premiere episode was the highest-rated telecast in TV Land's 14-year history. Through its past two full seasons, HOT IN CLEVELAND averaged 3.5 million total viewers, according to Nielsen. HOT IN CLEVELAND recently launched its third season on TV Land and airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/9 p.m. CT.

The cast of HOT IN CLEVELAND has been honored with several accolades including Betty White's second Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role as "Elka," for which she won last year. White was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The series was awarded a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for a Multi-Camera Series (Michael Andrew Hynes and Maralee Zediker).

HOT IN CLEVELAND revolves around three fabulous best friends from LA - novelist Melanie Moretti (Valerie Bertinelli), eye-brow archer to the stars Joy Scroggs (Jane Leeves) and former soap star Victoria Chase (Wendie Malick) - who find their lives changed forever when their plane, headed for Paris, makes an unexpected landing. When the friends discover that life is better in Cleveland, they decide to stay. Starting over together, they rent a house that happens to come with a very opinionated caretaker, Elka Ostrovsky (White).

Filmed in front of a live audience, HOT IN CLEVELAND is executive produced by Emmy Award-winner Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner of Hazy Mills Productions and is helmed by Emmy Award-winning Suzanne Martin ("Frasier," "Ellen") serving as executive producer, show runner and writer. Lynda Obst also serves as executive producer, and Larry W. Jones and Keith Cox are executive producers for TV Land. "Hot in Cleveland" is currently seen around the world in over 165 countries.

CBS Television Distribution is the preeminent company in television syndication. CTD produces or distributes 12 first-run series and holds the largest distributed television library at 70,000 hours strong. Among CTD's critically-acclaimed programs are the #1 syndicated series Judge Judy; talk leader Dr. Phil; the #1 and #2 rated game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!; the Emmy Award-winning talk shows Rachael Ray and The Doctors; the #1 newsmagazine Entertainment Tonight and its sister show The Insider; the #2 newsmagazine Inside Edition; court shows Judge Joe Brown and Swift Justice With Jackie Glass; the new reality dating show Excused; and popular off-network product, including the CSI and Star Trek franchises, Everybody Loves Raymond, Frasier, NCIS, Criminal Minds, NCIS: Los Angeles, The Good Wife and Hawaii Five-0. In addition, CTD handles the domestic television distribution of CBS News, CBS Films and Showtime. CTD is a unit of CBS Corp.