Sinclair’s multicast network TBD is expanding its roster of anything-can-happen comedy shows with the addition of NBC’s hit sketch comedy program “Saturday Night Live.”
The show will debut on the network on Monday, September 30, according to Sinclair’s Senior Vice President of Growth Networks Adam Ware, who previously teased that a three-word title sketch comedy program would land on the network in an interview with The Desk published last month.
“We are thrilled to bring Saturday Night Live to the new TBD’s lineup,” Ware said in a statement on Wednesday “SNL is a cultural institution that has shaped comedy for decades and adding it to our network is a testament to our commitment to bringing the best in iconic, groundbreaking comedies to multicast TV.”
Episodes from Saturday Night Live’s four-decade back catalog will be offered on TBD, including various “Best Of” specials. A spokesperson for Sinclair confirmed the episodes that will run on TBD are the edited-down, 60-minute versions of the show, which have not appeared on broadcast television before but have aired on cable networks like Comedy Central, E! and VH1 in the past.
Saturday Night Live is the latest of its kind to land on TBD since the network began overhauling its comedy programming last year. TBD was the first broadcast network to offer edited re-runs of Comedy Central’s “Key & Peele,” which are scheduled alongside the CW Network’s “Whose Line is it Anyway?” and back episodes of MTV’s “Punk’d.”
“With the success of TBD’s current comedy franchises like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Key & Peele, and Punk’d, SNL is certain to power future ratings growth,” Ware said.
TBD is one of three multicast networks operated by Sinclair, which includes Comet, Charge! and The Nest, collectively known as “The Stack.” Since last year, The Stack has enjoyed a 122 percent growth in the ratings among adults ages 25 to 54 years old, the key demographic that is most-attractive to linear television advertisers.
Saturday Night Live is distributed by NBC Universal Global TV Distribution and produced in association with Broadway Video. The show will debut its 50th season on NBC later this fall.
