Key Points
- NBC Universal is canceling “Access Hollywood,” “Karamo” and “The Steve Wilkos Show” as it exits the first-run syndicated television business.
- The company cited shifting local TV schedules and declining daytime audiences as stations prioritize local news, sports and community programming.
- NBC Universal will continue distributing archived content in syndication even as it winds down a business model once central to daytime television.
Comcast’s NBC Universal has canceled “Access Hollywood” and several syndicated talk shows as the company winds down its first-run syndicated television business.
The decision was made after the company began examining the local TV landscape, with independent broadcasters increasing their output of local news, local sports and community-oriented programming in a way that leaves little room for syndicated shows on most schedules.
In addition to pop culture show Access Hollywood, NBC’s other syndicated shows include talk shows like “Karamo” and “Steve Wilkos,” which have concluded their productions for the season. No further episodes of those shows will be produced, NBC said in a statement. Another talk show, “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” was not renewed for an additional season after Clark announced her intention to depart the show last month.
Many of NBC’s first-run syndicated shows air on its NBC affiliates, though a few — including its talk shows — are offered to independently-owned affiliates of other networks. NBC will continue offering its archive content from its talk shows and other programs like “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” on a syndicated basis.
The move effectively closes the chapter on NBC Universal’s first-run syndication operation, most recently known as NBCUniversal Syndication Studios, which traces its origins to the 2004 merger of NBC Enterprises and Universal Domestic TV Distribution.
First-run syndication once represented a lucrative business model for television producers and local stations. Under the structure, studios sell programs directly to individual stations market-by-market rather than airing them on a single broadcast network. The model produced some of daytime television’s most-recognizable franchises, including programs hosted by Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil McGraw and Judge Judith Scheindlin.
But the economics of daytime television have shifted dramatically over the past few years as audiences fragment across streaming platforms, social media and online video services. Industry executives say declining viewership and rising production costs have made the traditional syndication model increasingly difficult to sustain.
“Access Hollywood,” which debuted in September 1996, has been one of NBC’s longest-running syndicated properties. The entertainment news program is currently hosted by Mario Lopez, Kit Hoover, Scott Evans and Zuri Hall. Executive producers include Mike Marson and Julie Cooper.
“Karamo,” hosted by “Queer Eye” personality Karamo Brown, launched in 2022 and recently completed its fourth season. The show is executive produced by Kerry Shannon and Gloria Harrison-Hall.
“The Steve Wilkos Show,” hosted by former “Jerry Springer Show” security guard Steve Wilkos, debuted in 2007 and is currently in its nineteenth season in national syndication. The program is executive produced by Rachelle Wilkos and has long served as a spiritual successor to Springer’s daytime talk format.
The two remaining talk shows were produced out of NBC’s Stamford, Connecticut facilities, which the company intends to leave later this year.
