Television syndication

In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. (Much of this article will deal with U.S. television, since the U.S. has more consistently than most other countries featured large numbers of independently owned stations which can, but do not need to, affiliate with one or more networks.)

Strip/Daily Syndication

Off-network syndication can take several forms. The most common form is known as strip syndication or daily syndication, when episodes of a television series are shown daily five times a week. Typically, this means that enough episodes must exist to allow for continual strip syndication to take place over the course of several months, without episodes being shown again. If a small number of episodes exist, the entire run of the series can be shown in a manner of weeks.

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For example, the sitcom The Honeymooners ran in syndication for decades despite having produced only 39 episodes during its original one-season run (1955–1956). When shown in strip syndication, the entire series run could have been broadcast in seven weeks and four days. (Beginning in 1985, Jackie Gleason released additional episodes consisting of Honeymooners sketches which had originally aired as part of The Jackie Gleason Show and eventually became part of the Honeymooners syndication package.) As mentioned above, Seinfeld had 180 episodes and thus could be aired in strip syndication for 36 weeks without repeating an episode, if one episode was shown daily.

Related Topics:
The Honeymooners - 1955 - 1956 - 1985 - Jackie Gleason - The Jackie Gleason Show - Seinfeld

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In some cases, more than one episode is shown daily. Half-hour sitcoms are sometimes syndicated in groups of two or four episodes, taking up one or two hours of broadcast time.

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