CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- ABC Family has landed the cable rights to its parent network's "My Wife and Kids." The channel beat out fellow bidders TBS and FX for the series, which will strip daily on the station beginning in fall 2008.
The pact, which is expected to be valued at $52 million, is not exclusive as local stations will also carry the series. That run, which kicks off in fall 2005, has been cleared in 75% of the country. ABC Family can then carry the series twice a day in fall 2008.
In total the network will pay about $315,000 per episode for its five-year license term, which has a ceiling set at 165 episodes. Also as part of the pact, distributor Buena Vista Television will hold back three 30-second spots from each ABC Family run for sale to national advertisers.
The news marks the second major off-network acquistion by ABC Family since it took over the channel from FOX in fall 2001. The first, "Gilmore Girls," begins its excluse run on the cable station in fall 2004. That deal, which was signed in January, was for $425,000 per episode.
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