'Access Hollywood' is canceled as NBCUniversal exits first-run syndication business

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NBCUniversal is cutting “Access Hollywood” and several other of its daytime talk shows, effectively ending its first-run syndication business as daytime television atrophies.The company confirmed that “Access Hollywood,” and its counterpart “Access Live,” will be coming to an end in September.The shows, produced in Los Angeles, are currently hosted by Mario Lopez, Kit Hoover, Scott Evans and Zuri Hall.Talk shows “Karamo” and “The Steve Wilkos Show,” produced out of NBC’s facility in Stamford, Conn., are also shutting down.

The programs have already completed their production for the season and will run through the summer.NBC previously announced that “The Kelly Clarkson Show” is also ending later this year after seven seasons.“The Steve Wilkos Show” ran for 19 seasons.The host is a former bouncer for “The Jerry Springer Show.”Francis Berwick, chairman of Bravo and Peacock unscripted, said in a statement that the company will continue to distribute library episodes of its talk programs and network shows such as “Law & Order.” But NBCU’s days of launching series for daytime and the hour before prime time are over.

California The city’s reporters and anchors with roots in the community go beyond the call of duty in a time of devastation and loss.“NBCUniversal is making changes to our first-run syndication division to better align with the programming preferences of local stations,” Berwick said.“The company will remain active in the distribution of our existing program library and other off-network titles, while winding down production of our first-run shows.”“Access Hollywood” was first launched by NBC in 1996 as a competitor to CBS Media Ventures’ “Entertainment Tonight.”First-run syndication allows producers to sell TV shows to stations on a market-by-market basis, instead of distributing them through a single netw...