CBS Corp., home of David Letterman’s late-night program, reached an agreement to develop a syndicated late-night talk show with Arsenio Hall that will debut in late 2013.
The weeknight show will be introduced on 17 stations owned by Tribune Co., including outlets in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, CBS Corp.’s Los Angeles-based syndication division said today in an e-mailed statement.
Airing at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., the hour-long program by CBS Television Distribution will compete with Letterman, the late- night star of the broadcast network, and NBC’s Jay Leno. Letterman, 65, agreed to a new contract in April that carries him through 2014 and beats Johnny Carson’s 30-year record.
CBS, owner of the most-watched TV network, was little changed at $31.63 in New York. The stock has gained 17 percent this year.
Tribune, based in Chicago, is a partner on the production, CBS said. The show is already sold in the 10 largest U.S. markets and 17 of the top 20.
Also signing on are major market stations from the CBS Television Stations group including Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Detroit, Tampa and Pittsburgh, plus Local TV LLC stations including markets in Denver, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Greensboro and Norfolk, CBS said.
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