‘Office’ Cleared in 93% of U.S.

By Paige Albiniak
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

NBC Universal has sold sitcom The Office to TV stations covering more than 93% of the U.S. for a fall 2009 premiere, according to Barry Wallach, president, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution.

Stations including Fox, CBS, Tribune, Peachtree TV, Sinclair, Gannett, Meredith, Hearst-Argyle, LIN, Local TV and more have picked up the show. Fox will air The Office in several of its top markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Minneapolis, Orlando, Baltimore and Memphis. CBS has picked up the show for its duopoly markets in Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, Miami and Pittsburgh.

The Emmy-, Golden Globe- and Peabody Award-winning comedy stars Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine, Get Smart) as bumbling Dunder Miffler Regional Manager Michael Scott, along with John Krasinski as Jim, Jenna Fischer as Pam and Rainn Wilson as Dwight.

The Office is executive produced by Greg Daniels, who developed the series for American audiences, along with Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Howard Klein, Paul Lieberstein, Jennifer Celotta and Ben Silverman.

Paige Albiniak
Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.