How many episodes does a TV show need to air before it can be syndicated?

gmackematix

Surely the number of episodes makes no difference. So long as other countries want to buy it, the show could be a one-off and still be syndicated. Feb 09 06, 5:24 PM

JoshCaleb12

I'm pretty sure that while gmack is correct in that there's no particular reason in general, there ARE financial reasons... It's financially more feasible to syndicate a show with a certain number of episodes (e.g. 100) than it is to syndicate a show with fewer than that... For example, it was for syndication reasons that Paramount made such a huge effort to extend Star Trek: Enterprise to four seasons when it was threatened with cancellation by UPN after three seasons... Paramount ended up giving UPN the fourth season at a "discounted price"... http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/news/article/9581.html Feb 12 06, 4:01 PM

SanGermain

Some shows are sold directly into syndication (see Dr. Oz in Fall 2009 for example); typically shows that have been first run on networks are rerun in syndication (Seinfeld, MASH, etc.) after they pass the 100 shows mark. It's a magic number, not hard and fixed, because it's just easier to sell into rerun syndication the more shows you have. http://www.cbstvd.com/ Sep 22 08, 12:50 PM