A&E Secures 'Miami' Rerun Rights

A&E Network this week acquired the rerun rights to CSI: Miami in a deal reportedly worth more than $1 million per episode.

The pact officially starts this fall, when the cable network will begin running weekly Miami episodes out of prime time for between $100,000 - $150,000 per run, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

From fall 2005, A&E will be able to broadcast the CSI spin-off in the weekday prime time hours, before the price rises to a reported $1 million per episode in fall 2006. The trade paper reported it is "almost unheard of" for a series to be sold into syndication while still in its freshman season.

Bob DeBitetto, head of programming at A&E, said CSI: Miami, the most-watched new drama on television, was a perfect match for the cable network. "It's a great, well-written show with a great ensemble cast and fabulous production values," he said. "It delivers younger, upscale demos, and that fits well with our audience target."

The off-network rerun rights to CSI: Crime Scene Investigation were sold to TNN, shortly to be rebranded as Spike TV, last year. The cable network reportedly coughed up $1.6 million an episode to secure the series.

The original Hollywood Reporter article is available here at Yahoo! News.

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