'Good Wife' to air on multiple outlets
Alicia (Julianna Margulies) prepares to help defend a scientist accused of arson, she is caught off guard when Peter's attorney asks her to testify on his behalf sooner than she expected in a 2010 episode of "The Good Wife." Credit: CBS
CBS' acclaimed legal drama "The Good Wife" will have multiple partners in syndication.
Reruns of the Sunday night program, which stars Julianna Margulies, have been sold by CBS to Amazon.com's Prime Instant Video platform as well as the Hallmark Channel and local TV stations. Hulu Plus, the subscription arm of the online video service, will also get episodes as part of a previous CBS deal.
The unique agreement could mean an even longer life on CBS for "The Good Wife," which wraps up its fourth season next month.
Typically, reruns are sold to one buyer. Because "The Good Wife" is not a ratings hit and has an older audience, finding one buyer to shell out a substantial sum for it was unlikely. Rerun sales are crucial to the makers of TV shows because that's where the profits come from.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but a person familiar with the matter estimated CBS could end up collecting close to $2million an episode for the repeats.
Serialized dramas such as "The Good Wife" have proved to be popular among users of online subscription services such as Netflix and Amazon, both of which have shown a big appetite for them.
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