Richard Simmons' new show "Dream Maker" is one of many syndicated shows hoping to cash in

Web posted on: Monday, August 02, 1999 2:16:24 PM EDT

Paul Vercammen
CNN Entertainment News Correspondent

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- First-run syndicated television shows are flourishing -- "Oprah," "Xena: Warrior Princess" and "Baywatch" are well-known examples. Currently, there are more television stations than ever, and they desperately need such programs to fill time slots.

At stake is the type money that's made Oprah Winfrey one of the richest women in the world. The fall season's new-again entries include diet-exercise cheerleader Richard Simmons with "Dream Maker" and quiz-show host Louie Anderson with "Family Feud."

How much syndication revenue could they generate?

"Let me pray, a lot," Simmons says.

Anderson says he'd love to make about $100 billion dollars, so he could "cold call (Microsoft Chairman) Bill Gates in a poker game."

Katz Broadcasting is a major buyer of syndicated programming.

"It's kind of like playing Las Vegas roulette tables," says Ruth Leaycraft, a vice president of Katz programming. "If you hit, you have a monster moneymaker on your hands."

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Syndicated hits like "Judge Judy" and "Wheel of Fortune" make money through license fees charged to stations and national advertising. It's estimated that just 10 to 15 percent of the first-run shows proposed for syndication make it to your television. That's because they sign deals with big-city stations first.

"Once the top 20 markets sign on and commit to a show for the following season," Leaycraft says, "the rest of the country basically falls in line."

But thriving after a year is tough. The talk show "Roseanne," for example, is being pulled off the air in major cities, while other chat shows hosted by Martin Short, Queen Latifah and Leeza Gibbons enter syndication this fall.

"It's like getting a new life," Gibbons says. "It's like being re-energized with a great set of training wheels because we know who we are. We know what we can do. We're really proud of it. We just to get to grow it bigger."