VH1 to ABC: 'I've got you, babe'.(strategic alliance)(Brief Article)

Broadcasting & Cable, February, 1999 by Stroud, Michael

With less audience, broadcasters form strategic alliances with cable networks If the events of last week are any indication, broadcast and cable programmers need each other like, well, Sonny needed Cher. VH1's agreement to cross-promote two ABC movies--February's And the Beat Goes On: The Sonny and Cher Story and May's Double Platinum--in return for telecast rights could portend a whole new way of doing business between broadcasting and cable.

Once disdainful of cable competitors, a growing number of broadcast networks are agreeing to sell cable rights to high-profile shows in return for promotion, marketing tie-ins and sometimes cash from cable networks. The strategy comes as broadcasters seek ways to reverse declining profitability and find...

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