Fox-owned syndication channel MyNetworkTV has picked up the exclusive broadcast rights to re-air the zombie drama, The Walking Dead. Starting this fall, MyNet will run two episodes a week, edited for broadcast standards, from seasons of the show that have previously aired on AMC.
Though not one the popular Big 4 networks, MyNet reaches 97 percent of the country and is likewise categorized as a broadcast channel mostly airing repeats of shows like Monk, House and Law & Order: Criminal Intent. “It’s not often you get to add the hottest show on the planet to your lineup,” said Frank Cicha of the Fox Television Stations. “We just did, and it’s a tremendous get for our stations.”
The Walking Dead could have ended up on broadcast (it was famously rejected by NBC). And while we will never know what creative changes broadcast executives might have demanded of comic creator Robert Kirkman during a traditional network development process, we will get to find out what AMC’s version will look like when edited for a more family friendly audience.
MyNet confirms The Walking Dead on MyNet will be edited to meet broadcast content standards and will carry a TV-14 rating. The Walking Dead launched on AMC with a TV-14 rating in 2010 and grew to become TV’s top-rated drama among adults 18-49. But after protest from parents group the Parents Television Council claiming that rating was far too lenient for the show’s graphic content, AMC switched TWD rating last year to the stricter TV-MA.
