CBS has cut a deal with TNT for rerun rights to NCIS: New Orleans. Industry sources estimated that TNT is paying a per-episode fee of six figures for the procedural drama from CBS Television Studios. That’s far below the $2 million-plus that USA Network is shelling out for NCIS: Los Angeles repeat rights in a deal struck in 2009. A source said the deal involved a swap between CBS and Turner for rights that Turner already held to CBS’ Hawaii Five-0, which had been an under-performer for the cabler.
CBS Corp. will also shop NCIS: New Orleans for SVOD and broadcast syndication deals down the road. The mothership NCIS airs on USA and Netflix but NCIS: Los Angeles has not been available for streaming per an exclusivity clause in the USA deal. NCIS: New Orleans is one of only a few fresh broadcast TV dramas on the off-network market at the moment.
NCIS: New Orleans is now its fourth season on CBS. The series remains a top 10 primetime drama averaging about 12 million viewers per episode. TNT has rights as of today to the show’s first three seasons.
Scott Bakula stars as naval investigator Dwayne Pride, based in the Big Easy. Behind the scenes, NCIS: New Orleans has faced some turmoil amid allegations that showrunner Brad Kern has engaged in discriminatory behavior toward women and persons of color.
