‘Steve’ ending after getting snub by NBC O&Os

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After an uncertain future triggered by NBC O&Os’ pickup of Kelly Clarkson’s new talk show, syndicated “Steve” will end after the 2018-2019 season.

  • Hosted by Steve Harvey, “Steve” was in limbo following NBC’s announcement that it would replace the show with Clarkson’s show on its O&O stations starting in the fall of 2019.
  • While not an official cancellation, the move didn’t bode well for “Steve” since the show would be moved off the schedule in multiple major markets.
  • This would have required the show selling itself to new stations in major markets such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago in order to retain viewership there.
  • That said, finding a new home for a syndication program isn’t always easy — since many stations already have solid schedules.
  • Adding “Steve” to another station in a market would require that station to stop carrying another program — whether syndicated or locally produced.
  • Locally produced shows are often more profitable that syndicated programming for stations and some stations are locked into syndication agreements with other distributors that would make it difficult to replace these shows with “Steve.”
  • In addition, losing NBC’s commitment to the show in major markets was likely an indicator the network didn’t see the show as part of its long term ratings strategy.
  • Produced by Universal Studios and IMG, IMG was reportedly trying to find a new home or distributor for the show.
  • However, those efforts apparently did not work out and the show has officially announced it will end in June after just two seasons.
  • New episodes will be available through June, with repeats aired over the summer.
  • Although the shows shared a host, “Steve” is technically a different show from “The Steve Harvey Show” that NBC aired on its O&Os for five seasons.