NBCUniversal cancels 'Access Hollywood' and first run syndication production

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NBCUniversal has announced they will be ending production for first run syndicated programming. This means that Access Hollywood and Access Hollywood Live as well as talk shows Karamo and The Steve Wilkos Show are ending.

The significant step is a sign of how hard it has become to draw an daytime TV audience in the era of YouTube and massive audience fragmentation. NBCUniversal said flatly that marketplace conditions no longer support the traditional model of syndication. “Access Hollywood,” the entertainment newsmagazine launched by NBC in 1996 to compete with CBS’ “Entertainment Tonight,” will produce original episodes through September.

“Karamo” and “Steve Wilkos” have already closed up production although original episodes will air through the summer. NBCUniversal had previously announced that its flagship daytime talker “The Kelly Clarkson Show” would also wrap up after seven seasons this year.

In first-run syndication, producers such as NBCUniversal sell TV shows to stations on a market-by-market basis rather than distributing them across a single network platform. The format was once a huge moneymaker for stars such as Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil McGraw, Rosie O’Donnell, Ellen DeGeneres and most recently Kelly Clarkson. But the tumult wrought by streaming and other changes have made it hard for big players to justify the investment amid diminishing returns.

“NBCUniversal is making changes to our first-run syndication division to better align with the programming preferences of local stations,” said Frances Berwick, chairman of Bravo and head of Peacock unscripted, who has oversight of the first-run syndication unit. “The company will remain active in the distribution of our existing program library and other off-network titles, while winding down production of our first-run shows. These shows have provided audiences with great talk and entertainment content for many years and we’re very proud of the teams behind them.”

https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/acc...al-1236687308/