USA and Oxygen Acquire Rerun Rights to ‘Chicago P.D.’
USA Network and Oxygen have cut a deal for the rerun rights to NBC’s “Chicago P.D.”
The drama series hails from producer Dick Wolf’s prolific Wolf Entertainment banner based at Universal Television. The series is heading into its fifth season its NBC.
“Chicago P.D.” is one of three Chicago-based procedurals that have become pillars of NBC’s primetime lineup. “Chicago Fire” launched the franchise in 2012, followed by “Chicago P.D.” in 2014 and “Chicago Med” in 2015. Last season, NBC fielded a fourth installment, the legal-themed “Chicago Justice,” but the show was not renewed for a second year.
The “Chicago” shows have been solid performers for NBC but according to industry sources they have been a tough sell in domestic syndication. “Chicago Fire” and “Chicago P.D.” have been on the market for some time. Industry sources said “P.D.” in the combined deal with NBCUniversal siblings USA and Oxygen fetched about $500,000 an episode. That’s a modest fee compared to recent digital deals for hot broadcast dramas such as Fox’s “Empire” and NBC’s “This Is Us.”
NBC retains the right to carve out a SVOD window for “Chicago P.D.” in addition to the cable syndication pacts. The show’s library of episodes will be available on cable VOD and authenticated streaming through USA’s app as of today. Oxygen’s cable VOD and streaming window begins in January. That exposure will probably put a dent in the show’s appeal to outside SVOD buyers.
USA plans to launch the series with a marathon of Season 1 episodes on Oct. 1. Oxygen, which was recently rebranded to focus on crime-themed programming, will kick off with a marathon of Season 4 episodes on Oct. 3.
During its fourth season, “Chicago P.D.” averaged 10.2 million total viewers and 2.4 million in the adults 18-49 demographic, according to Nielsen’s live-plus-7 ratings.
“Chicago P.D.” revolves around the disparate activities of uniformed beat cops and an elite intelligence unit. Jason Beghe, Jesse Lee Soffer, Patrick John Flueger, Marina Squerciati, Elias Koteas, Amy Morton, Jon Seda, and Sophia Bush star.
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