Debmar-Mercury, Gannett Form Programming Partnership

Gannett Broadcasting and Debmar-Mercury have formed a partnership to develop, produce, test and distribute first-run broadcast series for a variety of dayparts, said Dave Lougee , president of Gannett Broadcasting, and Mort Marcus and Ira Bernstein, copresidents of Debmar-Mercury.

The partnership gives Gannett Broadcasting the ability to create, test and perfect first-run syndicated television programming across all genres on many of its stations beginning in 2015. The development and distribution partnership will focus specifically on incorporating interactivity -- the ability to engage the viewing audience with the show -- into new shows.

Gannett plans to leverage the robust digital presence, including mobile, of its stations to reach viewers wherever they are. This deal is structured to allow the partners to develop and test the shows on Gannett stations throughout the year in various time periods and various lengths of time