For All You Farscapers Out There

"Fox Stations Snatch 'Farscape' for Fall Launch
Jon Lafayette

The Fox Television Stations Group on Tuesday agreed to run "Farscape," the top-rated show on the Sci Fi Channel from 2000 to 2004. The show is distributed by Debmar Studios and Mercury Entertainment.

Fox Stations will begin to air "Farscape" in fall 2005 under the two-year barter deal. Debmar/Mercury will split the advertising time evenly with Fox, and a deal has been reached for Fox's Twentieth Television to sell Debmar/Mercury's commercial inventory.

"We are thrilled to be in business with Fox, both on the station side and on the ad sales side," said Ira Bernstein, president of Mercury Entertainment.

He said "Farscape" has also been sold to some Viacom-owned stations and that the series has been cleared in about 50 percent of the country. A source said the Fox stations are also interested in acquiring "Stargate" and "Stargate: Atlantis" and running them as a block with 'Farscape.'