Freshman Syndicated Talk Show KATIE Renewed for Second Season

Disney-ABC Domestic Television has renewed KATIE for a second season, it was announced today by Janice Marinelli, president, Disney-ABC Domestic Television.

"'Katie' is the No. 1 new Syndicated talk show of the 2012-13 season, and we are thrilled to announce a green light for Season Two," said Marinelli. "Katie is an immensely talented host who has an incomparable ability to connect with her viewers. We also have outstanding station partners and time periods, and look forward to continued success with 'Katie' this year and into Season Two."

"Hosting, producing and launching a show from scratch has been challenging but very rewarding," said Katie Couric. "I'm looking forward to working with our terrific team to build on the success of our first season, and continuing to share compelling stories, explore important topics, and create entertaining television for our audience."

For the 19th straight week since its premiere (through the week of January 14, 2013), "Katie" continues to beat all freshman and sophomore Syndicated talkers in Households and Total Viewers. Season to date Katie remains the No. 1 new daytime Syndicated talk show among Women 25-54, and out of 18 total talk shows in the Syndicated market, freshman "Katie" places among the top-tier across all key measures, including Households (No. 6 - 1.9 rating), Total Viewers (No. 6 - 2.497 million) and Women 25-54 (No. 6 - 1.0 rating). On January 24 in U.S. Metered Market Households, "Katie" delivered its highest household rating (2.6/7) since its debut telecast in September. Featuring the exclusive first on-camera interview with Manti Te'o and his parents, "Katie" surged 30% over its prior 4-week average (2.6/7 vs. 2.0/5) and finished No. 1 in its time period in each of the top 4 markets -- New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Disney-ABC Domestic Television has renewed "Katie" among its existing stations in over 95% of the country for the 2013-14 season, including the ABC Owned station group. The daytime talker also airs on leading stations from broadcast groups including Allbritton Communications, Belo Corporation, Cox Media Group, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television, LIN Broadcasting, Media General, Meredith, Raycom, Scripps Howard Broadcasting, Sinclair and Young Broadcasting, among others.

Katie Couric is an award-winning journalist, best-selling author and popular TV personality. In addition to hosting the nationally Syndicated "Katie," Couric is also a member of the ABC News team. "Katie" is executive-produced by Katie Couric and Michael Morrison. Co-executive producers are Kathy Samuels and Michael Bass. The program is distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television.