John Tesh To Take 'Intelligence' To TV

John Tesh

In an era when the launch of a star-driven talk show like Katie, The Ellen DeGeneres Show or Steve Harvey can cost $100 million, 61-year-old John Tesh will roll out his show this fall with a bankroll of less than $5 million to get him through the first year.

According to THR, His L.A.-based TeshMedia is producing and self-distributing, targeting cities where his Christian-themed radio show is popular. "We really are guerrilla television," he says.

Intelligence is part of a small group of syndicated shows -- including RightThisMinute, America Now and The Better Show -- that flies under the radar but competes with higher-profile players by going cheap.

Greg Conklin, corporate programming director for the Gray Television Group, which will air Intelligence in five markets this fall. For example, this fall Gray will air Intelligence in Omaha, Neb., following the morning news. "Most of our stations are No. 1 in news," says Conklin. "I see this as a companion to the news. The snippets of information John and Connie will give us we can use in our newscast, and that also promote the show that follows."

To sell Intelligence, Tesh recruited former Paramount TV executive Mark Dvornik, who says it will debut this fall even if he can't sign up affiliates in the biggest markets. Dvornik expects to be in 65 percent to 75 percent of U.S. TV homes -- including those in Detroit, New Orleans and San Francisco -- but probably not in New York or L.A. at launch. The show also will air in 110 smaller markets on The CW.

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