'30 Rock,' 'Christine' Picked Up for Cable

Both 30 Rock and The New Adventures of Old Christine have signed big new deals to air second-run episodes on cable starting in fall 2011 and fall 2010, respectively. 30 Rock's cable home will be on both Comedy Central and WGN America, thanks to a deal for five seasons of the show for a reported combined $800,000 per episode, an atypically high number. That five-season provision in the deal is a good sign for the health of the NBC show, set to enter its fourth season in September. NBC Universal also announced plans to syndicate the show to a number of local stations starting in the same time frame.

Christine, which was picked up for local-station syndication last month, will be airing on Lifetime next year. The deal includes all existing episodes and any future installments. It's a good fit for Lifetime, which already airs mom-centric sitcoms Reba (in reruns) and Rita Rocks (the channel's lone original comedy).

Photo courtesy of NBC