MediaBuyerPlanner: Imagine Tony Soprano, sans swear words, with his busty Bada Bing babes in bathing suits. Scrub out some violence, tone down the sex, and what’s left is what viewers will see when A&E begins airing reruns of HBO’s The Sopranos.
Tonight’s airing of the mob drama comes four months before the final eight episodes begin airing in April on HBO. The A&E episodes could boost viewership of the final season if people who have never seen the show become fans, Media Life points out.
A&E paid a record $2.5 million each to acquire rights to the show’s 86 original episodes. The network then spent a year editing the shows and running an aggressive ad campaign (which includes a Sopranos Connection game show offering $100,000 to the winner).
The network will air back-to-back episodes Wednesdays at 9 p.m.
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