Deadline Hollywood reports that the critically acclaimed (but low-rated) show Fringe has been sold in off-network syndication to Science, a channel owned by Discovery Communications. This happened less than a month after Fox renewed Fringe for a fifth season of thirteen episodes, which will allow the show to reach the critical number of 100 episodes so important for strip syndication (in which episodes are shown daily, five times a week).
The deal is non-exclusive, which means that Warner Bros. TV — the producing company — is free to sell Fringe to others interested, including to streaming services providers like Netflix. The news also confirmed suspicions relative to the fifth season renewal, which was only made possible because Warner Bros. TV slashed its license fee per episode, undoubtedly eying profits from syndication.
