TEGNA Inc.today announced it has cleared “T.D. Jakes”, a multi-issue daily one-hour talk show hosted by T.D. Jakes, on 29 TEGNA Media stations to air in the fall of 2016. In a move designed to create more original programming, TEGNA Media will both produce and distribute the “T.D. Jakes” series.

“T.D. Jakes has a unique and uplifting voice that is well suited for daytime television. With Jakes at the helm, this program has an opportunity to attract blue-chip advertisers, generate large audiences and empower viewers across the country,” said Dave Lougee, president, TEGNA Media. “During the show’s test run this summer, Jakes’ audience grew each week in every market. Once viewers found him, they liked him and we look forward to introducing him to a wider audience next fall.”

“T.D. Jakes” enjoyed a very successful month-long test run this summer on four TEGNA Media stations. The shows tackled socially relevant, topical and exclusive stories. As he did last summer, Jakes will continue to offer personal stories and welcome celebrity and non-celebrity guests for conversations on a variety of topics.

“It is indeed an honor for TDJ Entertainment to work with such a stellar slate of industry players like TEGNA Media, 44 Blue, EnLight and Scott Carlin whose belief in my ability to engage a broader audience with relevant and uplifting content is consistent with my years of experience at the intersections of the faith-based, entertainment and business worlds,” said T.D. Jakes, CEO of TDJ Entertainment and Senior Pastor of The Potter’s House of Dallas, Inc. “This is an unprecedented opportunity to bring a new voice to a familiar platform. To say I am excited and challenged by this opportunity is an understatement.”

Launch markets will include Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Minneapolis and Seattle, reaching nearly one-quarter of the U.S. television audience. Upwards of 20 TEGNA Media markets will launch the show in the afternoon time period. Additional TEGNA Media stations will air the show as timeslots clear.

“Our successful test run confirmed what we already knew – there is a new generation of viewers hungry for positive content that transforms their lives and relationships in an entertaining manner,” said Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch, executive producer and president of 44 Blue Productions. “We’re proud to partner with T.D. Jakes, TEGNA, and EnLight Productions to expand our format into a daytime television mainstay that is sure to educate, inform, and uplift viewers for years to come.”

The show will be sold in syndication by Scott Carlin, a 30-year veteran of the media business.

“T.D. Jakes” will be produced by TEGNA Media, 44 Blue Productions (“Wahlburgers”, daytime syndicated series “Family Court with Judge Penny”), Jakes’ own TDJ Enterprises and EnLight Productions. Executive producers of the show will be 44 Blue’s president and co-founder Stephanie Noonan Drachkovitch, Jakes, Derrick M. Williams (executive vice president, TD Jakes Entertainment) and EnLight’s president Adriane Hopper Williams.

Jakes has also produced Grammy Award winning music and several feature films including “Heaven is for Real”, “Sparkle”, and “Jumping the Broom”. His next film, “Miracles from Heaven”, will be released on March 18, 2016.