• The Hollywood Reporter, Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11 AM

The upcoming game show "Let's Play Crosswords" has been cleared in more than 65% of the country for a fall launch, including 30 of the top 40 markets on stations from Belo, Clear Channel, Cox, Gannett, Sinclair, Tribune and others. The deals ensure the show is a "firm go" for the 2007-08 season.

"What you're seeing here is a flight to quality," says Ritch Colbert, who founded Program Partners. "The response of top-shelf stations to "Crosswords" has been overwhelming and a statement of the high regard they have for Merv Griffin and this new show."

Program Partners had already cleared "Crosswords" on NBC owned-and-operated stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas as part of an agreement that has NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution representing national barter advertising sales and helping develop a broadband offering that will launch from the stations' Web sites.

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