The trend to air cable shows on their sister networks is becoming more prevalent these days. We had reported earlier about the move by Fox to air episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia before the second season premiere of the show began on FX. More networks are following this model, including:

• Kyle XY – an ABC Family series that airs Mondays at 8 PM, also airs on ABC on Fridays
• The 4400 – shown on USA on Sundays at 9 PM, NBC also aired The 4400 on June 3

According to an article in USA Today, corporate synergy is fueling this pairing since there are a number of cable channels with big network connections. In the case of Sunny in Philadelphia, the final episode that Fox aired averaged 4.1 million viewers and won its time slot among young adults. FX president John Landgraf believes the additional exposure works, saying “They have such a larger reach than we do, it’s a great way of exposing new viewers to our shows… we’re turning over every stone we possibly can.”