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New Deal for ‘Improvement’ Creators : Television: Multiyear pact gives the hit Tim Allen series three more years and the producers two more comedies to make for ABC.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

ABC on Monday announced a major, multiyear deal with Wind Dancer Productions, the company behind “Home Improvement,” which will allow the hit comedy series to continue for at least three more years and enable its producers to create two more comedies for the network.

Under terms of the agreement, “Home Improvement,” starring Tim Allen as the host of a tool-oriented cable show, will continue past its current second season through the 1995-1996 season, said Robert A. Iger, outgoing president of ABC Entertainment, who last week was promoted to the presidency of the ABC Television Network Group.

The show, which is produced in association with Touchstone Television, is consistently in the Top 10 and is ABC’s “stand-alone” hit on Wednesday night.

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The deal also calls for “Home Improvement” creators Matt Williams, Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean to create two other shows for ABC, Iger said.

With the agreement, Williams, Finestra and McFadzean have joined the elite league of television producers who have long-term, multishow production deals with the networks, including Diane English, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, Steven Bochco and James L. Brooks.

Iger declined to give financial details of the deal, adding that Wind Dancer also did not have a time frame for the creation of the new series, which will be produced and co-owned by Wind Dancer and ABC Television. The Walt Disney Studios will have foreign and domestic distribution rights to both series.

Wind Dancer President Rick Leed said he was excited about the deal. He added that it is “our hope” that the new Wind Dancer series would be scheduled before or after “Home Improvement,” referring to maneuvering by Rosanne Arnold that prompted ABC to schedule husband Tom Arnold’s new show, “The Jackie Thomas Show,” after her hit Tuesday night series.

Leed said the new agreement should help heighten the value of “Home Improvement” on the syndication market. “It’s a show that can play both early and late, and its value should be comparable to the biggest shows of the last decade.”

Industry insiders have said “Home Improvement” has the potential to earn at least $1 million per episode in syndication. The biggest syndication earners have been “The Cosby Show” (more than $4 million per episode) and “Who’s the Boss?” ($3.5 million per episode).

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