Everybody Loves Raymond is an American television sitcom that originally ran on CBS from September 13, 1996 to May 16, 2005. Many of the situations from the show are based on the real-life experiences of lead actor Ray Romano, creator/producer Phil Rosenthal and the show's writing staff. The main characters on the show are also loosely based on Romano's and Rosenthal's real-life family members. The show reruns in syndication on different cable channels such as TBS and in most TV markets on local stations.[1] From 2000–2007 King World Productions distributed the show for off-network syndication. In 2008 CBS Television Distribution took over King World's distribution, although its logo is retained on TBS. CBS only owns American syndication rights, ancillary rights are controlled by HBO and Warner Bros. Television (WBTV distributes the series outside the US in conjunction with HBO; while HBO Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video own DVD rights worldwide).