CYNOPSIS
02.24.17
Good morning. It’s Friday February 24, 2017 and this is your first early morning briefing.
Tonight’s Premieres:
HBO: Vice at 8p
WE tv: Mama June: From Not to Hot at 10p
Tonight’s Finale:
Nick: Ride at 8p
Saturday’s Premiere:
TLC: Say Yes to the Dress at 8p
Saturday’s Finales:
OWN: Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s at 9p
Science: MythBusters: The Search at 9p
Sunday’s Premieres:
DIY: Building Alaska at 9p and 10p
NBCUniverso: The Riveras at 10p
Sunday’s Finale:
Cooking: Tia Mowry at Home at 8:30p
IN THE NEWS
President Donald Trump is set to make his first morning show appearance since moving into the White House. Trump’s interview for Fox & Friends, which he has called “the most honest morning show,” will take place on Monday, February 27 and air on Tuesday.
As President Trump continues to rail against “fake news,” a new poll from Quinnipiac University indicates that while mainstream media may not have earned the public’s unwavering support, they trust it more than they do their president. Among registered voters asked who they trust more to tell the truth about important issues, 52% picked the news media, and 37% chose Trump. And while 50% of those surveyed said they disapproved of the media’s coverage of POTUS, 61% said Trump is mistreating the media.
Conservative political activist James O’Keefe would fall in the minority in that Quinnipiac poll. Known for producing secretly recorded audio and video, O’Keefe on Thursday released what he claims are 119 of over 200 hours of secretly recorded audio from CNN’s Atlanta HQ in 2009. The audio was provided to O’Keefe’s Project Veritas. “I want to start exposing the media and their flaws,” tweeted O’Keefe on Thursday. “This is the beginning of the end for the MSM.” No scandals yet, though – on the Project Veritas site, readers were asked to help transcribe and investigate the tapes, “in order to expose media malfeasance.”
Media and entertainment metadata provider Gracenote, acquired by Nielsen just over 3 weeks ago, is launching entertainment data products that will enable entertainment providers and smart device makers to leverage Gracenote data and IDs to power advanced voice and text search. Examples: a search for Beyonce would deliver results across her music, TV and movie career, including HBO’s Lemonade; a search for NBA star LeBron James would include not only game highlights, but an interview on The Daily Show. “The lines that once delineated providers of TV, movies, music and other forms of digital media are blurring,” said Rich Cusick, chief product officer for Gracenote. “These new metadata products represent the biggest evolution in the history of our business and will help our customers dream up and deliver innovative entertainment experiences and establish new business models.”
The FCC voted to allow broadcasters to voluntarily adopt new ATSC 3.0 standards for TV. “Imagine a world in which TV broadcasts of your favorite show or new programs were delivered in Ultra High Definition and immersive audio,” said FCC chairman Ajit Pai. “Imagine a world in which programming was hyperlocalized and broadcasters could deliver niche content to specific geographic areas within a station’s signal areas. Imagine a world that offered Americans with disabilities far better accessibility options for experiencing broadcast television.” The National Association of Broadcasters gave the decision a thumbs-up: “NAB looks forward to Next Gen TV’s giant leap into broadcasting’s bright future,” said Dennis Wharton, EVP of communications for the NAB.
With revenues at $729.6 million, up 7.5%, AMC Networks beat Wall Street expectations. Domestic ad sales were up 3.1%. The Walking Dead “remains the #1 show on television by a wide margin and is a powerful example of programming that we own and distribute that commands a loyal audience, attracts advertising revenue, and has significant ancillary revenues that will benefit our business for years to come,” said CEO Josh Sapan.
NCTA – The Internet & Television Association and Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers are collaborating to incorporate NCTA technical papers into the STE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo convention next October.
“SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo historically has driven learning and development across every level of the cable workforce,” said Dr. William Check, SVP and CTO, NCTA. “The integration of the NCTA and SCTE/ISBE papers will bring to Expo an added dimension by harnessing the focus on new thinking that was a mainstay of our highly regarded Spring Technical Forum partnership.” The NCTA isn’t holding its own annual event this year.
What does it take to create branded content that attracts advertisers today? “Access,” says Caressa Douglas, VP branded integration at Branded Entertainment Network. “A 2016 Ipsos study revealed 94 percent of marketers felt their consumers are moving towards non-ad supported platforms. To combat this challenge, advertisers are looking to be integrated into stories that are in the cultural zeitgeist delivered by SVOD, without traditional ad sales and integrated marketing infrastructures. Access and reach to producers and storytellers in this space are critical.” Douglas is one of the experts offering insights, core principles and strategies at the February 28 webinar, Winning Strategies for Branded Content. Registration is here.
Meredith is purchasing WPCH Atlanta from Time Warner for $70 million, according to an application filed with the FCC. Meredith has been operating the station since 2011. Ted Turner relaunched WPCH – then WTCG – in 1970 as a superstation distributed via satellite across the country. The deal could help smooth the path for AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner, since without the Atlanta station the merger wouldn’t require the same FCC approval.
The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications announced nominees for the 2017 NAMIC Vision Awards, honoring content that depicts people of color and represents the ethnic and cultural diversity of the audience. HBO led the field with 21 nods, followed by 8 for BET Networks and ESPN, and 5 for History and CNN. For details, go here.
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
WINNING STRATEGIES FOR BRANDED CONTENT
TV nets & advertisers alike know branded content is one of the most effective ways to get closer to customers & it’s also a highly effective solution to TV’s ad-blocking challenge. In this 2/28 webinar, experts from BEN, Discovery Communications, Scripps Networks Interactive, ESPN & The Weather Channel will offer case studies & insights into the kinds of creative, innovative experiences you need to bring to the table to appeal to both your audience & brands.
Register today.
PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries will be jingling all the way to the holidays, with a record 20 new movies for Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” and 12 for HM&M’s “The Most Wonderful Movies of Christmas” 2017 season. “We were the first cable network to create a 24/7 holiday destination on television, and our viewership has grown every single year 85 million viewers in 2016 alone,” said Michelle Vicary, EVP, programming & publicity, Crown Media Family Networks. “We have a distinct brand of content viewers come to see.” Last Xmas season, Hallmark Channel ranked #1 with W25-54.
History picked up Six for a second season. The military drama is currently the #1 new cable series of the year in total viewers based on Live+SD viewing. Season one finale airs Wednesday, March 8 at 10p.
Mobius.Lab Productions inked a long-term co-production and distribution deal with Boat Rocker Rights that calls for 10 programs in English and Spanish in a variety of genres, including paranormal, crime & history, nature & wildlife, and popular science & technology, among others.
Olive Productions, from Steve Buscemi, Stanley Tucci and Wren Arthur, inked a multi-year overall television deal with Entertainment One. Terms call for eOne to serve as the studio and handle worldwide rights for TV projects.
Dove will be in the house for next week’s Cynopsis Social Good Awards, as winner of the inaugural Impact Award for a Brand for elevating the conversation around the concept of beauty. Get your seat at the breakfast table here!
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Starz’ American Gods premieres Sunday, April 30 at 9p, after it bows at the SXSW festival on March 11. Fantasy series is adapted from the novel by Neil Gaiman.
Fish-out-of-water docu-comedy Unprotected follows a family led by a former mobster that emerged from the Federal Witness Protection Program, and is now raising two teens in Arizona. In the series premiere, Tuesday, April 11 at 9p on Oxygen, Mom and Dad track down someone who gave the family car wash a negative review on Yelp.
Spanish-language drama net Pasiones started airing Korea’s Mi Destino es Amarte (Fated to Love) on February 21 at 5p, and will premiere Brazilian novella Avenida Brasil (Brazil Avenue) on Monday, February 27 at 6p. Both will air Monday-Friday.
BBC America’s Top Gear is moving to Sundays for its new season, launching March 12 at 8p and hosted by Matt LeBlanc, Chris Harris and Rory Reid. After-show Extra Gear will follow.
The Get Down Part II lands on Netflix Friday, April 7. The hip hop drama premiered in August with 6 episodes.
COMING UP
Sara Bareilles (“Love Song”) will deliver an “In Memoriam” performance during ABC’s Oscars broadcast on Sunday. Afterwards, a photo gallery of over 200 filmmakers, artists and execs will be recognized on Oscar.com.
Immediately after the big show, black-ish star Anthony Anderson will host ABC’s first post-Oscar special, Live from Hollywood: The After Party, along with Good Morning America’s Lara Spencer. The special from ABC’s Lincoln Square Productions will feature interviews with celebs outside the Governor’s Ball, as well as backstage chats.
On March 11, Scarlett Johansson will join the 5-timers club as host of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Musical guest is Lorde.
Dateline NBC correspondent Keith Morrison revisits the case of a woman who might have been framed for a murder she didn’t commit on ID special Murder in Lehigh Valley: Keith Morrison Investigates. Two-part special from NBC News’ Peacock Productions airs Sunday, March 5 at 8p and 9p.
Bruno Mars will receive the iHeartRadio Innovative Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Show airs live on Sunday, March 5 at 8p on TBS, TNT and truTV.
Brooke Hogan (Hogan Knows Best) will host the International Format Awards, taking place Saturday, April 1 during MIPFormats in Cannes.
Turner Classic Movies is launching noir-themed programming franchise “Noir Alley,” with host Eddie “The Czar of Noir” Muller exploring the genre with classics on Sundays at 10a, starting March 5. First up: 1941’s The Maltese Falcon.
Time Inc.‘s Essence “Black Women in Hollywood Awards” will air for the third year on OWN, on Sunday,March 5at 10p. Janelle Monae (Hidden Figures), Issa Rae (Insecure), Aja Naomi King (How to Get Away With Murder) and Yara Shahidi (black-ish) will be honored on a program hosted by Being Mary Jane’s Gabrielle Union.
Week-long HDNet Movies event “Stars of Saturday Night” offers 24 comedies starring Saturday Night Live stars, running Saturday, March 25-Friday, March 31. A “Five-Timers Club” marathon on Friday at 7p includes 5 films featuring 5 actors who have hosted SNL at least 5 times.
ADVERTISING
While overall marketer confidence is on the rise, up 6 points (to an index of 69 out of 100 points), according to the 2017 American Marketing Association’s Marketer’s Confidence Index, 30% of marketers said they are more concerned that their company is not investing in the right customers, and 32% have lost confidence in their team’s ability to understand the ROI of marketing plans.
TV ad spending was up 5.7% in January, according to Standard Media Index. Cable dollars were up 8.2%, while broadcast rose 2.8%. NBC had a 9.8% lift, with an assist from the Golden Globes and Saturday Night Live; Fox dipped .3%, CBS slipped 2.5% and pre-Scandal-return ABC was down 5.1%.
CASTING
Matthew Broderick will play FEMA Director Michael D. Brown in Katrina: American Crime Story, the second installment of FX’s limited series franchise.
Josh Duhamel (Transformers), Jimmi Simpson (House of Cards) and Bokeen Woodbine (Fargo) will star in USA true crime drama pilot Unsolved, about the investigations into the murders of rap stars Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur.
Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) will star in Fox comedy pilot Linda From HR, as a human resources worker with a secret. Graham will also recur on season 9 of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Naveen Andrews (Lost) landed a lead in CBS drama pilot Instinct, reports Deadline, about a former CIA operative pulled back into his old life to help stop a serial killer.
24 alum Dennis Haysbert will play the male lead in NBC drama pilot Reverie, starring Sarah Shahi as a former detective specializing in human behavior recruited by Haysbert’s character to help stop the dangerous consequences of a virtual reality program.
Damon Wayans Jr. (Happy Endings) will star in FX comedy pilot Singularity, set in a time when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence. Dad, of course, stars on Fox frosh Lethal Weapon.
Debby Ryan (Jessie) has joined CW drama pilot Insatiable, about a disgraced lawyer-turned-beauty pageant coach who takes on Ryan’s character as a client.
Imani Hakim (Everybody Hates Chris) has joined the cast of Netflix’s Burning Sands, being released March 10.
Rob Huebel (Childrens Hospital) grabbed a lead role in ABC dramedy pilot Unit Zero, starring Toni Collette as a CIA engineer.
JD Pardo (East Los High) will star in FX’s Sons of Anarchy spin-off, Mayans MC, reports Deadline.
DIGITAL DATA
ABC News Features has published digital doc The Seventh Generation, a guide to the historic Standing Rock movement and the group of indigenous youth at the center of efforts to halt the Dakota Access Pipeline. The deadline to clear the North Dakota protest site was February 22.
Urban Movie Channel is now available on 4th generation Apple TV. The subscription streaming service for African America and urban audiences recently launched on the iOS platform for iPhone and iPad.
PactUS, the association of independent production companies formed in June 2015, announced new alliances with the multi-platform video network-focused Global Online Video Association and digital content transactional law firm, Ginsburg Daniels Kallis LLP. The partnerships with GOVA, whose member companies include Jukin Media, Machinima, Maker Studios, NewForm Digital, MiTu and Whistle Sports, and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis LLP will serve as the cornerstone of a broad-based Digital Hub initiative being launched by PactUS to offer new revenue streams, platforms and resources to its member companies.
GOING GLOBAL
Andreas Prochaska will direct the global TV reboot of 1981 Oscar nominee Das Boot, developed by Bavaria Fernsehproduktion, Sky Germany and Sonar Entertainment. The eight-part series is scheduled to begin production in mid-2017, with the first TV showing planned for 2018 in the Sky territories Germany, Austria, Italy, UK and Ireland.
Canada-based distribution company Media Ranch inked a deal with Endemol France for a remake of hit Canadian dating show Double Occupancy.
Acorn Media Enterprises will serve as North American co-production partner on BBC One’s Live, Lies & Records, an Acorn TV Original starring Ashley Jensen (Catastrophe) produced by Rollem Productions from writer Kay Mellor (The Syndicate).
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE!
Join CYNOPSIS and your peers on THURSDAY, MARCH 2 in New York City at our 3rd Annual SOCIAL GOOD AWARDS BREAKFAST as we honor everything from sustainability partnerships and PSA’s, to diversity campaigns, environmental initiatives, and more. Last year’s event sold out so book your company’s table today!.
RATINGS
Food Network and HGTV had a strong primetime showing Sunday, with Food ranked 4th and HGTV tied for 5th across all ad-supported cable. Food posted a .7 (650,000 IMP) among A25-54, up 39% over last year, while HGTV posted a .7 (603,000 IMP) among A25-54, up 26 percent over last year.
Planet Earth II, premiering across BBC America, AMC and SundanceTV on February 18, delivered 2.7 million total viewers, 1.2 million A25-54 and 1 million A18-49 in Live+3 Nielsens. Among 25-54 it was the most-watched nature program in 5 years.
The season 4 finale of History’s The Curse of Oak Island hit series highs with 3.8 million total viewers and 1.6 million A25-54 on Tuesday (Live+SD). Overall, the season was the strongest yet among total viewers (3.2 million, up 9% versus season 3) and among A25-54 (1.4 million, up 6%) and A18-49 (1.1 million, up 1%).
Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Tuesday, February 21, 2017 time period averages.
Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated. Live+SD
CBS: 7.2/13
NCIS 9.1/16, Bull 6.5/11, NCIS: New Orleans 6.1/11
NBC: 4.6/8
The Wall 3.5/6, This Is Us 5.9/10, Chicago Fire 4.5/9
ABC: 2.3/1
The Middle 4.0/7, American Housewife 3.2/5, Fresh Off the Boat 2.3/4, The Real O’Neals 1.8/3, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 1.3/3
FOX: 1.7/3
New Girl 1.4/2, The Mick 1.4/2, Bones 1.9/3
UNIVISION: 1.1/2
Pequenos Gigantes USA .9/2, Vino el Amor 1.2/2, El Color de la Pasion 1.3/2
TELE: 0.9/2
La Fan 0.6/1, La Dona 0.9/2, El Chema 1.2/2
CW: 1.3/2
The Flash 1.6/3, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow 1.0/2
Tuesday A19-49: NBC 1.8/7, CBS 1.4/5, ABC 1.0/4, FOX .8/3, UNI .7/3, TELE .7/2, CW .8/3
Source: Nielsen
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Lauren Burack was elevated to Senior Vice President, Brand and Consumer Marketing for IFC. In her new role, Burack will oversee all of IFC’s consumer-facing marketing campaigns, brand communication, events, promotions and partnerships.
Spanish-language broadcasting company LBI Media appointed Ashley Wilson as its new general counsel. Wilson was previously at Cast & Crew Entertainment.
GLAAD is adding to its executive staff, naming Rich Ferraro as Chief Communications Officer and Jim Halloran as Chief Digital Officer. Ferraro most recently served as a Senior Director of Communications and Public Affairs at Viacom, while Halloran was Head of Global Content Management at Twitter.
MPRM Communications promoted Rene Ridinger to Senior Vice President and Leif Helland to Vice President. Ridinger will take on a cross practice leadership role in addition to serving as head of the film practice, while Helland will continue to focus on the company’s home entertainment practice and assume responsibility for internal company efficiencies.
The Weather Compay added Mark Risis as Vice President of Partnerships. Previously, Risis was Head of Strategy and Business Development for TiVo Research.
IN MEMORIAM
Cable and radio news broadcaster Alan Colmes died February 23 after a brief illness. He was 66. Announcing the news, Colmes’ former Hannity & Colmes co-host Sean Hannity called his friend “one of the nicest, kindest, most generous people.”
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE
2017 Upfront & NewFronts Schedule of Events
Visit our website regularly for the most up to date info on the who, what, when and where of this year’s Upfront season. Cynopsis will have everything you need to know about new programming, fresh research and surprising advertiser opportunities.
For editorial questions, contact lynn@cynopsis.com. To advertise, call Sales & Marketing VP Mike Farina at 203-218-6480 or mike@cynopsis.com.
Friday Fun Fact: In more than half of the states in the U.S., the highest-paid public employee is a football coach.
This Day in History: 1868 – Floats first appeared in a parade, in Mobile, AL.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question: In which show did comedic actor Martin Mull make his television debut?In 1973, in BBC One’s In Concert. (Mull made in acting debut in Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman in 1976.) Kudos to Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC.
Today’s Trivia Question: On The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968), what was Ramona’s grandfather notorious for? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: A limit of four correct answers from each time zone will be selected.).
Switcheroo (first name of one character a performer played, last name of another): Alex Flynn (Email trivia@cynopsis.com; first three respondents with the correct answer who aren’t in trivia – will be posted along with the answer on www.Cynopsis.com.)
Keep Watching & Reading,
Lynn Leahey: Editorial Director @Lynn_Leahey
02.24.17
Roberta Caploe: Publisher @robertacaploe
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group
Cynopsis Ad Sales: Mike Farina | VP, Sales | 203-218-6480
Cynopsis Job Listings Sales: Trish Pihonak | Director of Operations | 203-899-8459
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT – FRIDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2017
ABC: Last Man Standing, Dr. Ken, Shark Tank, 20/20
CBS: MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods
CW: The Vampire Diaries, Reign
FOX: Rosewood, Sleepy Hollow
NBC: Grimm, Emerald City, Dateline NBC
PBS: Washington Week, Charlie Rose – The Week, Great Performances
Telemundo: La Fan, La Dona, El Chema
Univision: Dale Replay, Vino el Amor, El Color de la Pasion
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