1/13/14

Cynopsis: Sports
01.13.14

Good morning. It’s Monday, January 13, 2014, and this is your first early morning Sports briefing. 

With the year’s first major now underway, Tennis Channel continues to serve up a buffet of coverage with more than 180 hours of programming on deck covering the Australian Open, including 30 hours of live match play. Last week, the network announced a deal to expand Hall of Famer Jim Courier’s tournament assignments and, combined with a new studio and its TV Everywhere service, the network is now looking to continue its pattern of growth.

Cynopsis Sports spoke with Tennis Channel Chairman and CEO Ken Solomon about the company’s recent moves, the year ahead and its ongoing battle with Comcast.

Solomon on 2013: We just came out of a watershed year and yet we’ve proven that our eyes are on the dashboard as opposed to the rearview mirror. A lot happened last year and it’s preparing us to be able to consolidate for an audience of an entire sport better than ever before. First of all, we’ve had pretty significant gains in our base of distribution and we’re up to about 36 million homes now. The continued evolution off of sports tiers and on to digital basic has shown that we are delivering such tremendous value to the distributor and ultimately to the subscriber.

On ratings: The ratings have been successful as well, both in quality of the audience as well as the ability to generate majorly competitive audience against all cable networks, and not just during the majors. At the French Open for example, for nine of the 11 days of coverage, we were in the top five of all cable networks. The thesis from this is that people want to see tennis and sets us up nicely for 2014 and there’s no reason outside of the majors that we shouldn’t be able to put up similar numbers because it is the same people playing all year long.

On TV Everywhere: There was a need a full-time presence to cover this sport and frankly, that wasn’t nearly enough to cover everything they have going on. This is what multi-platform and authentication is all about and technology is finally catching up with our sport, culminating in 2013 of consolidating 90% of all the tennis hours on air onto one platform so we launched Tennis Channel Everywhere that debuted to strong success. We are now already in over 50% of our footprint in homes activated for this and for the first time in history, people have a chance to follow tennis the way it was meant to be seen, delivering as much as they want. It is the original binge viewing and there is always another match. For us, mobile is the only way and active professional can follow it.

On 2014: What we are continuing to do is make new franchises. It’s really almost like a movie slate philosophy in that you need to get the best talent you can and the best materials. We continue to add talent such as Jim Courier. We’ll be expanding out our Davis Cup coverage and developing signature franchises. But the biggest paradigm shift is the launch of having a very huge, sophisticated studio. Now we can give the same kind of treatment that we give to a major, because we have a studio that will elevate the presentation and the sport.

On Comcast: We do have this ongoing question mark with Comcast and we have always said that this is a business disagreement between partners. Now this is a larger issue on whether this is right or wrong. We are sure that the judges got it wrong and that they redefined the definition of discrimination when they went to the appeal. That’s not what they are supposed to do in our estimation. Here’s the punch line, which has gotten lost in the last few years, we are in business with Comcast. We are partnered with Comcast. We are doing a lot of things with them, in fact our business has grown very dramatically with them and they have succeeded with us as well. They have done previews with us; they are interested in our TV Everywhere product. We work the French Open with them; we help them with their Olympic coverage. We have a great relationship with those guys over there and we are looking to do more.

ON THE AIR

It was another big weekend for the NFL and its broadcast partners, as the Divisional Playoff games continue to provide huge returns. On FOX, the NFC Divisional Playoff game pitting the Saints against the Seahawks pulled a 19.5 overnight Nielsen score, up 4% from last year’s equitable matchup, which was played in primetime. That marks the second-best Divisional Playoff rating for FOX since 1997. The network reports that in Seattle, the game drew a 48.4/82 while New Orleans earned a 51.1/74.

CBS, with its primetime matchup between the Colts and Patriots, drew an estimated 27.88 million viewers for its telecast, and nabbed an 8.9 among adults 18-49, according to Nielsen fast affiliate results. Among households, it delivered a 19.4, slipping 10% from last year’s comparable Saturday AFC matchup featuring the Ravens and Broncos (and went into double overtime).

On NBC, Saturday’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships, which helped determine this year’s U.S. Olympic team, earned a 3.0 in overnight numbers, up 20% over 2013.

With TCA in full swing, ESPN Films announced a new series slated to debut in April that will surround the 2014 FIFA World Cup on ESPN. The show, 30 for 30: Soccer Stories, will showcase a mix of two standalone feature-length and six 30-minute-long documentary films from filmmakers such as Brett Ratner looking to tell compelling narratives from around the international soccer landscape. In addition, a collection of 10 vignettes about Brazil’s culture will be featured throughout ESPN’s FIFA World Cup programming. Full length films will include Hillsborough, directed by Daniel Gordon, and White, Blue and White, directed by Camilo Antolini.

ESPN also announced the additions of Gilberto Silva and Ruud van Nistelrooy to its World Cup roster where they will serve as studio analysts for the company. Silva and van Nistelrooy will appear on pre-match, halftime and post-match shows that include SportsCenter ESPN FC, and FIFA World Cup-themed news and information programs throughout the quadrennial tournament.

The NFL announced that this year’s Pepsi Super Bowl XLVIII Halftime Show star Bruno Mars has invited the Red Hot Chili Peppers to join him for the broadcast. The halftime show ranks as the most-watched musical event of the year with more than 110.5 million viewers tuning in to last year’s performance.

Back to ratings. The NBA on TNT’s Thursday night doubleheader on January 10 featuring Miami/New York and Oklahoma City/Denver averaged 2,415,000 total viewers. That’s good enough for a 71% spike over the comparable doubleheader last season. The Heat/Knicks telecasts averaged 3,144,000 total viewers, up 117% over the corresponding game last year.

ESPN revealed takeaways from its 2013-14 college football season, which included 367 exclusive regular-season games and 33 bowl game telecasts. Highlights included ESPN posting a 9% increase in overall BCS viewership over last season. On the local front, Birmingham continued to tune in college football in a big way, ranking as the highest-rated market for both the regular season as well as ESPN’s 29 bowl telecasts, averaging a 9.2 and 11.9 rating respectively. For the season, Greenville was number two at a 4.9, followed by Knoxville, New Orleans and Nashville.

Don’t miss this one. Join us on Jan. 30 for the Cynopsis Sports Breakfast of Champions event in NY for a New Year’s lesson on branding 2014. Speakers are set to include keynote from IMG’s George Pyne and Anheuser-Busch’s Blaise D’Sylva, a special presentation from Nielsen’s Stephen Masters, as well as a panel with NFL Players Inc. President Keith Gordon, NFL athletes Pierre Garcon and Keith Rivers, Golf Channel’s Frank Nobilo and ESPN’s Jay Williams. Click here to register.

Mark Burnett is now out to conquer wrestling, announcing a deal with the El Rey Network to create a weekly hour-long series featuring a new lucha libre league. The Mexican wrestling series is slated to debut in the latter half of this year and partnering with Lucha Libre AAA — Mexico’s most popular league — and FactoryMade Ventures. As part of the new deal, the group will reportedly develop monthly and quarterly specials, as well as PPV events.

According to multiple local reports, Marlins President David Samson will look to outplay in the newest edition of Survivor this season. The show’s 27th cycle wrapped up last month, with CBS revealing that season 28 was filmed last summer in the Philippines. Tribes will reportedly be divided in three tribes: brains, brawn and beauty.


 A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE


CYNOPSIS:SPORTSMEDIA AWARDS
HONORING TOP SPORTS PROGRAMS, CAMPAIGNS, AND PEOPLE

Our awards show continues to spotlight the groundbreaking work created by sports media, don’t let your 2013 efforts go unnoticed!

Entry Deadline:January 17, 2014 |  Late Submissions: January 24, 2014
Awards Event: April 17, 2014 (NYC)

Learn about the awards program & how to enter:http://www.cynopsis.com/events/sports-awards.


SPONSORSHIP & PROMOTION

The Super Bowl’s best and brightest will once again be on full display. No, not the player, but the commercials. CBS will carry Super Bowl’s Greatest Commercials 2014 on Jan. 29 at 8p. The special will be hosted by Boomer Esiason and Sarah Shahl, and come from MetLife Stadium, with a look at advertising’s pop culture breakouts. Voters will be able to vote for their favorites form 10 categories including Office, User Generated, Sexy, Beer, Crazy, Kids, Celebrity, Car, Animal and Soft Drink at cbs.com.

The clock is ticking so what are you waiting for? Time is running out! Submissions are being accepted now for the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards to show the world your best work. Click here to enter.

DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY

NBC News’ educational arm, NBC Learn, is teaming up with the National Science Foundation to release the Science and Engineering of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, marking the newest edition of the Emmy Award-winning “Science of Sports” series. The 10-part video collection, narrated by NBC Olympics’ hockey host Liam McHugh, is available cost-free to the public at NBCLearn.com/2014Olympics and NSF websites (NSF.gov, Science360.gov). Topics include Science of Ice, Alpine Skiing and Vibration Damping, Olympic Movement and Robotic Design as well as Engineering the Half Pipe.

THE MAIN EVENT

Kansas/Iowa State on ESPN at 9p.


 A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE


Learn the path to sports greatness at the…
CYNOPSIS SPORTS’ BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS
Jan. 30, 2014|8-10:30AM|New York Athletic Club (NYAC)

Featuring Speakers:
Pierre Garcon
(Washington Redskins – WR)
Keith Rivers (New York Giants – LB)
Frank Nobilo (Golf Channel – Analyst)
Keith Gordon (NFL Players, Inc. – President)

Register Now.



ON THIS DAY in 1999: Michael Jordan retires for a second time.

In The Know: In 1992, FOX decided to broadcast their own Super Bowl halftime show, even though the game was being carried by CBS. What series was shown during the event?(Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question: The Houston Astros franchise has appeared in one World Series, what team did they play? Answer: The Chicago White Sox. Kudos: Lewis Blaustein-Lewis Brand Solutions, Inc./NY; Eric Newman-Bleacher Report/NY; Brian Traynor-Home Team Sports/NY; Matthew Willence ITN Networks/NY; Bob Rathbun-FOX Sports South/Raycom Play-by-Play/Atlanta; Randy Ingram–WBTW-TV/Myrtle Beach; Jack Madison-WWE/Stamford; Janis Logan-WideOrbit Inc/Tampa; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Isaac Zea-Silver Chalice/Chicago; Robert Teinowitz-Live Action Media/Chicago; Jason F. Brist-Outdoor Channel/Chicago; Greg Molonik-GLM Media/Scottsdale; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Los Angeles local/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Neal Stevens-Stevens & Associates/Beverly Hills.


 A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE


The Cynopsis Media Boot Camp

Feb. 11, 2014 |9AM – 3:30PM
Early Bird Ends 1/26: Register Now & Save!

If you are just starting out in the Television Industry or are looking to quickly expand your skills for your burgeoning TV career, then you won’t want to miss Cynopsis Media’s One-Day Boot Camp at the Yale Club in New York City.

Questions: Pete Romas |Sponsorship: Mike Farina.



Later — Chris
Chris Pursell for
Cynopsis | Sports
01.13.14

Roberta Caploe: Editorial Director
Diane K Schwartz: Senior Vice President, Media Communications Group

Cynopsis Ad Sales: Mike Farina | VP, Sales | 203-218-6480
Classifieds Sales: Trish Pihonak | Director of Operations | 203-899-8459 

Cynopsis Media: a division of Access Intelligence, LLC * 10 Norden Place * Norwalk, CT * 06855 * USA

To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here.
To
unsubscribe from this edition, click here. Or for further assistance please email [email protected].


CynopsisCLASSIFIEDS For More classifieds, visit theCynopsis.com classifieds page here.


JOB OPENING: WRITER/PRODUCER NEWS PROMOS/NBC/NY: Concept & execute promos in networks voice; write & produce sales marketing materials. Must have 3 yrs exp. Fulltime, On Site/Freelance. Send resumes and reels to [email protected] (1/18)

JOB OPENING: PRODUCERS/The Weather Channel, ATL: Multiple openings for Producers/AP’s/Sr Producers. Must have live programming exp related to weather or news. Large local or network exp preferred. Resumes [email protected] (1/18)

JOB OPENING: SR DIR-COMEDY/SPIKE-NY: Experienced Ad Sales Media Researcher, expertise in cross-platform measurement, consumer insights to lead team, Nielsen a must. APPLY HERE (1/18)

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL SALES ASSISTANT/Discovery/NYC: Motivated individual to spprt Digital Ad Sales team. Resp. for acct maintenance, assist w/cmpgn scheduling/optimizations, and general spprt. Great opp to learn ad sls biz. APPLY HERE (1/18) 

JOB OPENING:SALES PLANNER/UPTV/NY: Previous ad sales/cable exp. Develop media proposals and work with Acct Exec. DealMaker exp. a+. Strong Microsoft Office skills. Res: [email protected] (1/17)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/A+E Networks/NYC: Colg grad, 2-3 yrs.TV research; exp w/Nielsen, MRI &/or Simmons. Excl. analytical/written skills, detailed, strategic, strong computer skills req. Apply HERE http://www.aenetworks.com/careers (1/17)

JOB OPENING: SR PUBLICIST/BBC Worldwide/NYC: Exp w/publicity in digital and/or TV sales/co-prod deals, as well as exec profile raising req’d. Min 5 yrs trade media, comm/PR exp TV ind. Resume: [email protected] (1/16)

JOB OPENING: SR COORDINATOR MARKETING/ION/NY: Support Nat’l Ad Sales team, assist w/development & execution of integrated client solutions 2  3 yrs exp mktg prefer sponsorships, 4-yr deg prefer mktg. Apply [email protected]. EOE (1/16)

JOB OPENING: COUNSEL, BUSINESS & LEGAL AFFAIRS/Pivot TV/LA: Legal support to all departments of Participant Media’s network targeting Millennials. JD degree, 3-5 years law firm and/or TV exp reqd. Send resume HERE: [email protected] (1/16)

JOB OPENING: VP, BUS. & LEGAL AFFAIRS/Pivot TV/LA: Provide strategic legal & business support to Participant Media’s network targeting Millennials. JD degree, strong kwldg/exp of prgrmng dvlpmnt & prod req’d.Send resume HERE (1/16) 

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/IFC & WEtv/NYC: sell integrated, cross platform deals with heavy emphasis on Web, Mobile and VOD. 5 years sales exp. APPLY HERE (1/16) 

JOB OPENING: SOURCING MANAGER/NBCU/LA: This strategic sourcing manager will be responsible for supplier contracting and management for facility services at NBCU. Apply HERE (1/16)

JOB OPENING: DIR, PARTICIP & RESIDS/AMC/NY or LA: serve as internal contact for resids & particip obligations and royalties for AMC Studios Owned prgrmmng. 7+ yrs exp. Submit res http://tinyurl.com/lvnuvwx (1/15)

JOB OPENING: SR COPYWRITER/Viacom/NYC: Seeking Writer who can develop and write corp and creative print, vid and digital materials across different internal brands. 7+ years exp req. Apply: http://goo.gl/RZkuPE (1/15)

JOB OPENING: SALES ASSISTANT/NBCU/DC: Description: Sales Assistant to the DC Station. If interested, please directly apply on NBCU career site. Email: HERE (1/15)

JOB OPENING: DIR PRICING & PLAN’G/El Rey Ntwks/NY: Ad/Media netwk exp pref’d strong exp w/Ad Sales. Must be detailed/analytical/able to multi-task. BS/BA Deg req, must have strong analytical & math skills. Resume: HERE (1/15)

JOB OPENING: Discovery Channel MKTG/Discovery/MD: Amazing opps for top marketing talent (Sup. Producer and Writer/Producer) to join world-class creative team. 4-6+ yrs multi-platform TV mktg and shoot experience a MUST. APPLY HERE(1/15)

JOB OPENING: TVOne/NY/MANAGER SALES ADMINISTRATION:Supv sales Coords. POC for Ad Agcy. Lias AR & Agncies. Lead & dirct team.Mlti-task, BA or 3 yrs exp Ops, Traffic or Ad Sales. Pref: Exp. w/Broadway Trffc Sys. Resumes: [email protected] (1/15)

JOB OPENING: AD SLS CRD/TVGN NY: Multi tasked ind to work with AEs, planners, sales, traffic, mktg & pricing pln’g teams. Resp for deal maint wkly allocations, move requests and daily comm w/agencies. BA req’d. Apply HERE(1/14)

JOB OPENING: TV BUYING ASSISTANTS/NJ: 1 to 2 yrs exp in Buying/Traffic/Billing, Must have exp with DDS Systems, MediaBank and/or CORE a plus, EZ commute from North Jersey or Rockland County area. Send Resume to [email protected] (1/14)

EXPERT SERVICES ADS: These ads are for companies or people who offer an expertise in the field of media by way of production, voice over artistry, writing, set development, etc. For information on rates and specs for posting an Expertise Service ad email Trish at [email protected]

INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free, and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at [email protected].

SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Production Intern/iNDEMAND/NYC: log tapes, QC reels, assist editors/prod. Basic TV prod. knwldge. Aval. two days/wk. Res/cover: [email protected] (1/17)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED… There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad… for more information contact Trish Pihonak at [email protected].

SITUATION WANTED AD: L.A. based Pro available for Sales, Business Development, Production positions. Previously w/NBC Universal, Fox TV. Resume: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/shopan-entesari/7/256/95aE: [email protected] (1/15)

E-mail [email protected] or call Trish Pihonak at 203-899-8459 for rates and specs for Job Openings.

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email [email protected] for specs.

Copyright Cynopsis 2014

All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2014

Related Stories

03/18/24: Cynopsis Media Tech Update

internet tech

Monday March 18, 2024 Meta announced it is shutting down data insights tool CrowdTangle, which has been used to track conspiracy theories and viral content on Facebook and Instagram. In its place will be Meta Content Library, available to academic and nonprofit researchers, but not to for-profit news outlets. “Our data-sharing products are evolving alongside […]

03/17/24: Cynopsis Jobs

Shaking Hands

PERFORMANCE MARKETING DIRECTOR AKA NYC NEW YORK Serve as a primary point of contact for our clients, cultivating strong relationships based on trust and delivering exceptional service. Collaborate closely to understand their goals, challenges, and market dynamics, providing strategic guidance and insights. Full info HERE *** Sunday March 17, […]

Cynopsis 03/15/24: Apple TV+ lights up “The Big Cigar”

Apple TV+ lights up "The Big CIgar"

Friday March 15, 2024 Today’s Premieres Discovery: America’s Backyard Gold at 9p Netflix: Chicken Nugget, Iron Reign Saturday’s Premiere Nat Geo Wild: Critter Fixers: Country Vets at 9p Sunday’s Premieres Animal Planet: Yellowstone Wardens at 9p ID: Quiet on the Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV at 9p MGM+: In Restless Dreams: The Music […]

CynCity

Cynsiders