Good morning. It's
Wednesday, March 31, 2004,
and this is your first early morning
briefing.
HBO has ordered up a second season of Deadwood with
12 more eps scheduled to begin production mid-summer. Look for
Season #2 to kick off in first quarter 2005.
The big four networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, will all be working
with the Ad Council to develop commercials promoting the
V-Chip, the thingamajig inside your TV which gives you the ability
to block programming from being viewed. Of course at our house, we
call it the Off Button, but that makes no never mind. According to
the Ad Council about 80% of the TV set owners out there are unaware their
set has this capability and the idea is to bring it into focus.
You'll recall NBC owns 32% of net-let PAX, and last fall a
clause in its agreement with PAX to have PAX buy out NBC's stake (a stake
which today is valued at $557 million). NBC set the due date as
November 13, 2004. Pax had a problem with that claim in 4th qtr,
and has a similar problem with it today. According to
Broadcasting & Cable, Bud Paxson, Chairman/CEO, has said he
does not have to redeem NBC's stake in his company for two reasons - he
doesn't have the money and the "agreements" speak for
themselves. Essentially Paxson is reading the agreement differently
than NBC. Paxson reads it that should NBC decide they no longer
want their 32%, they can off-load it to another party, but he doesn't
believe he should have to foot the bill. Paxson owes a lot of money - as
of December 31, 2003, it owned $925.6 million, and had just $100 million
cash on hand. Paxson underwent a debt refinancing in January, and
he says, "Yes, we have an obligation to NBC, but not an obligation
to sell assets, or pay money we don't have. They are junior to our
indebtedness."
The catch phrase for this new show won't be You're Fired, but rather
You're Overruled. According to Variety, Fox and
Rocket Science Labs are teaming up to develop a reality/game
called The Partner, where 10 newly bar examined lawyers will
attempt to earn the title of Partner in a major law firm. The group
will be split into two teams - Ivy Leaguers and Not-So-Ivy Leaguers and
in each episode they'll be put through their paces in mock trials based
on real cases, and decided by real people in the jury box. While
still in the early stage of development, the show is looking for a late
summer launch.
New in Development, Casting, Production:
CBS's untitled comedy project from Rob Long and Dan
Staley (Paramount) starring Ricki Lake, is in final chats with Kirstie
Alley to play Lake's mother.
NBC's Marsh McCall project (Warner Bros.) which has a growing
cast and still no title, has added Shelley Long. The cast includes
Tom Conti (the father) and Mitch Rouse (the son). Dad is a college
professor and newly divorced; son is a college student at the same
school. The cast also included Beverly D'Angelo, but she has left
the project. In the net's comedy project D.O.T.S. (Pariah/NBC Studios)
about life as a meter maid, Steve Hytner will play the meter maid team's
Lieutenant.
ABC's comedy project The Savages (Icon Prods/ Universal), has
cast Keith Carradine as the father of five boys. ABC comedy project
Earthquake (Tollin-Robbins/Touchstone) has added Holly Robinson-Peete to
the cast.
Fox has added to its primetime soap meets Twin Peaks project
Point Pleasant (Original/20th) with Sam Page as the lifeguard who
attempts to save the life of the unknown girl who he spots floating in
the water.
UPN's sitcom with Dane Cooke, no title yet, from Sony has cast
Pat Finn, in the role of Cooke's brother.
Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among
Total Viewers for
the month ofMarch 2004:
Primetime
(000) Total
Day
(000) TNT 2415 NICK 1859
USA 2332 TNT 1290
NICK 2215 CARTOON 1132
TBS 2035 TBS 1051
LIFETIME 1600 LIFETIME 985
CARTOON 1592 USA 971
FOXNEWS 1488 FOXNEWS 885
SCIFI 1314 ESPN 671
DISCOVERY 1286 HISTORY 628
ESPN 1181 A&E 620 Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000
homes
Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings
among A18-49 for
the month ofMarch 2004: Primetime
(000) Total
Day
(000) TNT 1150 TNT 671
TBS 1129 TBS 636
USA 974 NICK 538
DISCOVERY 730 LIFETIME 465
TLC 678 USA 442
COMEDY 635 ESPN 384
LIFETIME 631 TLC 356
SPIKE 629 FX 341
MTV 623 DISCOVERY 340
SCIFI 618 COMEDY 322 Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000
homes.
News Viewer Index for the week of
March 22-28,
2004in Total
Viewers
Total Day Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers
1.836 (000) Total Viewers. (-2% vs. previous week). Of the cable news
viewership, Fox News had 50% of the viewing, CNN 26%, MSNBC 14%; and
Headline News 10%. Primetime Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News
Viewers 2.805 (0000) Total Viewers (-5% vs. previous week). Of the
primetime cable news viewership, Fox News had 55%, CNN 28%, MSNBC 10% and
Headline News 7%. Source Nielsen Media Research
News Viewer Index for the month of
March
2004in Total
Viewers
Total Day Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers
1.782 (000) Total Viewers. (-61% vs. March 2003). Of the cable news
viewership, Fox News had 50% of the viewing, CNN 27%, MSNBC 13%; and
Headline News 10%. Primetime Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News
Viewers 2.826 (0000) Total Viewers (-61% vs. March 2003). Of the
primetime cable news viewership, Fox News had 53%, CNN 29%, MSNBC 11% and
Headline News 7%. Source Nielsen Media Research
You may be surprised to know just how many cable networks are making
noise about having the best March ever in their history, and/or their
best First Quarter ever in their history. Tens of hundreds of
them! Herewith are those Top Ten cable networks that say the
largest gains year to year in First Quarter 2004 in
primetime among A18-49: Bravo +117%, SoapNet +83%,
Fuse +63%, ABC Family +58%, Discovery +45%, Outdoor Life Network +43% and
National Geographic Channel +43%, WE: Women's Entertainment +36%,
Discovery Health +31% and AMC +30%.
Same idea, but in total day - Top Ten Cable Networks gaining the
most ground 2003 vs. 2004 First Quarter among A18-49 in Total
Day: Bravo +102%, ABC Family +89%, Fuse +57%, Outdoor Life
Network +52%, Hallmark +46%, SoapNet +36%, Discovery Health +34%,
Discovery Channel +28%, History +25% and Lifetime Movie Network
+23%.
Clear Channel Radio has hired Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Beginning on Sunday, Jackson's show Keep Hope Alive with the Reverand
Jesse Jackson, will air from 8-9am from Clear Channel's Chicago radio
station WGCI (1390AM) and will be aired on five other Clear Channel
stations as well including WWPR (105.1 FM) in NYC.
It's been a long week, and it's only Wednesday. Already this week,
we've lost Peter Ustinov, and late Monday night around midnight,
and at approx midnight Monday evening, we also lost the elegant and
eloquent Alistair Cooke. Cooke was 95. Not a big believer in
retirement, Cooke worked up until three weeks ago when doctors urged him
to stop. Ustinov died at the age of 82 in Geneva from heart failure
on Sunday.
CBS and NBCtied for the win on Monday night
according to A18-49 ratings from Nielsen Media
Research. For the night, the two nets earned a 5.2/14,
Fox was #3 with a 2.4/6, followed by ABC 1.9/5, UPN 1.5/4, WB
1.0/3,. At 8pm NBC delivered a 5.7/16 for Fear Factor, followed by
CBS which earned 3.4/10 for its pair of sitcoms. UPN and WB tied for the
first hour of primetime, each posting a 1.4/4. At 9pm CBS and NBC
were in a dead heat, 5.1/13 each. Fox's pair of That 70's Show was third
with a 2.6/7. At 10p CBS' CSI Miami took the lead with a 7.1/19,
with NBC close behind posting a 4.7/12. ABC's 9-11p movie found
just a 1.9/5, which did little to help out the special airing of 20/20 at
10p (1.6/4).
Extra note on the Nielsen Media Research regarding Local People
Meters in New York. While Nielsen acknowledges four years ago
Hispanics were underrepresented, that was a result of flawed Census
Bureau data, and when that data was adjusted, so was the Nielsen sample,
as well as any other groups who base various information off Census
Bureau data.
Starz Encore Group announced the promotion of four senior
executives. Sheryl Anderson was upped to SVP/Human
Resources and Administration. John Beyler was named
EVP/Technology Operations. Bill Myers will be
EVP/CFO. Tom Southwick was upped to SVP/Corporate
Communications. Sheryl, John and Bill report to the
company's president, Mark Bauman. Tom reports to Robert Clasen,
President/Sales and Marketing.
Hallmark Channel announced several appointments. Adam
Farkas was upped to VP/Information Technology. Adam will
report to Mark Thompson, SVP/Finance and Information Technology for
Hallmark Channel and Crown Media Holdings, Inc. and will be based in
LA. Patricia Folgar was named Art Director for
Hallmark Channel. Patricia will be based out of LA and will
report to David Snapp, SVP/Design Group for Hallmark Channel.
Kristen Roberts was named VP/Pricing and Planning for
Advertising Sales. She will report to Bill Abbott, EVP/National
Advertising Sales for Hallmark Channel.
TV One, the new entertainment and lifestyle network for African
American adults, has announced three appointments. Lisabeth
Hayes has been named Regional VP/Ad Sales, overseeing the
network's Midwest and West Coast sales offices. She is based in
Chicago. Cliff Brown was named Regional VP/Ad
Sales, overseeing the East Coast sales offices. Cliff is based
in New York. Angie O'Keefe has been named AE/New York
region.
Correction:
CNBC's John McEnroe primetime talk show, titled just McEnroe, will
premiere on July 7 at 10p (not July 17 as was listed here
yesterday).
Monday, March 29, 2004. Fast
Affiliate Household Ratings
for all Networks.
Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period
data, not program data, and can change slightly once the finals come in,
particularly for LIVE programming (i.e. Football). Source Nielsen
Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] =
Original; [r] = Repeat CBS
9.7/15 Yes
Dear [r] 6.2/10, Still Standing [r] 7.0/11, Raymond [r] 10.0/15, Two
and a Half Men [r] 9.8/15, CSI: Miami 12.7/21 NBC 7.4/12 Fear
Factor [r] 8.2/13, Las Vegas [r] 7.6/12, Average Joe: Adam Returns
6.4/12
ABC 4.1/7 Movie:
The Haunting 4.2/7, 20/20 4.1/7
FOX 3.4/5 Bernie
Mac Show 3.9/6, Cracking Up 2.7/4, That 70s Show [r] 3.4/5, That 70s Show
[r] 3.8/6
UPN 2.6/4 Half
& Half 2.1/3, Eve 2.7/4, Girlfriends 2.8/4, Half & Half
2.7/4
WB 2.0/3 7th
Heaven [r] 2.4/4, Everwood [r] 1.6/2 A18-49
CBS 5.2/14, NBC 5.2/14, FOX 2.5/7, ABC 1.9/5, UPN
1.5/4, WB 1.0/3
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History ChannelpresentsThis Day in History: 1959 - The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet,
completes a fifteen-day journey over the Himalayan mountains into India,
fleeing violence and repression in Chinese-controlled Tibetan capital of
Lhasa. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his long
non-violent struggle for a free Tibet.
Answer to yesterday's Trivia
Question:This was an NBC primetime soap
with a name synonymous with a perfume (at least in the show it
was). What was it?Bare Essence Kudos to: Joe
Rice-WJBK/Detroit; Steve Woodward-WUPA/Atlanta; Julius Picardi-USGA-US
Open Championship/NY; Caryn Gray-LCI Detroit; Pam
Massey-GSD&M/Austin; Pat Baughman-NCC/Dallas; Kim Hurwitz-DirecTV/El
Segundo; Karen Oberhofer-IMP/Seattle; Lisa Tatum-Ellman Ent/LA; Dennis
Aimino-KCBS/LA;
A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST
SPOTLIGHT Comcast
Spotlight makes spot cable as easy to buy as broadcast. With 55
markets already interconnected, and more on the way, buying individual or
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Today's Trivia Question:
Kit - the tricked out Black Pontiac Trans Am, what did the license plate
read on the car?
(
to respond to the trivia question and please be sure to
include with your answer your name, company, city and time zone.
Only the second four correct responses from each time zone will be listed
in tomorrow's kudo list.)
Later -- Cyn
Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis
03/31/044:29am
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Copyright Cynthia Turner 2004
CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIEDS JOB
OPENING:MEDIA PLANNING
COORD/Nick
Pgming-NY.
Plan/sched on air promo elements on
Nick/Nick Jr/Nick on CBS logs.Work w/Mgr to develop media plans. 1-2 yrs
TV pgming exp. Flexible self
starter.
Reply:
www.mtvncareers.com (4/7)
JOB
OPENING:Program
Coordinator, Oxygen Media/NY: Resp.
for coordinating programming sponsorships and distributing programming
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(4/7)
JOB
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MGR-Tribune's CLTV News-Chicago:
Must be aggressive with a "will not lose" attitude & 4+ yrs
in brdcst sales for this hands-on position. More info:
www.cltv.com.
Submit resumes:
(4/6)
JOB
OPENING:AD SALES MARKETING
MANAGER - Fine Living/LA. 4-6
years experience in cable or network managing sponsorships, promotions
and other added-value opportunities. Email resume to
jobsla
(4/6)
JOB
OPENING:WRITER/PRODUCER
for ABC's SOAPnet. 5-10 yrs exp.
Exc. writing/prod skills. Pre thru post prod. Mail resume w/properly
labeled reel (not returnable) Attn: ABC CNG, Mail Code 6070 3800 W.
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JOB
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on-air programming, talent, executives and brand. Write/pitch to consumer
media. Apply:
(4/3)
JOB
OPENING:WRITER/PRODUCER On
Air Promos, Oxygen Media/NY: 5+ yrs
exp. Spv/write/produce/direct promo & branding campaigns. Strong
creative a must. Reel & Resume: Human Resources, Oxygen Media, 75
Ninth Ave,
7th
Fl, NY NY10011 (4/3)
JOB
OPENING:ACCT. MGR. NETWORK
DISTRIB. & SERVICES, NY/Eastern
Region. Secure cable carriage, build/secure relationships, oversee
execution of Affil. Mktg proj.
Click
here for full posting.
Resumes:
(4/2)
JOB
OPENING:RESEARCH
DIRECTOR, FX Network/NY Ad Sales.Strong analytical skills/strategic thinker. Resp for new qual/quant
research; Nielsen systems -Apply:
www.foxcareers.com
under Fox Sports Net (4/2)
JOB
OPENING:NSM,
WB affiliate-Louisville, KY. National Sales experience/strong desire
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EOE (4/1)
SITUATION WANTED
ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE
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(4/6)
SITUATION
WANTED: Organized,
multi-tasker, BA Comm, minors Marketing/Psych seeking
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contact
or call 908-687-5765 (4/6)
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MARKETING/AD/PROMO EXEC seeks
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products, retail and online Paramount, MTV, Scholastic.
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SITUATION
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WHAT'S ON
TONIGHT: Wednesday, March 31, 2004
COURT
TV The Investigation Channel SPOT CHECK:
A18-49 Viewers That
Pay Full Attention (#4 in cable)
+ YOUR
SPOT = Great
ROInvestigation
SPOT QUIZ: Who played the
undercover cop in Reservoir Dogs? Click this
spot to enter Click
here for
source.
COURT
TV: I,
Detective, Forensic Files, Psychic Detectives, Dominick Dunne
ABC My
Wife and Kids, My Wife and Kids [r], Extreme Makeover [r], Kingdom
Hospital
CBS 60
Minutes II, The King of Queens [r], The Stones, 48 Hours
FOX That
70s Show, American Idol, The O.C.
NBC The
Apprentice [r], West Wing, Law & Order
PAX AFV,
AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN Enterprise
[r], Enterprise [r]
WB Smallville
[r], Smallville
TELE Prisonera,El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV Mariana
de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Don Francisco Presenta
