Good morning. It's
Wednesday, March 3, 2004,
and this is your first early morning
briefing.
February Sweeps through and including Monday, March 1, 26 out
of 28 days, according to Nielsen Media Research: A18-49: NBC 4.8/13 (-2% vs. Feb 2003), CBS 4.2/11 (flat),
Fox 4.0/11 (-29%), ABC 3.6/10 (-8%), WB and UPN tied at 1.6/4 (-16% and
+7% respectively). A25-54: NBC 5.5/13 (-2%), CBS 5.3/13 (+2%), ABC 4.2/10
(-7%), Fox 4.0/9 (-26%), UPN 1.7/4 (+13%) and WB 1.6/4 (-11%) Total Viewers: CBS 14.12m (+1%), NBC 12.11m (-3%), ABC
10.33m (flat), Fox 9.31m (-23%), UPN 3.91m (+7%), WB 3.90m
(-10%)
Premiering Tonight: ABC: Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital
2-hr premiere at 9P
It's statements like this that get everyone talking -- "We are in
active discussions with David E. Kelley about another show that will
share some of the same blood with 'The Practice." So spoken by
Lloyd Braun, Chairman/ABC Entertainment Television Group, during
the ABC Sweeps Conference call yesterday morning, who then would
not provide any further information. Also look for the inclusion of
sitcom Big House in the Friday night lineup this spring, as well as a few
big movie events including A Wrinkle in Time (set for a Saturday in May)
and The 5 People You Want to Meet in Heaven.
During the Fox Sweep Conference Call, Gail Berman announced the
start date for its new Mark Burnett unscripted drama series Casino - June
8 at 8pm though was reticent in talking about the deal with Burnett
except to say it was not of the same "territory as NBC['sThe
Contender] as far as product placement and ad revenue." Fox's
other unscripted drama, Playing It Straight, will launch on Friday, March
12 at 8pm, followed by the premiere of the net's newest drama
Wunderfalls. Fox also said its pilot project The Jury from Barry
Levinson/Tom Fontana has now moved into the production stage. And
Arrested Development will get a shot in the arm as it's scheduled after
American Idol on March 17. Arrested's long term future? Still in
the air, as is Boston Public.
During the NBC Conference Call, Jeff Zucker allowed Ed would not
likely return next season, and Miss Match is looking doubtful though the
jury has returned a firm verdict on the latter. What you can expect
to see next season is plenty of Th Apprentice, as well a another Law
& Order spinoff to launch some time next season.
During the CBS' Conference Call, Leslie Moonves announced the
finale date for the net's two hour Survivor All Stars as May 9, live from
Madison Square Garden, with the reunion show to follow, hosted by Jeff
Probst. Moonves also said the net has won the sweep among Total
Viewers and in households ratings, and said this has been the network's
best sweep in a decade (excluding the Olympic sweeps in 1994 and 1998),
and they are the closest in A25-54 to NBC than they've been since
1993. As far as Everybody Loves Raymond - Moonves says they are
'guardedly optimistic" about the show returning, perhaps with fewer
eps than the average season, and that this season's finale has also been
written as a potential series finale. He said he expects a decision in
the next 2-3 weeks.
UPN's Amish unscripted drama project was the biggest question posed to
Dawn Ostroff during the UPN Sweep Conference Call, who would only
say the project is still in the development stages, casting has begun,
and the show will use utmost care in protecting and respecting the Amish
heritage. Pressed for more information whether the network would actually
go forward with the show after receiving a letter from 51 Congressmen,
Ostroff reiterated it is too early to say if the project will indeed go
into production.
TBS and TNT announced their original programming slate for
2004-05, chock full of reality and drama and the next edition of the
Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation. Beginning first with
TBS:
Lloyd and Sherwood Schwartz, creator of Gilligan's Island, will team
up TBS to produce an unscripted comedy show using the same premise as the
original show - 7 castaways and each fulfilling the professions of the
original passengers on the USS Minnow. Look for this one in 4th qtr
2004.
Another unscripted drama comes from Bruce Nash and Nash Entertainment
(Meet My Folk, For Love or Money) about 10 women trying to gain the
attention and affection of one man. Chock full of twists and turns,
this show debuts this summer.
TBS will also present a couple of hidden camera/practical joke style
programs, and another unscripted series where cameras follow single women
in NYC as they go about their dating business looking for Mr. Right or as
TBS says, Mr. Right Now.
Over on TNT, it's all about drama, but you knew that.
A six ep limited series starring Julianna Margulies and Dylan
McDermott called The Grid (Carnival Films/Fox Television Studios)
that looks at both side of the war on terror.
Steven Spielberg's exec prod a 12-hour epic called Into the West
(working title) which is the true to history account of the opening of
the American West, through the eyes of an American and a Native American
family. Production begins this summer.
And a host of original films including the next installment of the
Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentation called The Wool Cap
(Rosemont Prods), starring again William H. Macy, along with Don Rickles,
Ned Beatty, and Catherine O'Hara.
When you're looking for the pre-Summer Olympic events (Aug13-29),
namely the U.S. Olympic Trials, look no further than USA
Network for 24 of the 51 hours of Olympic Trial coverage, that is
assuming the acquisition of the Vivendi assets by General Electric will
happen by early summer. NBC announced yesterday a portion of the Team
Trials will be moved to USA this time around, beginning May 22 and fully
for future Olympics in 2008, 2010 and 2012, . Last time around for
the 2000 Games, the Team Trials aired on PAX. Other NBC owned
assets airing Olympic events include Bravo, Telemundo, CNBC and
MSNBC.
With the slightly warmer weather here in the east, a person's mind turns
to thoughts of Opening Day. Yes, baseball season is just around the
corner and with that comes news Fox will air in primetime the
first matchup of the season between the Yankees vs. Red Sox on
Friday, April 16, from Fenway Park.
New in Casting and Development:
Fox has ordered up two more pilots - one an as yet untitled Chris
Rock project (20th/3 Arts Ent) with Rock as exec prod; and another from
exec prod Steve Martin (Carsey-Werner-Mandabach/Martin-Stein Co) about a
multi-generational Cuban family in Miami through a 16 year old
character. Also, Fox has cast Andy Richter in The Quints
(Imagine/20th) as the father of quintuplets.
ABC has given the go ahead for a pilot all 64 Grand Slam, a
game from noted game producer Michael Davies (Millionaire/Super
Millionaire), and based on the UK's popular series Grand Slam on Channel
4. ABC has cast is drama series Lost (Bad Robot/Touchstone) with Dominic
Monaghan, Ian Somerhalder, Jorge Garcia and Evangeline Lilly as some of
the castaways stuck on a deserted island after their plane crashes.
Mykelti Williamson joins the cast of The Secret Service (Touchstone)
which stars Sarah Wayne Callies, along with Shane Brolly, Shohreh
Aghdashloo and Justin Chambers. Marisa Coughlin is the first cast member
to be announced for ABC's Kat Plus One (Berlanti-Liddell Prods/Warner
Bros. TV) a thirty-something's coming of age dramedy. And joining
the cast of Desperate Housewives (Touchstone) are Mark Moses, Cody Kasch
and Sheryl Lee. Paul Adelstein has been tapped for ABC's Untitled
Shonda Rhimes (Touchstone) project about surgical residents in a San
Francisco hospital.
NBC's untitled Marsh McCall Project (Warner Bros. TV) has
added Mitch Rouse to the cast which stars Tim Conti, about a divorced
father/college professor and his son.
CBS has ordered a pilot for Taste (Regency/CBS Prods) about a
graduate from cooking school in her first big job.
Oxygen's US television premiere of Whale Rider, the film in
which 13 year old Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated in the Best Actress
category for the Oscars, aired on Monday, March 1 at 8:00p. The
film earned the highest rating in the network's history, with a 1.23 HH
rtg, and 690,000 viewers. Oxygen's target audience, W18-49, drew a
0.89 rating.
Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among
Total Viewers for
the month ofFebruary 2004:
Primetime
(000) Total
Day
(000) TNT 2527 NICK/NAN 1874
USA 2451 TNT 1371
NICK/NAN 2324 CARTOON 1125
TBS 1734 USA 1042
CARTOON 1596 LIFETIME 1011
LIFETIME 1550 TBS 981
DISCOVERY 1349 FOXNEWS 792
FOXNEWS 1328 A&E 669
ESPN 1307 DISCOVERY 663
SCIFI 1199 HISTORY 661 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 ofFebruary 2004: Primetime
(000) Total
Day
(000) TNT 1176 TNT 695
USA 1038 TBS 584
TBS 898 NICK/NAN 559
DISCOVERY 764 USA 486
TLC 660 LIFETIME 473
MTV 639 TLC 382
LIFETIME 624 DISCOVERY 378
SPIKE 612 ESPN 367
ESPN 600 FX 322
NICK/NAN 581 COMEDY 307 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 Feb
23-29, 2004 in Total Viewers
Total Day Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers
1.663 (000) Total Viewers. (-2% vs. previous week). Of the cable news
viewership, Fox News had 48% of the viewing, CNN 28%, MSNBC 13%; and
Headline News 11% Primetime Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News
Viewers 2.667 (0000) Total Viewers (-1% vs. previous week). Of the
primetime cable news viewership, Fox News had 52%, CNN 30%, MSNBC 11% and
Headline News 7%. Source Nielsen Media Research
The ten cable networks showing the most growth February
2003 to February 2004 among A18-49 in Primetime are in
rank order: SoapNet +118%, Bravo +103%, Fuse +63%, Toon Disney
+59%, Discovery +52%, ABC Family +47%, A&E +41%, Discovery Health
+37%, CNBC +30%, and Hallmark +29%. The five cable networks
to loose the most ground Feb 03 to Feb 04 in primetime among A18-49 are
Headline News -47%, Fox News -38%, CNN -35%, MSNBC -34%, TV Land
-29%.
The ten cable networks showing the most growth February 2003 to
February 2004 among A18-49 for Total Day are in rank
order: ABC Family +98%, Bravo +95%, SoapNet +51%, Discovery Health
+50%, Fuse +43%, Hallmark +42%, Outdoor Life Network +35%, Discovery
+31%, Toon Disney +27%,. Lifetime Movie Network +26%. The five
cable networks to loose the most ground Feb 03 to Feb 04 for Total Day
among A18-49 are CNN -45%, Headline News -39%, MSNBC -37%, Fox News -36%
and TV Guide Channel -16%.
Fox takes the night on Monday with an overall 6.7/17
A18-49 according to Nielsen Media Research fast affiliate
ratings. NBC was second with a 6.1/15, followed closely by CBS
5.8/14, ABC 2.4/6, WB 1.7/4 and UPN 1.5/4. At 8pm Fox dominated the
hour with an 8.3/21 for American Idol: Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented
(9.7/25 W18-34). NBC delivered a 5.5/14 for Fear Factor and CBS a 3.7/9
for its team of sitcoms Yes Der and Still Standing. WB's 7th
Heaven was third in the time period among W18-34 (3.5/9) behind Fox and
NBC. At 9p CBS' Raymond/Two and a Half Men earned a combined
6.3/15. NBC's Las Vegas was a close second posting a 5.5/13, with
Fox hot on its heels with a 5.1/12 for the premiere of Forever Eden. At
10p both NBC and CBS tied at 7.3/18 with CSI Miami and Average Joe:
Hawaii [finale]. ABC's Movie special: The Mystery of Natalie Wood
delivered a disappointing 2.4/6 from 8-10p.
Sky has named Rebecca Segal as SVP/Sky Networks, a
new LA based role providing US programming information to all Sky
Networks' channels. Rebecca reports to Sky's Director of Film
Channels and Acquisitions, Sophie Turner-Laing. She will provide
this new function to all Sky Networks' channels including Sky Movies, Sky
One, Sky News, Sky Travel and Sky Music.
Lee Gaither has been named EVP/Programming and Production
for TV One, the new cable network targeting African American adults. Lee will be responsible for TV One's programming strategy and will oversee all program production, acquisition, scheduling and business development for the network. He will be based in both Washington DC at the network's headquarters, and in LA.
Cynopsis will be contributing to The New York Times' special pull out section Television Upfront which is included in the May 11, 2004 edition. Among other topics, one of them will be a look at the best of the best new series for the 2004-05 television season, be it broadcast or cable network or from the syndication side. If you have a show you would like to be considered, drop me a note at
and I'll be happy to provide you with my mailing address so you can send along a description and/or tape. All information provided for this NYT piece will be embargoed (even from Cynopsis) until the 5/11 publication of the Times.
Monday, March 1, 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 10.2/16 Yes, Dear 6.8/10, Still Standing 6.9/10, Everybody Loves Raymond 11.1/16, Two and a Half Men 10.8/16, CSI: Miami 12.8/20 FOX 9.1/14 Fox Special: American Idol: Uncut , Uncensored & Untalented 11.2/17, Forever Eden [p] 6.9/10
NBC 8.3/13 Fear Factor: All Female 7.6/11, Las Vegas 8.1/12, Average Joe: Hawaii [finale] 9.3/15
ABC 6.9/10 ABC Premiere Event: The Mystery of Natalie Wood 6.9/10
WB 3.1/5 7th Heaven 3.7/6, 7th Heaven [r] 2.6/4
UPN 2.4/4 The Parkers 2.1/3, Eve 2.3/3, Girlfriends 2.7/4, Half & Half 2.6/4 A18-49 FOX 6.7/17, NBC 6.1/15, CBS 5.8/14, ABC 2.4/6, WB 1.7/4, UPN 1.5/4
A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION
TWO & A HALF MEN
The Season's #1 New Scripted Series!
#1 time period ranks with
HH and All 18-49 & 25-54 demos!
Delivered its highest
A18-34 & 18-49 ratings EVER!
TWO & A HALF MEN Available exclusively from
Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution
Source: NTI Explorer, 3/1/04 or as noted. TP=Monday 9:30pm. TP ranks ties Las Vegas with M25-54. STD rank based on HH. US Rating. Excludes specials.
The History ChannelpresentsThis Day in History: 1975 - Charlie Chaplin, 85, is knighted by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace. He dies two years later. In 2002, British government documents are released showing that Chaplin's knighthood had been delayed by many years because of his perceived "communist" sympathies.
Answer to yesterday's Trivia Question:What was the name of the bird of prey that appeared for 2 years on a primetime sitcom? Zelda the Vulture from the Addams Family in 1964-66. Kudos to: Sam Linsky-TBS/LA. oooo, tough one!Today's will make you feel better.
A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT Comcast Spotlight now covers 72 DMAs, including 22 of the top 25, reaching over 30 million subscribers. And now, with a nationwide footprint of 55 interconnects, buying individual markets or multiple markets is a breeze. Comcast Spotlight - Spot cable finally delivers. For more information click here. Today's Trivia Question: On what series would you find the fraternal group called The Cobra Lodge? (
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.)
A MESSAGE FROM 20TH TELEVISION
DIRECTV Ad Sales Now available exclusively from 20th Television
Contact Bob Riordan 212-556-8534
Later -- Cyn
Cynthia Turner's Cynopsis
03/03/04 5:06am
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WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2004
COURT TV'S ADVERTISING ENVIRONMENT SATISFIES YOUR NEEDS
OUR ADULT VIEWERS ARE RECEPTIVE TO RESTAURANT ADS
RANKED #2 IN CABLE
Court TV The Investigation Channel Source: 2003 Advertising Receptivity Index. A18+. Indexed to Total US. Nets with 50+MM subs included. Qual. Avail. upon request.
COURT TV:The Take: Fakers and Takers, Forensic Files, Psychic Detectives, Dominick Dunne
ABC My Wife and Kids (60m), Kingdom Hospital [Premiere] CBS 60 Minutes II, The King of Queens, Everybody Loves Raymond, CSI
FOX That 70s Show, American Idol, The O.C.
NBC The Apprentice, The West Wing, Law & Order
PAX AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN Enterprise, America's Next Top Model [r]
WB Smallville, Angel
TELE Amor Descardo,El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV Velo de Novia, Bajo la Misma Piel, Don Francisco Presenta
