Good morning. It's
Tuesday, February 24, 2004,
and this is your first early morning
briefing.
Sunday was a close among the Big 4 broadcast networks, with ABC
ultimately out delivering the others among A18-49 according to
Nielsen Media Research. ABC's 4.0/10 led by a mere tenth of
a rating point over Fox's 3.9/10 which in turn led by just a tenth over
NBC's 3.8/10, followed by CBS 2.7/7 and WB 1.7/4. At 7p ABC's AFV's
grand prize giveaway earned it top ranking with a 3.0/9, followed by
Fox's 2.6/8 for King of the Hill and Oliver Beene; and a tie between CBS'
60 Minutes and NBC's Dateline, each earning a 2.4/7. At 8pm Fox's
double whammy of Simpsons/Simpsons [r] won the hour with a 5.5/13, well
ahead of #2 ABC and CBS, each tied wtih 3.7/9. At 9p ABC and Regis
take top billing with a 5.7/13 for Super Millionaire (17.4 million
viewers 2+), though NBC's L&O:CI was close on its heals with a
5.1/11. A repeat of L&O:CI was good enough to win the 10p hour,
posting a 4.8/13, ahead of ABC's 3.4/9 for The Practice, and the final
hour of the CBS movie 2.6/7 (2.5/6 for the full 9-11pm
broadcast).
ABC has announced the premiere of The D.A., airing on
Fridays at 10p as of March 19, airing four consecutive weeks.During those
four weeks, ABC News' 20/20 will air special editions on Mondays, March
22 and 29, at 10p. 20/20 returns to Fridays at 10p as of April 16.
The D.A. stars Steven Weber and Bruno Campos. The program will be
produced in 720P, ABC's selected HDTV format.
Two program changes for Bravo Network - the networks new series
Significant Others (NBC Studios) will make its debut at 9pm on
Tuesday March 9, with a second ep scheduled for 930p. Making room for the
new series is Keen Eddie which moves to Wednesdays at 10p as of March
10th for the remainder of its season where it will air the all of the
episodes, finishing up with the final six which have never been
seen.
The Re-Elect Bush for President campaign made a significant ad
buy, in the $40-$50 million range, set to kick off on March 4 in 18 major
metropolitan markets, according to Broadcasting & Cable. The
campaign war chest is said to contain upwards of $100 million.
ABC has plans to launch a new unscripted drama this summer
called The Benefactor. The premise is simple - he who sucks
up best, wins. The suckee is Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban; the
suckers are 30 players who are there just to make Cuban like them best,
and hopefully win a million bucks for their efforts. ABC has
ordered 6 episodes. If this is your bailiwick and you're over 21, you
should visit ABC.com to apply.
New in Development and Casting:
ABC has cast Colin Hanks as the lead in the Untitled McCall
& Stein Project Warner Bros. TV) about Joel Stein's stint as the
youngest columnist at Time Inc.
Fox has ordered a pilot for Spellbound (Warner Bros. TV) - a
sort of reversed Bewitched where he's the witch and she's the
mortal. Another pickup for Fox is a comedy called Sweden, Ohio
where a teenage boy gets what all teenage boys wish for - a Swedish
Exchange Student.
NBC has cast Christen Nelson has joined the cast of Everyday
Life (Universal) about a family of psychiatrists, a newlywed couple of
psychiatrists who move in with the groom's family. Nelson plays the
older sister/therapist
UPN has moved Bad Girls Guide to Getting What You Want
(Flame/Paramount Network TV) into the pilot column. This ensemble
comedy, based on the book series by Cameron Tuttle, features five
characters, three are women who operate a website which provides
lifestyle advice from The Bad Girl books.
CBS has cast Scott Glenn in drama pilot Wanted (25c
Prod/Warner Bros. TV/CBS Prods) about an offbeat private eye.
WB has finished casting the family on The Robinsons: Lost in
Space with the addition of Brad Johnson as John Robinson, and Ryan
Malgarini as young Will.
Sources: BaselineFT.com, Variety, Hollywood Reporter
Some time ago you heard about UPN's new reality show in
development which focuses on the Amish right of passage called rumspringa
wherein teenagers venture out into the non-Amish world for a period of
time to decide if the Amish lifestyle is one they prefer to live.
The majority return, but a few take to the outside world. The UPN
show follows five Amish teens as they come to the city and live in
an apartment with five non-Amish, mainstream, outside world, teenagers in
a sort of Real World lifestyle. According to Broadcasting
& Cable, this proposed summer reality show has drawn the
criticism of Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA) as well as numerous others on the Hill
who have written to Mel Karmazin and Leslie Moonves saying, in part:
"For almost three centuries, the Amish have lived the way they
do out of Christian piety and conviction, not out of ignorance. If, by
producing this show, you fail to respect that, you will be opening
yourself up to charges of bigotry."
UPN responded with:
"Through every step of the process, UPN and the show’s producers
have every intention of treating the Amish, their beliefs, and their
heritage with the utmost respect and decency. Any young Amish adults who
do choose to participate in this reality show will do so only of their
own free will and with absolutely full knowledge of the content, nature
and intent of the program. And since this show is still early in the
development stage, we sincerely hope that any judgment will be reserved
until the show is produced."
SiTV is set to launch tomorrow, and just yesterday was
moved on the DISH network from the top tier to the America's Top 120
programming package, a more mainstream set of networks, carried on
Channel 159 next to MTV. Other carriage deals for SiTV include
Comcast, Time Warner, Grande and Cox. The network's initial
advertiser list includes Sears, GM, Wal-Mart, US Army, Earthlink, Conair
and Sony Music.
The History Channel Espanol is set to launch this May, a Spanish
language network which will include a broad scope of world history
programs as well as those which will focus on Latin American
history. No word as yet on distribution.
Publicis Groupe will merge two of its Hispanic agencies into
one, according to AdAge.com. Publicis Sanchez &
Levitan, based in Miami, will join up with Bromley Communications, based
in San Antonio, and the new combined agency will work under the Bromley
name, headed by CEO Ernest Bromley. Aida Levitan will become Vice
Chairman and Chief Comm. Officer as well as President of the Miami
office.
You'll remember him best as Robert DeNiro's huge and fairly foreboding
looking bodyguard/mobster 'Jelly' in Analyze This (and That), or as
Gwenyth Paltrow's protective Irish father in Shallow Hal. Regardless, he
was always a tough, and often loveable, character to forget. Joe
Viterelli died on January 29 following complications from surgery; he
was 66. Viterelli's first role was in a 1990 movie called State of
Grace, hired because his friend/director Leo Penn couldn't find an actor
who had that neighborhood look quite the same as Viterelli. Since then he
appeared in Bullets Over Broadway, Serving Sara, Mobsters, Mickey Blue
Eyes, The Firm, What She Doesn't Know and numerous others. He is
survived by his wife Catherine and their five children.
Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. announced the upping of
Richard Cusick to SVP/Business Development and Strategic
Planning. Richard is based in LA and reports to Jeff Shell, CEO, and
Brian Urban, CFO. He will oversee all of the Company's corporate
development activities, responsible for business and operational
planning, strategic development and corporate deal making on behalf of
the Company's publishing businesses.
Bernard Gershon has been named SVP/GM of the ABC News
Digital Media Group. The announcement was made by David Westin,
President/ABC News. In this newly created role, Mr. Gershon is
responsible for developing revenue opportunities and distribution of ABC
News content to all digital media platforms. He reports to Paul Slavin,
SVP/News, and Dan Renaldo, SVP/Finance, Operations and Business
Development.
Doris Casap has been upped to SVP/Film Programming for
HBO. Doris oversees the net's majors' library acquisitions,
a well as working closely with HBO Documentaries, HBO Films, HBO
Enterprises, and HBO Video on acquisitions for each of these group.
Carolyn Cassidy has been upped to Director/Current Series
at NBC Entertainment, it was announced by Ted Frank, SVP/Current Series. Carolyn reports to Frank,and will continue to oversee the production of NBC's "Will & Grace," "Good Morning, Miami," "Ed," "Miss Match" and the upcoming comedy series "Come to Papa," starring comedian Tom Papa.
Rob Solomon has been appointed SVP/Customer Care for HSN, it was announced by Mark Ethier, HSN’s EVP/Operations. Rob reports to Ethier, and joins HSN as part of the company’s renewed efforts to provide customer service to network's viewers and shoppers.
Sunday, February 22, 2004. Fast Affiliate 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 7.8/12 60 Minutes 8.5/15, Cold Case 9.6/14, Movie: Raising Waylon 6.6/10
ABC 7.4/12 AFV 5.7/10, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 6.5/10, Super Millionaire [p] 10.6/16, The Practice 6.9/12 NBC 7.2/11 Dateline 5.9/10, American Dreams 5.5/8, Law & Order: CI 5.0/7, Law & Order: CI [r] 4.7/8
FOX 5.2/8 King of the Hill 3.7/7, Oliver Beene 3.8/6, Simpsons 6.8/10, Simpsons [r] 6.9/10, Malcolm 5.6/8, Bernie Mac 4.4/7
WB 2.3/4 Smallville [r] 1.6/3, Charmed 3.1/5, Surreal Life 2.4/4 A18-49 ABC 4.0/10, Fox 3.9/10, NBC 3.8/10, CBS 2.7/7, WB 1.7/4
A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV
INVESTIGATE COURT TV'S ADVERTISING ENVIRONMENT
96% OF OUR A25-54 AUDIENCE STAYS TUNED DURING COMMERCIAL BREAKS
RANK # 1 AMONG CABLE NETWORKS
Court TV The Investigation Channel Source: Nielsen NPower, Min X Min Report, program mins vs non-program mins. Nov '03 wk 4. M-Su 8-11p. Networks with 50+MM subs included. Qualifications available upon request.
The History ChannelpresentsThis Day in History: 1981 - Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer put an end to rumors and speculation and announce that they will be wed in the summer.
Answer to yesterday's Trivia Question:On what series will you find on the wall of its main and arguably most often used set, a framed piece of sheet music titled The Diarymaids? THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW, hanging behind the desk in the Writers' Room. Kudos to: Tony Fasola-Entertainment Studios/Atlanta; Jeffrey Tuchman-Documania Films/NY; Jim Kelly-Inside Edition/NY; John Baldino-WNEP/Moosic PA; Marge Pistulka-Empower MediaMarketing/Chicago; Tim Branigan-Court TV/Chicago; Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago; Brian Coughlin-Tara Ridge Comm/Pacific Palisades; Dennis Amino-KCBS/LA; Renee Simon-The Style Network/LA; Eddie Land-Pacific Television Center/LA. Reminder -- You can only appear in the Kudos list once during the week!
A MESSAGE FROM 20TH TELEVISION
DIRECTV Ad Sales Available exclusively from 20th Television
Starting March 1, 2004 Contact Bob Riordan 212-556-8534
Today's Trivia Question: What is an Evening Shade Argus? (
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
02/24/04 5:29am
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WHAT'S ON TONIGHT: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2004
COURT TV INVESTIGATES THE TOP MOVIES OF 2003
AND THE WINNER IS…
FIND OUT WHO WON THE VIEWER'S CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS & BEST MOVIE IN THE INVESTIGATIVE GENRE!
HOLLYWOOD AT LARGE
FIRST ANNUAL H@L CONTEST THURS AT 8:30P
Court TV The Investigation Channel
COURT TV:Dominick Dunne, Forensic Files, The Investigators
ABC 8 Simple Rules, I'm with Her, According to Jim, Less than Perfect, Super Millionaire CBS Navy NCIS, The Guardian, Judging Amy
FOX American Idol, 24
NBC Whoopi, Happy Family, Frasier, Scrubs, Law & Order: SVU
PAX AFV, Making of the Passion (OTO), Diagnosis Murder
UPN One on One, All of Us, Top Model
WB Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill
TELE Amor Descardo,El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV Velo de Novia, Bajo la Misma Piel, Casos de la Vida Real