A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM MTV

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02.02.10

Good morning! It's Tuesday, February 2, 2010, and this is your first early morning briefing. And as always, if you prefer to watch this morning's news instead of reading it, click here.

Tonight's Premieres:
ABC: Lost at 9p
TLC: 19 Kids and Counting at 9p
BET: The Michael Vick Project at 10p

Tonight's Finale:
A&E: Psychic Kids: Children of the Paranormal at 9p

Correction : VH1 premieres its series Famous Crime Scene on February 12 at 9p.

Sunday night's 52nd Annual Grammy Awards presentation on CBS drew in 25.8 total million viewers, equal to a third more than last year and the overall highest audience since 2004. The music awards also delivered a preliminary 10.0 rating among A18-49. 

Syfy is showcasing a collection of updated storybook characters during the network's Saturday Original Movies block. Beginning February 27 at 9p, Syfy will premiere a new rendering of Beauty and the Beast starring Estella Warren and Rhett Giles. Other re-imagined classic fairy tales, legends and pop culture characters will include Little Red Riding Hood, Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor to Hansel and Gretel.

TLC is having its cake by ordering a third season of Cake Boss, featuring Buddy Valastro and his Italian family bakery in Hoboken, NJ. Production has started on the third season with 26 total episodes slated to premiere in May. High Noon Entertainment produces. The second season finale of Cake Boos airs February 15 at 9p.

G4 premieres a sophomore season of its viral video series Web Soup on March 3 at 8p. During the new season, comedian and host Chris Hardwick showcases a new cadre of the "best of the worst" clips found on the web paired with his commentary. 

DIY Network unveiled a slew of new home improvement and landscaping-themed series for 2010:

• Turf War  Competition series between two landscape experts and two yards with host Ahmed Hassan presiding over the two-day overhaul. Sneak peak airs March 8 at 9p; series premieres April 5 at 10p and will air on Mondays at 10p.
• Yard Crashers: Top 10  Licensed landscape contractor Ahmed Hassan leads this series as he surprises homeowners at home improvement stores, follows them home and proceeds to renovate their yards. Series premieres March 8 at 10p.
• Desperate Landscapes: Top 10  Licensed contractor Jason Cameron shows viewers top 10 ways to transform a lousy yard to the best on the block. Premieres March 9 at 10p.
• I Hate Your House  Contractor Jonathan O'Leary and his sister designer Nicole O'Leary tackle houses where the homeowners have put off making improvements much to the dismay of their neighbors. Series premieres in April.
• Rescue Renovation  Host Kayleen McCabe helps project-challenged homeowners with renovations. Series premieres in April.
• Garage Mahal  Series transforms dirty, disorganized garages into amazing living spaces. Bill Goldberg hosts the new season premiering in April; series will air on Fridays at 930p.
• Money Hunters  Licensed contractor Matt Blashaw and realtor Deanne Bell show homeowners how to renovate without exceeding their budgets. Premieres in May.
• Rock Solid: Top 10  Stone mason experts and real-life cousins Dean Marsico and Derek Stearns count down the best ways to create masonry masterpieces. Premieres in June.
• The DIY Dominator (wt)  Chris Grundy hosts a new home improvement competition series where three competitors battle for a cash prize. Premieres in June.
• Bath Crashers  Matt Muenster ambushes homeowners while shopping at home improvement stores and follows them home to renovate their bathrooms. Premieres in July.
• This New House  Magazine-style series with co-hosts Amy Matthews and This Old House's Kevin O'Connor as they tour homes across the US showcasing innovative building materials and gadgets and demonstrating new diy techniques. Premieres in July.
• Run My Renovation  13-episode series hosted by licensed contractor John DeSilvia and carpenter, Joanie Dodds where online users decide which lighting, flooring and other materials should be installed in rooms of different homeowners. Premieres in August.
• DIY Punch List (wt)  A culmination of DIY Network programming where projects are rated, three at a time. Premieres in September.
• 10 Killer Kitchen Projects  Series displays great kitchen renovations and new ideas. Premieres in October.
• I Hate My Kitchen  Series presents economical and clever kitchen design ideas for homeowners who have ugly kitchens with host contractor/electrician, James Young. Premieres in October.
• Family Renovation  Docu-soap follows one family with five children as they renovate their home from top to bottom while living in the mess. Premieres in November.
• Hollywood Builders  Viewers will watch as Hollywood sets are constructed offering ideas that could be used at home. Premiere TBD.

As Americans get ready for the Super Bowl this weekend, Nielsen reports 9 out of 10 US households will watch the big game at home or at a friend's or relative's house, rather than watching at a restaurant or bar. And, as far as snacking during the Super Bowl goes, only 5% of households will likely spend more on food and beverages for the event this year.

And a small housekeeping note ... today we have launched our new website at www.cynopsis.com.  Yes, it has all of the same information as before and a little bit more, but hopefully it's easier to navigate, easier to grab our editions through RSS or share/email them with others, watch Cynopsis in our daily video form, subscribe and/or unsubscribe, find our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter home pages, flip through our archives, and find news on our homepage that was not included within our editions.  Many thanks to Concrete5 in Portland Oregon for helping us with the design and engineering the site for us.  As always, I welcome your feedback!

Spike TV will roll out two new original half-hour docu-series as a block this June:

• Half Pint Brawlers  Series follows a performance group of little people wrestlers led by Puppet "The Psycho Dwarf" as they entertain audiences across the US. Production is currently underway and the six-episode series is produced by The Idea Factory and Lumberjack Crew.
• Scrappers  This comedic reality show takes to the streets of Brooklyn, NY and follows a group of real-life competitors and friends as they hunt for the best scrap in town, from pieces of metal to paper and rubber, anything they can turn into cash. Production will begin in Brooklyn this March. The ten-episode series is produced by Hoosick Falls Productions.

ABC added the single-camera comedy pilot It Takes a Village to its development project list, per THR. The project, produced by ABC Studios, is about two professional parents and their significant others joining together to raise their 15-year old son. Casey Johnson and David Windsor are writing and executive producing the pilot; Mark Gordon Company's Mark Gordon, Deborah Spera and Andrea Shay are also executive producing.

Friday A18-49 Analysis: CBS did best Friday night posting a 1.8/6 among A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen. CBS topped at 8p with a Ghost Whisperer encore at 1.9/6 with UNIV's Hasta Dinero Separe in second place at 1.5/5. At 9p, UNIV was the only network to reach the 2's as it delivered a 2.1/6 for Sortilegio while CBS' Medium repeat was next at 1.8/6. Also during 9p, a new season of Kitchen Nightmares opened on FOX in fifth place at 1.4/4. CBS regained its lead at 10p with a rebroadcast of Numb3rs at 1.8/5, though only a tenth of a rating point ahead of ABC's 20/20 at 1.7/5.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Friday, January 29, 2010 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

Stephanie Giambruno joins Metan Development Group as Senior Producer, China based at the company's Beijing office. Stephanie will oversee all original production emanating from the China office, with emphasis on Metan's Hello! Hollywood series. She will report jointly to Barbara Wellner, VP/Programming and Rick Portin, VP/Production.

Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI Media) opened a new sales office in Atlanta and appointed Lauren McEwan as Regional Sales Manger. Lauren is charged with establishing network and national sales opportunities in the Southeast area for LBI Media's Hispanic broadcast network, Estrella TV. Lauren reports to Mike Reid, EVP/National Sales.

Tennis Channel hired Lee Schlazer as VP/Distribution, effective immediately. Lee, a former VP/National Accounts and Field Sales in the western region for Lifetime Entertainment Services, will report to Patrick Wilson, SVP/Distribution, Tennis Channel.

Erwin-Penland promoted a handful of executives:

• Andy Mendelsohn was upped to SVP/Executive Creative Director where he will now oversee the development and implementation of all agency creative output for current clients.
• Roger Beasley was elevated to SVP/Director of Strategic Planning and he will continue to work in tandem with the agency's clients to insert marketing strategies and to supervise the agency in developing integrated communications plans.
• Renee Roberson advanced to VP/Director of Human Resources.

Allen Blackwell was tapped as Senior Director/Urban Film and Comedy with E1 Entertainment U.S. for its in-house video banner, E1 Entertainment. Allen will manage acquisitions and the development of video content in the urban film and comedy genres. Based in Los Angeles, Allen will report to Michael Rosenberg, President, E1 Entertainment U.S.

This day in History:   1990 - South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.

Answer to Yesterday's Trivia Question:  Banacek we know was a detective, but the question is, what was his cover?  HE HAD A COUPLE - BOTH INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR AND ANTIQUES DEALER WHO OWNED THOMAS BANACEK RESTORATIONS  Kudos to: Dick Cox-Sage/Stratford; Barry Solomon-Retailability Inc./NY; Douglas Kneissl-A&E Television Networks/Stamford; Cheryl Khaner-marketbrandsell.com/NY; Murray Schultz-Spectrum Global Comm/Chicago; Brian Nyenhuis-SpotPlus/Dallas; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Alan Perris-The Television Academy/North Hollywood; Pat Brady-CESD/LA; Matt Wayne-Marvel Animation/Burbank; Don Putrimas-Fox Networks Engineering & Operations/LA

Today's Trivia Question:  If you're a space smuggler named Harcourt Fenton Mudd, what illegal substance are you carrying    (Email Cynthia@cynopsis.com 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.)

Later -- Cyn
02.02.10

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WHAT'S ON TONIGHT -  TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2010