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A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM HALLMARK CHANNEL
HALLMARK CHANNEL
Home of the Best Original Movies on Television Taking A Chance on Love – 2.9 HH Rating Source: Opinion Research (Dec 18-21, 2008), 83% of viewers described as very well/somewhat. Nielsen Galaxy Explorer (1/25-2/1/09) Live+SD coverage area HH program average rating for Sat 9-11p premiere vs all ad-supported cable telecasts. Subject to qualifications upon request. Cynopsis
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, February 11, 2009, 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 Premiere: Tonight’s Finale: President Obama’s first primetime press conference Monday night, airing live from 8p to 9p drew in nearly 49.5 million viewers over eight networks – ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Univision, CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. The hour also posted a combined 30.8 HH rating. ~ MORE GOOD STUFF ~
Oxygen introduces viewers to Pretty Wicked, a new reality competition series searching for the inner beauty among ten divas. The eight-episode, 60m series opens March 31 at 10p and follows ten rude yet gorgeous females as they live together and are challenged to use and discover their softer side while one is eliminated each week. The final contestant will win a grand prize of $50,000. CariDee English, America’s Next Top Model seventh season winner will host, working with three celebrity judges: Mia Tyler, Dr. Jenn Berman and Kyle Cease. Pretty Wicked is executive produced by R.J. Cutler of Actual Reality Pictures and Jonas Larsen. BBC America picked up a new musical theater reality series featuring the actor John Barrowman who plays Captain Jack in the series Torchwood. Any Dream Will Do, with eleven 90m episodes, searches for a new male talent to play Joseph in the West End revival of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Graham Norton hosts the series which also showcases Andrew Lloyd Webber. Any Dream Will Do makes its U.S. premiere on March 29 at 8p and is followed by a one-hour special The Making of Me: John Barrowman. The series is produced by a Really Useful Group and BBC and distributed by BBC Worldwide; the special is an Impossible Pictures production for ITV and is distributed by BBC Worldwide. In a joint statement from the Screen Actors Guild and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, both entities will meet together on February 17-18 at the AMPTP offices in Sherman Oaks, CA. The CW is moving the twelfth season premiere of America’s Next Top Model to March 4 at 8p, a week later than planned. The opening episode also expands to two hours. Showtime gave a renewal nod to The United States of Tara for a second season. The drama starring Toni Collette as a woman with multiple personalities has averaged 2.1 million viewers per week, including repeat airings. Lifetime Networks is teaming with international games publisher Merscom to have four new casual games produced based on Lifetime’s original programming. Merscom will develop games for myLifetime.com’s current library of casual game titles. Program Call: If your company will be attending and showcasing programming at MIP TV 2009 in Cannes, France, at the end of next month, Cynopsis will send out a special MIP TV Shopping Guide edition the Wednesday before the conference. To have your programming included, please send only the following info for your top 5 shows: title, availability date, number of episodes, length, type (i.e., movie, series, special, etc.), genre, your terms (barter, cash, etc.) and names and contact info of those attending from your company. If your company is interested in being included in this free guide, please send the details to ~ DISTRIBUTION, CLEARANCE & CARRIAGE ~
Litton Entertainment confirmed The Brian McKnight Show is a firm go for fall 2009. The 60m weekly entertainment show, aiming for weekend schedules, showcases Hollywood stars, musicians, athletes and comedians hosted by award-winning singer/musician/producer/arranger Brian McKnight. Independent production/distribution company Entertainment Studios announced its newest 30m weekly series, PETS.TV has cleared in 85% of the U.S. including the top three markets on WPIX/New York, KCAL/Los Angeles and WCIU/Chicago. The hi-def show is E/I for children age 13-16 and focuses on owning pets and pet care topics. The series was cleared on multiple television station groups such as CBS, ABC, FOX, Tribune, E.W. Scripps, Cox, McGraw-Hill, Meredith, Newport, Sinclair, McKinnon, Bahakel, LIN, Hubbard, The Grant Group, New Vision, Schurz, Northwest Broadcasting, Hearst-Argyle, Belo, Gannett, Weigel, Raycom Media, Barrington, Banks, Quincy and Journal Broadcast Group. DirecTV increased its net U.S. subscriber base by 301,000 during fourth quarter 2008, though the net income for the quarter decreased by -5%, cites Multichannel News. DirecTV’s total U.S. subscriber base was 17.621 million as 2008 ended. Overall revenue for the quarter ending December 31 was $5.31 billion, ticking up +9% compared to the previous year. DirecTV informed customers last week it would raise rates by an average of 4%, effective March 4. ~ PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT ~
New premium cable network and broadband service, Epix, a joint venture made up of Viacom, its Paramount Pictures unit, MGM and Lionsgate, picked its first scripted drama pilot. Tough Trade from Lionsgate TV and Jenji Kohan, creator/executive producer of Showtime’s Weeds, also produced by Lionsgate TV, is a Nashville-based drama about the Tuckers, a family music dynasty. Production will begin later this summer and the series is expected to roll out in 2010. Chris Offutt (Weeds) created Tough Trade and will co-executive produce; Kohan will executive produce and be showrunner, while Bryan Furst will also executive produce. NBC approved a new series featuring peak performance strategist Tony Robbins. The series is described as life-changing as Robbins will mentor participants through personal challenges offering them a chance to refurbish their futures. Reveille will produce the series. Spike TV is playing around with a new original 30m comedy called Players about two opposite brothers running a sports bar together. Production begins this month in Los Angeles and the series is slated to premiere this summer. Matt Walsh, one of the founders of improv comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade, created the show and will also star as free-spirit brother Bruce while Ian Roberts stars as uptight brother Ken. Principato Young Entertainment produces the series. Anne Heche will co-star in upcoming HBO comedy series Hung, playing the ex-wife to Ray (Thomas Jane) who is remarried. Production for the series begins mid-March with a premiere date expected in June. NBC selected two more comedy pilots:
MTV is giving rapper/record producer Snoop Dogg his own weekly variety show called Dogg After Dark. Premiering next Tuesday at 9p, the Los Angeles-based series will highlight interviews, sketch comedy and music performances. Casting Call: VH1 and Doron Ofir Casting is looking for proud Guidos and Guidettes living in the New York tri-state area to appear in a long-form docu-series. Interested males and females should be at least 21 years and appear younger than 30. To apply, send an email to www.jerseyshorecasting.com. Casting Call Clarification: New documentary series Life Chronicles from Pink Sneakers Productions was listed yesterday as being produced for TV Land Network … not so. For information on casting and the show visit the company’s website at www.pinksneakers.net and send submission emails to ~ ELSEWHERE IN CYNOPSIS ~
CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY: The long-rumored merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation was finally announced, joining two music industry monopolies – the largest ticket seller and the biggest concert promoter – at the hip. The companies, valued at a collective $2.5 billion, say they will be better positioned to market their artists and save on expenses, achieving a projected $40 million in savings. They also promise improved technology and, believe it or not, better ticket pricing. (They’re even dropping the Ticketmaster name to try and rinse the bad taste out gouged fans’ mouths.) Grammy winner The Boss, for one, is not convinced. A controversy has sprung up over online scalping of tickets to a recent Springsteen show after visitors to Ticketmaster’s website were first told the show was sold out, then redirected to secondary-market sister site TicketsNow, where prices ranged in the hundreds of dollars each. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Democrat from Bruce’s home state of N.J., and Sen. Charles Schumer, Democrat from N.Y., have called for an investigation of the “bait and switch” incident. In a press conference to announce the merger Ticketmaster CEO Barry Diller blamed the whole thing on a computer glitch, caused by Visa’s inability to process the requests. Full edition: CYN DIGITAL. CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY: newdance kids, the kids division of newdance, which in turn is a new division of AECG (Alan Ett Creative Group), acquires the North American rights to Kids Top 20, the popular Dutch format. Targeted to K6-12, Kids Top 20 is a live-action, interactive music series that features celebrities (music, movie, TV, sports) and kid-friendly music videos. Each week, kids are invited to cast votes online for their favorite songs and artists that helps generate the Kids Top 20 Chart for that week. Guests are invited on the show based on those weekly charts. This is the first acquisition for the newdance kids banner. Full edition: CYN KIDS. ~ RATINGS ~
Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among A18-49 for the week of: 2/2-2/8/09 Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among Total Viewers for the week of: 2/2-2/8/09 Top 10 Cable Programs among A18-49 (000) for the week of: 2/2-2/8/09 Top 10 Broadcast Programs among A18-49 rating/share and (000) for the week of 2/2-2/8/09 Saturday – A18-49 Analysis: FOX zoomed to the finish winning Saturday night with 2.8/9 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. The Budweiser Shoot-Out on FOX was tops each hour: at 8p FOX posted a 2.7/9 with CBS’ Crimetime Saturday repeat and UNIV’s Sabado Gigante sharing second place at 0.9/3. During 9p, FOX delivered a 2.8/9 while CBS held steady in second with Crimetime Saturday encore at 1.2/4. At 10p, FOX tallied its highest rating at 3.2/10 while NBC’s Law & Order: SVU rerun came next at 1.6/5. Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Saturday, February 7, 2009 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD. FOX: 4.8/9 Budweiser Shoot-Out 4.9/9 CBS: 3.8/7 Crimetime Saturday [r] 3.5/6, Crimetime Saturday [r] 3.8/7, 48 Hours Mystery 4.3/8 NBC: 2.6/5 Heroes [r] 1.3/2, Law & Order [r] 2.5/4, Law & Order: SVU [r] 3.9/7 ABC: 1.6/3 Grey’s Anatomy [r] 1.8/3, Private Practice [r] 1.8/3, Desperate Housewives [r] 1.3/2 UNIV: 1.5/3 Sabado Gigante 1.5/3 MNT: 0.9/2 My Saturday Night Movie: The Object of My Affection 0.9/2 TELE: 0.5/1 Futbol Estelar 0.6/1, Futbol Estelar II 0.3/1 A18-49: FOX 2.8/9, CBS 1.2/4, NBC 1.0/3, UNIV 0.9/3, ABC 0.7/2, TELE 0.5/2, MNT 0.4/1 Sunday – A18-49 Analysis: CBS rode a winning wave Sunday night at 6.5/16 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. At 7p, CBS’ 60 Minutes won with 3.1/9 and ABC’s America’s Funniest Home Videos was second at 2.8/8. CBS’ Grammy Awards coverage swept the remainder of the night with ABC also staying in second place each hour: at 8p, CBS delivered a 7.4/19 and ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition did a 3.4/8; at 9p, CBS bumped up to an 8.2/19 while ABC’s Desperate Housewives posted a 4.9/11; then at 10p, CBS slid back to a 7.3/18 with Brothers & Sisters on ABC following with 3.1/8. Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Sunday, February 8, 2009 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD. CBS: 11.2/18 60 Minutes 10.4/17, Grammy Awards 11.2/18 ABC: 6.5/10 America’s Funniest Home Videos 5.2/9, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition 6.0/9, Desperate Housewives 8.6/13, Brothers & Sisters 6.2/10 NBC: 4.7/8 [7p programming and rating not available], Dateline 4.5/7, NBC Movie of the Week: XIII 3.9/6 FOX: 2.4/4 Hole in the Wall 1.4/2, Hole in the Wall 1.6/3, The Simpsons [r] 2.6/4, King of the Hill 2.6/4, Family Guy [r] 3.2/5, American Dad 2.9/4 UNIV: 1.1/2 Hora Pico 1.3/2, Cine Especial 1.1/2, Hora Pico 0.8/1 CW: 0.8/1 Jericho 0.5/1, The CW Sunday Movie: Teen Wolf 0.9/1 TELE: 0.4/1 Cine Millonario 0.4/1, Cine Millonario 0.4/1 A18-49: CBS 6.5/16, ABC 3.6/9, FOX 2.0/5, NBC 2.0/5, UNIV 0.9/2, CW 0.4/1, TELE 0.4/1 Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Monday, February 9, 2009 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD. CBS: 8.6/13 Presidential Press Conference [no individual ratings data available], Two and a Half Men 9.2/13, The Big Bang Theory 7.8/11, CSI: Miami 8.7/14 ABC: 7.5/11 Presidential Press Conference [no individual ratings data available], The Bachelor 7.5/11 FOX: 6.0/9 Presidential Press Conference [no individual ratings data available], 24 6.0/9 NBC: 5.0/8 Presidential Press Conference [no individual ratings data available], Heroes 4.9/7, Medium 5.1/8 UNIV: 2.2/3 Presidential Press Conference [no individual ratings data available], Fuego en la Sangre 2.6/4, Cristina 1.9/3 CW: 1.1/2 Gossip Girl [r] 1.2/2, One Tree Hill [r] 1.0/1 MNT: 0.7/1 Twilight Zone [r] 0.7/1, Twilight Zone 2 [r] 0.6/1, Masters of Illusion [r] 0.7/1 TELE: 0.7/1 Dona Barbara 0.7/1, El Rostro de Analia 0.8/1, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 0.8/1, Cartel M 0.7/1 A18-49: CBS 4.3/10, ABC 4.2/10, FOX 3.4/8, NBC 3.1/7, UNIV 1.9/5, CW 0.7/2, TELE 0.7/2, MNT 0.3/1 ~ EXECUTIVE MOVES ~
NBC Universal Television Group hired Laura Black Dawson as SVP/Legal Affairs and elevated Shelly Tremain to SVP/Legal Affairs and Michelle Vesecky and Jeff Evans both to VPs/Legal Affairs. Laura and Shelly report to Andrea Hartman, EVP/Deputy General Counsel, NBC Universal, while Michelle and Jeff are members of Laura’s team. Steve Dolcemaschio advanced to COO with Comcast Entertainment Group where he will supervise finance and business functions for E! Entertainment, The Style Network, G4 and FEARnet. Previously, Steve served as EVP/Finance and Business Operations with Comcast Entertainment Group. Research firm Centris named William J. Beaumont as President to be involved with the overall management of the business. David Auerbach is the new President of Rive Gauche Television, joining as a partner. Most recently, David served as SVP for Warner Horizon Television. Discovery Emerging Networks appointed Doug Seybert as VP/Marketing, responsible for Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Military Channel and HD Theater. Doug will provide promotional strategies on behalf of each network’s initiatives and programming. He reports to Wonya Lucas, EVP/CMO, Discovery Communications and will be a member of Discovery Emerging Networks’ executive team led by Clark Bunting. . This day in History: 1960 – With four minutes left, Jack Paar walked off while live on the air on the Tonight Show. He did this in response to censors cutting out a joke from the show the night before. Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: Later in his career, actor Felix Silla played Twiki on television’s Buck Rogers in the 25th Century and was also one of the many Ewoks in Return of the Jedi. In his first recurring TV role, what was the name of the character he played? COUSIN ITT (THE ADDAMS FAMILY) Kudos to: Brad Stern-OMSC/Woodbury, NY; Jose Rolon-Current TV/NY; Rev. Mark Wajda-Diocese of Orlando/Altamonte Springs, FL; Linda Grillo-NBC Universal/NY; John Kukla-KDFW/KDFI/Dallas; Yvette Clark-Azteca America/Dallas; Donna James-KDAF/Dallas; Rich Koz-WCIU/Chicago; Matt Sautter-Dish Network/Denver; Darlene Lieblich Tipton/Fox Cable Networks/LA; Loren Steck-Loren Steck & Associates/Carmel, CA; Jerry Meza-Reaction Productions/Palm Springs; Sheldon Wiebe-EclipseMagazine.com/Calgary Today’s Trivia Question: The series Family Matters was a spinoff of what sitcom? (Email Later — Cyn Cynopsis Ad Sales: To subscribe to any Cynopsis edition(s) click here. Cynopsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here . JOB OPENING: SPECIAL PROJECTS WRITER/PRODUCER/HGTV/Knoxville: Conceptualize, write, direct and produce high end on-air and off channel marketing campaigns.3+ yrs exp in cable net or equivalent. Apply: www.scrippsnetworks.com #262 (2/18) JOB OPENING: SR. RESEARCH ANALYST/TVGuide.com/NYC: Track/report/analyze key metrics, create research materials & run panels. Omniture & Excel expertise a must; exp w/ other online research tools highly pref. Res: JOB OPENING: SR ACCT EXEC/ACCT DIR Out-of Home media sales/NY: 5+ yrs nat’l sales exp w/clients & advrtsng agencies strat. plan’g groups. Proven track rec of new bus/acct dvlpmnt req’d. Exp w/Youth mkt a + Res to: JOB OPENING: Director Development/Story House ProdUCTIONS/DC: Lead creative development and sales process. Min 10 yrs exp in tv dev and prod req. Strong client contacts req. Apply: www.storyhousepro.com/page/position-summary (2/18) JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC MGR/THE HOTEL NETWORKS/NY: Mng all traffic functions across 10 ntwrks. Should have understanding of all functions from sale to satellite. 3 yrs exp in brdcst traffic reqd. JOB OPENING: DIR, FINANCE/Embassy Row TV/NY: All aspects accting & financial reptg. CPA pref, BA & 10+ yrs exp. Entertainment exp. req, TV pref. Apply: www.sonypicturesjobs.com (2/13) JOB OPENING: DIR. AD SALES RES /A&E TV-NY: Dvlp strategies & day-to-day for Ad Sls. BA/BS & 8 yrs media rsrch & mgmt exp. Knowl Nielsen/prime rsrch. Resume: www.aetn.com/careers.html (2/13) JOB OPENING: CUST SVC REP/LA, CA/Baseline Inc: Filtering & monitoring client requests in multiple databases. 2+ yrs exp. Exp using or creating internal tracking databases. Deep understanding of ind. Send res to: JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE (Universal Sports/NYC): 5-7 yrs exp @ sports network/website co., 3 yrs. Sports or digital sales exp req’d. Knwlg effective/creative pckgng strat a must. Res: 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 SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Exposure to business side of television. Work on program decisions, marketing & sales opportunities for client TV stations. COX REPs-NY-Strong comm. & math skills required, Contact: 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 SITUATION WANTED:ORIGINATIVE KIDS TV PROD/DIR/EDITOR w/ 18+yrs exp. Inviting new projects/opps. US/EU citizen. Credits: PBS Kids (Buster, Fetch!, Zoom), History, CBS, BBC. Blog> http://tr.im/ckx7CV & Reels> http://www.alangrazioso.com (2/18) SITUATION WANTED:PRODUCER/WRITER/DIRECTOR (NY): Ultra-creative, award winning, all formats, all genres, all major networks and major cable. Fast, frugal and fun! SITUATION WANTED:TV PRODUCER: Reality with network and cable credit seeks show producer/field producer position at prod. co. or network. Most recently series produced show airing on NBC O and O’s. (NY based) SITUATION WANTED: PR & NEW MEDIA GURU (LA) Great Writer/Strategist, Social Media Expert, Strong Media Contacts, 15-year PR pro now avail for in-house or freelance. U want someone to hit the ground running, right? SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE or Full-time MEDIA BUYER w/ over 25 yrs of buying exp. is newly available. Seeking F/T or Freelance wk from your office or my home (New York based) Please contact me @ SITUATION WANTED: VIRTUAL WEB HOST PRODUCER (L.A.) Producer, Director, Writer Virtually place anyone or anything onto web pages. See www.YourLiveWeb.com. Contact SITUATION WANTED: DEVELOPMENT/PRODUCTION EXEC. with studio and network background with great success in kids, family and teen arena seeks staff post or consultancy. www.tgcentertainment.com (2/13) SITUATION WANTED: NASHVILLE BASED FIELD PRODUCER-Network, Cable,EPK, New Media. Ent.,Doc, News, Music, Reality, Docu-Soap, Social Issue/Ent. Video Journalist. Willing to travel and work as a local in NY, Dallas, Atlanta. SITUATION WANTED: VIRTUAL CASTING Network, Major Cable, New Media credits.Booking – Casting – Research – Writing. Doc, News, Ent, Music – Celebs – Reality -Real People – Real Stories – E-mail Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email WHAT’S ON TONIGHT – WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009 ABC: Lost [r], Lost, Life on Mars Cynopsis Media LLC All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynopsis 2009 |
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