Monday January 3, 2022

IN THE NEWS

Beloved actress, trailblazer and animal-rights activist Betty White died peacefully at her home on December 31. She was 99. Among White’s numerous accolades were five Primetime Emmys, including trophies for “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “The Golden Girls” and “Saturday Night Live.” Not to mention an outpouring of Twitter love. “She’s a cultural icon who will be sorely missed,” posted President Biden. Her “Hot In Cleveland” co-star, Valerie Bertinelli, said, “My God, how bright heaven must be right now.” And Seth Meyers tweeted, “RIP Betty White, the only SNL host I ever saw get a standing ovation at the after party. A party at which she ordered a vodka and a hotdog and stayed til the bitter end.”

Originally scheduled to take place in-person in Las Vegas January 5-8, trade show CES has been trimmed by one day due to the current Covid outbreak. “We are shortening the show to three days and have put in place comprehensive health measures for the safety of all attendees and participants,” said Gary Shapiro, President and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association. Attendees at the show must show proof of vaccination. The move comes after companies including Amazon, Twitter, Meta, Google, Microsoft and IBM canceled their in-person presence due to health concerns. There is also a digital component to the event.

To those who noticed that Bobby Bones does not appear in promos for the upcoming season of ABC’s “American Idol,” the show’s mentor wrote on Instagram Stories, “My contract [with] my new network won’t let me do another show right now. Love Idol, btw. Was a great 4 years.” As for his new gig, Bones said the network hasn’t announced the show yet, “But it’s a really good show.”

Also heading for the exit is “Impractical Jokers” star Joe Gatto. “I will no longer be involved with Impractical Jokers,” Gatto posted on Instagram. “Alongside my friends, I’ve devoted a decade of my life to building this franchise and couldn’t be prouder of what has been accomplished. However, due to some issues in my personal life, I have to step away.” Gatto explained he is splitting from his wife, Bessy, and needs to “focus on being the best father and co-parent” to their two children. In addition to truTV’s “Impractical Jokers,” Gatto and his The Tenderloins comedy troupe star in “Impractical Jokers: Dinner Party” and TBS’ “The Misery Index,” and had signed a first-look deal with WarnerMedia.

Gatto’s news long-time comedy partners Brian “Q” Williams, James “Murr” Murray and Sal Vulcano, responded to the news on Instagram, making it clear the show will go on. “While we are saddened to see [Gatto] go, we want to keep making people laugh, keep our relationship with the ‘Impractical Jokers’ fans going, and keep working with the members of our team that we consider family….we’ll get back to making a new chapter of ‘Impractical Jokers’ in January,” they said.

Automakers’ national TV ad spend rose 20% year-over-year in 2021, to $2.67 billion, according to iSpot.tv. Top spenders were Ford ($264.7 million), Toyota ($261.1 million), Chevrolet ($179.7 million), Nissan ($179.2 million), Hyundai ($174.9 million), Jeep ($153.6 million), Subaru ($150.6 million), Lexus ($138.6 million), GMC ($133.9 million) and Ram Trucks ($131.6 million).

TV ad spend on hard seltzer rose even higher – up 35% through October, to $194.5 million – according to MediaRadar. Digital increased a fizzy 63%, to $48.1 million.

The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, slated for January 24-25, has been postponed due to the surge in Covid-19 cases. “The health and safety of all participants in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show are paramount,” said the group. “We appreciate the community’s continued interest and support as we delay the show to a time when we can safely convene.” A new date has not yet been announced.

Online game Fortnite went offline for several hours on December 29, smack in the middle of the holiday break, with players unable to log in. Once the glitch was resolved, developer Epic Games announced, “Winterfest continues!”.

A personal Twitter account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has been permanently suspended for repeated violations of the platform’s Covid-19 misinformation policy. “We’ve been clear that, per our strike system for this policy, we will permanently suspend accounts for repeated violations of the policy,” said a Twitter spokesperson. Responded Greene’s office, “Twitter is an enemy to America and can’t handle the truth. That’s fine, I’ll show America we don’t need them and it’s time to defeat our enemies.” Greene can still post from her congressional account.

On his last day at Disney, Bob Iger took to Twitter to express his feelings about his nearly half century tenure at the company. “This is the end of my 47 1/2 yr ABC @Disney journey and it was ‘the ride of a lifetime,’” he wrote. “Enormous thanks to my colleagues & fellow cast members & special thanks to my wife Willow & my 4 children: Katie, Amanda, Max & Will. I couldn’t have done this without your love & support.” The highly-respected exec was CEO for 15 years before making the surprise announcement that he was passing the baton to Bob Chapek in February 2020, and becoming executive chairman until his contract expired at the end of this year.

Stay tuned as Cynopsis releases its 2022 events calendar! Here’s what’s already been confirmed for next year: OTT Virtual Conference – March 8th, Sports Media Awards, April 19th, Big TV Conference – Sept 20-21st, Esports Business Summit – Nov 1-3rd

VISIT THE OTT CONFERENCE

Season 20 of “Real Time With Bill Maher” kicks off Friday, January 21 at 10p. “For 20 years, Bill Maher has charted a new course for political comedy, sharing his fearless take on the big issues of the day while making us laugh and keeping us better informed,” said Nina Rosenstein, EVP, Programming. “We’re remarkably proud of our partnership with Bill and his incredible team, and we look forward to seeing what he will tackle in this milestone season.” With the new season, Maher will become the longest-running late night host currently on the air.

Anderson Cooper will host a parenting series for his network’s upcoming subscription streaming service, CNN+. “Parental Guidance With Anderson Cooper” will air weekly. Cooper is father to 1-year-old son Wyatt. Digital series “Anderson Cooper Full Circle,” launched in 2018, will also move to the new service.

Hulu’s upcoming reality show starring the Kris Jenner and other members of the “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” clan now has a title: “The Kardashians.” The family’s last show ended last June, after 20 seasons on E!.

Series launching on discovery+ this month include “Remix My Space with Marsai Martin” (Saturday, January 15), featuring room makeovers for young people who have made a difference; real estate focused “Selling the Hamptons” (Thursday, January 20); relationship repairer “Like Mother, Like Daughter?” (Saturday, January 8); luxury auto show “Radford Returns” (Saturday, January 22); and Magnolia Network’s architecture series “Cabin Chronicles” (Friday, January 14).

Fishing series “Das Boat,” which premiered December 31 on Sportsman Channel, makes its debut on Outdoor Channel on May 2 at 8p. “Fur Hat Ice Tour” follows its New Year’s Eve premiere on Sportsman Channel with a debut on Outdoor Channel tonight, January 3 at 8p.

“Joe Montana: Cool Under Pressure” offers an inside look at the NFL great, starting Thursday, January 6 on Peacock.

Netflix reality series “Cheer” is back for season two on Wednesday, January 12. While season one was four episodes, the sophomore run will consist of nine eps – and address the felony charges against series star Jerry Harris related to sexual misconduct.t

STREAMING

“The Unforgiveable” broke into Netflix’s Top Ten Most Popular Film list, with 186,900,000 hours viewed as of Tuesday. The feat makes the movie’s star, Sandra Bullock, the first actress with two films on the list. She joins Ryan Reynolds, whose “Red Notice” and “6 Underground” also make the cut.

Podcast content is resonating with diverse audiences, according to Nielsen Podcast Power data. The average number of times per month each identity group listens to a podcast ranges from 9 to 12 times per month between Asian Americans, Blacks, Hispanics, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ podcast consumers, with the average weekly hours spent listening to podcasts approximately 3 hours for each group. Genres most listened to by audience are music for Blacks, Hispanics and people with disabilities; technology for Asian Americans; and fiction for LGBTQ+.

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CYNOPSIS 2021 RESOURCE CENTER

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“The Matrix Resurrection” was viewed on HBO Max by 2.8 million households between its theatrical-day-and-date release on Wednesday, December 22 and Sunday, December 26, according to Samba TV. That places it second to “Godzilla vs. Kong” in 5-day numbers (3.6 million) on HBO Max.

The week of December 20 marked the 45th consecutive week that Fox News topped basic cable’s total day ranking in total viewers, with 1.301 million.

Fox Business Network’s post-market program “Kudlow” closed out 2021 with its best quarter ever, according to Nielsen, averaging 259,000 total viewers.

“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (season high 1.1 Live+SD national Nielsen rating, up 225,000 daily viewers or 10% from last year at this time to 1,594,000) had the most year to year growth in the 14 first-run talk show category the week of December 12. “Ellen” has moved from eighth place to third among talkers since August, after taking a tumble the season prior. In addition to “Ellen” the top three chat fests included “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (1.7, down 19% from last year) and “Dr. Phil” (1.7, down 11% from last year).

Nielsen Most-Watched Networks of 2021
Network, Viewers (000), % Change
Total Viewers
CBS: 5574, 0%
NBC: 5484, +9%
ABC: 4077, -10%
Fox: 3683, -12%
Fox News: 2394, -34%
ESPN: 1618, +11%
MSNBC: 1537, -28%
Univision: 432, -1%
HGTV: 1243, -9%
Hallmark Chanel: 1115, -5%
A18-49
NBC: 1327, +7%
Fox: 1136, -21%
CBS: 1023, +1%
ABC: 964, -17%
ESPN: 608, -1%
Univision: 562, -3%
TNT: 458, +6%
Telemundo: 401, -3%
TBS: 370, -11%

Nielsen Top 11 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of December 12 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy (CMV) 5.7 AA
Family Feud (CMV) 5.4 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.4 AA
Judge Judy (CMV) 4.9 AA
Inside Edition (CMV) 2.2 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 2.1 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.1 AA
Dr. Phil (CMV) 1.7 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.7 AA
Hot Bench (CMV) 1.4 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 1.3 AA

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Thursday, December 16
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Station 19 4.69 (0.6), Grey’s Anatomy 4.20 (0.6), Big Sky 2.55 (0.3)
CBS: Young Sheldon 4.43 (0.4), United States of Al 3.26 (0.3), Ghosts 3.12 (0.3), B Positive 2.63 (0.2), Bull 2.65 (0.2)
CW: Dogs of the Year 0.61 (0.1), Legacies 0.37 (0.1)
FOX: Thursday Night Football 17.86 (4.6)
NBC: Women of Worth 1.30 (0.2), Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors 1.84 (0.2)
Telemundo: Hercal: Amor e Venganza 1.11 (0.3), Malverde: El Santo Patron 0.88 (0.3)
Univision: La Rosa de Guadalupe 1.41 (0.5), Vencer el Pasado 1.53 (0.5), La Desalmada 1.60 (0.5)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

IN MEMORIAM

John Madden died unexpectedly on December 28 at age 85. After a winning career as coach of the Oakland Raiders, Madden soared to even greater reknown as a color commentator on CBS, Fox, ABC and then NBC, as well as a force in sports video games. “There will never be another John Madden, and we will forever be indebted to him for all he did to make football and the NFL what it is today,” said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

NFL reporter Jeff Dickerson, who covered the Chicago Bears for ESPN, died December 28 of complications from colon cancer. He was 44. “JD was one of the most positive people you will ever meet,” said ESPN deputy editor for digital NFL coverage Heather Burns. “We all got together in October for an event, and there he was lifting our spirits and assuring us he was going to beat cancer. That’s just who he was.”

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which 1980s Christmas special episode featured Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Cher, Charo, Grace Jones, Little Richard, Dinah Shore, Oprah, and kd lang? “Pee-wee’s Playhouse: Christmas Special” (1988). Kudos to: Greg West-WATC TV/Atlanta; Charles Lore/NYC; Linda Walker-Smith-Comcast Cable/Orlando, FL; Sasha Wolff-Discovery Inc./NYC; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Drew Tappon-OWN/West Hollywood, CA; Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which actor played two of Rose’s boyfriends on “The Golden Girls” (1985-92)? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)