| A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM TV TIME |
TVLytics
The WHY Behind the WATCH
What’s motivating viewers to watch? How do they find new content?
How do you measure success in this cross-platform era of viewership?
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ALL platforms. ALL devices.
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tvtime.com/insights or [email protected] And meet with us at NATPE Miami!
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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Blue Ant Media announced commissions for its platforms in Canada, including new series The Bryk Cottage for Cottage Life, featuring a designer rebuilding her family cottage.
Disney Channel ordered a second season of Star Wars Resistance, to launch in fall 2019. Animated series continues its freshman run on Sunday, January 13, at 10p.
Endemol Shine North America and UK-based Tuesday’s Child are teaming with Brad Pitt’s Plan B Entertainment to produce a U.S. version of the hit British series Lego Masters, launched on Channel 4 in 2017. The production companies are set to start conversations with potential American-based platforms later this month.
Show us how your company is making the world a better place. Submit your entries for the Cynopsis Social Good Awards by tomorrow night (Friday, January 11) for a chance to spotlight your company’s prosocial initiatives.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
WE tv’s Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition makes its debut tonight, January 10, at 10p. What can we expect from this particular permutation? “We are constantly evolving this franchise, and from season to season, our team leaves no stone unturned in tailoring the program to the specific relationships and needs of our new cast,” Adam Reed, Thinkfactory Media CEO and Boot Camp EP, tells Cynopsis. “That said, this season introduces an entirely new dynamic, in that the stars featured are all from the same world – hip hop. Many of them have similar backgrounds and experiences, and it was exciting to see the new opportunities and challenges that element brought to their boot camp journeys.”
Rob Lowe is playing mind games. Mental Samurai, hosted by Code Black star, premieres Tuesday, February 26, at 9p on Fox. Competition series is described as “the first-ever obstacle course for the mind.”
The series premiere of Travel Channel’s Lost Gold, on Monday, January 14, at 10p, follows the trail of a bank robber from 1880 whose loot has never been recovered.
“To see something grow from an idea to a thriving business is always rewarding and being recognized for that growth is truly gratifying,” says Octagon’s Joe Scott, a Cynopsis Rising Star winner. “However, even more so, it means our team is doing great work, and it’s humbling when I think about the support I’ve had and the incredible team around me.” Join us as we celebrate these outstanding honorees at the TV Awards luncheon gala February 6 in NYC. Register now.
COMING UP
Nickelodeon’s new original movie, Bixler High Private Eye, premieres Monday, January 21, at 7p.
Comedy Central has big plans for one-hour stand-up special Chris Distefano: Size 38 Waist, debuting January 18 at 11p as part of the net’s Stand-Up Month. The special, which features a scripted opening with Chazz Palminteri, will be accompanied by a digital album and exclusive linear and digital companion content. The album will be released on all digital retailers and streaming services on the day the special premieres, and Distefano will appear as a guest the same evening on his own show, Comedy Central’s Friday-night interstitial series, Stupid Questions with Chris Distefano.
Twenty years after the groundbreaking HBO drama premiered, HBO2 will air a marathon of all episodes of the sixth and final season of The Sopranos, tonight, January 10, at noon.
A WORD (OR TWO) WITH DISCOVERY INC.’S HENRY SCHLEIFF
Cynopsis will present industry legend and Discovery, Inc. Group President Henry Schleiff – responsible for true crime phenom Investigation Discovery, along with American Heroes Channel, Destination America and, since April, Travel Channel – with the Luminary Award at the TV Awards ceremony on February 6 in NYC. Here, the visionary programming leader offers insights on making crime – among other things – pay.
Cynopsis: When you started ID, did you expect it to become such a huge success?
Henry Schleiff: From the very beginning, I believed that ID could become a top-10 network – in fact, that was literally my first conversation with David Zaslav when we discussed the possibility of my joining Discovery. In any event, with the support – and often guidance of my terrific team, led by Kevin Bennett – we’ve surpassed that goal and are now the #1 network for women 25-54, in total day.
Cynopsis: True crime programming is hardly new – what spin does ID take that made the network take off?
Schleiff: What makes us different from everyone else is that we tell real stories about real people involving the high stakes of life and death featuring the most malevolent and most noble aspects of human nature. Also, true crime storytelling is all that we do, 24/7, offering viewers the benefits of consistency and predictability in a confusing world of choice. That, I think, is the definition of a “brand.” We produce a unique mix of programming that also gives us the privilege of working with dedicated investigative journalists like Paula Zahn and Tamron Hall, as well as experts who are leaders in their fields like Lt. Joe Kenda, former prosecutor Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi and former FBI profiler Candace Delong. Above all else, we appreciate and respect the fact that victims and family members trust us with their stories.
Cynopsis: ID is a remarkable balance of guilty pleasure and force for social good. Was that always in the plan?
Schleiff: What’s the adage, “man plans, God laughs.” I don’t know if we had a plan – we just have great people who are passionate, talented – and fun to work with!
We certainly love that our viewers binge our shows – people who enjoy true crime really gravitate to our content, hour after hour, giving us the longest length of tune in all of cable, ad-supported and pay – a uniquely high level of engagement, which makes us so attractive to advertisers. If you give our viewers – “fans,” if you will – something new to watch, they will find it and that’s why we’ve consistently produced more than 650 hours of new content every year for the past few years and why we put all our content onto the ID GO platform as soon as it airs – and, sometimes, even before.
While we can’t forget that television is an entertainment medium, we certainly always keep in mind the power that a network can have in our country, today. In that regard, we have made a concerted effort to feature programming that sheds a Klieg light on the challenges of the justice system, which we hope inspires intelligent dialogue and, where needed, appropriate action. We certainly air a number of specials throughout the year, which reflects our “social justice” mission – from our Love & Hate Crime series, which focused on civil rights and racial bias, to our Barbara Kopple documentary, A Murder in Mansfield, about the collateral damage that violence can have on a family, to our Hate in America series with the Southern Poverty Law Center. We provide a voice, a voice of the victims. They are the ones who need it the most. Our viewers know that we will treat these stories with respect and, in some cases, educate them on an issue from a different perspective. All considered, there’s no reason we can’t be a network that makes a profit … and a difference.
Cynopsis: How are you putting your stamp on Travel Channel?
Schleiff: I am so excited to be working on Travel Channel with the team there, led by Jane Latman, who are doing such creative things with the brand. We have so many new and exciting series coming to the schedule in 2019, along with established classic signature favorites like the return of Ripley’s Believe It or Not, hosted by the iconic Bruce Campbell. We really want to make the network a home for those seeking a sense of adventure, who aren’t afraid of the unexpected – the myths, mysteries and the unknown – that take you to the farthest reaches of … your imagination! We love great stories and want to take viewers on the journey with us, so stay tuned for more announcements, on new series coming soon! I just left Zas’ office and told him I believe Travel can become a top-10 network … Sound familiar?
DIGITAL DATA
The second halves of 20 NBA games on TNT this season will be live-streamed on Twitter with the feed focused on a single player. Fans can vote on which player they want to see featured as part of the new partnership between the NBA, Turner Sports and Twitter. Live streams begin during the All-Star Game on Sunday, February 17.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg plans to hold public discussions about the future of technology and the role it plays in people’s lives. In a blog post, Zuckerberg said he will experiment with different formats and meet with experts as well as everyday folks every few weeks. “I’m an engineer, and I used to just build out my ideas and hope they’d mostly speak for themselves,” said Zuckerberg. “But given the importance of what we do, that doesn’t cut it anymore.”
FilmRise announced it has reached agreements with film studios, producers and networks including ITV Studios Global Entertainment, MGM, Warner Bros. and others for content for FilmRise Channels, a network of ad-supported VOD apps. Among the content is Hell’s Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares and films The Terminator and Blade Runner.
The Ringer, home of Game of Thrones Twitter aftershow #TalkTheThrones, is taking on HBO’s Big Little Lies. “Television superfans live on Twitter, which makes it the perfect place for The Ringer’s post-show series,” said Kay Madati, Global VP and Head of Content Partnerships at Twitter. “There is no one better than The Ringer to bring their expert analysis and insights to the dialogue right after the programs end and the discussion heats up.”
In addition to airing on MotorTrend, collector car auction Barrett-Jackson Live kicks off Tuesday, January 15, at 6p for the first time on the MotorTrend App. Included in exclusive in-app content is coverage hosted by Jonny Lieberman (Head 2 Head) and Jayson “Shag” Arrington (Iron Resurrection).
ADVERTISING & BRANDS
Who’s opening their wallet in 2019? Beta Research’s fall 2018 Ad Executive-Evaluation of Basic Cable and Broadcast Networks offers a clue. On percent of ad executives planning to increase ad spending on network in the next 12 months, ESPN ranked first (53% – up from 48% in 2017) followed by HGTV (50%), Food Network (47%), Discovery Channel (45%), TNT (40%), ESPN2 (39% – up from 33% in 2017), TBS (39%) and USA (39%). Rank for ESPN2 increased from 12th in 2017 to tied for sixth in 2018.
Basic cable network organizations/networks receiving high scores for providing creative/innovative multi-platform opportunities included ESPN/ABC Sports (72%), Discovery Networks (67% – up from 56% in 2017), Viacom Marketing and Partner Solutions (67%), E! (56%) and TBS and TNT (55%). Rank increased for Discovery Networks from fifth in 2017 to tied for second in 2018.
On percent receiving high scores on having a desirable programming environment in which to advertise, the top-ranked basic networks were HGTV (87%), Food Network (85%), ESPN (83%), Discovery Channel (73%), ESPN2 (63%) and History (63%). On percent receiving high scores on increasing viewer engagement through use of social media, the top-ranked network organizations/networks were E! (68%), ESPN/ABC Sports (66%), Viacom (66%), Bravo (63%), and Discovery Networks (58% – up from 49% in 2017). Rank increased for Discovery Networks from eighth in 2017 to fifth in 2018.
CASTING
Henry Goodman (Snatch), Ulrich Thomsen (Counterpart) and Massimo Ghini (Tea With Mussolini) join the returning cast members of HBO limited series The New Pope, starring Jude Law and John Malkovich.
GOING GLOBAL
Discovery is launching DMAX in the UK, replacing Travel Channel as a free-to-air station. DMAX targets men “who want to live life to the max and indulge their passions in a fun environment,” said Simon Downing, SVP, Head of Factual and Sport. Travel will be available on pay-TV.
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| A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE |
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED!
Cynopsis is thrilled to announce the finalists for our 2019 Short Form Video Festival! Winners will be announced at the second annual industry event, taking place on Wednesday, March 6 at the SVA Theatre in NYC. The festival will also feature panels offering best practices in business and advertising in the short form space as well as opportunities to network with creators, buyers, distributors, brands and more.
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RATINGS
Returning to originals, ABC saw improvement for The Conners and The Kids Are Alright ahead of Tuesday’s Presidential address. The Conners rose +3% over its last first-run telecast, to 6.9 million viewers, while Kids rose +12%, to 4.7 million.
President Trump’s Oval Office address, and Democratic rebuttal, on Tuesday drew upwards of 40 million viewers, according to early data. CBS and Fox News drew the biggest audiences, topping 8 million viewers.
Univision ’s coverage of President Trump’s speech averaged 1.7 million Total Viewers 2+, 756,000 A18-49 and 293,000 A18-34.
BBC America’s Doctor Who holiday special on January 1 drew an average 1.4 million viewers and 552,000 among A18-49, according to Nielsen Live+3 data. That’s down from 1.7 viewers and 778,000 for the last holiday special, which aired on Christmas Day 2017.
History’s new drama series Project Blue Book grossed 3.1 million total viewers over two telecasts of the premiere episode Tuesday night. With 2.1 million total viewers, the premiere telecast alone became the network’s most-watched scripted series premiere since the March 2013 premiere of Vikings and was the #1 new scripted series on cable of the 2018/19 TV season across all key demos and total viewers.
SHAREABLEE TOP 10 PRIMETIME TV SHOWS: Top U.S. Shows Overall by Engagement for the week of December 31, 2018
Program, VPI, Video Actions, Video Views, Total Actions
Vikings (History) 387, 208K, 764K, 314K
Ridiculousness (MTV) 334, 213K, 12.2M, 217K
Property Brothers (HGTV) 301, 44K, 0, 96K
Henry Danger (Nick) 218, 32K, 4K, 102K
The Simpsons (Fox) 186, 36K, 634K, 98K
Outlander (Starz) 169, 157K, 2.6M, 798K
Gotham (Fox) 140, 397K, 961K, 592K
America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) 135, 237K, 12.9M, 237K
Hawaii Five-0 (CBS) 131, 32K, 97K, 304K
Family Guy (Fox) 100, 15K, 365K, 69K
Source: Shareablee Inc. Based on Shareablee’s Video Power Index (VPI), which combines viewing, consumer interactions and audience scale across all active platforms and includes the video performance of primetime TV shows.
Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/24/18 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Judge Judy (CTD) 6.0 AA
Family Feud (2/T) 6.0 AA
Jeopardy (CTD) 5.5 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 5.4 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 4.3 AA
Inside Edition (CTD) 2.7 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.3 AA
Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.3 AA
Live With Kelly & Ryan (DAD) 2.3AA
Last Man Standing 2.2AA
Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/24/18 ranked in order by A18-49 Rtg
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 1.6 AA
Family Feud (2/T) 1.6 AA
Judge Judy (CTD) 1.3 AA
Modern Family (2/T) 1.0 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 1.0 AA
Jeopardy! (CTD) 1.0 AA
Family Guy (2/T) 0.8 AA
Last Man Standing 0.8AA
Live With Kelly & Ryan (DAD) 0.6AA
Black-ish 0.6AA
Source: Nielsen
Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions): Tuesday, January 8, time period averages
Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated Live+SD
CBS: 7.86 million
NCIS 11.70, Presidential Address 8.04, The Neighborhood 4.82, NCIS: New Orleans 5.54
NBC: 5.83 million
Ellen’s Game of Games 6.51, Presidential Address 7.03, Ellen’s Game of Games 5.49, New Amsterdam 5.33
ABC: 4.44 million
The Connors 6.88, The Kids Are Alright 4.72, Presidential Address 4.43, black-ish 3.28, Splitting Up Together 3.27, The Rookie 3.57
FOX: 2.75 million
Lethal Weapon 3.28, Presidential Address 2.56, The Gifted 1.82
TELEMUNDO: 0.83 million
La Sultana 0.88, Trump Immigration 1.01, Falsa Identidad 0.89, Senora Acero 0.67
UNIVISION: .93
Jesus .94, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia .96, Amar a Muerte .90
CW: 0.59 million
Supergirl 0.78, EA Sports Madden NFL 19 Classic 0.40
Tuesday A18-49 Ratings: NBC 1.4/6, ABC 0.9/4, CBS 0.8/3, FOX 0.7/3, UNI 0.5/2, TELE 0.4/2, CW 0.2/1
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Max Micallef has joined History as Vice President of Nonfiction Programming and Development. Micallef was most recently at Discovery Channel.
Marblemedia hired Donna Luke for the new role of Vice President, Production. Luke previously served as Supervising Producer and Line Producer on shows including The Bachelorette Canada.
Linda Danner is joining Definition 6 as Senior Creative Director/Copywriter. Danner was previously Senior Creative Director at Pilot NYC.
Netflix tapped Sheroum Kim as Director of Independent Films. Kim most recently served as Senior Vice President of Production at STX Entertainment.
Fathom Events hired Andrew Goldman as Vice President of Programming. Goldman was previously SVP/Head of Programming at OWNZONES Entertainment Technologies.
Entertainment Studios announced that Namon Jones has been hired as Vice President of Digital Advertising Sales for ES Digital Group. Jones had been Director of East Coast Digital Ad Sales in New York for BET Networks.
Native advertising platform TripleLift named Andrew Eifler as Senior Vice President of product. Most recently, Eifler served as VP of Product Management for AppNexus.
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| A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE |
[ENTER BY 1/25]
Entries are now open for the 8th Annual Cynopsis Sports Media Awards. This awards program is dedicated to celebrating the work of talented producers, hosts, sponsors and executives alike, and saluting the initiatives that drove audiences and turned sports viewers into fans over the past year. The best and brightest will be gathering on April 25th in NYC to watch as winners are announced, and the best of the best are celebrated in style, so save the date!
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This Day in History: 1878 – The U.S. Senate proposed female suffrage.
Answer to our last trivia question: What blonde bombshell guest-starred on Starsky and Hutch (1975-1979) as an exotic dancer whose co-workers were killed by a vampire? Suzanne Somers. Kudos to: Lisa Ciancarelli-Quarks Insights Consulting/NYC, Andrew Siegel-truTV/NYC, Kathryn Tesoriero-GroupM/NYC, Susan Burchfield-KDNL/St. Louis, MO, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA.
Today’s Trivia Question: Which four-time Oscar nominee starred as a chef in a short-lived sitcom? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: A limit of four correct answers from each time zone will be selected.).
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| CYNOPSISJOBS – For More jobs, please visit Cynopsis.com |
JOB OF THE DAY
NEWSY MEDIA SALES PLANNER
NYC
Work directly w/Sales & AdOps teams to ensure schedule runs as ordered & traffic issues are resolved. Mng nat’l sales proposals, prepare post analysis for clients & resolve contract discrepancies. 2-4 yrs exp in a multi-media sales co, or ad agency pref’d. Familiarity w/rsch products incl Nielsen & MRI.
APPLY HERE
MANAGER, CONTENT DISTRIBUTION, THE AMERICAS/LEGO/LA: Help to develop and foster strong relationships with key existing networks and content platforms. 5+ yrs exp in a content distribution/sales or content strategy role. Understanding of various forms of media. Full info HERE (1/24)
TRAFFIC COPY COORDINATOR/OVATION TV/NYC: (FT freelance) Tech-savvy person w/willingness to learn, a cooperative attitude, att to detail & strong ability to meet changing deadlines in a fast paced- envir. creating house numbers for on air promo and added value elements. Full info HERE (1/24)
NEWSY MEDIA SALES PLANNER/NYC: Work directly w/Sales & AdOps teams to ensure schedule runs as ordered & traffic issues are resolved. Mng nat’l sales proposals, prepare post analysis for clients & resolve contract discrepancies. 2-4 yrs exp in a multi-media sales co, or ad agency pref’d. Familiarity w/rsch products incl Nielsen & MRI. APPLY HERE (1/23)
NBC SALES ENABLEMENT DIRECTOR, SALES OPERATIONS/NBCU Tech Ops/NYC: Empower sales, traffic, research, finance and marketing users across our division to work at peak performance. Min 5 yrs in a similar lead customer support/training function, or a related vendor role. Full info/apply HERE (1/19)
MARKETING COORDINATOR/Cynopsis Media/Norwalk: Temp to hire. Play a critical role in mktg dept for Cynopsis (B2B publisher TV industry). Support mktg team incl event & email plan’g. BA deg mktg/comms. 1-4 mktg exp. Word Press/Excel skills/Event exp a +. Resume to [email protected] (1/19)
Sr. FILM & TV DISTRIBUTION ACCOUNTANT/Second Screen, Inc/LA: Exp’d part-time contractor to set up a system & execute a full report in the quarter after we launch nationally. Potential to join us long term. 7-10 yrs in film or TV distribution with at least 2 years in digital or OTT. Full info/apply HERE (1/18)
DIR AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT & OPERATIONS/NBCUniversal/NY: seeking someone to build and engage audiences across digital, emerging and TV platforms. Work with leaders in research, mktg, edit, engineering, sales and bus dev to implement a strat to retain/monetize audiences. 5 yrs exp in digital audience dev/mktg, BA/BS degree, some travel. Full info/apply HERE (1/18)
TEAM LEADER/CheckpointXP/Detroit: Visionary leader, w/exceptional orgnztnl skills to build/grow the division. Previous exp in brdcast radio & as mktg/promotions dir or event planner a +, but not required. Strong knwldg of Esports/gaming world; strong contacts & networking are a plus. Resume HERE (1/18)
MGR, BENEFITS/A+E/NY: Mng the admin of co-wide Health & Welfare and Retirement plans/programs. Lead contact w/insurance brokers & benefit providers. Point person for employee/vendor questions. 6+ yrs of HR Benefits mgmt exp. Strong tech aptitude w/advanced Excel skills. Workday exp preferable. Apply HERE (1/17)
CLIENT SOLUTIONS COORDINATOR/Telepictures Productions Inc. – WB/CA: Seeking a Client Solutions Coordinator for the TPX Ad Sales department. Responsible for assisting in the dev of cross platform mktg campaigns that generate advertising revenue for TMZ, TMZ Sports and toofab.com. 3+ years in account/project management, marketing or ad sales. Full info/apply HERE (1/17)
SENIOR DIRECTOR CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT/NBC Sports/Golf Channel/Orlando: Develop marketing strategies to drive viewership, consumption & revenue goals across various Golf Channel platforms. 10+ yrs mrkting exp in Media, TV or Sports. Full info/apply HERE (1/17)
MANAGER, INVENTORY/Crown Media Family Networks/NY: Monitor and track all inventory through WideOrbit and Dealmaker. Build ADU packages and analyze and strategize pre and post upfront reporting. Min 2 years exp. in pricing and planning or ad sales req. Apply HERE (1/16)
SR BROADCAST DESIGNER/NESN/Boston: Passionate/motivated self-starter, creative thinker w/ability to multi-task effectively & prioritize accordingly. Demonstrates proficiency in Cinema 4D, After Effects, Photoshop, Illustrator, Mac Computers & Broadcast prod. Min 5 yrs exp brdcst design. Full info/apply HERE (1/16)
Sr. DIRECTOR GLOBAL ACQUISITIONS/A+E/Stamford, CT: Plan, implement, monitor & optimization of content delivery; technical, file-based procurement of Domestic and International content; 10+ yrs exp technical procurement of content cable or broadcast network. Full info/apply HERE (1/16)
POST HEADLINE ACCOUNT EXEC/DIRECTavenue/Carlsbad CA: Exp’d candidate w/sophisticated understanding of media analytics. 10+ yrs of agency client mngmnt exp. Must have exemplary emotional intelligence to help be primary liaison between our agency team & a roster of clients. Full info/apply HERE (1/15)
PRODUCER/Spectrum/Albany: Produce assigned newscasts & news inserts making decisions on story lineup, video/audio elements, graphics and timing to construct show. 3+ yrs TV news exp. Writes news stories for an assigned newscasts. Full info: HERE (1/15)
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT – THURSDAY JANUARY 10
ABC: Modern Family [r], The Goldbergs [r], Truth and Lies: Monica and Bill
CBS: The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Mom, Fam [p], S.W.A.T.
FOX: Gotham, The Orville
NBC: Titan Games, Brooklyn Nine-Nine [p], The Good Place, Law & Order: SVU
PBS: This Old House Hour, Craft in America [r], Antiques Roadshow [r]
CW: Supernatural [r], Roswell: Mysteries Decoded
Telemundo: La Sultana, Falsa Identidad, Senora Acero
Univision: Jesus, Futbol Central, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia, Amar a Muerte
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