| A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM A&E |
A&E’S LIVE PD IS THE MOST WATCHED SERIES ON CABLE*:
Television’s FIRST LIVE law enforcement franchise is still the BIGGEST, still the BEST, and still the #1 justice series in cable** among all key demos.
LIVE PD FRI & SAT 9/8c
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| A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE |
A celebration (and networking opportunity) not to be missed!
Wednesday, February 6th | 11:45AM – 2PM | NYC
Join the party as television’s most talented execs compete for the win. TV Awards finalists will be honored, and winners announced, along with our impressive 2019 Rising Stars during an awards event hosted by comedian and hypnotist Chris Jones. Click here to view all finalists and honorees.
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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
Pilot season orders are officially out of the gate with NBC’s nod to two dramas –Prism and Bluff City Law (working title). The former, from Daniel and Ben Barnz’s We’re Not Brothers Productions, Carol Mendelsohn and Julie Weitz, is inspired by Rashomon, the 1950 Japanese psychological thriller. Legal drama Bluff City Law, from The Brave creator Dean Georgaris and David Janollari, follows the lawyers of an elite Memphis law firm that specializes in controversial landmark civil rights cases. Universal Studios is the studio for both.
HBO is developing comedy Counterfeit, from husband-and-wife writers Andrew Gettens and Lauren Mackenzie (Hit & Run) and Jessica Rhoades’ (Sharp Objects) Pacesetter Productions. Part of Rhoades’ first-look deal with the network, series follows a couple who begin counterfeiting money to pay for IVF when they learn there’s no way they can conceive on their own. Gettens and Mackenzie will exec-produce with Rhoades via Pacesetter Productions.
Netflix gave the green light to eight-ep series Shadow and Bone, based on Leigh Bardugo’s fantasy novels Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows Grishaverse. Project is from Eric Heisserer, scribe of Netflix’s hit feature Bird Box, and Shawn Levy, exec producer of Stranger Things, and falls under Netflix’s overall deal for Levy’s 21 Laps.
TBS will remake German comedy Arthur’s Law after securing from its parent company format rights to the series (known locally as Arthurs Gesetz) as well as the rights to run the German version with subtitles. Show, about an unemployed unhappily married man whose plans to knock off his wife are continually foiled, is the first original comedy from Turner’s German network TNT Comedy.
Caught in Providence, Debmar-Mercury’s courtroom series featuring viral sensation Judge Frank Caprio that’s co-produced with Citylife Productions, will return for a second season in national syndication after becoming this season’s fastest-rising first-run freshman strip.
Wheelhouse Entertainment, founded last year by Brent Montgomery, and Jimmy Kimmel’s Kimmelot, announced an investment and partnership deal with digital content studio Portal A, named as Cynopsis Digital Studio of the Year. Founded by Nate Houghteling, Kai Hasson and Zach Blume, Portal A’s content has generated more than 1 billion views for clients including Amazon, Clorox, HBO, P&G, Warner Bros. and more.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Nature – Equus: Story of the Horse, a two-part Nature series on the relationship between humans and horses, begins Wednesday, January 16, at 8p on PBS stations.
Smiley Face Killers: The Hunt for Justice, a new show produced by 44 Blue and Blumhouse TV, will premiere on Oxygen on Saturday, January 19, at 7p. Series follows an active private investigation spearheaded by retired NYPD Detective Kevin Gannon that questions whether the country’s most notorious string of mysterious accidental drownings aren’t accident but connected homicides.
Celebrity rap battle series Drop the Mic and classic game-show reboot Snoop Dogg Presents The Joker’s Wild head to new network TNT from sister net TBS on Wednesday, January 23, at 10p and 10:30p, respectively. They’ll encore the following night on TBS.
WGN America will bow series Pure on Wednesday, January 23, at 10p. The six-ep drama follows a newly elected Mennonite pastor determined to rid his community of the scourge of drugs.
Showtime dropped a trailer for season 9 of Shameless, which bows Sunday, January 25, at 9p. Emmy Rossum’s final season finds her character, Fiona, continuing her downward plunge, while it looks like Frank (William H. Macy) may be a father again.
“It’s disruptive, unpredictable, irreverent and incredibly fun.” Those are but a few of the reasons Carolyn Bernstein, EVP of Global Scripted Development and Production at Nat Geo, says limited series Valley of the Boom (premiering Sunday, January 13, at 9p) is like nothing you’ve seen before. Bernstein shares more about the tech boom show in Cynsiders.
Netflix dropped the first season 3 trailer for One Day at a Time ahead of its February 8 launch, introducing viewers to the extended Alvarez family including Gloria Estefan, who guests as Lydia’s estranged sister Mirtha.
The CW set the spring premiere date for new series In the Dark for Thursday, April 4, at 9p, plus the returns of The 100, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and the final seasons of Jane the Virgin and iZombie. DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Arrow move to Monday nights beginning in April. Legends debuts April 1 in a new timeslot of 8p; Arrow premieres Monday, April 15, also at new time of 9p. Jane the Virgin’s final sail begins Wednesday, March 27, at 9p; iZombie’s fifth and final season begins Thursday, May 2, at 8p. The 100 returns for its sixth season Tuesday, April 30, at 9p.
Cynopsis is about to wrap up the call for entries for the Social Good Awards and we can’t wait to spotlight media’s champions of social change. We’re actively sourcing new judges to join our expert panel, so if you’re interested, please fill out this brief survey to apply. All judges will be thanked in our edition and on the awards website.
COMING UP
Michael Jackson documentary Leaving Neverland will air on HBO and Channel 4 after its Sundance Film Festival debut January 25. The doc, directed by Dan Reed and produced by Reed’s AMOS Pictures for HBO and the British broadcaster, examines longstanding accusations of sexual abuse against Jackson.
Starz acquired four new documentaries: Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, a behind-the-scenes look at how the original Cowboys cheerleaders became controversial pop culture phenoms; Of Fathers and Sons, a likely contender for the 2019 Oscars Documentary Feature; Inside My Heart; and Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco. All will debut on the network this spring.
For the eighth year in a row, Cynopsis Sports will shine a light on exceptional initiatives on behalf of networks, leagues and brands, saluting work that drove audiences and turned sports viewers into fans. Entries for the Sports Media Awards are due by January 25, so get started today.
DIGITAL DATA
Now hear this: Hulu, which struck a partnership with Amazon this fall to make Hulu available on the Alexa-powered tablet Echo Show, found that voice dramatically escalated the amount of time people tuned in. Echo Show lets viewers use voice commands to tune to content. “People who use Alexa are watching 50 percent more television,” Hulu CMO Kelly Campbell said in a CES interview reported by Deadline. “You don’t have to get your phone out or pull out a remote.”
Speaking of Amazon, the company is making moves in the ad-supported VOD space with IMDb Freedive, a supply of back-catalog film and TV content viewable via a free streaming channel in the U.S. TV shows on IMDb Freedive are diverse, including past seasons of The Bachelor, Fringe, Gilligan’s Island and Quantum Leap.
Also in Amazon-land, stock held firm yesterday after Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos announced plans to divorce after 25 years of marriage. Jeff Bezos’ net worth has been estimated at $137 billion, most of it from his 16 percent ownership stake in Amazon.
Open source video player app VLC celebrated the approach of its 3 billionth download Friday, and creators VideoLAN team marked the milestone with a download counter at their booth at CES.
Among PBS’ programming to commemorate Black History Month is digital series Say It Loud, coming in February to YouTube and Facebook Watch. Series, hosted by YouTubers Evelyn Ngugi of Evelyn From the Internets and Azie Dungey, writer/creator of Ask a Slave, is part cultural critique, part talk show and part history lesson.
Danny Trejo will serve as ring announcer for Karate Combat: Hollywood, the first LA stop for the startup martial arts league that’s expanding to 10 events this year. The 10-fight card is set for January 24 at the Avalon Hollywood and will stream at karate.com and its apps.
ADVERTISING
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises announced the integrated sponsors for the Spanish-language version of NBC’s The Voice, premiering on Telemundo Sunday, January 13, at 9p. Sprint is official voting sponsor, State Farm will provide a branded backstage area and Toyota will showcase its new RAV4 as automotive sponsor.
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| A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE |
** ENTER BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (FRIDAY, JAN 11) **
What’s in store for the winners? We’re glad you asked.
1. Special Report & Edition Coverage
2. Sizzle Reel @ ALL 2019 Cynopsis Events
3. Discount to 2019 Cynopsis Events
4. Promotion on Social Media
CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED
Need help with your entries? Contact Cathy Pearson at 203.899.8470
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RATINGS
In syndication news, while low-viewing and preemptions for holiday specials turned the lights out for most first-run strips in the Christmas week session ending December 30, several top off-net weekly hours celebrated double-digit increases, including Law & Order: Criminal Intent (new season high 1.6 live plus same-day national Nielsen rating, up 23% from the week before), American Ninja Warrior (new season high 1.5, up 36%) and the weekly version of Chicago P.D. (new season high 1.4, up 17%). Honors for highest ratings in the category went to the weekly version of Dateline (3.4, steady).
In first run, shows moving up were few and far between. However, Live with Kelly and Ryan (2.3, up 5%) – which aired taped and repackaged shows for part of the week – rose to the occasion and equaled its best ratings of the season. But that was the only talk show able to break into positive territory during the holiday week. Dr Phil (2.3, down 21%), in reruns all five days, tied with Kelly and Ryan.
Buoyed by its best New York Yankees ratings in six years, YES Network finished 2018 as the most-watched regional sports network in the country in both Primetime and Total Day. This marks the 14th time in 16 years that YES has been the most-watched RSN in the country. Among highlights: YES averaged 25,000 HHs in Total Day in the New York DMA in 2018, 39% greater than the #2 RSN, NESN, which averaged 18,000 TV HHs.
Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions): Wednesday, January 9, 2018, time period averages
Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated Live+SD
NBC: 7.87 million
Chicago Med 8.64, Chicago Fire 8.08, Chicago P.D. 6.91
ABC: 4.08 million
The Goldbergs 5.13, Schooled 4.77, Modern Family 4.84, Single Parents 3.10, Match Game 2.65
CBS: 5.53 million
The Big Bang Theory 6.45, Young Sheldon 5.59, SEAL Team 5.54, Criminal Minds 4.54
FOX: 5.28 million
Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back 3.51, The Masked Singer 7.06,
Telemundo: 890,000
La Sultana .87, Falsa Identidad .90, Senora Acero V .64
Univision: 1.0 million
Jesus 0.96, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia 1.0, Amar a Muerte .91
CW: 0.48 million
All American 0.53, All American 0.43
Wednesday A18-49 Ratings: ABC 1.0/5, FOX 1.7/7, NBC 1.2/5, CBS .9/4, UNI .5/2, TELE .3/1, CW .1/1
EXECUTIVE MOVES
Gary Levine and Jana Winograde have been promoted to the roles of co-presidents of entertainment at Showtime Networks Inc., where they’ll oversee all aspects of Showtime Nets programming across all genres.
Warner Bros. veteran Jay Levine has been elevated to the newly created post of EVP, television business strategy and digital services, Warner Bros. Entertainment. Levine most recently was EVP, Warner Bros. Digital Networks.
IN MEMORIAM
Early sitcom star Mary Kay Stearns died November 17 in Newport Beach, Calif. She was 93. Stearns, along with her husband, Johnny Stearns, starred in domestic comedy Mary Kay and Johnny. The sitcom, which debuted in 1947, has one major claim to trivia fame: It beat I Love Lucy by four years for having a star’s pregnancy written into the script – in 1948.
Friday Fun Fact: Sales of marijuana reached $1.5 billion in 2017, up 15 percent over 2016.
This Day in History: 1935 – Amelia Earhart Putnam became the first woman to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
Answer to our last trivia question: Which four-time Oscar nominee starred as a chef in a short-lived sitcom? Bradley Cooper, in Kitchen Confidential (2005). Kudos to: Joel Maxwell/NY; Phyllis McQuillan-MSG Networks/NY; Charlie Conner-KOKI/KMYT/Tulsa, OK; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Elizabeth Wendorf-Blackwood Seven/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; /Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank
Today’s Trivia Question: What movie was on the marquee in the opening scene of 1979 Taxi episode “Hollywood Calling,” when a director comes to the garage to interview cabbies for fodder for an upcoming film? (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
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
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 – FRIDAY JANUARY 11
ABC: Fresh Off the Boat, Speechless, 20/20
CBS: MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods
CW: Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
FOX: Last Man Standing, The Cool Kids, Hell’s Kitchen
NBC: Blind Spot, Blacklist, Dateline NBC
PBS: Washington Week, Firing Line, Great Performances
Telemundo: La Sultana, Falsa Identidad, Senora Acero
Univision: Jesus, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia, Amar a Muerte
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