Today’s Premieres
CBS: Lingo at 9p
Disney: Superkitties at 10:30a
Disney+: Chasing Waves; Gina Yei
Fox: Celebrity Name That Tune at 8p
HGTV: Brother vs. Brother at 9p
Netflix: Sexify

Today’s Finales
HBO: Hard Knocks in Season: The Arizona Cardinals at 10p
History: Secret Restoration at 10p

IN THE NEWS

“The Golden Globes” returned to NBC last night, after scandals over ethical lapses and the lack of Black members in the Hollywood Foreign Press Association forced the show off the air in 2022. The HFPA underwent reforms enabling the revival of the event, this year hosted by Jerrod Carmichael – and Carmichael didn’t shy away from the elephant in the room. “I’ll tell you why I’m here,” said Carmichael in his opening monologue. “I’m here because I’m Black.” While speeches tended toward heartfelt (and loooong – “You could at least play Suspicious Minds,” joked “Elvis” star Austin Butler as the piano tried to play him off), the audience was, as usual, rowdy – lots of shots of Moët & Chandon – to the point Carmichael had to scold them to quiet down. Biggest TV winners of the night: “Abbott Elementary” for best musical or comedy, “House of the Dragon” for best drama, and “The White Lotus” for limited series. For a full list of winners go here.

Elizabeth Vargas has joined cable net NewsNation. The veteran journalist will anchor “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” an hour-long weekday news program debuting April 3, and serve as a regular contributor to NewsNation programming. “We’re confident that Elizabeth’s honest and empathetic interview style, coupled with her determination to get to the heart of important stories, will strike a chord with viewers,” said Michael Corn, President of News at NewsNation. Vargas hosted ABC’s “20/20” and Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted.”

The Weather Channel has scratched its plans to air the second season of “Mud Mountain Haulers,” and Great Pacific Media has ended its relationship with cast member Craig LeBeau. The logger’s exit is the result of recent revelations of “behavior inconsistent with the values of both GPM and The Weather Channel,” according to a press release.

What’s behind the recent cancellation of so many shows? Dan McDermott, President of Entertainment and AMC Studios, addressed the question during a panel at AMC’s TCA press tour day. “As human behavior continues to evolve, our industry is experiencing an unrivaled period of reflection and correction,” he said. “Factors including rising inflation, challenging ad market, too many shows, and an over reliance on streaming metrics that don’t necessarily deliver profitability, have caused most content companies, including ourselves, to take stock and recalibrate their forward path.” At AMC, which axed series including “Demascus” and “Invitation to a Bonfire,” McDermott says, “We’ve taken critical steps so that going forward, we’re optimally positioned as a lean, progressive, forward-facing organization, poised to take advantage of the myriad opportunities in the marketplace.”

Doing Things Media has acquired social-first media brand Overheard in an all-cash deal. Overheard joins DTM’s existing portfolio of more than 35 original content brands including Recess Therapy, Bob Does Sports, Rad Dad, Neat Mom and Animals Doing Things.

The Directors Guild of America shared the TV nominations for the 75th DGA Awards. Up for drama series are Jason Bateman (“Ozark”), Vince Gilligan (“Better Call Saul”), Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”), Aoife McArdle (“Severance”) and Ben Stiller (“Severance”). Comedy contenders include Tim Burton (“Wednesday”), Bill Hader (“Barry”), Amy Sherman-Palladino (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Christopher Storer (“The Bear”) and Mike White (“The White Lotus”). The awards ceremony takes place February 18.

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Paramount+ handed a straight-to-series order for a TV adaptation of the Dungeons & Dragons game franchise. Rawson Marshall Thurber (“Red Notice”) wrote the pilot and will direct the first episode of the eOne/Paramount Pictures co-production.

A potential series based on John Maxim’s Bannerman spy series is in the works at AMC Networks. The project comes from Shane Black (“Lethal Weapon”), Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”) and Brian Witten (“Creepshow”).

MGM+ unveiled its programming development slate at the TCA press tour. The newly rebranded premium linear channel and streaming service will launch on January 15 in conjunction with the season three premiere of the “Godfather of Harlem.” “It’s a new beginning for our service… MGM+ will deliver on its iconic and beloved studio legacy, with cinematic, sophisticated, and transportive storytelling that audiences love,” said Michael Wright, Head of MGM+. Among the series in development are drama “The Emperor of Ocean Pak,” based on the best-selling novel; “Hoodlum,” based on the 1997 film; “Earth Abides,” based on the novel; and “American Classic,” a comedy starring Kevin Kline.

Revelation Films has acquired the worldwide rights to 2022 autobiography, I Am Norwell Roberts. Revelation is developing a documentary feature with plans to expand into scripted, told against a backdrop of social and political events from each decade of the life and career of UK’s first Black Met police officer.

A second installment of “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip: Ex-Wives Club” will premiere later this year as the fourth season of Peacock’s “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” franchise. Season three kicks off this spring.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

The first six episode of the eighth and final season of AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead” will premiere May 14 at 9p. But it’s hardly the end of the road for the “Walking Dead” franchise. Spinoff series “The Walking Dead: Dead City,” starring Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, will launch in June, with “The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon” arriving later this year. An untitled spinoff centered on the characters Rick and Michonne is slated for 2024.

“School Spirits” debuts Thursday, March 9 on Paramount+. The YA series focuses on a teen girl stuck in the afterlife investigating her mysterious disappearance.

Also coming up on Paramount+ is “Fatal Attraction.” The drama, based on the 1987 film, premieres April 30 with two back-to-back episodes.

Premiere dates at MGM+ include limited series “A Spy Among Friends” (March 12), season two of sci-fi horror series “FROM” (April 23) and true-crime docuseries “Murf the Surf” (February 5).

STREAMING

Season two of “Ginny & Georgia” is sitting at the top of Netflix’s English-language TV chart for the week of January 2, with 180.47 hours viewed. Number two was “Kaleidoscope,” which clocked 112.32 hours its first full week on the service.

Cinedigm has begun adding more than 18,000 additional film and television episodes to Cineverse, its flagship streaming service, through an expanded distribution agreement with leading independent film distributor, Filmhub. The deal between the two companies marks the first major third-party content transaction completed on behalf of Cineverse, which launched this past September.

In related news, adtech platform TripleLift has partnered with Cinedigm to launch in-show advertising for brands and advertisers across Cineverse, along with FAST channels including The Bob Ross Channel, Realmadrid TV, The Dove Channel and more. Powered by Triplelift’s In-Show programmatic technology, Cinedigm’s Dynamic Overlay and Split-Screen ad units are contextually aligned to the content and delivered dynamically, enabling these products to be measurable and targetable, and allow brands to leverage the Demand-Side Platform of their choice.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

The first season of “Thursday Night Football” coverage on Prime Video didn’t measure up to past linear ratings, but finished the season with the youngest median age (47) of any NFL broadcast package since 2013, and an 11% lift over the previous season among P18-34 (2.11 million). “Amazon has earned a strong reputation for making big bets, and given the unprecedented scale of this challenge and the hallowed place that NFL coverage holds among millions of fans, the launch of Thursday Night Football ranks high among our most ambitious enterprises,” said Jay Marine, VP, Prime Video, and Global Head of Sports. “We are only at the beginning of a long-term mission, but are ecstatic with the results and achievements of this first season, bringing millions of viewers to Prime Video every week.”

DAZN Group is partnering with social media star KSI and his promotional company Misfits Boxing. The deal, in association with the Sauerland brothers, Wasserman Boxing and Proper Loud, will see all KSI fights and MF&DAZN: X Series events broadcast exclusively on DAZN for the next five years. “This is a massive agreement between everyone involved with Misfits Boxing,” said KSI. “It just shows everyone is here to establish a long-serving crossover boxing promotion that aims to provide ultimate entertainment and somewhere the fans and fighters can call home. There’s no better way to celebrate this deal than with me fighting on Jan 14th and setting up a huge 2023. Misfits Boxing has arrived and is here to stay.”

With Bally Sports RSNs being added to FuboTV, the service is adding a regional sports fee of $11-14/month. The price for the base live streaming plan is also being raised by $5, to $74.99/month.

Global Polo Entertainment has extended its relationship with ESPN for two years. “The USPA views the ESPN relationship with great optimism for attracting an entirely new generation of young men and women to the greatest game on four legs,” said Stewart Armstrong, Chairman of USPA Global Licensing.

All Sports Television Network struck a deal with the Women’s Football League to broadcast exhibition and regular season games, as well as a docuseries introducing the league. “With very few exceptions, women’s sports have been minimalized or ignored by broadcast media,” said Roger Neal Smith, President of All Sports. “We want to be on the forefront of bringing more attention to women’s sports because we believe that the public has an interest in viewing the competition. Introducing the WFL to the public is a great way to begin accomplishing that goal.”

Tennis Channel’s annual Australian Open telecast will take place January 15-29, including daily analysis, highlights, news and encore replays. The program will run at 5p every day of the two-week tournament (with a 6p start-time exception on Wednesday, January 18). This is Tennis Channel’s 16th year of Australian Open coverage.

Sixty-nine percent of gamers are open to non-disruptive in-game ads, according to research from Integral Ad Science, with 61% saying they prefer to see ads that are related to the content of the game they’re playing. Placement is key – 44% of gamers said they are likely to avoid purchasing from brands that advertise near risky content.

Dunkin’, TD Garden, and NESN announced an expansive partnership for the 2023 Dunkin’ Beanpot Tournament. The Dunkin’ Beanpot men’s semifinals will take place on February 6 when Boston College faces Harvard at 5p followed by Boston University against Northeastern at 8p. The Championship game will take place on February 13 at 7:30p.

TECH TALK

Meta is making it harder to target ads to teens. “We recognize that teens aren’t necessarily as equipped as adults to make decisions about how their online data is used for advertising, particularly when it comes to showing them products available to purchase,” said the company in a blog post. “For that reason, we’re further restricting the options advertisers have to reach teens, as well as the information we use to show ads to teens.” Meta is also offering teens a way to control the types of ads they are shown.

Streaming technology company Brightcove has entered into a strategic relationship with Magnite, the sell-side advertising platform. Magnite will power advertising for any Brightcove customer, and Brightcove will integrate the SpringServe ad server to provide publishers with greater control, insight, and transparency into available ad supply. “This integration with Magnite and SpringServe is a key step to enabling us to provide our customers with best-in-class solutions to meet their needs, allowing them to increase their ad fill rate and generate better CPMs,” said Marc DeBevoise, CEO of Brightcove.

COMING UP

Turner Classic Movies will honor production designer Patrizia von Brandenstein and actor, dancer, choreographer, director and artist Russ Tamblyn during the 14th annual TCM Classic Film Festival. The event takes place April 13-16 in Hollywood.

GOING GLOBAL

Blue Ant International announced a presale deal with BBC America for two Love Nature original documentary productions. “Chasing the Rains” follows animal matriarchs as they attempt to protect their families from a drought in Africa, and “Africa’s Wild Year” focuses on how animals adapt to sweeping weather variations across the continent.

Gutsy Animations’ animated series Moominvalley has been recommissioned for a fourth season by anchor broadcasters Sky (UK) and Yle (Finland). Additionally, and new for season four, Viaplay Group has boarded Moominvalley as a co-production partner and will air all four seasons on its Viaplay streaming platform in multiple territories, including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands.

Sesame Workshop’s “Sesame Street Mecha Builders,” the first fully animated Sesame Street spinoff series, has been acquired by Channel 5’s Milkshake!. The series is slated to premiere on the channel in spring 2023.

ITV Studios has secured sales ahead of the ITN Productions’ and ITV1 and ITVX special “Harry: The Interview.” The 90-minute program, broadcast on January 8 in the UK, has now aired in 77 territories around the world across Europe, Africa and the Middle East as well as Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada and Brazil.

Japan’s Nippon TV announced that FOX Turkey is airing “Taçs?z Prenses,” the Turkish version of its hit series “Without Family.” The series is produced by MF Yapim.

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RATINGS

All three “NCIS” series beat season highs on Monday with a crossover event, handing CBS its most-watched Monday since April’s NCAA championship game.

The Saturday, January 7 premiere of Hallmark Channel’s “Wedding Veil Expectations” averaged 2.5 million viewers and 291,000 W25-54, according to Nielsen Live+SD data, making it the most-watched program of the week on entertainment cable, and elevating Hallmark Channel to be the most watched entertainment cable net of the week in both Total Day and Primetime.

The season 15 premiere of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” moved from VH1 to MTV, was its highest-rated debut in six years, up 20% in the A18-49 demo to 0.63. The show was also the #1 cable entertainment show of the day.

Basic Cable Top 10 for the week of January 10
Network, P2+ AA (000s)
Primetime
ESPN 2705
Fox News 2062
MSNBC 1374
Hallmark Channel 982
CNN 918
HGTV 836
History 763
TBS 727
TLC 677
INSP 676
Total Day
Fox News 1444
ESPN 1199
MSNBC 950
CNN 740
Hallmark Channel 505
HGTV 467
ID 404
History 382
Food Network 380
INSP 376
Source: Nielsen

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Allen Media Group has promoted Andrew Temple to Chief Operating Officer of Broadcast Sales & Syndication. Temple was previously President of Domestic Television Distribution.

Spectrum Reach has appointed Jason Brown as SVP, Chief Revenue Officer, effective January 30. Brown, who is replacing the retiring Beth Plummer, was most recently SVP, Advertising Sales at DirecTV.

Kristin Wnuk has joined Madhive as SVP of Sales. Wnuk launched the local advertising sales departments at Roku and Hulu.

Sabio Holdings has named Humera Kassem as Chief People Officer. Before joining Sabio, Kassem held Chief People Officer positions at Jamba Juice and Good Smoke Restaurant Group.

Ben Cavey has been appointed Head of Comedy and Entertainment at 42. Cavey recently finished production on a special and season four of “Bad Education” for the BBC.

IN MEMORIAM

TV and film editor Rick Tuber died January 7 of a heart attack. He was 69. Tuber’s numerous credits include “ER,” “Wiseguy,” and “Bones.”

This Day in History
1938 – Frances Moulton was elected the first woman president of a US national bank.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Two series, launched in 1955 and 1983, were based on which film? “Casablanca.” Kudo to: Doug Boynton-WHRO/Norfolk, VA; Mark Selby-Melbar Entertainment Group/Toronto; Joe Lyons-Fox Sports/FL; Andrew Goldman-Grooveee/NYC: Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Adam Leston-Weigel Broadcasting/Milwaukee; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which 1980s sitcom was based on a 1960s country song that also spawned a 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 answers per time zone.)

Cynopsis Team