IN THE NEWS

Fox Television Stations announced the debut of a live, interactive, ad-supported OTT channel positioned for African-American viewers. Fox Soul will “celebrate black culture and highlight the real topics that affect the everyday lives of the African-American community through frank and insightful dialogue,” said the company. Programming includes originals as well as locally produced Fox TV shows. “Fox Soul slaps down misnomers about our people and celebrates our culture and our excellence,” said Tammi Mac, host of The Tammi Mac Late Show. “I could not have asked for a better platform to speak greatness about and into my community.”

Showtime ordered an eleventh and final season of Shameless, it was announced at the TCA Winter Press Tour. “It will be one last hurrah for the Gallaghers and their unique blend of love and lechery,” Showtime co-president Gary Levine said during the opening presentation. “John Wells and his gifted cast promise to take Shameless out with a bang, and knowing the Gallaghers as we all do, that’s no idle threat.” Also coming back are The L Word: Generation Q and comedy Work in Progress for 10-episode second seasons.

As Showtime’s Homeland comes to an end this season, series creators and executive producers Alex Gansa and Howard Gordon have teamed up with director Greg Barker for The Longest War, which will explore the human stories behind America’s involvement in Afghanistan. The doc will premiere on Showtime on Sunday, April 19 at 10p, following the penultimate episode of Homeland.

Allies of President Trump are looking into acquiring conservative news channel One America News Network, reports the Wall Street Journal. Investment company Hicks Equity Partners is talking to GOP donors with the aim of making a bid of about $250 million for the channel, which has been praised by Trump. Not that that’s the reason Hicks is attempting the purchase, said Rick Newman, a partner at the company who is leading the deal. “Over the last 25 years, we have been active media investors. Any interest in OANN is from a purely business standpoint,” Newman said. One America News is owned by Herring Networks Inc.

Netflix landed the most Oscar nominations, with 24 (including 10 for The Irishman). Disney (including 20th Century Fox, Searchlight and National Geographic) was a close second, with 23 nods, followed by 20 for Sony Pictures.

Abby Huntsman is leaving her perch on ABC talker The View after 16 months to help her father, Jon Huntsman’s gubernatorial campaign in Utah, and spend more time with her family. “I always will appreciate this opportunity, but as you guys known, my number one priority has always been my family,” said Huntsman on Monday.

As cord-cutting increases, Antennas Direct has acquired Mohu, to become the largest company in the US delivering TV antennas to the over-the-air market. Antennas Direct will integrate Mohu’s indoor antennas alongside Cord Cutters’ outdoor antennas, ClearStream. The efficiencies generated are expected allow Antennas Direct to invest in research to further the category.

Video company Jellysmack announced it has paid out millions in advertising profit commissions to partners of its newly launched “Creator’s Program” in the first four months. “It’s been so exciting to witness the massive and engaging audiences we have been able to unlock for partners in such a short period of time by leveraging our insights and technology” said Michael Philippe, CEO and co-founder of Jellysmack. So far, Jellysmack has driven more than 4.8 billion views and 11 million combined followers across Facebook and Snap for the initial 25 plus video influencers it signed on to be a part of the program.

Fox News Channel signed Alex Hogan as a general assignment reporter. Since 2017, Hogan has served as a morning news reporter and fill-in anchor for WFMZ-TV in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Scripps Broadcasting will pay $1.13 million to settle an FCC investigation related to the 2018 crash of a small plane into a Cordillera TV tower in Louisiana. Scripps had agreed to abide by the results of an ongoing investigation into a tower lighting issue when it purchased the stations.

Register for the 5th Annual Cynopsis Rising Star Awards before Thursday to save $100/ticket and be there as we honor stand-out performers, innovators and emerging leaders in the media industry. Honorees will be recognized at the Cynopsis Best Of The Best Awards luncheon where award winners will be announced and Rising Stars will be celebrated (view honorees).

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Marblemedia has acquired the rights to The Other Boy, M.G. Hennessey’s bestseller about a transgender boy on the cusp of puberty. The novel will be developed as a light comedic drama series for family audiences, with Hennessey onboard as a consultant.

Back Roads Entertainment announced the launch of its new headquarters in Austin, Texas, and the appointment of Bret Calvert, whose writing and producing credits include The Biggest Loser, Winsanity and American Bible Challenge, among others, as VP of Development. Back Roads will relocate key staff to Austin, including Manager of Development Alexis O’Donnell.

The sports media industry has had an incredible year filled with innovative content, strategic partnerships and impressive talent and The Cynopsis Sports Media Awards is HERE FOR IT. Click here to enter and let us know what your team has been up to. Need help? Reach out to Marketing Manager Cathy Person with any questions.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

During its turn at the Winter TCA Press Tour, Showtime announced premiere dates for new and returning shows and docu-series. Four-part doc The Trade premieres March 6; Don Cheadle comedy Black Monday is back for season two on March 15 at 10p; docu-series Vice, formerly at HBO, will be revived March 29 at 8p; Penny Dreadful: City of Angels makes its debut April 26 at 10p; Billions returns for season five on May 3 at 9p; Love Fraud will launch at the Sundance Film Festival, then land on TV May 8; and season three of The Chi arrives July 5 at 10p.

Sports docu-series All or Nothing returns to Amazon Prime Video on Friday, February 7, this time focused on the Philadelphia Eagles. Jon Hamm (Mad Men) is back as narrator of the eight episodes.

Season three of comedic mystery series Agatha Raisin starts streaming on Acorn TV on Monday, February 10, with three movie-length installments airing weekly.

COMING UP

TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar programming stunt is back for the 25th year. The showcase kicking off February 1 celebrates “360 Degrees of Oscar,” with each featured film connected to the following film by an actor or actress starring in both pictures.

TECH TALK

The Weather Company showed off a redesigned look and capabilities for its Max platform at the 2020 AMS (American Meteorological Society) meeting. Tools to help broadcasters analyze weather data include custom triggers that automatically monitor for weather, coupled with a decluttering algorithm to rank the severity of storms, to make sure viewers get the most important updates first.

Nexstar Digital announced it has entered into a multiyear partnership with Mediaocean and its Connect Partner Program. The partnership enables advertisers to use Mediaocean’s Spectra Platform to access Nexstar’s premium OTT, digital video, display, streaming audio and linear broadcast inventory, and shape multi-channel, multi-market media buys across OTT, linear television and all other digital channels. “At Nexstar Digital, our entire value proposition is based on increasing the reach, effectiveness and efficiency of our client’s advertising, and this new partnership with Mediaocean marks the latest iteration of that effort,” said Warren Kay, Chief Revenue Officer, Nexstar Digital (For more on the deal, go here.)

Adobe unveiled Adobe Experience Manager as a cloud-native SaaS application, part of Adobe Experience Cloud. It had been available as a managed service, but was not pure cloud-native. “Adobe Experience Manager as a Cloud Service supercharges organizations’ abilities to create, manage and deliver more campaigns, digital assets and experiences faster than ever before,” said Loni Stark, senior director of strategy and product marketing at Adobe. “It creates a compelling offer for mid-size companies and enterprises that are increasingly transforming to adopt advanced digital tools but need more simplicity and flexibility to support their changing business models.”

ADVERTISING

Beta Research released the results of the Fall 2019 Ad Executive Study-Evaluation of Basic Cable Networks/Broadcast Networks. On percent of ad executives planning to increase ad spending on network in the next 12 months, ESPN ranked first (56%) followed by HGTV (50%), Food Network (46%), Discovery Channel (43%), ESPN2 (38%), History (38%), CNN(36%), TNT (36%) and TBS(36)%).The top five were about the same as in 2018. Two were ESPN nets; three were Discovery Networks. Rank for History increased from 10th in 2018 to 5th tied in 2019.

On percent receiving high scores for providing creative marketing and promotion opportunities, the top ranked basic networks were ESPN (61%), HGTV (59%), Food Network (56%), Discovery Channel (53%), Bravo (44%), Freeform(42%), Hallmark Channel (42%) and MTV (42%). In comparison to 2018, rankings increased for Freeform and Hallmark Channel.

On percent receiving high scores on providing creative/innovative multi-platform opportunities, the top-ranked basic network organizations were Disney Advertising Sales (74%), NBCUniversal Advertising Sales (73%), Discovery Networks (70%) and Viacom Marketing and Partner Solutions (64%), while on percent receiving high scores on having a desirable programming environment in which to advertise, the top ranked basic networks were ESPN (83%), HGTV (82%), Food Network (82%), Discovery Channel (73%), ESPN2 (64%) and NBCSN (61%).

STREAMING

Tubi entered a content deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for Season 22 of The Bachelor, featuring real estate agent and race car driver Arie Luyendyk Jr. Season 22 joins Tubi’s current offering of the first seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, Season 13 of The Bachelorette, as well as the fifth season of Bachelor in Paradise.

GOING GLOBAL

Northern Irish independent production company Green Inc. has been commissioned by public broadcaster BBC Northern Ireland to produce original factual entertainment format Tricked Out Tractors, focused on experts who transform people’s prized tractors.

Looks like Japan is getting Younger. Endemol Shine International secured a deal with NHK Enterprises Japan for the Darren Star-created TV Land series.

PODCASTS

Tegna announced the launch of The Officer’s Wife, a six-episode podcast series by Tegna’s Vault Studios. The podcast examines the 2016 shooting of Jessica Boynton in a small town in Georgia. Produced in partnership with 11Alive (WXIA), Tegna’s NBC affiliate in Atlanta which originally investigated the case, The Officer’s Wife tells what really happened the night two gunshots rang out in Boynton’s home. (For more, go here.)

CASTING

Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) has joined the season two cast of Apple TV+ series See, starring Jason Momoa…Gael Garcia Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle) will recur on HBO Max post-apocalyptic drama Station Eleven.

Hallmark Channel ranked as the highest-rated and most-watched cable network among W25-54 in the fourth quarter for the fourth consecutive year. For the sixth year in a row, the net also ranked as the #1 entertainment network in Q4 among Women 18+, helped by “Countdown to Christmas,” the year’s most-watched holiday programming event on cable.

Univision dance competition Mira Quién Baila All Stars reached over 4 million Total Viewers 2+ who tuned in to all or part of the two-hour season two premiere on Sunday. The show averaged 1.9 million Total Viewers 2+, 729,000 A18-49 and 316,000 A18-34.

Night 2 of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time grew over the prior night in Live+3 Nielsens to average 16.5 million viewers (+2%), holding even with night 1 among A18-49 (2.7/13), and ranking as Wednesday’s dominant #1 program in Total Viewers and A18-49.

Shareablee Top 10 TV Shows for the week of January 6
Program, Network, Total Actions, Total Content, Actions per Content, Fans & Followers
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (WB/syndicated) 19.8M, 132, 150,135, 193.8M
E! News (E!) 18.1M, 1,219, 14,826, 36.8M
Entertainment Tonight (WB/syndicated) 2.3M, 766, 3,022, 8.6M
Today Show (NBC) 2.2M, 867, 2,482, 13.4M
The Daily Show (Comedy Central) 2M, 109, 18,018, 21.4M
Good Morning America (ABC) 1.1M, 899, 1,199, 13.5M
Dr. Phil (CBS/syndicated) 979K, 153, 6,403, 7.5M
The Bachelor (ABC) 944K, 127, 7,430, 3.9M
The Real (WB/syndicated) 747K, 176, 4,245, 3.3M
black-ish (ABC) 708K, 91, 7,784, 2M

Tunity Analytics Top Weekly National Out-of-Home Viewer Rankings for Entertainment Programs for the week of January 6
Program, OOH Viewers (000)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox) 1279
Jeopardy: GOAT 1/8 (ABC) 683
NCIS (CBS) 672
Jeopardy: GOAT 1/9 (ABC) 573
Lincoln Rymes: Hunt for the Bone Collector (NBC) 545
Jeopardy: GOAT 1/7 (ABC) 492
Bless the Harts (Fox) 443
The Bachelor (ABC) 283
FBI (CBS) 252
Beachfront Bargain Hunt 1/9 (HGTV) 25
Source: Tunity Analytics. Viewing estimates are derived from the Tunity mobile app usage. OOH impressions are calculated using Tunity Analytics propriety estimation model.

TV Time’s Shows on the Rise for the Week of January 6
FBI: Most Wanted (CBS) – 99.9%
Jeopardy! (ABC) – 99.8%
Fear by the Lake (TF1) – 97.3%
Sam (TF1) – 94.5%
Infinity Train (Cartoon Network) – 94.4%
Plunderer (Tokyo MX) – 94.1%
Zumbo’s Just Desserts (Seven Network) – 92.4%
The Bachelor (ABC) – 92%
Party of Five (Freeform) – 90.4%
The Real Housewives of New Jersey (Bravo) – 86.7%
Methodology: Every week, millions of viewers around the world use TV Time to track their favorite series. “Shows on the Rise” is calculated by determining the week-over-week growth in episodes watched for a given program.

Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions) Friday, January 10 time period averages
Source: Nielsen Live+SD
CBS: 7.51 million
Hawaii Five-0 7.60, Magnum P.I. 7.07, Blue Bloods 7.87
NBC: 4.18 million
Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector 4.39, Dateline 4.07
ABC: 3.11 million
American Housewife 3.42, Fresh Off the Boat 2.29, 20/20 3.23
FOX: 2.50 million
WWE Friday Night Smackdown 2.50
UNIVISION 1.54 million
Ringo 1.50, Amor Eterno 1.67, El Dragon 1.45
CW: 0.90 million
Penn & Teller: Fool Us 1.09, Whose Line Is It Anyway? 0.74, Whose Line Is It Anyway? 0.67
TELEMUNDO: 0.83 million
Decisiones: Unos Ganan 0.78, La Dona 0.75, El Senor de los Cielos 0.96

Thursday A18-49 Ratings
FOX 0.8/4, CBS 0.7/4, ABC 0.6/3, UNI 0.5/3, TELE 0.3/1, CW 0.2/1

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Starcom USA has tapped Chris Williams to serve as President/Chief Investment Officer. Moving from PMX UK, where he was CEO, Williams will succeed Kristina Lutz, who will work on consulting projects within Publicis Media Network. As part of the transition, Maureen Glure is promoted to Chief Client Officer, and Willie Jackson upped to SVP/Director of Solutions Architects.

Nick Briscoe is joining Food Network as VP of Programming and Development with oversight of new series, specials, as well as current programming. Dana Volkmer-Jones is also onboard the net, as Director of Programming and Development for its LA-based team. Briscoe was most recently showrunner on a variety of Food Network titles, while Volkmer-Jones served as Senior Director of Development, West Coast at Truly Original.

Jennifer Geisser has been promoted to EVP, Communications and Talent Relations for the Lifestyle Group (Bravo, E! Oxygen, Universal Kids and Hayu), at NBCUniversal. Geisser joined the company in 2011 as SVP, Communications for Bravo. Three other execs also landed promotions: Chloe Ellers Bremner has been upped to SVP, Communications for Bravo, Oxygen & Universal Kids; Julia Nietsch has been elevated to VP, Communications, Lifestyle Networks; and Ryan McCormick has been promoted to VP, Communications, E!.

Dan Kupetz has been appointed EVP, Business Affairs and Operations at 20th Century Fox Television, effective in March. Kupetz, most recently EVP, Business Affairs at CBS, succeeds Howard Kurtzman, who is retiring in June.

Cadent named Les Carter as its new Chief Technology Officer. Carter was most recently Vice President of Advertising Engineering at Hulu.

Fremantle appointed Manuel Martí to the newly created position of Head of Scripted Development, Latin America. Manuel was formerly Head of Development and International Business at Polka.

Do you feel your company demonstrates dedication to diversity and inclusiveness? Do you feel like you have a good work/life balance? How does your company compare to others in the industry? We want to know in our 2020 Workplace Satisfaction survey! All responses are kept confidential, and to thank you for your time, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card.

Spectrum Networks named Helen Swenson as VP, Content, Spectrum News NY1. Most recently, Swenson served as Program Developer and Executive Producer for Tegna.

IMMCO Inc. named Keith R. Hayes as CEO. Most recently, Hayes was principal o Broadband Advisors Group.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was the name of the soap opera Hope was killed off of on Hope & Faith (2003-2006)? The Sacred and the Sinful. Kudos to: Randall Bosley-Studio Talent Group, Santa Monica, CA, Rory Rosegarten-The Conversation Company/Roslyn, NY, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Charles Lore/NYC, Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station, TX, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which series was set in the fictional town of Dunn’s River, Connecticut? (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.)