Thursday January 14, 2021

Today’s Finales
CW: “World’s Funniest Animals” at 8:30p
truTV: “Top Secret Videos” at 10:30p

IN THE NEWS

Tom Hanks will host “Celebrating America,” an inauguration special that will air January 20 at 8:30p on ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC and CNN, and stream on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Bing, NewsNOW, DirectTV and U-verse. “We have witnessed countless heroes this past year step up to the frontlines and serve their fellow Americans, so we are telling their stories, spreading their collective light, and celebrating the best of our country and its people,” said the Presidential Inaugural Committee’s CEO, Tony Allen. Performers include Justin Timberlake, Jon Bon Jovi, Demi Lovato and Ant Clemons, among others.

HBO’s “Insecure,” co-created by and starring Issa Rae, will wrap with its upcoming fifth season. “Issa has turned insecurity into an iconic form of comedy,” said Amy Gravitt, EVP, HBO Programming. “The show is as incisive as it is heartfelt….This talented team has conceived a brilliant final season for ‘Insecure’ and we look forward to having many more stories to tell with this singular group of collaborators.”

Outcome-based marketing plans can outperform traditional reach-based marketing plans by more than 50% on return on ad spend, according to a study conducted by MMA Global and Neustar. MMA found that a marketing campaign organized around the most responsive target audience for a brand – the “movable middles” — will yield far better outcomes than traditional media plans optimized for reach. The analysis found:
· Targeting the movable middles helps marketers increase marketing outcomes across the board versus traditional reach-based approaches, including attracting more non-buyers, increasing total consumer reach, and increasing buyer-penetration across light, medium, and heavy buying groups.
· Movable middles can be predicted with 99% accuracy for each brand, regardless of industry vertical.

The SAG Awards ceremony, scheduled for March 14, has moved to Sunday, April 4 at 9p, and will be simulcast on TBS and TNT. The move comes after the Grammys, originally slated for January 31, were rescheduled for March 14 over COVID-19 concerns. “Throughout these challenging times, our industry and our union members have proven their creativity and resilience in discovering new methods of storytelling while adapting to new safety protocols and procedures,” SAG-AFTRA said Wednesday in a statement. “We embrace that spirit as we re-imagine the SAG Awards with a one-hour special that highlights and expands on our signature ‘I am an Actor’ opening and honors the outstanding performances of the past year.”

Netflix released an inclusion report that examines the streamer’s diversity numbers and trends since 2017. In the US, 46.4% of its workforce, and 42% of its leadership, are made up of people from one or more underrepresented racial and/or ethnic backgrounds, including Black, Latinx or Hispanic, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, Asian, and Pacific Islander, said the report. The number of Black employees doubled in the last three years, to 8% of the workforce and 9% of leadership. Netflix added that it recognizes there are areas that need improvement, and aims to recruit more Hispanic, Latinx and other underrepresented people as well as learning about inclusion topics in societies outside of the US.

ViacomCBS and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced multi-year agreements across 13 CBS network affiliations for Sinclair stations, including WKRC in Cincinnati, OH, WPEC in West Palm Beach, FL, WWMT in Grand Rapids, MI and WHP in Harrisburg, PA. The 13 markets combined reach about 5% of the U.S. audience serving nearly six million television households. “The renewal is testament to the symbiotic relationship between a network and its affiliates,” said Barry Faber, President, Distribution & Network Relations for Sinclair.

YouTube temporarily suspended President Trump’s official account. “After review, and in light of concerns about the ongoing potential for violence, we removed new content uploaded to Donald J. Trump’s channel for violating our policies,” said YouTube via Twitter. “It now has its 1st strike & is temporarily prevented from uploading new content for a minimum of 7 days.” YouTube is also removing the commenting feature “indefinitely.” Twitter and Snapchat have also taken action since last week’s violence at the Capitol.

CNN is grounding CNN Airport Network, which debuted in 1991 and operated in 58 airports. In a memo to staff, CNN President Jeff Zucker attributed the decision, effective March 31, to “the steep decline in airport traffic because of COVID-19, coupled with all the new ways that people are consuming content on their personal devices.”

Amazon Prime Video canceled competition series “The Pack” after one season, reports TheWrap, following condemnation from PETA for apparently putting dogs in dangerous situations. In a letter to Amazon, PETA said raw footage it had obtained from filming “establishes exactly why real dogs and other animals don’t belong in films or on TV.”

Upcoming guest hosts for “Jeopardy!”, following former champ Ken Jennings, include the game show’s executive producer, Mike Richards; Katie Couric; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers; “60 Minutes” correspondent Bill Whitaker; and Mayim Bialik (“The Big Bang Theory”). Of long-time host Alex Trebek, who died November 8 at age 80, Jennings said, “Not many things in life are perfect, but Alex did this job pretty much perfectly for more than 36 years…We were dazzled by his intelligence, his charm, his grace.”

Fox News Channel has named Peter Doocy as a White House correspondent, effective Inauguration Day, January 20. Doocy, who covered President-elect Joe Biden’s presidential campaign since the onset of his candidacy in April 2019 (and is the son of “Fox & Friends” co-host Steve Doocy), will report alongside FNC’s Kristin Fisher, who will continue in her role as White House correspondent for the network.

Dick Van Dyke and Debbie Allen will be celebrated at the 43rd Kennedy Center Honors in May. They join Joan Baez, Garth Brooks and violinist Midori for the event, rescheduled due to the pandemic from December.

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Nationally syndicated Broadway entertainment program “Broadway Profiles with Tamsen Fadal” is now airing weekly on all stations, in a rollout that started in the fall. The show, which had aired monthly since its launch in 2016, can be seen on WGN America and on 83 local broadcast stations.

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ViacomCBS Kids & Family is consolidating all live-action production under one team, spanning development, current series and studio content. The new formation will be led by Nickelodeon’s Shauna Phelan and Zack Olin, who are broadening their current roles of leading Nick’s live-action scripted content, to now also oversee live-action for Awesomeness and third-party platforms. (Former EVP of live action, Shelley Zimmerman, has joined Bad Attitude Entertainment as President of Television.) “As our content grows in demand from both our own audiences and from third-party platforms, consolidating all scripted live-action under Shauna and Zack streamlines our process to make the biggest creative impact possible,” said Brian Robbins, President of ViacomCBS Kids & Family.

Australian reality series “Pooch Perfect” is coming to ABC, along with its host, Rebel Wilson (“The Hustle”). Lisa Vanderpump (“Vanderpump Rules”) is also onboard the dog grooming show, to judge along with celebrity dog groomer Jorge Bendersky and veterinarian Dr. Callie Harris. The series, produced by Beyond Media Rights, is slated to debut this spring.

Disney Channel renewed “Big City Greens” for a third season, while the animated series’ creators, Chris Houghton and Shane Houghton, signed an overall deal with Disney Animation. In addition to working on “Big City Greens,” the deal calls for the brothers to develop new animate series, shorts and movies for Disney Channel and Disney+.

Comedy “First Gen,” from Yvonne Orji (“Insecure”), is in development at Disney+. The project is based on Orji’s experience growing up as a Nigerian immigrant in America. Orji is executive producing with Harpo’s Oprah Winfrey and Carla Gardini and Oyelowo via his Toruba Saxon Productions. Studio is 20th Television.

CASTING

Tony Goldwyn (“Scandal”) and Daniel Dae Kim (“Hawaii Five-0”) landed the leads in the next installment of Nat Geo’s scripted anthology series, “The Hot Zone: Anthrax.” The six-parter from 20th Television and Scott Free Productions will focus on the 2001 anthrax attacks.

Demetrius “Lil Meech” Flenory Jr. and Da’Vinchi (“grown-ish”) will star in Starz’ “Black Mafia Family.” The drama comes from executive producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (“Power”) and writer/executive producer Randy Huggins (“Power”).

Nathan Lane (“Penny Dreadful: City of Angels”) is doing double duty in two very different genres, with recurring roles on Hulu comedy “Only Murders in the Building,” starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, and HBO period drama “The Gilded Age,” from Julian Fellowes (“Downton Abbey”).

Steven Weber (“Indebted”) will recur on season six of NBC’s “Chicago Med.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Interview show “The Eisen Hour” premieres on Epix on Saturday, January 23 at 10p. In the 10-parter, Rich Eisen will sit down with personalities from the worlds of sports and entertainment. He’ll continue to host Peacock’s daily “The Rich Eisen Show.”

A new season of Food Network’s “Spring Baking Championship” launches Monday, February 22 at 9p. Ali Khan returns as host, with judges Kardea Brown, Nancy Fuller and Duff Goldman. The cooking competition can also be streamed on discovery+.

Love is in the air on VH1. Special “Love & Hip Hop: It’s a Love Thing” airs Monday, February 1 at 8p, followed a week later by the premiere of limited series “VH1 Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition,” which gathers cast members from all four “Love & Hip Hop” cities to celebrate #BlackJoy and resilience.

Season 11 of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” premieres Wednesday, February 17 at 9p. Prepare for more secrets, uncomfortable conversations, and cheating rumors.

EstrellaTV network is launching a half-hour comedy interview series, “Escorpión Al Volante,” with social media star Alex Montiel’s alter ego, Escorpión Dorado. The show will make its US television debut on Saturday, January 16 at 10p.

YouTube’s “Demi Lovato: Dancing With the Devil” premieres Tuesday, March 23. The four-part docu-series follows YouTube’s 2017 film, “Demi Lovato: Simply Complicated.”

Oxygen’s “Killer Motive” returns for season two on Saturday, January 23 at 6p, with host Troy Roberts back to guide viewers through gruesome murders.

Here’s a different kind of Valentine’s treat: “Momma Named Me Sheriff” returns for season two on Sunday, February 14 at midnight on Adult Swim. We’ll finally learning the meaning behind “roostering”…

Former Senior Counselor to President Trump, Kellyanne Conway is on hand for the season 19 premiere of HBO’s “Real Time With Bill Maher,” on Friday, January 15 at 10p.

Glenn Close and director John Waters dig into their DNA in the season seven bow of PBS’s “Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” on Tuesday, January 19 at 8p.

CG-animated series “Deer Squad” will have its US premiere on Nickelodeon on Monday, January 25 at 9a, following a run overseas. The adventure-rescue show comes from a partnership between iQIYI, an online entertainment service in China, Nickelodeon International and VIS KIDS, a division of ViacomCBS International Studios.

COMING UP

Hello, Betty! On Tuesday, February 23 – its 50th anniversary – “Betty White’s Pet Set,” created by and starring the iconic actress, will make its debut on digital platforms and DVD. “If I haven’t told you already, I will now. The ‘Pet Set’ is one of my favorite shows,” said White. “I’m thrilled it’s going to be seen again after all these years.”

CMT is partnering with music series Skyville Live to broadcast ten of its music specials in 2021. The first, “Skyville Live: Kris Kristofferson & Friends,” is set to premiere on Tuesday, January 19 at 10p. All specials were filmed pre-COVID in front of a studio audience in Nashville.

Decades TV Network will mark the 2021 Presidential Inauguration with a look back at every televised inauguration speech from 1945-2017. Hosted by Bill Kurtis and Kerry Sayers, “Inauguration Day Through the Decades” airs January 20 from 5a-2pm.

TNT and Bleacher Report announced the first annual “AEW Dynamite Awards,” an awards show honoring the top AEW stars and viral moments of the past year, livestreaming Wednesday, January 27 at 7p. Shaquille O’Neal, Bert Kreischer, Chael Sonnen, Curtis Granderson, Camille Kostek, Kevin Hefferman, Steve Lemme, Ron Funches, Danielle Fishel Karp and Jensen Karp are among the virtual award presenters.

The Paley Center for Media announced the return of PaleyFest LA 2021. On Tuesday, March 23, all programs will be available to view by Paley Members and Citi cardmembers; programs will be available to the public starting on Monday, March 29 at 8p on Yahoo Entertainment. The first programs to be included in this year’s festival are ABC’s “Big Sky,” CBS’s “The Late Late Show with James Corden,” and a 20th Anniversary Conversation with the creator and cast of HBO’s “Six Feet Under.”

TECH TALK

Samsung Electronics America and Twitch are teaming for a one-year mobile partnership that has Samsung Galaxy exclusively hosting mobile gaming challenges and events. Included are “Twitch Rivals Mobile Challenges”; year-long tournament “Mobile Mondays”; and “Mobile Gamine Heroes.” Details were announced during CES.

GOING GLOBAL

A+E Networks UK has commissioned a six-part documentary series, “Survivors with Denise Welch” (wt)], for Crime + Investigation. Hello Mary will produce the series, exploring what it means to live with the trauma of surviving horrific crimes.

Amazon Prime Video grabbed worldwide rights to “Cruel Summer,” the thriller drama coming to Freeform from Bert V. Royal, Jessica Biel, eOne and Iron Ocean Productions.

DCD Rights announced sales of non-scripted programming including “A World Without NASA” to Prima Group (Czech Republic), Da Vinci Channel (Russia, Poland, Turkey, Asia, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, Baltic States), Emirates Cable TV E-Vision (Middle East), Virgin Media (UK), and RAI (Italian Speaking Europe). “Phantom Signals” has been picked up by Discovery (Spain & Andorra) and for Sky HISTORY in the UK, Gibraltar and Malta.

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In syndication, “The Drew Barrymore Show” (0.5 Live+SD national Nielsen rating) popped up 25% from the week before, the week of December 28, boasting the biggest percentage increase in talk shows. “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (2.1, steady) remained at its season high for the third week, and topped the talk category for the sixth week.

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of December 28 ranked in order by HH Rtg
“Family Feud” (CMV) 5.3 AA
“Wheel of Fortune” (CMV) 5.1 AA
“Jeopardy!” (CMV) 5.1 AA
“Judge Judy” (CMV) 5.1 AA
“The Big Bang Theory” (WB) 2.7 AA
“Inside Edition” (CMV) 2.2 AA
“Entertainment Tonight” (CMV) 2.1 AA
“Live With Kelly and Ryan” (DAD) 2.1 AA
“Last Man Standing” (DAD) 1.8 AA
“Dr. Phil” (CMV) 1.7 AA

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, January 12
Show, P2+ (millions), (A18-49)
ABC: “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” 2.29 (0.49)
CBS: “NCIS” 5.23 (0.53), “FBI” 4.44 (0.50), “FBI: Most Wanted” 4.04 (0.45)
CW: “Two Second Horror Stories” 0.52 (0.12), Two Second Horror Stories” 0.45 (0.10), “Trickster” 0.44 (0.09)
FOX: “The Resident” 3.92 (0.65), “Prodigal Son” 2.34 (0.50)
NBC: “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” 2.66 (0.46), “This Is Us” 5.45 (0.99), “Nurses” 2.60 (0.38)
Telemundo: “Domo Del Dinero” 0.77 (0.2), “Todo Por Mi Hija” 1.64 (0.4), “Falsa Identidad” 0.89 (0.3)
Univision: “Vencer al Desamor” 2.05 (0.5), “Imperio de Mentiras” 1.46 (0.4), “Dulce Ambicion” 1.21 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Principal Media has named Gary Rosenson as its CEO. Rosenson joins Principal after having founded and run GR Media Advisors. In addition, Melanie Torres has joined the company as SVP of Worldwide Distribution and Daniel Boluarte has been promoted to SVP, Business Development.

DoubleVerify announced the appointment of Julie Eddleman as EVP, Global Chief Commercial Officer. Eddleman was most recently Global Client Partner at Google.

The US division of Paris-based Cyber Group Studios announced the appointments of kids entertainment executive Karen K. Mill as President and CEO, and Merritt D. Farren as General Counsel and COO.

BBC Studios – Americas announces the appointments of Tara Maitra as Chief Commercial Officer and Jennifer Ball as SVP, Marketing. Maitra was previously CRO at BDEX, while Ball led a consulting company.

MRC has named Jocelyn Cooley as Chief Human Resources Officer. Cooley most recently ran her own consultancy.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which sitcom, cancelled after 13 episodes, featured appearances by Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, Betty White, John Ritter and Maureen McCormick in guest roles during its short run? “The Ellen Show” (2001-02). Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
In “The Bionic Woman” (1976-78), when she wasn’t on missions for the OSI, what was Jaime’s day job? (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.)