Friday January 15, 2021

Saturday’s Premieres
Estrella TV: “Escorpión Al Volante” at 10p
ID: “James Patterson’s Till Murder Do Us Part” at 9p
Oxygen: “One Deadly Mistake” at 9p
Peacock: “The Overview”

Sunday’s Premieres
CW: “Batwoman” at 8p
Oxygen: “Exhumed” at 7p
Nat Geo WILD: “The Wild Life of Dr. Ole” at 10p
PBS: “Miss Scarlet and the Duke on Masterpiece” at 8p

Sunday’s Finale
HBO: “Tiger” at 9p

Monday’s Premieres
CNBC: “American Greed” at 10p
CW: “All American” at 8p
Disney Junior: “Dino Ranch” at 12:30p
Fox: “9-1-1” at 8p, “9-1-1: Lone Star” at 9p
GSN: “People Puzzler” at 6p
TV One: “Unsung Presents: Music and the Movement” at 8p

IN THE NEWS

ViacomCBS, DISH Media and Adcuratio delivered the first addressable impressions within a live national broadcast via MVPD set-top box. Addressable ad replacement was executed on select live campaigns across DISH’s 9 million household footprint in certain CBS-owned-and-operated markets. “This breakthrough allows ViacomCBS to deliver the most powerful solution for our advertisers by combining the reach of national broadcast with the targeted relevance of household addressable,” said Mike Dean, SVP of Advanced Advertising at ViacomCBS. “While cable networks have been addressable for years, addressable national broadcast has remained technically unreachable until now, making this a tremendous milestone for the industry and the future of television.”

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded to questions about his company’s decision to ban President Trump from the platform, tweeting that the call was made “with the best information we had based on threats to physical safety.” Yet Dorsey also expressed concern about deplatforming, saying, “This moment in time might call for this dynamic, but over the long term it will be destructive to the noble purpose and ideals of the open internet.”

Meanwhile, Snapchat will permanently terminate Trump’s account after he leaves office on January 20, “in the interest of public safety,” said the company. Snapchat was the first platform to suspend the president’s account after the January 6 crisis at the Capitol.

OWN renewed season six of “Queen Sugar,” to air later in 2021. Season five of the Ava DuVernay drama – revamped to address the COVID-19 pandemic – launches Tuesday, February 16 at 8p.

Also renewed for a sixth season ahead of its season five premiere is TNT’s “Animal Kingdom.” Season five will arrive this summer; the crime drama’s sixth run will be its last.

The migration of E.W. Scripps’ multicast networks Bounce, Court TV, Court TV Mystery, Grit and Laff to carriage on the company’s newly acquired ION stations is set to begin March 1. The rolling transition will continue as those networks’ affiliation agreements expire over the next five years. Scripps will continue to operate the ION Television network on its 48 ION stations’ primary channels but will cease operations of the ION multicast networks ION Plus, QUBO and SHOP ION, effective February 28. “The distribution expansion of the Scripps multicast networks through ION’s broadcast spectrum is the first major step in our realizing the tremendous synergies of the ION transaction,” said Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson.

In more E.W. Scripps news, the company is re-teaming with the News Literacy Project to launch a national public awareness campaign to promote news literacy and the role of a free press in American democracy. The campaign is part of the second annual National News Literacy Week, January 25-29. The week aims to promote news literacy as a fundamental life skill and to provide the public with the tools needed to be an informed and empowered populace.

GLAAD’s annual “Where We Are on TV” report found that 17% of all LGBTQ representation is on shows by just four creators: Greg Berlanti, Lena Waithe, Ryan Murphy and Shonda Rhimes, up from 14% last year. Overall, diversity representation held steady on scripted series. “In the midst of a destructive pandemic, a long overdue cultural reckoning with racial injustice, and a transition into a new political era for this country, representation matters more than ever as people turn to entertainment storytelling for connection and escape,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD’s President and CEO. “This time of unprecedented change matched with increased demand represents an opportunity to break new ground with stories we have not seen before and create LGBTQ characters that do not reinforce harmful stereotypes.”

With theater attendance dramatically down, National CineMedia’s new Digital Out-of-Home group has teamed with location-based digital video network Captivate to sell Captivate media inventory on a hyperlocal level to engage movie enthusiasts at office and residential properties. NCM will leverage Captivate’s network of elevator and large format displays to target upscale consumers within close proximity of neighboring businesses. “Just like movie theaters, elevators and buildings are a captive media environment,” said Steve Sapp, SVP, Digital Out-of-Home Sales with NCM. “Pairing advertising with our great Noovie entertainment features and movie trivia games will allow local businesses to directly target movie audiences in nearby high-traffic premier office and residential buildings based on their preferred proximity.”

Tyler Perry and The Motion Picture and Television Fund will receive Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Awards at the Academy Awards on Sunday, April 25. “There has been such widespread generosity in our industry that limiting the Hersholt Humanitarian Award to one recipient, this year in particular, was impossible. So, we are breaking with tradition and giving two awards to honor that spirit,” said Academy President David Rubin. “Tyler’s cultural influence extends far beyond his work as a filmmaker. He has quietly and steadily focused on humanitarian and social justice causes from the beginning of his career, caring for people who are most often ignored. The work of the MPTF is more vital than ever, and the organization has gone above and beyond to help our community.”

Winner of NATPE’s Awards of Excellence in Performance will go to Kelly Clarkson (“The Kelly Clarkson Show”), while Jordan Wertlieb, President of Hearst Television will receive the Lew Klein Award for Leadership, and Entertainment Tonight host Kevin Frazier will be honored with the Award for Career Achievement. ET will get the Award for Excellence in Programming. Magicians Penn & Teller host the ceremony, part of NATPE Virtual Miami, on Thursday, January 21 at 1p.

NBCUniversal News Group is investing $6.5 million over the next two years in multiplatform journalism training for college students from underrepresented groups and diverse backgrounds. “Creating an inclusive culture for journalism that represents the communities we serve is at the very core of what we do,” said NBCU News Group chairman Cesar Conde. “Through NBCU Academy, we have the opportunity to widen our extraordinary legacy by building on-ramps for a talented generation of journalists and storytellers who – for so long – may have been overlooked.”

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HBO Max handed an eight-episode first season order to the Max Original, “Julia,” based on the life of chef Julia Child. The series from Lionsgate Television and 3 Arts Entertainment starring Sarah Lancashire (“Happy Valley”) and David Hyde Pierce (“Frasier”), directed by Charles McDougall (“House of Cards”) and written by Daniel Goldfarb (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), is slated to continue production late spring in Boston, where the pilot was filmed.

Amazon Prime Video is giving hockey fans a look at action on and off the ice in “All or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs,” produced in association with NHL Original Productions and Cream Films. The Canadian Amazon Original series will be available on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories later this year.

Hulu ordered “Sasquatch,” a three-part documentary from Mark and Jay Duplass (“Wild Wild Country”) and director Joshue Rofe (“Lorena”), investigating rumors of a triple homicide attributed to a mythical creature.

CNN Films and Raw TV are teaming for film “The Lost Sons,” following the strange tale of Paul Fronczak, who learned his parents had their baby kidnapped, and then returned to them two years later.

Oprah Winfrey will be the subject of an Apple TV+ two-part documentary from Kevin MacDonald and Lisa Erspamer and her Happy Street Entertainment (“Whitney”). Erspamer will have a head start on the project – she produced “The Oprah Winfrey Show” from 1999-2009.

VH1 greenlit “T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle” for a new season, slated to kick off in Spring 2021. The series follows families through life in Atlanta using their platforms to fight against racial injustice.

Scott Frank (“The Queen’s Gambit”) is developing an adaptation of the 1996 novel The Sparrow as a limited series for FX. The story follows a Jesuit priest whose secret trip to a distant planet leads to disaster.

Casting notes: Kristian Alfonso (“Days of our Lives”); Marilu Henner (“Taxi”); Richard Harmon (“The 100”); Jennifer Laporte (“V.C. Andrews’ Web of Dreams”); and Evan Roderick (“Arrow”) have joined the cast of Lifetime’s four-movie V.C. Andrews event focused on the Landry family. The movies air over two weekends, on March 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 8p…Peyton Elizabeth Lee (“Andi Mack”) landed the lead in “Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.,” Disney+’s reboot of 1989-1993 series, “Doogie Howser, M.D.”…Holland Taylor (“Hollywood”) will star opposite Sandra Oh in Netflix dramedy “The Chair.”

STREAMING

Discovery Inc. and Discovery Education are partnering for free virtual learning experience “I Do Solemnly Swear: The U.S. Presidential Inauguration.” Premiering Tuesday, January 19 at 12p on discoveryeducation.com, the program will air the same week on Discovery Family and Discovery Familia.

WGN America inked a multi-year deal with live TV streaming platform Vidgo. The deal “continues the steady strategic expansion of WGN America,” said Sean Compton, President of the Networks division of Nexstar. “

TECH TALK

Amazon outspent Google, Microsoft and Facebook on TV advertising by more than 73% combined in Q2 and Q3, according to an analysis by Alphonso, with a significant amount of this spend promoting the Amazon brand. Other findings include:
· Video conferencing app Microsoft Teams outspent both Facebook Rooms and Google Meet during the period. Microsoft Teams was also made available for personal use in June; Google Meet did this later but didn’t invest on TV with that message. Rather, Google followed up with a TV campaign targeting usage among friends and families stating late Q3.
· Amazon’s smart speaker category ad spend dwarfed that of Google ($13.9 million versus less than $100,000); Amazon invested heavily in TV to promoting its new 2020 lineup of Echo devices.
· Mobile device spend on TV was low as budgets focused more heavily on digital; Microsoft spent under half a million on its Surface Duo launch on TV, while the Google Pixel had a no so significant presence on TV during these two quarters.

In what may be explained by conservative social media users turning to new platforms, encrypted messaging app Signal had 17.8 million downloads on Apple and Google the week of January 5, up from 285,000 the week before, according to Sensor Tower. Telegram had 15.7 million downloads that week, up from 7.6 million. On the flip side, Facebook’s WhatsApp had 10.6 million downloads, down from 12.7 million the week prior.

Software platform for digital media measurement DoubleVerify has received Media Rating Council accreditation for display and video rendered ad impression measurement and sophisticated invalid traffic filtration, including app fraud, in the CTV media environment. “As marketers increasingly adopt CTV/OTT platforms for their ad investments, it becomes ever more critical for those investments to have the protection of MRC-accredited measurements,” said George W. Ivie, Executive Director and CEO of the MRC. “DV’s accreditation for its SIVT-filtered rendered ad impression measurement of both video and display ad creatives in these environments is an important step toward that goal.”

iSpot.tv has acquired Ace Metrix, which gauges consumer sentiments towards ads, measuring brand recall, purchase intent and likeability. “We know that brands invest in TV and video advertising to drive sales and lasting brand equity with audiences, often in the same campaign and creatives,” said Sean Muller, CEO and founder of iSpot.tv. “This acquisition represents an industry-first solution for measuring both business outcomes and brand impact together and in real time.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Science Channel offers a new way to look at the world’s greatest structures in “If We Built It Today,” returning Sunday, January 24 at 8p. The season’s first episode creates a 21st century blueprint for a reimagined Washington, DC.

A sneak peek at season two of History’s “The Food That Built America” airs Tuesday, February 9 at 10p (pizza!), before the show slips into its regular timeslot on Sundays at 9p. Also returning is “Modern Marvels,” this go-round hosted by Adam Richman, starting Sunday, February 21 at 10p.

Season two of “Vice” premieres on Showtime on Sunday, March 7 at 8p. The season will consist of 15 episodes, eight of which will air weekly on Sundays leading to a midseason finale on April 25; the remaining seven episodes will air this fall.

Docu-series “Confronting a Serial Killer,” telling the story of the relationship between journalist Jillian Lauren and murderer Sam Little, will make its world debut at the SXSW Film Festival before premiering on Starz this spring.

New animated preschool series “Dino Ranch” premieres on Disney Junior and DisnewNOW on Monday, January 18 at 12:30p.

The first five episodes of the second season of “American Gangster: Trap Queens,” chronicling some of America’s most notorious female gangsters, just dropped on BET+. EP and showrunner Jackson Nguyen, from A. Smith & Co. Productions, offers insights on true crime stories where not everything is black and white, in Cynsiders.

Season two episodes of puppet digital series “Blark and Son” roll out across Comedy Central platforms every Saturday starting January 30. Jane Lynch (“Glee”) joins the voice cast.

The Weather Channel and Pattrn are launching a climate series, “Faces of Change,” running every hour of live programming at :40 past the hour, from Sunday, January 17-Friday, January 22. The first episodes will feature activists of color who are combating climate change and working to change their communities through new inventions and programs that improve the quality of life in their neighborhoods.

COMING UP

Lady Gaga will sing the national anthem at the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Wednesday, January 20. Jennifer Lopez will also perform.

Bravo promises a “jaw-dropping” two-part reunion for the cast of “The Real Housewives of Orange County,” airing Wednesday, January 20 and 27 at 9p.

Court TV will air special “I Can’t Breathe” on Sunday January 17 at 9p. The hour-long show will set the stage for the trials of the four Minneapolis police officers charged in death of George Floyd. The network will present live, gavel-to-gavel coverage of the Floyd trials, the first of which is set to begin in March.

TV One original film “Don’t Waste Your Pretty” makes its debut on Sunday, February 28 at 8p. The movie, based on the eponymous novel by Demetria L. Lucas, tells the story of a tightly knit group of friends as they sort out their turbulent life and love issues.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and Outdoor Sportsman Group are debuting “SHOT Show New Product Premiere” on Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel and Sportsman Channel Canada from January 18-23 at 6p, offering coverage of firearms, shooting and hunting products and services. OSG is also teaming with the Archery Trade Association on “ATA New Product Premiere” on January 16 at 6p, on Outdoor and Sportsman.

GOING GLOBAL

NENT Studios UK and Mexican studio Dopamine are extending their existing relationship to now cover unscripted projects, primarily from British producers. The new co-development deal will see Dopamine co-commission programming alongside UK broadcasters and platforms.

Toronto-based production company No Equal Entertainment and Frantic Films are partnering to adapt Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage fantasy novels for the screen. Canadian writer/producer Joseph Mallozzi (“Utopia Falls”) has signed on as showrunner for a one-hour drama series.

Dynamic Television has acquired the worldwide distribution rights for the new drama-thriller “Beneath the Surface,” a production of Letterbox Filmproduktion, in co-production with ZDF. Additionally, they have announced that DR has pre-bought the series for Denmark. “Beneath the Surface” was filmed in Germany and Denmark and will premiere on ZDF in primetime from 7 February 2021.

3 Ball Media Group announced the launch of new, original format and international production entity, 3BMG International, focused on original format creation and acquisition, and international sales, distribution and local co-production across Europe. The company will open offices in Holland as a home base of European operations for 3BMG International.

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The second, daylong debate and vote to impeach President Trump on Wednesday, January 13 drew over 12 million viewers across five networks, with CNN taking the biggest piece of the pie at 3.8 million. MSNBC was next with 2.58 million, followed by ABC (2.4 million), CBS (1.9 million) and Fox News (1.39 million). (Nielsen did not have a program lineup for NBC.)

Top 10 Streaming Shows for the week of December 14
Program (SVOD), # episodes/minutes (millions)
“The Mandalorian” (Disney+), 16, 1336
“The Office” (Netflix), 192, 1311
“The Crown” (Netflix), 40, 772
“Greys Anatomy” (Netflix), 366, 762
“Manhunt: Deadly Games” (Netflix), 10, 712
“Supernatural” (Netflix), 327, 684
“Virgin River” (Netflix), 20, 681
“Criminal Minds” (Netflix), 277, 651
“Schitts Creek” (Netflix), 80, 597
“A California Christmas” (film, Netflix), 581
Source: Nielsen

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, January 13
Show, P2+ millions, (A18-49)
ABC: “The Goldbergs” 3.84 (0.69), “American Housewife” 3.13 (0.56), “The Conners” 3.89 (0.64), “Call Your Mother” 3.38 (0.53), “Chase” 1.73 (0.29)
CBS: “Price Is Right at Night” 4.91 (0.68), “SEAL Team” 4.03 (0.48), “S.W.A.T.” 3.28 (0.40)
CW: “Riverdale” 0.31 (0.05), “Nancy Drew” 0.20 (0.03)
FOX: “The Masked Dancer” 3.04 (0.74), “Name That Tune” 3.01 (0.70)
NBC: “Chicago Med” 7.62 (1.03), “Chicago Fire” 7.26 (1.04), “Chicago PD” 6.58 (0.97)
Telemundo: “Domo del Dinero” 0.82 (0.2), “Todo Por Mi Hija” 1.70 (0.5), “Falsa Identidad” 0.87 (0.3)
Univision: “Vencer el Desamor” 1.84 (0.5), “Imperio de Mentiras” 1.43 (0.4), “Dulce Ambicion” 1.22 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Fox promoted Inae Wilson to EVP of Broadcast Distribution & Marketing. The former SVP has been with the company for 22 years.

ABC’s “20/20” upped Janice Johnston to executive producer. Johnston had been senior producer.

Friday Fun Fact
In 1567, a man believed to have the longest beard in the world died after he tripped over his beard running from a fire.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
In “The Bionic Woman” (1976-78), when she wasn’t on missions for the OSI, what was Jaime’s day job? A school teacher. Kudos to: Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago, Joe Swaney-Purchasing Power/Atlanta, James Maxim-Disney/NYC, Raj Moorjani-The Walt Disney Company/NYC, Laurie Ulster-So Obsessed Productions/NYC, Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station, TX, Ed Horwitz-“The Talk”/Studio City, CA, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Peter Steckelman-Tennis Channel/Santa Monica, CA, David Prinz von Teck/Spokane, WA

Today’s Trivia Question
How many cast members from the movie “Fame” appeared in the 1982-1987 TV show? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four.)