A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM DISCOVERY

DISCOVERY, INC – LEADING NETWORKS FOR WOMEN

TLC, HGTV & FOOD NETWORK ARE THE TOP 3 NETWORKS IN CABLE WITH WOMEN 18-49 & 25-54 IN 2022 TO DATE

Driven By Successful Programming Including:
TLC’S 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days, 1000-lb Sisters
HGTV’s Tough Love with Hilary Farr, Home Town
Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship, Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime

Click Here to See What Our Real Brands For Real Life Can Do For You in 2022

Today’s Premieres
HBO Max: Take Out with Lisa Ling; Bunker; The Cut; Gomorrah
History: Swamp People at 9p
Netflix: Chosen; I Am Georgina; Framed! A Sicilian Murder
truTV: Fast Foodies at 10p

IN THE NEWS

ViacomCBS is planning a “show-stopping” in-person Upfront event on May 18. “We’re thrilled to return to the iconic stage at Carnegie Hall this year and spotlight the power of ViacomCBS,” said President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer of Domestic Ad Sales, Jo Ann Ross. “We look forward to delivering an entertaining and informative presentation that addresses the dynamic needs of our clients, which is absolutely critical as the marketplace continues to transform at a rapid pace.” ViacomCBS joins NBCUniversal in returning to an iconic venue after two years of virtual presentations – NBCU will hold its annual presentation on May 16 at Radio City Music Hall.

WarnerMedia reported $9.9 billion in 4Q21 revenue, an increase year-over-year of 15.4%. Direct-to-consumer subscription revenues were up 11.5%, and overall subscription revenues rose 5.4%, thanks in large part to HBO Max. “We said it was going to happen, and it happened. We said the market was going to come to us on pricing,” said AT&T CEO Stankey in a conference call on Wednesday. “Lo and behold, we are no longer the high-priced offer in the market” (that would be Netflix, which just raised its fees).

Stankey also noted that that while the decision to pull HBO Max from the Amazon Prime Video Channels marketplace last fall cost the company subscribers, “We felt it was the right decision. I think it will even be more the right decision in a post-Discovery environment, as the offer only gets stronger.” The Discovery/WarnerMedia merger is expected to take place in 2Q22, pending regulatory approval. “At the end of the day, you want full control of your customers and I’m confident with the strength of the offer that will be in the market, those customers are all going to come back into the offer,” said Stankey, who also noted, “Better to have (customers) there where you have direct-access control of them to market to them, know what they are doing than to have it be in some black box where you absolutely have no idea what somebody else is doing with aggregating your content and your exposure to the customer.”

Another reality star has gotten the boot thanks to old social media posts. Alina Kozhevnikova, who appeared on TLC’s “Before the 90 Days,” was fired after racist Facebook posts from 2014 surfaced. “TLC discontinued filming with Alina Kozhevnikova following the recent discovery of her past social media statements,” said TLC. “She will not appear on the upcoming ‘Tell All,’ any future seasons of the franchise and starting next month, she will no longer appear on ‘Before the 90 Days.’ TLC does not tolerate racism or discrimination of any kind.” Earlier this week, “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Jennie Nguyen was let go over offensive 2020 posts.

The Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation and NBCUniversal Local announced the return of their “Project Innovation” competitive grant challenge to 11 markets. “Project Innovation continues to celebrate forward-thinking non-profits as they work to make an impact on issues specific to their communities,” said Jessica Clancy, SVP, Corporate Social Responsibility, NBCUniversal. “We believe that through these grants we can not only support the efforts of these organizations, but inspire all non-profits to evolve their work at the local level.” Applications can be submitted online between February 18 and March 25.

Nielsen’s claim that its out-of-home audience undercount in 2021 had “no impact to minimal impact” in fact cost networks hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of ad time, according to a report from the Video Advertising Bureau. “We now know that error is tracking towards 60 billion lost TV impressions and $700 million worth of TV ads that marketers couldn’t buy because of Nielsen’s second admitted case of 2020-2021 pervasive undercounting,” said Sean Cunningham, President and CEO, VAB. According to the VAB, nearly 400,000 viewers were left out of the primetime ratings count from May-December 2021, with undercounting particularly pronounced with sports, young viewers and minority viewers.

ViacomCBS shared the lineup of performers set for its 2022 Showcase. The virtual event streams on Tuesday, February 8 for senior-level executives, showrunners and casting directors from ViacomCBS properties, as well as other networks and streamers, in addition to talent agents and managers. “These 15 multitalented artists, under the leadership of our exceptional creative team, have put together a laugh-out-loud show that we are delighted and proud to share with the industry and beyond,” said Claudia Lyon, EVP, Talent and Casting, CBS Entertainment, and Dorey Poder, VP, Talent and Casting, CBS Entertainment.

HGTV has renewed “Help! I Wrecked My House!” for a ten-episode season three. The renovation series attracted 18 million viewers during its sophomore run.

Put your money on “Succession” to win the Drama Series category at the 74th Annual DGA Awards – all five nominees in the category are episodes of the HBO drama. Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” picked up three nods in the Comedy Series category, where it will compete against episodes of HBO’s “The White Lotus” and HBO Max’s “Hacks.” The ceremony takes place March 12.

Fox News host and right-wing radio commentator Dan Bongino has been permanently suspended from YouTube, after receiving a seven-day suspension for violating the platform’s Covid misinformation policies. “We terminated Dan Bongino’s channels for circumventing our Terms of Service by posting a video while there was an active strike and suspension associated with the account,” said a spokesperson for YouTube. “When a channel receives a strike, it is against our Terms of Service to post content or use another channel to circumvent the suspension. If a channel is terminated, the uploader is unable to use, own or create any other YouTube channels.”

FANTASTIC FINALISTS

At this year’s Best of the Best, the finalists will be competing in over 50 categories. Finalists include MTV Entertainment Group/Viacom, Universal Studio Group, Dotdash Meredith, New York Jets and more. Join us on Feb 24th when we announce the winners!

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Al Roker Entertainment has optioned bestseller The Personal Librarian, centered on a Black woman forced to pass as white, to adapt as a limited series. “The Personal Librarian is a favorite in our household, and it demonstrates historical fiction at its best,” said Al Roker, who is working on the project with his wife, ABC News senior national correspondent Deborah Roberts. “We are always looking to work on projects with purpose and this story is relevant now more than ever.

Netflix ordered to series political thriller “The Diplomat,” from Debora Cahn (“Homeland”). Cahn will serve as executive producer and showrunner under a multi-year overall deal with the streamer.

PBS Digital Studios announced the three member stations selected as Regional Digital Centers of Innovation. Over the next two years, Houston Public Media (KUHT), Rocky Mountain PBS (RMPBS), and PBS North Carolina (PBS NC) will develop original digital series in partnership with PBS Digital Studios. Made possible by a $3 million grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the three stations will deepen their digital production capacity, source creators and stories in each station’s diverse regions, and foster fellow PBS member stations’ digital fluency. The regional centers will also focus on content that elevates the voices of diverse content creators both in front of and behind the camera.

Casting notes: Claire Danes (“Homeland”) will star opposite Jesse Eisenberg in FX limited series “Fleishman Is in Trouble.”… “ER” alums Eriq La Salle and Gloria Reuben reunite for Hallmark Channel movie “A Second Chance at Love.”… Edward Bluemel (“Killing Eve”), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (“Dune”) and Eddie Karanja (“After Ever After”) have joined Hulu’s “Washington Black” as series regulars…Nick Stahl (“Fear the Walking Dead”) has boarded Showtime vampire drama “Let the Right One In” as a series regular.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

A&E is exploring the life of Bobby Brown, past and present. First, a two-part documentary “Biography: Bobby Brown,” chronicles the musician’s journey to superstardom and the fallout from his personal struggles with sobriety and the tragic deaths of his two children and first wife, Whitney Houston, on Monday, May 30 and Tuesday, May 31 at 8p. The doc will be followed by 12-episode series “Bobby Brown: Every Little Step,” offering a look at his life with wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown and their children as he focuses on new business ventures and new music, starting May 31 at 10p; new episodes will air Tuesdays at 9p starting June 7.

Fox has set spring premiere dates for new and returning series. Season seven of “The Masked Singer” and the series debut of “Domino Masters” air Wednesday, March 9 at 8p and 9p, respectively; season eight of “MasterChef Junior” and newcomer “Welcome to Flatch” arrive Thursday, March 17 at 8p and 9:30p; and “Name That Tune” is back for season two on Tuesday, March 29 at 9p.

Apple TV+ set a premiere date of Friday, March 25 for “Pachinko,” an international drama series that will be told in three languages, Korean, Japanese, and English. The series is based on the bestselling novel of the same name.

Nonfiction series “I Was There,” executive produced by GMA anchor George Stephanopoulos and hosted by Theo E.J. Wilson, the grandson of a Tuskegee Airman, premieres across two nights on Sunday, February 20 and Monday, February 21 at 10:30p. The series offers an immersive trip back in time, placing Wilson at the center of some of history’s biggest events, to deconstruct how they unfolded.

“Wendy Bell Common Sense” premieres Saturday, January 29 at 4:30p on Newsmax. The weekly show will examine news of the day with interviews and roundtables.

COMING UP

The eleventh year of Nat Geo WILD’s “Big Cat Week” starts Sunday, January 30 at 9p, with “Russia’s Wild Tiger.” The one-hour special focuses on the Amur tiger, until recently on the brink of extinction.

Spectrum will celebrate Black History Month with an On Demand collection of films including “Dreamgirls,” “Get Out,” “Creed,” “In The Heat of the Night,” and more. From February 1-14, movies will be available in the Spectrum On Demand portal under the category Essential Performances.

In another Black History Month special, MasterClass will offer one of its classes free to stream. “Black History, Black Freedom, and Black Love” is a three-part, 50-lesson class that examines 400 years of race in America and will be available on MasterClass, and through a distribution partnership with Amazon, available on IMDb TV and for Prime Members. It’s the first time MasterClass has offered free streaming of its content.

Rita Moreno will be honored with the 2022 Stanley Kramer Award at the 33rd Annual Producers Guild Awards on Saturday, March 19. “With grace, intelligence, charisma, and kindness, Rita Moreno made her mark in history as a brilliant entertainer and leveraged that star power to shepherd stories that tap into the human experience and represent people and communities we rarely see celebrated in film and TV,” said Producers Guild of America Presidents Gail Berman and Lucy Fisher.

Antenna TV is running a “Love Is In (Over) the Air” marathon of romantic episodes on Valentine’s Day, February 14 starting at 5a. Shows include “Bewitched,” “The Jeffersons,” and “Three’s Company.”

STREAMING

Disney+ will launch in 42 countries and 11 territories this summer. Among the countries that will have access to the streamer are South Africa, Turkey, Poland, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Egypt, and Poland.

Given the choice between Neil Young’s music and Joe Rogan’s hit podcast, Spotify chose Rogan. Young objected to “The Joe Rogan Experience,” pointing out it spreads misinformation about Covid and vaccinations, and said of Spotify, “They can have him or me. Not both.” “We regret Neil’s decision to remove his music from Spotify, but hope to welcome him back soon,” responded a spokesperson for the platform. Spotify bought exclusive rights to the Joe Rogan Experience in 2020 in a deal worth over $100 million.

Pluto TV has added “WOW – Women of Wrestling” to its platform. The Pluto TV Pro Wrestling Channel for Women’s Wrestling Wednesday features a 24-hour marathon of programming featuring the likes of Razor, Venomous, Siren the Voodoo Doll and Stephy Slays.

WildEarth TV is now available on Sling TV in the United States. The channel is a 24/7 mix of wildlife content, featuring 8 hours of live programming a day, including slow TV-style nature videos.

TECH TALK

Fuse Media announced a new partnership with ThetaDrop, an environmentally friendly NFT marketplace, to launch a series of NFTs. Fuse’s first NFT drop features Afro-Latina musician, activist, entrepreneur and reality star Amara La Negra and her Fuse series, “Don’t Cancel Me with Amara La Negra,” which has its season finale Wednesday, February 2 on Fuse and Fuse+.

LG Ads Solutions, the provider of LG smart TV native ads and audience targeting data, introduced a suite of guaranteed outcome-based media offerings, through which advertisers only pay for CTV ads when they meet specified performance goals, which are independently validated using third-party data. The Guaranteed Outcomes program ensures brands that their native and CTV video ads running on LG smart TVs meet campaign goals across a broad range of KPIs, from reach and frequency, demographics, video completion rates in which buyers only pay for ads that are viewed to 100 percent completion, and conversion metrics.

GOING GLOBAL

Wolf Entertainment and Universal Studio Group have formed a joint venture for a sales division dedicated to selling Dick Wolf’s procedurals as international formats. Leslie Jones, who oversaw worldwide sales for NBCUniversal shows before founding a consulting firm, will head the division.

Blink Films is set to produce the new Curiosity original series “Cracking the Code,” investigating the great code-breaking stories. Curiosity commissioned the series, with production-funding and distribution agency Drive.

UK’s Channel 4 has acquired Woodcut Media’s “A Royal Guide To,” a six-part series that looks at the numerous and somewhat little-known protocols, etiquette and customs the British Royal Family adhere to.

HBO Asia Original series “Twisted Strings,” a satire anthology, premieres with two episodes on Sunday, March 27 at 9p on WarnerMedia’s HBO and HBO GO across Southeast Asia.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in North America, Latin America, India, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, Germany, South Africa, Southeast Asia, and airlines worldwide to Oliver Hermanus’ film “Living,” starring Bill Nighy. Written by Kazuo Ishiguro, “Living” is a reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 film “Ikiru.”

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RATINGS

HBO Max’s “Peacemaker” was the top digital original TV series in the world on January 21 and 22, according to Parrot Analytics, with 69.5 times more demand than the average show worldwide. It finished just ahead of Netflix’s “The Witcher” (67.7x) and Disney+’s “The Book of Boba Fett” (66x).

The one-hour premiere of Univision’s “Soltero con Hijas” averaged 1.9 million Total Viewers 2+, 824,000 A18-49, and 326,000 A18-34, ranking as the highest-rated primetime novela/series premiere on Spanish-language television since the April 27, 2020 premiere of Univision’s “Como Tu No Hay 2.”

Hallmark Channel original movie premiere “Don’t Forget I Love You” was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable program of the day and of the week, averaging 2.2 million Total Viewers, and 254,000 W25-54. The film elevated the network to be the #1 most-watched cable network in Weekend Total Day among W18+ and the #1 most watched cable network in Weekend Primetime among Households and Women 18+.

The January 24 debut of Fox News Channel’s new 7p program “Jesse Watters Primetime,” scored the number two cable telecast in total viewers, with 3.8 million viewers and 537,000 among A25-54. The inaugural show delivered more than double the viewership versus the same day last year.

In syndication, “The Dr. Phil Show” (new season high 2.0, up 5% from the week before and up 33% over the prior three weeks) was the top-rated talk show in the week ending January 16. “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (1.7, up 6%) was a strong second, while “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” (1.0, down 9%) and “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (1.0, steady) tied for third.

CBS’ playoff game between Buffalo and Kansas City reached nearly 43 million television viewers on Sunday, the most for any event since the Super Bowl in 2021. The day’s four playoff games averaged 38.2 million TV and digital viewers, up 20% over last year and the best ever for the league’s divisional round of playoffs, according to Nielsen.

Broadcast Nielsen Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of January 10, ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy (CMV) 6.5 AA
Family Feud (CMV) 6.0 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.9 AA
Judge Judy (CMV) 5.4 AA
Inside Edition (CMV) 2.5 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.3 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 2.3 AA
The Dr. Phil Show (CMV) 2.0 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.7 AA
Hot Bench (CMV) 1.6 AA

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, January 25
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Judge Steve Harvey 4.18 (0.5), Abbott Elementary 3.06 (0.6), black-ish 2.14 (0.4), Judge Steve Harvey 1.61 (0.3)
CBS: FBI 5.35 (0.5), FBI: International 4.10 (0.4), FBI: Most Wanted 3.62 (0.4)
CW: Superman & Lois 0.90 (0.2), Naomi 0.59 (0.1)
FOX: 9-1-1: Lone Star 1.,49 (0.3), Our Kind of People 1.34 (0.3)
NBC: American Auto 2.30 (0.4), Grand Crew 1.52 (0.3), This Is Us 4.76 (0.8), New Amsterdam 3.31 (0.4)
Telemundo: Exatlon Estados Unidos 1.03 (0.3), Hercal: Amor e Venganza 1.31 (0.4), Malverde: El Santo Patron 0.92 (0.3)
Univision: Soltero con Hijas 1.76 (0.5), Vencer el Pasado 1.78 (0.5), Madre 1.64 (0.5)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

TriStar Television has tapped Dr. Jennifer Turner to serve as Executive Vice President. Turner joins from Sony Pictures Television, where she was SVP of Programming.

Keith Dawkins has been named President of the Harlem Globetrotters, as the brand looks to expand further into content. Dawkins was previously EVP at Nickelodeon.

Chad Matthews has been named President of ABC Owned Television Stations. Matthews had been President and GM of WABC New York.

Tim Joyce has been named Senior Vice President of Engineering, Operations and Technology for Fox Television Stations. Most recently, was SVP of Media and Broadcast Engineering for Fox Corporation.

The Content Group announced a promotion and new hire. Ariel Brozell has been upped to Senior Vice President of Development, and Amanda Perse joins as Senior Manager of Development. Perse was previously a research producer at Renegade 83.

Genius Brands has promoted Kerry Phelan to Chief Brand Officer. Phelan joined the company last July as EVP & General Manager of Global Franchise Management.

Look Mom! Productions has tapped Mia Di Pasquale to serve as Vice President of Development. Di Pasquale joins Look Mom! from Superplastic, where she was Head of Entertainment & Media Development.

UK’s Candour Productions has completed a management restructure that includes Julie Heselgrave, formerly Head of Production, being named Managing Director, and the appointment of Hannah Demidowicz as Director of Development.

Marc Bonnamour has joined SaaS company KEEPERS as CEO. Bonnamour was previously at Talentsoft.

This Day in History
1956 – Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel,” his first million-selling single, was released.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was Hallmark Channel’s first original series? “Cedar Cove” (2013-15). Kudos to: Charles Lore/NYC; Rory Rosegarten-The Conversation Company/Manhasset, NY; Rev. Mark Wajda/Clermont, FL; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
Which reality series cast, in different seasons, included Vanilla Ice, Florence Henderson, Corey Feldman and Dave Coulier? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four per time zone.)

Cynopsis Team