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THE HISTORY CHANNEL | A&E | LIFETIME | LMN | FYI | VICE ON TV

Today’s Premieres
A&E: Neighborhood Wars at 10p
Netflix: Savage Rhythm
TV5 Monde USA: Toute la Vie at 11:30p

Today’s Finales
CBS: The Amazing Race at 8p
CW: DC’s Legends of Tomorrow at 8p, Batwoman at 9p
E!: Relatively Famous: Ranch Rules at 9p
Fox: Next Level Chef at 9p
HGTV: The House My Wedding Bought at 11p and 11:30p
TLC: Stuck at 10p

IN THE NEWS

The Interactive Advertising Bureau had harsh words for House Energy & Commerce Committee leaders over yesterday’s congressional hearing on the “Banning Surveillance Advertising Act.” In advance of the hearing, IAB submitted a letter on behalf of its members. “It’s shocking that the organizers of today’s hearing did not invite anyone from the advertising industry to provide an important perspective on how this misguided piece of legislation would undermine progress in an innovative and economically vital industry, not only to brands, publishers, advertising and technology companies IAB represents, but also to small businesses and creators working in our modern digital economy,” said Lartease Tiffith, IAB’s EVP of Public Policy. “The language is so broad, it’s unclear whether it would affect any business with an online customer relationship. Without the advertising dollars that support it, anyone who uses the internet could lose the free search, email, news, entertainment and other services they currently enjoy. The free and open internet would dramatically change for the worse.” The act would prevent ad platforms from targeting ads using any data that is “reasonably linkable” to an individual.

A group of former owners and executives from the original, 1983-86 United States Football League is suing to block the launch of Fox Sports’ reboot of the league. “The Real USFL is acting to protect the legacy of the players, owners, coaches, and staff of the historic league,” said Nicholas Matich, an attorney representing the Real USFL LLC, the organization of former USFL owners and executives. While the plaintiffs argue Fox should not be able to use the same name and team logos as their forebears, Fox contends the original USFL abandoned its trademarks after being out of business for decades. Fox Sports’ USFL is scheduled to begin play on April 16.

The NFL and Nielsen collaborated on a new study that estimates over 208 million people watched last month’s Super Bowl, 25% more than the 167 million unique viewers Nielsen previously reported watched at least one minute of the game. The study was designed to better understand how many viewers watched the game in group settings. “While it’s no secret that the Super Bowl is the biggest event across the media landscape on a yearly basis, the exact number of people watching the game has been challenging to pinpoint given the fact that people tend to gather in groups to watch the game,“ said NFL Chief Data and Analytics Officer Paul Ballew. “We’re grateful for the work put into this custom survey by Nielsen, the results of which we feel provide the most accurate picture to date of the total viewership for this unique event.”

HBO pulled “The Larry David Story,” a two-part documentary about the producer/writer/comedian, the day before it was scheduled debut on Tuesday night. “’The Larry David Story is being postponed,’” announced HBO on Twitter. “Instead, Larry has decided he wants to do it in front of an audience. Stay tuned for more info.” In the doc, the “Seinfeld” co-creator and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” star chats with friend and director Larry Charles about his life and career.

Comscore reported net income of $29 million in 4Q21, versus a net loss of $13.2 million in the year-ago period. It was the company’s highest quarterly revenue number in the last nine quarters. Comscore anticipates revenue to increase by mid to high single digits in 2022, driven by growth in TV and activation and continued improvement in the movies business.

Crime drama “Hightown” has been renewed by Starz. “‘Hightown’ is such an incredible show, and we could not be happier that it’s been renewed for a third season,” said Kathryn Busby, President, Original Programming for STARZ. “We are excited to return to Cape Cod to see our iconic characters battle their past mistakes as well as new foes in the dangerous underworld that lies beneath this idyllic setting.”

On the heels of the successful debut of The Art of AMC’s The Walking Dead Universe coffee-table book, AMC announced the launch of AMC Networks Publishing. The book publishing arm will develop and produce fan-focused specialty books, comics, original graphic novels and more. Among projects set to debut this year are two books based on AMC Networks’ shows, the original graphic novel Miss Fisher’s First Mysteries based on the Acorn TV series Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and Shudder’s Creepshow: From Script to Scream (wt), from Cartel Entertainment and Creepshow showrunner and executive producer Greg Nicotero (“The Walking Dead”).

MEASUREMENT & DATA CONFERENCE: MORE SPEAKERS CONFIRMED

The agenda is filling up quickly, with speakers from Mindshare, NBCUniversal and AMC Networks set to take the stage on June 7th. Prices increase April 1, 2022.

REGISTER NOW

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Apple TV+ gave a series order to Sam Esmail’s adaptation of 1927 classic silent film “Metropolis.” Esmail (“Mr. Robot”) will write and direct, as well as executive produce with his Esmail Corp partner Chad Hamilton. Universal Cable Productions is producing as part of Esmail’s overall deral with the studio.

Barry Levinson (“Dopesick”) has been enlisted to direct multiple episodes of Peacock’s “This Missing,” based on bestseller The Missing File. David E. Kelley is writer, showrunner and executive producer of the eight-parter about a detective whose deep faith in humanity is shaken when a seemingly routine investigation turns upside down.

Fox Nation is in business with “Yellowstone” star Kevin Costner, via a deal for a four-part series commemorating the 150th anniversary of Yellowstone National Park. “Yellowstone: One-Fifty” will launch in the fourth quarter of 2022, focused on the history and wildlife of Yellowstone National Park. Developed by Costner’s Territory Films along with Warm Springs Productions, the series will be narrated and hosted by Costner, with episodes to be released consecutively on the platform throughout its debut week. Territory Partner Rod Lake will executive produce as well as Marc Pierce for Warm Springs Productions.

Travis Barker has teamed with Bullish Content and This Is Just a Test Media to develop “Inked and Iced,” following Barker’s business venture that has celebrities and musicians under anesthesia getting diamond dental implants and full body tattoos.

A&E and WWE have expanded their programming partnership with the commissioning of more than 130 new hours of WWE-themed series and specials to air exclusively on A&E platforms and to be distributed worldwide by A+E Networks. The deal includes 35 new episodes of “Biography,” featuring documentaries on legends of WWE. (Last year’s “Biography: WWE Legends” episodes drove “Biography” to become A&E’s most-watched series in 2021.) WWE is also beginning production on 24 new episodes of the original series “WWE’s Most Wanted Treasures,” which will air over multiple seasons. And A&E has ordered 40 hours of the new series, “WWE Rivals” (wt), chronicling the little-known stories behind the biggest clashes in WWE history.

HBO Max has ordered a pilot for comedy “Computer School,” written and executive produced by Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin (“I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson”). Robinson will co-star. The show was first sold to Hulu in a bidding war; when Hulu passed on the script, HBO Max jumped in.

Nickelodeon Studios has begun production on “Snow Day” (wt) for Paramount+. The reimagining of the 2000 comedy film follows a group of kids who are determined to achieve their dreams when their school closes for a snow day. Production is underway in Montreal, with a premiere slated for later this year on the streaming service.

Spectrum Originals has picked up the eight-episode dramedy series “Panhandle.” The Sony Pictures Television Studios produced-series will have a nine-month exclusive run on Spectrum (free, without ads) and then will have an exclusive free advertising-supported window on The Roku Channel as a Roku Original. Luke Kirby (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and Tiana Okoye (“Awkwafina is Nora from Queens”) star. The series will shoot in Savannah, GA and is created and written by executive producers Nicholas Stoller (“Forgetting Sarah Marshall”) and Carla Kettner (“The Blacklist”).

Lindsay Lohan (“Mean Girls”) inked a deal for two more original films with Netflix. In addition to upcoming rom-com “Falling for Christmas” on the streamer, Lohan appeared in “Scary Movie V” and the series “Sick Note.”

Casting Notes: John DiMaggio has struck a deal to reprise his voice roles on Hulu’s “Futurama” revival. When negotiations had stalled over money, Hulu and 20th Television Animation said the role would be recast, but an agreement was reached. “We’re all back, baby!” said series creator Matt Groening… William Jackson Harper (“The Good Place”), Cristin Milioti (“Made for Love”) and Skyler Gisondo (“The Righteous Gemstones”) will star in Peacock’s true crime love story, “The Resort.”…Riele Downs (“Henry Danger”) has been cast as the lead in Hulu movie “Darby Harper Wants to Know.” Downs replaces Storm Reid (“Euphoria”) in the role.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Season three of MeTV Network original series “Collector’s Call” kicks off Sunday, March 27 at 6:30p. Host Lisa Welchel (“The Facts of Life”) offers a look at rarely seen private collections of pop culture memorabilia and collectibles.

Next up for TV host and author Tamron Hall is “Someone They Knew…With Tamron Hall,” premiering Sunday, March 6 at 9p on Court TV. What drew Hall to the true crime project? “When the idea of a series focused on crimes committed by intimate partners was presented to me, I felt a deep connection to these victims,” said Hall. “I have always been pulled into the ‘why’ – why crimes like this happen – and the heartbreaking impact they have on family and friends. Court TV represents an additional, trusted partner to support the important work that I do.”

COMING UP

Hallmark Channel has a new holiday movie on tap for its annual Countdown to Christmas stunt featuring the Radio City Rockettes. “A Holiday Spectacular” stars Ginna Claire Mason (“Wicked”), Derek Klena (“Jagged Little Pill”); Ann-Margret (“Grumpy Old Men”); and Eve Plumb (“The Brady Bunch”). The film was shot on location both in upstate New York and at Radio City Music Hall.

FETV is tipping off March Match Up with fan-picked episodes airing the week of March 14. Each day FETV will feature a two-hour block from 6-8p of episodes from the network’s highest-rated comedies: “Bewitched,” “Leave It to Beaver,” “Hazel,” “Barney Miller,” and “The Beverly Hillbillies.” Viewer feedback was collected through FETV’s social channels on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

A “massively interactive” life event, “The Walking Dead: Last Mile” is launching this summer as a Facebook Gaming and Facebook Watch exclusive. Part game, part interactive television show, “TWD:LM” will put the all-new story and protagonists in the hands of the players as the saga unfolds. “We’re thrilled to unveil this new MILE experience that will take place in ‘The Walking Dead’ universe, where fans can play games and influence this new world and its inhabitants as a community,” said Robert Kirkman, Chairman of Skybound Entertainment and creator of “The Walking Dead.” “We’re excited to collaborate with our partners Genvid and Facebook to bring this pioneering vision to life.”

UPFRONTS CALENDAR

Today, March 2: A+E Networks at 4p (virtual)
March 3: Disney Advertising Tech and Data Showcase at 2p (virtual)
March 22: NBCUniversal’s One22 Conference at 11a (30 Rock Studio H)
March 23: Fox’s Content Drives Commerce Brand Partnership Summit (Fox Lot, LA)
March 24: Nickelodeon at 4p (Palladium Times Square)
April 6: Disney’s Sports Summit (virtual); AMC Networks at 6:30p (The Peak in Hudson Yards)
April 26: Disney Storyteller’s Showcase
May 2-6: IAB NewFronts
May 2: NBCUniversal/Peacock NewFront
May 3: Roku at 11:30a (Caldwell Factory)
May 16: NBCUniversal (Radio City Music Hall); Telemundo (Ziegfeld Theater); Fox (Skylight)
May 17: Discovery (Jazz at Lincoln Center); Disney (Basketball City at Pier 36); YouTube Brandcast at 8p; Univision
May 18: Paramount (Carnegie Hall); WarnerMedia (Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden)

May 19: The CW (New York City Center Theater)

TECH TALK

Disney Advertising is taking a “multifaceted and vendor-agnostic” approach to measurement, the company announced. “There is a big difference between currency and measurement and as the industry continues to evolve – the only constant is change,” said Lisa Valentino, EVP, Client Solutions & Addressable Enablement, Disney Advertising. “Disney is not in the business of scoring players. It is our responsibility to deliver the best measurement capabilities for our clients that give them visibility into effectiveness and outcomes across our vast portfolio of premium content.” To that end, in addition to entering into an agreement with Publicis Media to test work on Nielsen’s new NielsenOne system, Disney Advertising is expanding its relationship with Samba TV to bring Samba’s True Reach and Frequency currency measurement to agencies and holding companies accessing Disney inventory, and has begun work with Comscore and Omnicom Media Group to help advertisers access insights. All told, Disney is working with nearly 100 providers supporting transparency and accuracy.

Marketing platform AppLovin has agreed to acquire CTV software provider Wurl for $430 million. “AppLovin brings enormous new demand from advertisers and our partnership will enable current customers to realize even more benefits including expanded ad revenue, new viewers, and enhanced distribution to global CTV audiences,” said Wurl CEO Sean Doherty Sr. “Together, we’ll pursue our mission and dramatically impact the CTV market.”

Gimbal | true[X], a provider of location technology and advanced media technologies, has relaunched as Infillion. The name change signals the unification of the company’s product offerings and data capabilities following Gimbal’s acquisition of adtech CTV company true[X] from Disney in 2020. The name Infillion is intended to convey “the infinite possibilities available to the agencies and brands the company serves as a result of the explosive growth in e-commerce and digital media.”

STREAMING

Good news and bad news, kids: Disney+ is adding more Marvel live-action series titles, including “Daredevil,” “Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage,” “Iron Fist,” “The Defenders,” and “The Punisher” on March 16, now that Netflix’s licensing deal for the films has ended. But the streamer is also releasing an update to its Parental Controls that will prompt all subscribers to update their settings. “We have experienced great success with an expanded content offering on Disney+ across our global markets and are excited to continue that here in the US as well by offering our consumers not only great content with the new Marvel additions, but also a set of features that help ensure a viewing experience most suitable for them and their family,” said Michael Paull, President of Disney Streaming.

Kantar and fuboTV have partnered to leverage Kantar’s media effectiveness product Brand Lift Insights, allowing advertisers and marketers running campaigns on fuboTV to better understand the effectiveness of their CTV advertising and benchmark their performance against that of their competitors. “Our research shows that streaming is a category that continues to grow, not just in terms of active viewers but also ad receptivity, meaning consumers are interested in advertising featured on video streaming services,” said Marco Parente, SVP of Product at Kantar. “We know marketing campaigns are seven times more impactful among a receptive audience and leveraging the medium in the right way is crucial for a campaign’s success.”

Funimation content has moved to Crunchyroll, making good on the promise to anime fans that the merger of Funimation and Crunchyroll would bring together the previously separate services into a single subscription. Crunchyroll’s pricing remains unchanged. “When we brought Funimation and Crunchyroll together last year, our top priority was to put fans first,” said Colin Decker, CEO of Crunchyroll. “Unifying all of our brands and services under the Crunchyroll brand globally enables us to offer more value than ever before as we combine subs, dubs, simulcasts, library, music, movies, manga—all into one subscription.”

POLARIS, the 100% black-owned television, digital and social media platform, and VIZIO announced that a record number of viewers tuned in to the POLARIS channel for curated content celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month and content leading up to the Super Bowl. Average session times increased 2x for the channel during the Martin Luther King Jr. marathon; there was a 6.5x month-over-month increase in sessions and a 13.5x increase in viewing minutes over the same period (December 2021- February 2022); and Big Game-related content on POLARIS increased average audience and average viewership minutes by 2x in February.

GOING GLOBAL

Global format “Come Dine With Me” has been commissioned by HBO Max in Mexico for the first time, as well recommissioned in Germany, Greece, Croatia, Chile, Brazil, Latvia, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Turkey, Slovakia and Sweden.

FINALLY: END-TO-END MEDIA WORKFLOW SOLUTIONS DEBUNKED!

Join OpenDrives & Signiant on Thursday, March 24th at 1pm ET, as they discuss how to implement a technology stack that allows you to optimize your workflows. Work smarter!

READ MORE

RATINGS

If you build it (in 100 days ) they will come: The season three premiere of HGTV’s “100 Day Dream Home” on Monday, February 21delivered a 0.58 Live+3 rating among P25-54 and a .78 Live+3 rating. The performance in the demos reflected increases of 41% and 50%, respectively, over the prior six weeks.

The SAG Awards, simulcast on TBS and TNT Sunday night, delivered 1.8 million total viewers, a big jump from the 957,000 viewers whom tuned into last year’s remote ceremony.

The season two finale of HBO’s “Euphoria” reached 6.6 million viewers across all platforms, 30% above the week prior and 5.5x the season one finale night in 2019.

Spectrum News averaged more than 2.7 million daily viewing households across its digital and linear platforms in February. Severe weather, the New York State Democratic Convention and Black History Month programming all contributed to the boost.

Basic Cable Nielsen Top 5 for the February 2022
Show, P2+ 000s
Primetime
Fox News 2634
MSNBC 1194
USA 1110
HGTV 1041
TNT 999
Total Day
Fox News 1670
MSNBC 719
USA 662
CNN 621
HGTV 579

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, February 28
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: The Bachelor 3.71 (0.8), The Good Doctor 3.44 (0.4)
CBS: The Neighborhood 5.70 (0.6), Bob Hearts Abishola 5.50 (0.5), NCIS 7.12 (0.5), NCIS: Hawai’I 4.54 (0.3)
CW: All American 0.54 (0.1), All American: Homecoming 0.40 (0.1)
Fox: 9-1-1: Lone Star 4.82 (0.6), The Cleaning Lady 2.62 (0.4)
NBC: AGT Extreme 3.42 (0.5), Endgame 2.2 (0.3)
Telemundo: Exatlon Estados Unidos 1.05 (0.3), Hercai: Amor y Venganza 1.14 (0.3), Pasion de Gavilanes 0.82 (0.3)
Univision: Soltero con Hijas 1.63 (0.5), Mi Fortuna es Amarte 1.68 (0.5), Madre 1.63 (0.5)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

NBCUniversal’s Advertising and Partnerships division announced a strategic expansion of its Communications function with the appointment of Neil Ripley to the role of Vice President, Communications. Ripley was previously Head of Corporate Communications at Comscore. Margaux Fleuranges has also joined the team as Senior Manager, leading executive thought leadership and social media strategy. She most recently served as Senior Associate, Corporate Communications at Univision.

Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group has promoted Nora Zimmett to President of News and Original Series for Weather Group. Her previous title was Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President.

Group Black has appointed Kerel Cooper as President of Advertising and Laura Summers as Chief Sales Officer. Cooper was formerly CMO for LiveIntent, while Summers was previously VP of Global Advertising Sales at CBS Interactive.

sparks & honey, Omnicom’s cultural intelligence consultancy, announced two promotions. Hannah Hickman has been elevated to VP of Client Strategy and Head of Youth practice, and Robb Henzi has been upped to Senior Vice President and Head of Policy & Philanthropy practice.

Animation company Omens Studios has appointed Jimmy Kim as Executive Chairman. Kim most recently worked as Managing Director at Genflix.

Lauri McGarrigan has joined Crown Media Family Networks as Senior Vice President of Business Development, Content Distribution. McGarrigan was most recently Head of Distribution & Partnerships for Common Sense Networks.

NEO Studios, part of media group ELEVEN, announced a new leadership team that will operate from its US headquarters in Santa Monica, CA. Anouk Mertens, previously COO of ELEVEN, has been named Global CEO, NEO Studios. Melanie Capacia Johnson has been named President, NEO Studios, US, with Jill Johnson named EVP, Entertainment. Additionally, Mike Basone serves as Head of Unscripted Development, and Francesca Smith as Senior Director of Scripted Development & Production.

This Day in History
1819 – The US passed its first immigration law, The Steerage Act of 1819.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which series did Lifetime cancel after season four, then resurrect for two more seasons? “Drop Dead Diva” (2009-14). Kudos to: Sabrina Wind-WindPower Entertainment/Paris; Greg West-WATC/Atlanta; Tara Berman-NBC News/NYC; Aaron Paquette-AccelerateSG/Fort Worth, TX; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
On which show did Halle Berry win her first series regular role? (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