A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM A+E NETWORKS

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

Today’s Premieres
A&E: The Torso Killer Confessions at 9p
Bravo: Top Chef at 9p
Paramount+: School Spirits

Today’s Finales
Peacock: Poker Face
WE tv: Growing Up Hip Hop at 9p

IN THE NEWS

Paramount Global has launched a new trade campaign. “‘Popular is Paramount’ is a celebration of our company, content and creative excellence,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO, Paramount. “It simply captures what we do best — giving audiences what they want, with smart strategies that maximize the reach and power of our unified portfolio to successfully market and distribute IP all around the world at scale.” The campaign, produced in-house, will roll out across iowned and paid media, as well as OOH placements in New York and LA.

Showtime viewers could be seeing more familiar faces. Speaking at the Morgan Stanley media conference about Showtime’s strategy, Bakish said, “We’re leaning into our Showtime franchises…You could think of the slate as smaller, which will be less expensive, but also really giving the people what they want, which is more Showtime, maybe more ‘Dexter,’ maybe more ‘Ray Donovan’.” As for Showtime’s integration with Paramount+, “It costs more money to market two brands, two products, two platforms, two organizations,” said the exec. “And all that’s being consolidated into one.”

Ad investment in gaming is not nearly at the level it should be due to five misperceptions, according to a study from IAB in partnership with MediaScience: Brands typically overestimate the cost of entering the in-game advertising market; underestimate the reach and quality of in-game ads; underestimate how effective these ads can be as purchase-driving tools; overestimate the complexity of measuring success with in-game ads; and overestimate the risks to the brand and in-game advertising’s effect on brand safety. “The success stories we heard from buyers about gaming were striking — and all the more so because they don’t align at all with the misperceptions of the industry at large,” said Zoe Soon, Vice President, Experience Center, IAB. “Advertisers are missing a prime opportunity to reach and persuade consumers in these dynamic environments.”

Advertisers could reach 98% of U.S. households through programmatic buys by the second half of 2022, up from 50% at the end of 2019, according to Pixalate’s CTV Ad Supply Chain Trend Report. On the Roku platform, the top-grossing open programmatic advertising apps in 2H22 were Hulu, Pluto TV, Sling TV, Plex and Fubo TV, while the top-grossing apps on the Fire TV platform were Pluto TV, Philo, Tubi, Sling TV and Fubo TV.

2023 Measurement & Data Conference

What will you learn at this year’s conference?

2023 themes include:
Currency
Evolution in Measurement
Attribution
Attention
Transition

INTERESTED? LEARN MORE NOW

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

ViX has ordered a biopic focused on Jenni Rivera, starring and executive produced by Annie Gonzalez (“Gentefied”). Javier Chapa and Phillip Braun of Mucho Mas Media are producing “Jenni” (wt) with Donald De Line of De Line Pictures. Jenni Rivera Enterprises is executive producing the film alongside Annie Gonzalez, Simon Wise, Bruce Barshop, Vincent Cordero, and Kristopher Wynne.

CBS game show “The Price Is Right” is relocating from Television City, its home since its 1972 debut, to a new facility Haven Studios in Glendale. The move comes as Television City is set to undergo a major renovation.

Five-part docuseries “Time of Essence,” celebrating the iconic magazine, is set to premiere this summer. “In 1970, Essence recognized that Black women’s contributions to society were being undervalued and set a new standard as the first publication to reflect Black womanhood, affirming her strength, style and achievements and provoking industry reform and change,” said Tina Perry, President OWN. “This series will be a testament to what Essence has been historically and how it continues to shape the culture at large today.”

Manhattan Neighborhood Network, a media learning, production, and distribution hub that promotes creative expression, independent voices and community engagement, will unveil its new location Midtown Manhattan location on March 15. The multimedia space will offer state-of-the-art equipment open to all ages, races, ethnicities, national origins, sexes, sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, faiths and religions, abilities, and regardless of socio-economic status.

Casting notes: Melissa Benoist (“Supergirl”) will voice Teela in Netflix’s “Masters of the Universe: Revolution”…. Joining the cast of MGM+ spinoff “Belgravia: The Next Chapte” set to premiere in winter 2023, as series regulars are Harriet Slater (“Pennyworth”), Ben Wainwright (“Gangs of London”), and Edward Bluemal (“Washington Black”)….Haylie Duff (“Napolen Dynamite”) is onboard animated blockchain pilot “Cyko K0.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Apple TV+ sports docuseries “Real Madrid: Until The End” kicks off Friday, March 10. Introduced by David Beckham, the three-parter goes behind the scenes with the football club for a look at their 2021–2022 season.

E! competition series “Celebrity Prank Wars,” hosted and exec produced by Kevin Hart and Nick Cannon, premieres Thursday, April 6 at 10p. Celebrity participants include Anthony Anderson, Brie Bella, Nikki Bella, Lil Duval, Big E, Fantasia, Tiffany Haddish, Taraji P. Henson, Lil Jon, Kofi Kingston, Ludacris, Joel McHale, Killer Mike, Chance The Rapper, T-Pain, Robin Thicke, T.I. and Xavier Woods.

Season two of “My Grandparents’ War” will air on PBS on Tuesdays from April 11-May 2 (check local listings). This go-round, stars exploring their family’s wartime stories include Kit Harrington (“Game of Thrones”), Keira Knightley (“Atonement”), Toby Jones (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”) and Emeli Sande (“Next to Me”).

Also returning for a sophomore season is Paramount+’s “Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head.” The animated series premieres with two episodes on Thursday, April 20.

British sitcom “Hullraisers” hits IFC on Wednesday, April 5 at 11p. The series follows the lives of three working-class women navigating their lives.

COMING UP

HBO doc “Being Mary Tyler Moore,” directed by James Adolphus (“Soul of a Nation”) and produced by Lena Waithe (“A Thousand and One”), Debra Martin Chase (“Harriet”), and Ben Selkow (“Q: Into The Storm”), debuts this May chronicling the life and career of the groundbreaking, hat tossing star.

UPFRONTS UPDATE

The upcoming slate for History Channel, unveiled at the A+E Networks Upfront presentation, is packed with big names. Programming includes Kevin Costner’s “The West”; doc “Black Patriots: The 761st Battalion,” produced by Morgan Freeman; “FDR,” exec produced by Doris Kearns Goodwin and Bradley Cooper; “Five Families (with Michael Imperioli)”, detailing the rise and fall of the New York Mafia’s five families; and “The Unbelievable with Dan Aykroyd,” delving into surprising stories.

“Our goal within this media evolution is to meet audiences wherever and however they consume content, by working with great worldwide storytellers to develop and execute their vision,” said Paul Buccieri, President and Chairman of A+E Networks Group. “Over the last four years, we have been on a journey to expand our production capabilities in both scripted and factual, and we’ve established key relationships in the talent management space as well as continued creating compelling content across our brands to further meet the needs of our valued partners and viewers.”

History’s not the only A+E net to corral popular celebs. Lifetime is back in business with Janet Jackson for “Janet Jackson: Family First,” following the singer on a new tour, while Anthony Anderson and Cedric the Entertainer team for A&E’s “Kings of BBQ,” and TLC will present a movie executive produced by Mary J. Blige.

TECH TALK

TikTok is launching a paywalled 20-minute video feature called Series to generate revenue for select creators, who can charge up to $189.99 for the content. Each Series can include up to 80 videos that can each be up to 20 minutes in length. The format will start taking applications for a wider range of creators in the coming months.

A new version of Spotify was introduced on Wednesday, and on “CBS This Morning” today, Spotify’s CEO and founder, Daniel Ek, will walk through the new home feed that has been “completely redesigned from the ground up.” Ek will also address the ongoing controversies related to podcaster Joe Rogan and the allegations that Spotify fails to fairly pay its artists.

Spotify announced an exclusive video partnership with podcaster and content creator Markiplier (“Distractible,” “Go! My Favorite Sports Team”). In a first for both podcasts, video episodes will launch exclusively on Spotify.

MEASUREMENT

Google’s YouTube issued a call for the industry to agree on, adopt and adhere to common principles in any third-party cross-media audience measurement solution. “We’re siding with marketers who need to measure reach across all platforms, regardless of the content creator, video length or camera quality,” said the company in a blog post. “This will improve consumer ad experiences and help marketers and agencies drive much needed efficiency in their media investments.” Google proposed five principles:
· Measurement must provide a unified view of audiences across TV, CTV/OTT and online platforms.
· The MRC viewable impression should be the basis for counting impressions, reach and frequency, and report other metrics, such as duration, separately.
· Only solutions that are privacy-centric can meet consumer expectations and be durable for marketers long term.
· Solutions should be publisher agnostic, marketer-oriented, with transparent and auditable methodologies.
· Competition and choice in measurement, should be supported, while avoiding unnecessary complexity and costs for advertisers and agencies.
Google’s call for standards comes days after starting-point guidelines were issued by the first joint industry committee in the US for cross-measurement criteria.

DoubleVerify announced the launch of DV Campaign Automator for Google Campaign Manager 360. The solution streamlines the campaign trafficking process, removing manual, repetitive touch points that. DV Campaign Automator works across all formats and devices, including desktop, mobile web, mobile app and CTV.

iSpot and The CW are partnering to measure cross-platform premium video campaigns and sponsorships associated with the 2023 LIV Golf Tournament across linear and digital properties. “With an innovative approach to sponsorship opportunities for brands and advertisers, LIV Golf on the CW will be an immersive, omnichannel advertising opportunity in ways the industry really hasn’t seen before,” said Michael Strober, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer, Nexstar Media Group. “With this unprecedented integration of experiential omnichannel activations across digital and linear, as well as traditional and offline channels, we needed a measurement provider who could keep pace with our innovative approach to consumer monetization.”

STREAMING

Hulu turns 15 on March 12 and is marking the occasion with the roll-out of new content and an anniversary collection. Hulu’s home page spotlights the shows and movies that have defined Hulu over the past 15 years including “Prey,” “Only Murders in the Building,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” and more. “Hulu has navigated the ever-changing landscape by delivering our subscribers enthralling and award-winning content, characters and storylines that have defined the cultural zeitgeist, while also driving innovation and advertising experiences,” said Hulu President Joe Earley. “We are incredibly grateful to the millions of subscribers, fans, creators, talent, content partners, advertisers, and Hulugans who have made it all possible.”

Spin Magazine has partnered with Best Ever Channels for the launch of a new Spin music FAST channel, debuting March 21 on Amazon Freevee. “Our partners at Amazon Freevee understand the power of the Spin brand, and together we’ll reach a massive audience of fans hungry to connect with their favorite artists and the most authentic voice in music editorial,” said BEC Co-Chief Executive Officer Barry Gordon.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Social media sports and entertainment content platform Playmaker and esports organization Complexity Gaming announced a long-term partnership to help bridge the gap between traditional sports and gaming. Playmaker will utilize Complexity Gaming as a resource as it ventures into the esports market with its recalibrated esports and gaming channel, playmakerOP, and have preferred access to GameSquare’s full-service content studio, creative assets, gaming equipment and technology, and a athletes and gaming influencers under management. Complexity Gaming will utilize Playmaker’s 18+ million followers across social platforms, touching a variety of verticals including sports, betting and entertainment to enhance media visibility and brand awareness.

The New York Jets and Chicago Bears are teaming for the inaugural NFL Girls Flag Football league, the first UK all girls’ competition of its kind. The league will feature 12 teams of girls aged 12-14 kicking off on April 20 with a Championship Event on May 22.

Sport 24, the live sports channel available on airlines and cruise lines, struck a deal with FIFA to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023Ô. The IMG-owned channel will show more than 90 hours of live coverage across 64 matches from this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™ taking place in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand between 20 July – 20 August 2023.

GOING GLOBAL

Screenwriter and executive producer David Kane (“Shetland”) is developing the five-book Morrow series for a TV series set in Glasgow. The crime drama, which is not yet attached to a broadcaster, will be jointly exec produced by author Denise Mina, Kane and Freedom C=Scripted Creative Director, Mike Ellen.

Following their merger in August 2022, UK’s Information Resources, Inc. (“IRI”) and The NPD Group (“NPD”) unveiled a new combined company name and brand identity: Circana. Through technology, advanced analytics, and cross-industry data, Circana provides offers insights on consumer behavior.

MotorTrend FAST TV will be available on Plex in India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the UK in addition to the US and Canada. “Expanding the availability of MotorTrend FAST TV to Plex users across the globe enables millions of new viewers can easily enjoy MotorTrend’s fun and informative shows that celebrate car culture, and builds upon our commitment to providing our users with the best possible content,” said Shawn Eldridge, Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Content, Plex.

Cynopsis Measure Up! Awards

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…for your strategic and tactical accomplishments in currency, attribution, Connected TV, and more across 19 different categories. Enter today for “Outstanding Advancement in Data Quality/Integrity,” recognizing excellence in data accuracy. To view the full list of categories, click below:

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RATINGS

Nickelodeon’s “Kids’ Choice Awards 2023” simulcast reached 3.1 million total viewers over its weekend airings, up +40% versus last year’s telecast. The simulcast ranks as the week’s (2/27/23-3/5/23) top cable telecast among Kids 2-11(1.0/163K), Kids 6-11(1.0/102K) and Tweens 9-14 (0.9/91K) and drew 637K total viewers.

Nick also had a winner with “Bossy Bear” – the show’s March 6 debut scored Nickelodeon its biggest preschool launch share since the 2019 debut of “Ryan’s Mystery Playdate,” and posted year-over-year gains with Kids 2-5 (1.1/71K) of +83%.

This Day in History
1959 – Barbie was introduced at the American Toy Fair.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
In 1971 special “Here Comes Peter Cottontail,” what did an evil bunny feed Peter’s rooster to keep him from waking up to deliver eggs? Magic bubblegum. Kudos to: Randall Bosley-Studio Talent Group/Santa Monica, CA; Rosemary Cunningham-MeTV/Chicago; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Eric Litt-Nexstar/Chicago; Louis Lewow-FITE/Atlanta; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC

Today’s Trivia Question
In which 1960s sitcom did Julie Newmar play a robot? (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