Today’s Premieres
Discovery: Street Outlaws: Fastest in America at 8p
Fox Nation: Jussie Smollett: Anatomy of a Hoax
ID: Mean Girl Murders at 9p; Killer Cheer at 10p

IN THE NEWS

Count Roku among the customers hit hard by the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank last week. In an SEC filing, Roku revealed 26% of its cash – “largely uninsured” – was held in the bank. “At this time, the company does not know to what extent the company will be able to recover its cash on deposit at SVB,” said the filing. “Notwithstanding the closure of SVB, the company continues to believe that its existing cash and cash equivalents balance and cash flow from operations will be sufficient to meet its working capital, capital expenditures, and material cash requirements from known contractual obligations for the next twelve months and beyond.”

BET has a third suitor. As Paramount mulls the possibility of selling a major stake in the network, along with VH1, Tyler Perry and Byron Allen have expressed interest. Now media company Group Black is in the mix, reports The New York Times. Led by CEO Travis Montaque, Group Black would team with CVC Capital Partners to make a bid.

The CBS affiliate board has endorsed a carriage proposal from Paramount Global that will keep affiliated stations’ feeds on Hulu Plus Live TV, Paramount Plus and YouTUbe TV, and return them FuboTV. A previous deal offered by Paramount was deemed inadequate and rejected by the board. Station owners will have the option of opting into the new agreement with Paramount and the virtual multichannel video programming distributors.

Eighty-eight percent of adults notice OOH ads and nearly 80% of those viewers are inspired to take action, according to new survey results from the Out of Home Advertising Association of America and Morning Consult. Survey responses also reinforced the importance of creating OOH ads that represent an increasingly multicultural population. Nearly six in ten Black, Asian, and Hispanic American consumers said they are much more likely or somewhat more likely to notice an OOH ad that reflected their cultural identity, compared with about one in four white adults. “It’s crucial that brands take an inclusive stance with their advertising,” said Anna Bager, President & CEO of the OAAA. “This goes beyond representing minority groups in campaigns and includes hiring diverse teams to conceptualize and create the ads.”

“New Girl” is leaving Netflix to move to new streaming homes Hulu and Peacock. The sitcom ran on Fox from 2011-18.

“Law & Order: Organized Crime” is welcoming its fourth showrunner in a year. Sean Jablonski is stepping down, replaced for the final three episodes of season three by “Law & Order: SVU’s” David Graziano. Jablonski had taken the reins from Bryan Goluboff, who had taken over for interim showrunner Barry O’Brien, who replaced Ilene Chaiken in February 2022.

Ad inventory for Sunday’s Oscars on ABC was sold out. “Our sponsors showed up in full force, across every major category with new and custom creative, joining a spectacular evening celebrating the biggest achievements in storytelling and the moments that bring us together,” said Rita Ferro, President, Disney Advertising. Rates were reportedly slightly lower than last year.

CBS’s “NCIS: Los Angeles” will end with a bang after 14 seasons. In addition to stretching out the series finale to two episodes, adding a May 21 final episode, CBS will air an “Entertainment Tonight” special, “A Salute to ‘NCIS: Los Angeles’” after the series ender. “Wrapping up a series is always bittersweet,” said showrunner and executive producer R. Scott Gemmill. “We were blessed to have 14 seasons together, so bringing it to a satisfying end was extremely challenging after so many years. Fortunately, CBS was gracious enough to give us an extra episode in order to send off our characters in a way befitting their stories that hopefully the fans find both satisfying and hopeful.”

Prime Video subscribers will have an opportunity to see “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” in theaters ahead of the film’s official release. Paramount and Amazon are teaming for an event on March 19 at 2p, with over 1200 theaters across the country onboard. “We know that Prime members love watching spirited, adventurous stories as much as we love bringing them to audiences,” said Chris Aronson, Paramount Pictures President of Domestic Distribution. “We know that we can’t wait to give Prime members an early look at this epic quest.”

First Look 2023: OTT Virtual Conference

Will we see you Wednesday?

Take a few hours out of your day to hear from industry experts this Wednesday, March 15th at 1:25 PM EST. Join us for free and listen to speakers from iSpot.tv, Premion, Spectrum Reach, Advertiser Perceptions, Canela Media, GroupM, HUMAN Security, IAB, Magnite, McDonald’s, and Upwave. To view the full agenda, click the link below:

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

The “People’s Choice Awards” is expanding with the first-ever “People’s Choice Country Awards” airing in September across NBC and Peacock, live from the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville. Produced by Den of Thieves with Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski serving as executive producers, the telecast is part of the collaboration resulting from NBCUniversal’s equity investment in Opry Entertainment Group alongside Atairos.

BET+ has ordered biopic “The First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story.” Vivica Fox (“Holiday Hideaway”) will direct the film based on a script by Gabrielle Collins. Tressa Azarel Smallwood (“All In”) and Judge Greg Mathis (“Judge Mathis”) executive produce alongside Donte Lee and Delece James. Production is set to begin in April.

Imagicomm Entertainment (Cowboy Way FAST Channel) is developing a new action-crime series based on the 2020 film, “Blue Ridge.” “The film introduced several story arcs perfect for episodic development,” said Jonathan Collins, VP of Digital Media Distribution for Imagicomm Entertainment. “The series expands the film’s storyline and reprises the role of Johnathon Schaech (“Legends of Tomorrow”) as Sheriff Justin Wise. With the addition of new characters, each episode will take viewers deeper into the mystery, intrigue, and suspense.”

“Flintstones” spinoff “Bedrock” landed a pilot presentation at Fox, with executive producer Elizabeth Banks voicing an adult Pebbles. Also onboard are Stephen Root as Fred; Amy Sedaris as Wilma; Nicole Byer as Betty; Joe Lo Truglio as Barney; and Manny Jacinto as Bamm-Bamm.

Amirah J (“Shameless”) landed a series regular role on ABC’s drama pilot based on TF1 detective series “HPI (High Intellectual Potential).

What does a magazine editor-turned-novelist think makes a TV adaptation work? Meredith Berlin, author of Friends with Issues, shares her thoughts in Cynsiders.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

OWN’s “Love & Marriage: Huntsville” is back for a new season on Saturday, April 8 at 8p. The reality show is OWN’s most-watched series.

“Searching for Mexico,” starring Eva Longoria as she explores the lands of her ancestors, premieres Sunday, March 26 on CNN.

Season three of “I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson” premieres May 30 on Netflix. The sketch comedy was co-created by “SNL” alum Robinson and “SNL” producer Zach Kanin.

Bloomberg Media’s newest original series, “An Optimist’s Guide to the Planet,” will showcase the stories of people around the world transforming the environment for good. Hosted by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and produced by Cream Productions and Wildfire Television, the six-episode Canada-UK coproduction launches in 2024.

FOX News Channel is airing a four-part series beginning today, March 13. In “Failing Our Children: Teen Girls,” correspondent Gillian Turner will detail the mental health crisis, sexual abuse, exploitation and digital dangers young women in America are facing.

Missed Sunday’s encore of the debut episode of “Farmer Wants a Wife”? Fox is offering another chance to catch up today, March 13 at 9p. The reality show, which premiered March 8, offers a new installment in its regular Wednesday timeslot on March 15.

COMING UP

Quinta Bronson (“Abbott Elementary”) will host NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” on April 1, accompanied by musical guest Lil Yachty. While post-production editors have threatened a strike over pay and benefits, NBC has said it will resolve the issue by the end of the month.

The Hollywood Critics Association has set the dates and for the 2023 HCA TV Awards. The two-night event will take place at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, August 12 for the 2023 HCA Broadcast & Cable TV Awards and Sunday, August 13 for the Streaming TV Awards. A Creative Arts TV Awards ceremony which will take place at the Westin Bonaventure, date tbd.

Cinedigm has acquired rights to new horror film “The Ancestral,” with plans to release the movie on its horror streaming platform, Screambox, later this year.

TECH TALK

NBCUniversal is partnering with The Trade Desk on Unified ID 2.0 to boost the addressability of programmatic inventory on Peacock. The update was shared at The Trade Desk’s Forward ’23: Always On event last week. “We want to make the full suite of capabilities available across transaction methods. So we’ve been accessing identity solutions in the programmatic landscape and are thrilled to announce that we have officially partnered on UID2,” said Joe Cady, EVP of Advanced Advertising at NBCU, who added that the solution should be live next month. “It will help with addressability, add to efficiency and effectiveness, and I’m sure that’s just the beginning.”

SPORTS ROUNDUP

NCAA March Madness Live, the live streaming and second screen destination for the basketball tournament, will include an expanded multi-game viewing feature on the web and increased audio integrations via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The platform will again offer fans curated viewing experiences featuring the updates and top moments from every game. Fast Break presented by AT&T and Nissan will give whip-around coverage of each contest live and in real-time, and users will have access to a collection of video channels dedicated to classic games, bracket analysis, insights and more. This year, the NCAA Men’s March Madness Official Bracket is updated to deliver an enhanced interactive experience, showcasing live video and score tickers within the page to keep fans in the action as they track their latest picks.

The BBC aired what it described as “limited sport programming” this past weekend after hosts of many of its sports shows refused to go on air, in protest of soccer host Gary Lineker’s suspension for comments critical of the British government’s new asylum policy. In a Twitter post, Lineker compared language about migrants to that used in Nazi Germany. “We take far fewer refugees than other major European countries,” he tweeted. “This is just an immeasurably cruel policy directed at the most vulnerable people in language that is not dissimilar to that used by Germany in the 30s.” Late night coverage, commentary on matches and interviews were all cut back or cut altogether. Which didn’t necessarily affect ratings – highlights show “Match of the Day,” cut to 20 minutes and aired without hosts, drew 500,000 more viewers than it had the week prior. Monday morning, Lineker was reinstated, with the BBC saying it would review its social media policies.

AT&T inked a deal to continue its sponsorship of NCAA athletic events through the 2024-25 academic year. The telecommunications company has been an NCAA “corporate champion” since 2001

ESPN will provide two hours of dedicated NFL free agency coverage beginning today, March 13 through Thursday, March 16, as the NFL offseason start off free agency. The special afternoon block, anchored by “NFL Live” in its normal 4p timeslot, will be include NFL free agency breaking news and coverage. Senior NFL Insider Adam Schefter will be a mainstay across all programming.

Former BET President and BET Centric General Manager Paxton Baker is making an investment in the NBA Basketball Africa League, Cape Town Tigers. A Washington Nationals owner for the past 17 years, Mr. Baker has also invested in the Washington Kastles World Team Tennis and the Washington Spirit of the National Women’s Soccer League.

GOING GLOBAL

Banijay Iberia is a sponsoring partner of Fundación Diversidad, a European business movement to promote diversity and inclusion. The company will espouse the principles of equality, inclusivity and anti-discrimination among its staff, as well as between collaborators, suppliers, and clients.

Philippine media company ABS-CBN announced its tentpole international co-production for 2023, “The Bagman,” a spin-off of the original locally produced digital series “Bagman” for the Filipino audience. The drama series will be produced by Philippine-based companies – ABS-CBN International Production Division and Dreamscape Entertainment, Rein Entertainment, and Nathan Studios Inc.

2023 Sports Media Awards

2023 Finalists Announced!

Congrats to all of our 2023 Sports Media Awards finalists and Luminary Award recipients! Chosen from one of our most competitive pool of applicants yet, this year’s ceremony is quickly shaping up to be one of the greats in 2023… don’t miss your chance be a part of this year’s celebration!

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RATINGS

The series premiere episodes of Bounce original series “Act Your Age” were seen by 2.14 million viewers in their debut telecasts on Saturday, March 4, which also included a special presentation on Bounce’s sister network ION. The show became the most-watched half-hour series launch in Bounce history.

Three weeks into its current season, Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions” (1.2 P18+ / 1.5 W18+) is on track to be the series’ highest-rated ever, with ratings up 12% and 8%, respectively from the prior run.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Thursday, March 2
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Station 19 3.97 (0.5), Grey’s Anatomy 3.18 (0.4), Alaska Daily 2.50 (0.2)
CBS: Young Sheldon 7.66 (0.7), Ghosts 6.62 (0.6), So Help Me Todd 4.60 (0.3), CSI: Vegas 3.34 (0.3)
ION: Chicago PD 0.92 (0.1), Chicago PD 0.85 (0.1), Chicago PD 0.79 (0.1)
FOX: Next Level Chef 1.80 (0.4), Animal Control 1.30 (0.2), Call Me Kat 1.20 (0.2)
NBC: Law & Order 2.90 (0.3), Law & Order: SVU 2.75 (0.3), Law & Order: Organized Crime 1.87 (0.2)
Telemundo: La Casa de los Famosos 1.20 (0.3), El Señor de los Cielos 1.13 (0.4), Juego de Meniras 0.82 (0.2)
Univision: Perdona Nuestros Pecados 1.34 (0.4), Mi Camino es Amarte 1.59 (0.4), Cabo 1.42 (0.5)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Wilson Sporting Goods Co. has promoted Amanda Lamb to Global Vice President of Brand. Wilson moves into the role after serving as the Sr. Director of Global Marketing for Team Sports.

IN MEMORIAM

Bud Grant, head coach of the Minnesota Vikings for 28 seasons, died March 11 at age 95. “No single individual more defined the Minnesota Vikings than Bud Grant,” sad Vikings owners Mark and Zygi Wilf and their family in a statement. “A once-in-a lifetime man, Bud will forever be synonymous with success, toughness, the north and the Vikings.”

Kristin Bjorklund, longtime co-executive producer of “Family Feud,” died of an infection from a kidney transplant. She was 67. “She could be feisty, strong-willed and oh-so-anal, but she had a fun, raunchy sense of humor and there was nothing better than hearing her laugh,” said “Family Feud” co-executive producer Brian Hawley.

“Baretta” star Robert Blake died March 9 at age 89. Blake started his Hollywood career as a child star and won an Emmy for his role as Tony Baretta, but the shooting death of his wife, Bonny Lee Bakley, in 2001 derailed his career. Blake was acquitted of her murder in a criminal trial, but a civil jury found him liable for her death.

This Day in History
1877 – Chester Greenwood patented the earmuffs.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which New York City park is “Russian Doll” (2019-) commonly filmed in? Tompkins Square Park. Kudos to: Callie Tresser-Warner Bros. Discovery/NYC; Ryan Hill-The Walt Disney Company/NYC; James Aidan King-Enlight Distrbutions/Savannah, GA; Rachel Buchanan-NBCUniversal/NYC; Dave Sikula-San Francisco University/San Francisco; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Richard Quan-Deloitte Digital/San Francisco; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which channel, launched in 1999, had three different names before folding in 2020? Freeview, rebranded to The 101 Network and then Audience Network. (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