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Thursday March 18, 2021

Today’s Premieres
discovery+: “The Last Unknown”
E!: “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” at 8p, “Overserved with Lisa Vanderpump” at 9p
Netflix: “B: The Beginning”

Peacock: “TrollsTopia”
WE tv: “Waka & Tammy: What the Flocka” at 9p

Today’s Finales
CBS: “The Unicorn” at 9:30p
Freeform: “grown-ish” at 8p
HGTV: “Rehab Addict Rescue” at 9p

IN THE NEWS

“The Man Who Fell to Earth,” based on the Walter Nevis novel and David Bowie film, is moving from Paramount+ to ViacomCBS sib Showtime, where it will premiere exclusively in 2022. The drama series, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor (“12 Years a Slave”) as a new alien character who arrives on Earth, is being written and executive produced by Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet, who with with executive producer John Hlavin will serve as showrunners.

In more out-of-this-world news, Syfy renewed “Resident Alien” for a second run. The series about an alien posing as human doctor will wrap its first season as the most-watched new cable drama in total viewers, and second among A18-49, and was Syfy’s highest-rated new drama in more than six years in total viewers.

After ten years and eight seasons, OWN’s “Iyanla: Fix My Life” will air its final batch of new episodes starting Saturday, April 10 at 9p. A two-hour farewell special will air on Saturday, May 22 at 9p, showcasing memorable moments and never-before-seen footage from the series. During its most recent season, “Iyanla: Fix My Life” was Saturday night’s #1 original series across broadcast and cable with African American women. “The minute Iyanla stepped onto the stage of ‘The Oprah Show,’ I knew she had a talent that was meant to be shared and I am glad that she created the perfect vehicle to provide OWN viewers with her healing magic,” said Oprah Winfrey. “Sunsetting the series is bittersweet. I’m very thankful for her and the work she does and look forward to what unfolds next from her gift of teaching people to be better versions of themselves.”

“The Drew Barrymore Show” has been renewed for season two. “Launching a daily syndicated show during a pandemic was a challenge no daytime show has ever had to face, but Drew and everyone on this team turned every obstacle into an opportunity and delivered a big, bright, fun hour of much needed optimism to viewers every day,” said Steve LoCascio, President of CBS Media Ventures. The freshman talker grew +19% in homes and +13% among W25-54 from November 2020 to February 2021 across the metered markets, and saw double-digit growth on stations in the top 5 markets.

Wrigley Media Group announced the launch of “Relative Justice,” premiering fall 2021. The reality court show has been cleared in over 75% of the country, including 43 of the top 50 markets. Launch partners include CBS Television Stations, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Nexstar Media Group, E.W. Scripps Company, Tegna Inc., Weigel Broadcasting Co., and Gray Television, among others.

Ellen DeGeneres inked a multi-year deal with Discovery to collaborate on specials, series and documentaries in the natural history space. “Ellen’s dedication to the environment and her love for all animals, including the most endangered creatures who call our planet home, is unmatched,” said Nancy Daniels, Chief Brand Officer, Discovery and Factual. “We welcome Ellen and her team to the Discovery family as she brings her humor, her voice, and her ability to inspire to these important passion projects.” The talk show host will narrate and executive produce the first project under the deal, “Endangered,” a doc that begins streaming Earth Day, April 22 on discovery+.

Mindy Kaling (“The Mindy Project”) has joined the cast of Disney+ animated series “Monsters At Work.” Also onboard is Bonnie Hunt (“Life with Bonnie”), who will reprise her role as Ms. Flint. “Monsters At Work” begin streaming Friday, July 2.

Piers Morgan has the dubious distinction of drawing the most complaints in British television history, for his comments suggesting Meghan Markle was lying about her mental health. The 57,000+ complaints about Morgan for his remarks on “Good Morning Britain” surpassed the 44,500 complaints about a 2007 episode of “Big Brother.” Tweeted an unapologetic Morgan, “Only 57,000? I’ve had more people than that come up & congratulate me in the street for what I said.”

Estrella Media is launching Unidos Contigo, aimed at supporting nonprofit organizations in the fight against COVID-19 and food insecurity in Latino communities. The community initiative will use Estrella Media’s platforms to support Feeding America and various Southern California nonprofits that are servicing the Latino community.

There were 103 commercials from 87 different advertisers during the Grammys, with Entertainment, Tech, and Automotive the top categories. The top advertisers, according to MediaRadar’s calculations, were Remy Martin, Facebook, Geico, McDonald’s and Altice Mobile, making up 15% of the commercial space.

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Lena Headey (“Game of Thrones”) will star in Spectrum Originals and AMC Networks psychological thriller “Beacon 23” as a woman who mysteriously finds her way to a lonely beacon keeper on his lighthouse in space. Headey will also executive produce the project through her production company, Peephole Productions, as part of her first-look deal with Boat Rocker Studios. After a nine-month exclusive run for Spectrum, “Beacon 23” will be an AMC original with a second window across AMC Networks platforms.

Natalie Portman and her producing partner, Sophie Mas, signed an agreement with Apple, giving Apple TV+ first look at TV projects developed by their production company, MountainA.

Acorn TV has renewed British drama “Queens of Mystery,” from Sly Fox Productions. Joining the cast for season two is Florence Hall (“The Princess Switch: Switched Again”) joining the cast as Matilda. Acorn TV has global rights to the series and will premiere it as an Acorn TV Original Series in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, Spain, and Latin America. Acorn Media International is distributing in all other territories.

Reality series “Thicker Than Water,” which aired on Bravo from 2013-16, has been picked up by CJC Network and is currently in production in Atlanta and Nashville. Season four of the series, following the lives of gospel great Ben Tankard and his blended family, will debut July 4 on CJC and Amazon Prime, and be available on Tubi weeks later.

Showtime placed a series order for “Shaka: King of the Zulu Nation,” executive produced and directed by Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day”). The drama, centered on a man’s journey from stigmatized childhood to warrior king, is produced by CBS Studios, Propagate and Fuqua Films, and created and written by Olu Odebunmi and Tolu Awosika (“The Terminal List”), who also executive produce with Ben Silverman and Rodney Ferrell of Propagate.

Season two of Epix drama “Godfather of Harlem” is welcoming Justin Bartha (“The Good Fight”), Annabella Sciorra (“Mental”) and Ronald Guttman (“Hunters”) in recurring roles.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

The seventh and final season of Darren Star’s “Younger” will premiere Thursday, April 15 on Paramount+ and Hulu. The first four episodes will be available to stream at premiere, with the remaining eight episodes dropping weekly on Thursdays. The full season will air on the series’ original home, TV Land, later this year. All six seasons of “Younger” are currently available to binge on Paramount+ and Hulu.

Home renovation experts put a shine on Motor City neighborhoods in HGTV’s “Bargain Block,” premiering Wednesday, April 14 at 9p. Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas buy as many rundown houses as they can on a single block and then renovate them to make them appealing, yet affordable enough for buyers within the Detroit community.

Food Network culinary competition “Chopped” takes new twists in two discovery+ spinoffs. “Chopped 420,” featuring cannabis chefs challenged to create “tasty and mind warping” dishes, premieres (of course) on Tuesday, April 20. “Chopped Next Gen,” challenging Gen Z cooks to solve the algorithm of mystery basket ingredients, arrives Tuesday, May 25.

Dog grooming competition “Pooch Perfect” premieres on ABC Tuesday, March 30 at 8p. Rebel Wilson (“Isn’t It Romantic”) hosts.

Season three of Starz drama “The Girlfriend Experience” premieres Sunday, May 2 at 8p. The new installment is set in the London tech scene, where a neuroscience major finds her client sessions give her an edge in the tech world, and vice versa.

TECH TALK

AT&T is ending its “Data Free TV” program following the recent court ruling upholding California’s net neutrality law. Prior to California’s law, sponsored data customers were able to browse, stream and use applications from sponsors without using their monthly data allowance. “Given that the Internet does not recognize state borders, the new law not only ends our ability to offer California customers such free data services but also similarly impacts our customers in states beyond California,” said the company.

TikTok users who opted out of receiving personalized ads are being notified that starting April 15, their settings will change and the ads they will see might start to be based on what they do on the app. “You still have control over whether ads can be more tailored to you based on data from our advertising partners,” noted the message. The policy is in line with those of similar platforms.

Synamedia unveiled Synamedia Go, a modular suite of data-driven SaaS services aimed at enabling pay TV and OTT/D2C operators to extract more value from their platforms. The first services are Go.Aggregate and Go.Experiment. Targeted at commercial, product and editorial teams, the offerings provide actionable results supported by rapid experimentation, implementation and improvement to drive up engagement, loyalty and revenues. Synamedia also revealed that it is broadening its VIVID brand to extend to cloud workflows.

People-based marketing platform LiveIntent shared new data finding that direct-to-consumer brands are enjoying a 26% higher conversion rate this year when compared to 2020. “We’ve seen enormous growth from DTC brands over the past several years but especially in 2020 when ecommerce consumer spend grew by 44% amid the pandemic,” said Kerel Cooper, CMO at LiveIntent. When it comes to devices, LiveIntent found that the click-through rate for DTC brands is 57% higher than average on tablets, and the conversion rate for DTC brands is 20% higher than average on mobile devices.

Amobee announced a partnership with identity infrastructure provider InfoSum to bring alternative, privacy-compliant identity solutions to advertiser and broadcaster clients. The partnership will allow the companies to jointly offer their respective clients access to identity and media buying solutions through InfoSum’s decentralized customer data ecosystem, and Amobee’s cross-screen, programmatic and broadcaster-centric advertising platform. “While most competitors are focused on the replacement of third party cookies through alternative identity solutions, Amobee is differentiating itself by also betting on ecosystems not reliant on these forms of cookieless identifiers,” said Maria Flores-Portillo, General Manager of EMEA for Amobee. “We believe the decentralization of data will play a key role in the future of identity, with Amobee and InfoSum together empowering advertisers to understand and reach their audiences in environments where traditional identity markers are no longer scalable.”

STREAMING

NBCUniversal will look for primetime TV rates for ads on its streaming service, Peacock, Laura Molen, President of Advertising Sales and Partnerships, told Variety. “We are committed to building this space for marketers and keeping consumer engagement around their ads,” said Molen. “Our pricing is going to reflect this.” Molen said NBCU projects that by fall, Peacock will have a reach similar to broadcast primetime in key demos.

MY TV Land is launching an AVOD platform supporting advertising buyers while introducing a variety of programming. “In this world of Video On Demand (VOD), advertisers are looking for vehicles to promote their client’s products, not only at cost effective rates, but to consumers who most likely are interested in focused demographic for their products,” said John Komninos, President of My TV Land. “We’ve designed this Ad Supported Video On Demand streaming service with that in mind, not only for the advisers, but also adding advanced potential viewer experiences.” My TV Land anticipates a mid-3Q21 launch.

Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Raya and the Last Dragon” arrives on all major digital platforms beginning Friday, April 2, and will include never-before-seen bonus footage and deleted scenes.

COMING UP

Singer/actor José Luis Rodríguez “El Puma” will receive the Legend Award during the Latin American Music Awards on Thursday, April 15 at 7p. The Venezuelan artist will also perform on the live Telemundo broadcast.

GOING GLOBAL

The BBC greenlit “Britney” (wt), following journalist Mobeen Azhar as he journeys from pop star Britney Spears’ hometown in Louisiana to LA, and talks to fans about the #FreeBritney movement.

Blue Ant Media is launching Crimetime on The Roku Channel in Canada. Crimetime is Blue Ant Media’s second live streaming service to join the Roku platform in Canada, following the launch of HauntTV in December.

Rakuten TV’s feature-length documentary “Ona Carbonell: Starting Over” is headed to Rakuten TV exclusively in fall 2021. The film follows Spanish Double Olympic Medalist Ona Carbonell.

UK production company King Bert and WildBrain have been commissioned by CBBC (UK) and Family Channel (Canada) to produce 26 new episodes of the live-action series, “Malory Towers,” in association with BYUtv in the US.

Motorsports channel MAVTV Select has launched on The Roku Channel in Canada. Roku users can stream content via the handheld Roku remote or The Roku Channel app.

Canada’s CTV Life Channel, in association with Boat Rocker Studios, Unscripted through Proper Television, announced that production has begun on new culinary series “Mary Makes It Easy,” hosted by Mary Berg. Filming is taking place in Berg’s kitchen in Toronto.

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May 26 – 28 / Virtual

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In syndication, in the week ending March 7, roughly half of the major programs did not make a move in the Nielsens. In the talk race, “Live with Kelly & Ryan” (1.9, up 6%) and “Dr. Phil” (1.8, down 5%) swapped places, each moving one tenth of a rating point. There was a three-way tie with “Maury,” “Ellen,” and “Wendy Williams” (all 1.0, steady). Among the major magazines, “Inside Edition” (2.4, steady) held the lead, followed by “Access Hollywood” (1.0, unchanged). “TMZ” (0.8, stable) was steady for the second week in a row, while “Extra” and “Daily Mail TV” (both 0.7, unchanged) remained in a tie.

One year after COVID-19 shutdowns began, broadcast news ratings appear to be settling back down to pre-pandemic numbers. The week of March 8, ABC’s “World News Tonight” drew 8.86 million viewers, “NBC Nightly News” delivered 7.29 million and “CBS Evening News” counted 5.34 million. For the same period a year earlier, “World News Tonight” averaged 9.92 million, “NBC Nightly News” hit 8.46 million and “CBS Evening News” posted 6.07 million.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, March 16
Show, P2+ (millions), (A18-49)
ABC: “To Tell the Truth” 3.75 (0.5), “black-ish” 1.93 (0.4), “mixed-ish” 1.54 (0.3), “Soul of a Nation” 1.43 (0.3)
CBS: “NCIS” 9.98 (0.9), “FBI” 8.07 (0.8), “FBI: Most Wanted” 6.26 (0.6)
CW: “The Flash” 0.98 (0.2), “Superman & Lois” 1.21 (0.23)
FOX: “The Holmes Family Effect” 1.42 (0.3), “The Holmes Family Effect” 1.06 (0.2)
ION: “NCIS: New Orleans” .81 (0.2), “NCIS: New Orleans” .89 (0.2), NCIS: New Orleans” .83 (0.2)
NBC: “Young Rock” 2.96 (0.6), “Kenan” 2.21 (0.5), “This Is Us” 5.00 (0.8), “New Amsterdam” 3.64 (0.4)
Telemundo: “Exatlon Estados Unidos” 1.07 (0.3), “La Suerte de Loli” 1.22 (0.3), “Buscando a Frida” 1.11 (0.3)
Univision: “Vencer el Desamor” 1.93 (0.6), “Te Acuerdas de mi Ton”1.49 (0.4), “Hija del Embajador” 1.39 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

The E.W. Scripps Company has appointed Kate O’Brian as Head of News for its national television networks business, effective April 12. O’Brian became the first woman to run a 24/7 cable news organization when she was appointed President at Al Jazeera America; most recently, she has consulted with media organizations on a range of editorial, management and business strategies.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which sitcom character said, “St. Patrick’s Day is the closest thing the Irish have to Christmas”? Michael Scott, on “The Office” (2005-13). Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Sandy Spiegel-WTTW/Chicago, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Marc Mondry-MSG Networks/NYC, Dan Haberer-Creo Entertainment/Playa del Rey, CA, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA, Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL

Today’s Trivia Question
No Googling Week: Who played the oldest brother in “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” (1982-83)? (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.)