Tonight’s Finales
E!: Very Cavallari at 9p
ID: Man with a Van at 9p
Science: What on Earth? at 9p

IN THE NEWS

Fox Corporation took a deep dive into the streaming business with the purchase of AVOD Tubi for $440 million. “Tubi will immediately expand our direct-to-consumer audience and capabilities and will provide our advertising partners with more opportunities to reach audiences at scale,” said Fox CEO Lachlan. “Importantly, coupled with the combined power of FOX’s existing networks, Tubi provides a substantial base from which we will drive long-term growth in the direct-to-consumer arena.” Tubi will run as an independent service, but will now offer older Fox shows for free to subscribers.

Starz is saying goodbye to Vida. The Latinx, LGBTQ-focused series from Tanya Saracho will wrap after its upcoming third season, debuting on Sunday, April 26. Vida premiered in 2018.

Craig Melvin co-anchored MSNBC’s 11a newscast from his home on Wednesday, telling viewers “We are going to get through this. The reality is, this is the new reality.” Melvin self-quarantined after possibly being exposed to the coronavirus. Earlier that day, Savannah Guthrie anchored Today from her home because she had a sore throat.

CBS This Morning begins taping from the Ed Sullivan Theater today. The move to the home of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert was made after six CBS News employees tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. Late Show is on hiatus due to the pandemic.

Fox News is returning to Twitter, over a year after going silent on the platform. The first tweet directed followers to FoxNews.com or Fox News Channel on TV or online – no authentication required – for “tips on keeping safe and stories of survival, struggle and inspiration” in the age of COVID-19.

Facebook said it will give $100 million to 30,000 small businesses in more than 30 countries to boost the global economy during the coronavirus pandemic. Some140 million small businesses use Facebook platforms, and they can apply for help by sharing the nature of their business and how they would use the funds. Facebook is also working with the World Health Organization to remove fake news about the virus from its platforms.

The ARF has partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau to help build awareness of and encourage participation in the 2020 Census. The ARF will host events and provide speaking opportunities and advertising. “The accuracy and reliability of census data is dependent on civic participation. Low participation would have detrimental effects on our industry for the next ten years, as insights sourced from this data would be skewed and unreliable,” said Scott McDonald, CEO and President of the ARF. “We urge both members and the overall industry to support and preserve this institution.” Census Day will be observed nationwide on April 1.

The Cable Center decided to reschedule the 23rd annual Cable Hall of Fame celebration. “The health and safety of our Cable Hall of Fame attendees, honorees and community is always our highest priority,” said Jana Henthorn, President and CEO, The Cable Center. “We look forward to celebrating the 2020 honorees this fall, and express our gratitude for your understanding and continued support.” A new date will be announced soon.

The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity has also moved the dates of its event to October 26 to 30. The annual convention, which brings media executives and creatives to the Riviera, normally runs in June.

Meanwhile, since TV executives can’t attend MIPTV, this year, the annual content market in Cannes run by Reed MIDEM is launching on online service in hopes of stimulating business. The platform will be available for free to all registered MIPTV, MIPDoc and MIPFormats 2020 clients, and will offer exclusive content originally planned for the 57th edition of MIPTV, which was scheduled to run March 28 to April 2 in Cannes.

The cancellation of the Men’s NCAA Basketball Tournament could see ViacomCBS take a $350 million hit this quarter, according to media analyst David Miller from Imperial Capital. Miller has cut earnings forecasts for the company and his price target for the stock, which was down 16% on Wednesday.

Fleabag was a big winner at Tuesday’s UK Royal Television Society Programme Awards, picking up the scripted comedy prize and comedy award prize for creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The ceremony was live-streamed to nominees and viewers due to the coronavirus pandemic. Other winners include Chernobyl writer Craig Mazinm, who took the drama prize; Channel 5, which was named channel of the year; RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, which nabbed best entertainment show; and Gentleman Jack, which was awarded best drama series.

Films written or directed by women consistently feature a higher percentage of female characters with speaking roles, according to research at USC. Women lift each other up. Now it’s your turn. Nominate your colleagues and company for the Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards – the process is quick and simple: Nominate before April 16th!

Bakeaway Camp with Martha Stewart premieres Monday, May 4 at 9p on Food Network. Stewart helps six amateur bakers compete in outdoor camp-inspired culinary challenges in the four-part series.

Paranormal pioneers Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango return to the hunt on Season 2 of Ghost Station. Cadaver dogs are called in for the two-hour special premiere airing Wednesday, April 22 at 8p on Travel Channel.

With production suspended and post-production delayed on its series, Showtime amended its on-air schedule. Black Monday shifts from premiering two episodes to one episode per week beginning Sunday, March 22 through Sunday, April 12. The debut of new docu-series Outcry, originally slated for Friday, April 3, and Love Fraud, originally scheduled for Friday, May 8, will move to future dates in 2020, to be announced in the upcoming weeks.

Spy Wars with Damian Lewis bows Sunday, March 22 at 8p on Smithsonian Channel. The eight-part docu-series retraces movements of some of the world’s most notorious spies.

Que Culpa Tiene Fatmagul premieres Monday, March 23 at 7p on UniMas. Turkish drama tells the story of a young woman, who lives in a seaside town and is counting the days to marry her childhood love, when tragedy strikes totally altering her life.

COMING UP

Oxygen searches for truth and justice with two-night special The Forgotten West Memphis Three, debuting Saturday, March 28 at 8p. The investigative documentary reexamines the infamous 1993 case of three eight-year-old boys, who were brutally murdered in a West Memphis creek.

Animal Planet is upping its cuteness factor. In celebration of spring solstice, the net kicks off a 94-hour marathon of Too Cute! on Wednesday, March 18 at 12p. Each episode chronicles precious moments and milestones in the lives of cuddly creatures from furry felines to teacup pigs and more.

INSP is offering comfort programming during these trying times. Family friendly shows include The Waltons, airing weekdays from 7a to 9a, as well as Bonanza, Gunsmoke, The Virginian, The Cowboy Way and Walker, Texas Ranger.

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STREAMING SNIPPETS

Pulped’s new video series, 3 Chords, challenges contestants to create an original song by mastering just three musical chords. Pulped posted the series’ three, 30-minute episodes on its website, pulped.com.

POPSUGAR released monthly subscription fitness app, Active by POPSUGAR, free of charge for the foreseeable future. Users can access over 500 fitness classes on the new Active by POPSUGAR website, which features content from celebrity trainers and experts in different categories.

Rolling Stone launched live-from-home online music series In My Room on Wednesday, featuring Beach Boys cofounder and songwriter Brian Wilson.

Netflix set Thursday, April 16 as the release date for Season 3 of Israeli thriller Fauda. The 12-episode series bows in all territories where the streamer is available, excluding France and French-speaking territories (June 4) and Israel (June 25).

On Wednesday Charli XCX debuted new daily show Self-Isolation IG Livestream, a series of daily online events geared toward providing support to those self-isolating due to COVID-19. Each day, the singer will invite guests to “spark conversation, share insight, or simply entertain fans across the world who are currently practicing social distancing.”

Nickelodeon launched #KidsTogether, a global prosocial initiative to help kids and families stay informed and engaged with activities to do together at home. Featuring SpongeBob SquarePants, Blue’s Clues & You!, Henry Danger, Bubble Guppies and The Casagrandes, the initiative provides kid-appropriate and directed information through original short-form videos, interstitials, downloadable activities and social content.

In response to the coronavirus, TuneIn is offering listeners the Coronavirus News channel as well as dedicated COVID-19 podcasts and live breaking news national networks, including MSNBC, CNN, FOX News Talk, CNBC and Bloomberg News, among others.

Sling TV has introduced a free, news-driven access offer during the coronavirus outbreak. Called “Stay in &Sling!,” it includes access to 24/7 streaming video news channel ABC News Live, and also offers thousands of movies and shows suitable for kids and families. “To stay informed in these uncertain times, Americans need access to news from reputable sources,” said Warren Schlichting, Group President, Sling TV. “With many Americans finding themselves staying at home, we have an opportunity to use our platform to help them deal with this rapidly evolving situation.”

TECH TALK

A Facebook glitch marked some coronavirus posts as spam, blocking legitimate entries. Facebook users began noticing the issue on Tuesday, while sharing articles about the outbreak from publications like USA Today, The Atlantic and others. Facebook Vice President for integrity, Guy Rosen, addressed the issue, noting that the problem was due to a bug in the company’s spam-filtering system and had been fixed. “We’ve restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed which included posts on all topics – not just those related to COVID-19,” said Rosen in a statement: “This was an issue with an automated system that removes links to abusive websites, but incorrectly removed a lot of other posts, too.”

Out of Home has taken on new meaning these days. During the first half of the week of March 9, OOH usage levels remained consistent with previous weeks. That changed on Wednesday, after President Trump’s address on the coronavirus; on Thursday and Friday, OOH usage was down 16% and 18% from earlier in the week. Saturday and Sunday were down 50% and 47%, respectively, as the seriousness set in. For details go here.

Disney is looking to sell off advertising tech firm TrueX, part of its $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, according to the Wall Street Journal. Reportedly, Disney does not consider TrueX a core asset and has not invested in it since the acquisition.

GOING GLOBAL

CBC is consolidating news resources in response to COVID-19. The CBC News Network will evolve into a core live breaking news service, integrating journalism and coverage from CBC News Network, The National and local CBC stations across Canada. The net is available to all Canadians free of charge on television and will stream live on CBC Gem, CBCNews.ca, CBC.ca and the CBC News app.

Vuulr struck an agreement with CNN International Commercial to acquire more than a dozen new titles to its platform. Content featured in the catalog includes Leading Women, First Steps: 50 Years After Apollo 11, CNN Expedition Antarctic, Culinary Journeys and Going Green.

ITV Studios announced a host of scripted content sales in Japan. Programming includes contemporary titles Gold Digger, A Confession and European drama Balthazar, as well as classic shows like Inspector Morse and Sherlock Holmes.

ViacomCBS and Sky commissioned Magic Light’s Pip and Posy, marking their first co-production partnership. The pre-school series is set to premiere exclusively on Channel 5’s free-to-air strand Milkshake! and Sky’s on-demand service Sky Kids.

In addition to categories that celebrate individual Top Women in Media, Cynopsis is recognizing distinguished companies who champion women in media. These are the companies who strive for equal opportunity, inclusion, pay parity and women in leadership position.

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Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, March 17
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: The Conners 6.58 (1.2), Bless This Mess 4.13 (0.7), Mixed-ish 2.99 (0.7),
Black-ish 2.75 (0.6), For Life 2.36 (0.6)
CBS: NCIS 7.46 (0.8), FBI 6.99 (0.8), FBI: Most Wanted 6.55 (0.8)
CW: The Flash 1.26 (0.2), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow 0.67 (0.1)
FOX: The Resident 4.71 (0.8), Empire 2.70 (0.7)
NBC: Ellen’s Game of Games 5.95 (1.3), This Is Us 6.98 (1.4), New Amsterdam 5.20 (0.7)
TELE: Exatlon Estados Unidos 1.48 (0.5), La Dona 1.12 (0.4), Operacion Pacifico 1.03 (0.4)
UNI: Ringo 1.73 (0.6), Amor Eterno 1.90 (0.6), Sin Miedo a la Verdad 1.37 (0.4)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which series centered on the crew of a naval destroyer after a pandemic wiped out 80% of the earth’s population? The Last Ship (2014-2018). Kudos to: Chris Killebrew-CCTV/Atlanta; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Charles Lore/NYC; Cathy Russo-Viacom CBS/NYC; Keith Paxton-KDFW-FOX4/Dallas, TX; John Kukla-FOX4/Dallas, TX; Vicki Broughton-KTTC-CW/Rochester, MN; Susan Nessanbaum Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/Los Angeles, CA; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University, Playa Vista, CA; Kerry Huyck/Kennewick, WA; Ken DuBow-Bob’s Your Uncle/Los Angeles, CA; Pete Hazel-Discovery Communications/London

Today’s Trivia Question
Why did Hiroshi create the Vector virus, which infected his daughter, Julia, on Helix (2014-2015)? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four.)