Today’s Premieres
Acorn TV: The Good Karma Hospital
NBC: American Song Contest at 8p
TLC: 90 Day Diaries at 9p

Today’s Finale
HBO: The Gilded Age at 9p

IN THE NEWS

In town hall meetings for Amazon and MGM employees held Friday, Amazon Studios and Prime Video SVP Mike Hopkins laid out the interim reporting structure for the company post-acquisition. MGM Motion Picture Group Chairman Michael De Luca, Worldwide TV Group Chairman Mark Burnett and COO Christopher Brearton will report to Hopkins. No mention was made of potential layoffs. “We are taking a phased approach to integration changes, which will allow me to take the time to get to better know you and your business,” said Hopkins in an email after the meetings.

dentsu international will become the first agency partner of NBCUnified, NBCU’s holistic first-party data and identity platform. The partnership will enable utilization of both person-level and household-level IDs from dentsu’s M1 platform and consumer data products, as well as those of its advertisers, to directly integrate into NBCUnified’s identity platform. “At dentsu, we pride ourselves on being leaders in driving relevancy and knowing people better than anyone,” said Cara Lewis, Chief Investment Officer at dentsu Media US. “This first of its kind partnership with NBCU delivers an innovative addressability solution in the traditional marketplace that can be activated on right away. Bringing together IDs and data from dentsu’s M1 platform, our clients, and NBCU will enable us to uncover more resonant audiences for our clients, fueling more effective media purchases that are fully transactable.”

Daytime talk show “Maury,” hosted and exec produced by Maury Povich, is leaving the air in September after 31 seasons. “Maury and I decided two years ago that this season would be the farewell season for the show, and while his retirement is bittersweet, we are so happy for him to be able to spend more time on the golf course,” said Tracie Wilson, EVP, NBCUniversal Syndication Studios. “Maury is a television icon, a pop culture legend and we couldn’t be more proud to have been a part of his incredible career.”

The defamation against CNN filed by conservative hate group Project Veritas has been dismissed. The lawsuit alleged that CNN had defamed the right-wing group by claiming they were banned from Twitter for “spreading misinformation,” when in fact they received their ban due to doxxing and threats against users. US District Judge Steve C. Jones dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the group’s representation would have been tarnished even with an accurate representation on CNN’s part.

The 94th Oscars will include an all-star musical performance from Adam Blackstone, Travis Barker (Blink 182), Sheila E. and Robert Glasper. The ceremony airs March 27 at 8p on ABC. Expect more announcements for musical guests in the coming days….

Disney Studios is launching an investigation into “Grey’s Anatomy” writer Elisabeth Finch for allegedly fabricating certain aspects of her medical history. Questions were raised after Finch’s wife, Jennifer Beyer, raised concerns with Shondaland executives; Finch has been put on administrative leave while the investigation continues. “Ms. Finch will not disclose her private health matters,” said her attorney. “Likewise, she will not speak about her pending divorce from her estranged wife, Jennifer Beyer, or comment on any statements that Ms. Beyer may have made to third parties about Ms. Finch.”

Cable viewing surged 54% the last week in February, according to Nielsen’s “The Gauge” report, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. News accounted for one-fourth of all cable viewing, up 16.5% from January. Broadcast news rose 6% for the week, to 15% of the total.

Ad spend in February 2022 continued to rise, exceeding February 2021 by nearly $1 billion, up+15% year-over-year, according to Standard Media Index. Other SMI findings include:
· Digital remained a key factor of growth across all channels, with a 51% share of dollars.
· Linear TV also contributed to the upward momentum across channels
· TV (+17%) offset modest cable TV decline (-4%). The Olympics, Football Playoffs and Super Bowl airings were key in bolstering January and February.
· OOH continued to grow exponentially, doubling during YTD February 2022. Entertainment & Media and Technology sectors were the top two streams of ad revenue for Out-of-Home media.

Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” took the top comedy series honor at the 33rd Annual Producers Guild Awards on Saturday. HBO’s “Succession” and “Mare of Easttown” took home the trophies for drama and limited series, respectively, and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” grabbed the crown for Live Entertainment/Variety/Sketch/Stand-up/Talk Television. VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” won for Outstanding Producer of Game and Competition Television.

Rita Moreno, winner of the PGA Stanley Kramer Award, was among the those in attendance who spoke out about social issues – and addressed critics of the practice. “Some in our tribe have been known to use the spotlight to advocate for issues addressed in their nominated works – climate change, universal health care, voting rights, LGBTQ advocacy and others,” said Moreno. For some in the audience, noted the 90-year-old actress, that has been known to create, “how should I say, a mild discomfort. For others, heart palpitations. After all, who do these actors, these Hollywood types think they are? Citizens of the world?…Well, f**ck them! Freedom of speech belongs to all of us.”

2022 SPORTS MEDIA AWARDS

THE FINALISTS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!

Join us on April 19th as we celebrate at the New York Athletic Club in NYC.

REGISTER NOW!

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

ABC ordered a pilot for an untitled procedural about national parks, from A+E Studios. The network passed on a version of the project last year, co-written and executive produced by Kevin Costner. The green light went to a pilot written and exec produced by Rashad Raisani (“9-1-1: Lone Star”). Barry Jossen and Tana Jamieson remain attached as executive producers on behalf of A+E Studios; 20th Television will produce in association with A+E.

J.J. Abrams is working with Netflix to develop a scripted series about the band U2. Anthony McCarten (“Bohemian Rhapsody”) is set to write. Warner Bros. Television is the studio.

Little Dot Studios is launching a new roster of content for the Created By Women channel, showcasing pre-existing media from female creators as well as audience-submitted original content. New titles include “Hummingbird and Crane,” “Missed Call,” “Attrition” and “Virtually Single.” The channel has received a 300% viewership hike since the start of 2022.

Rare TV’S “Searching for Michael Jackson’s Zoo is slated to premiere next month. The primetime, 75-minute documentary will look into the fate of the animals kept at the King of Pop’s Neverland Ranch. The film was developed by Christian Broadhurst, Rare TV’s vice-president of US Development, who worked alongside the US Department of Agriculture for the film.

Director Tony Kaye (“American History X”) and his production company, Above the Sea, have partnered with Law&Crime Productions and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to create a docuseries based on his 1993 music video “Runaway Train.” The new series, “Lost Soul,” will tell the true-life stories of the missing children from the original video, detailing their disappearances and how the publicity from the video helped close the unsolved cases.

CASTING

HBO’s “Hacks” has a new crop of cast members for season two. Joining returnee Jennifer Coolidge are Laurie Metcalf (“Lady Bird”, “The Conners”), Ming-Na Wen (“The Book of Boba Fett”, “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) and Martha Kelly (“Euphoria”, “Baskets”). All will play recurring lead roles in the satire’s second season, which is currently in production.

Apple TV+’s “The Changeling” will include Adina Porter (“American Horror Story”, “True Blood”) and Clarke Backo (“Letterkenny”, “The Handmaid’s Tale”). They join LaKeith Stanfield in the horror novel adaptation, produced by Apple Studios and Annapurra.

Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu (“Emily in Paris”) has what she described to UK’s Daily Mail as a “small” role is season five of “The Crown.” “I was so, so happy to be in it,” said Leroy-Beaulieu. “Every episode is like a little film on its own. It’s crazily well written.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Hulu’s “Captive Audience” tells the story of how the media can impact people caught in the news. The docuseries, premiering Thursday, April 21, follows the story of the 1972 kidnapping of Steven Stayner Jr., through the eyes of his children.

STREAMING

Netflix is “free-riding on domestic networks,” leaders of the Korean People Power Party are reported as saying, concerned that content providers are not paying for the considerable internet traffic they generate. “There appears to be strong bipartisan consensus on this issue in Korea, and multiple bills have been tabled in parliament to restrict, or make OTTs pay for, network use,” wrote New Street Research analyst Chris Hoare. “Many lawmakers are pushing for the swift passage of these laws.” And while that might not bode well for the likes of Netflix, “any movement to break net neutrality or make OTTs pay broadband networks for network access would be very positive from a telco perspective,” noted Hoare.

UPFRONT CALENDAR

March 22: NBCUniversal’s One22 Conference at 11a (30 Rock Studio H, NYC)
March 23: Fox’s Content Drives Commerce Brand Partnership Summit (Fox Lot, LA)
March 24: Nickelodeon at 4p (Palladium Times Square, NYC)
March 28: National CineMedia at 11:30a (Film at Lincoln Center, NYC)
April 5: PlayFronts (NYC): Meta (9:20a), Activision Blizzard (9:40a), Frameplay (10a), Niantic (11:05a), Admix (11:25a), Unity (11:50a), Zynga (1p), Bidstack (1:20p), Riot Games (1:45p), Anzu (2:10p), Twitch (3:15p), IGN (3:35p), SuperAwesome (3:301), and PlayerWON (4:10)
April 5-7: Magna’s Equity Upfront
April 6: Disney’s Sports Summit (virtual); AMC Networks at 6:30p (The Peak in Hudson Yards, NYC); National CineMedia at 11a (Academy of Motion Pictures, LA)
April 12: Black Owned Media Upfront at 1p (virtual)
April 13: FETV (Empire State Building, NYC)
April 25: Disney Storyteller’s Showcase
April 26: FETV (Empire State Building, NYC)
May 2-5: IAB NewFronts (NYC)
May 2: NBCUniversal/Peacock NewFront
May 3: Roku at 11:30a (Caldwell Factory, NYC)
May 10-12: IAB Podcast Upfront (virtual)
May 16: NBCUniversal (Radio City Music Hall, NYC); Telemundo (Ziegfeld Theater, NYC); Fox (Skylight, NYC)
May 17: Discovery (Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC); Disney (Basketball City at Pier 36, NYC); YouTube Brandcast at 8p; Univision (Javits Center in NYC)
May 18: Paramount (Carnegie Hall, NYC); WarnerMedia (Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, NYC)
May 19: The CW (New York City Center Theater, NYC)

GOING GLOBAL

Banijay Belgium is producing a reboot of “Fear Factor.” This version of the classic format will feature Belgium’s star comedian, Alex Agnew, as host.

ESPORTS & GAMING BRAND ACTIVATION
2022 VIRTUAL CONFERENCE

Wednesday, May 4th @ 10:00am ET

This by-invitation-only event is for brands or agencies activating or looking to activate in the highly engaged 18–35-year-old fanbase.

GET MORE INFORMATION

RATINGS

Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions III” is outpacing last season, averaging a 1.0 P25-54 / 1.2 W25-54 Live+3 rating, up +8% versus year-ago. The series has reached more than 6.1 million P2+ viewers, helping propel Food Network to be the #1 non-news/non-sports network among P25-54 in Total Day for the third week in a row.

TLC’s “90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days” was the #1 Prime cable program the week of March 6 in Live+3 Nielsens among W25-54/18-49. Additionally, Tuesday’s “Doubling Down With The Derricos” was the #3 cable program of the night for African-American W25-54 viewers.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Friday, March 18
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Station 19 4.24 (0.5), Grey’s Anatomy 3.60 (0.5), Big Sky 2.42 (0.2)
CBS: NCAA Basketball 5.30 (1.4)
CW: Walker 0.48 (0.1), Legacies 0.24 (0.0)
FOX: MasterChef Junior 2.07 (0.4), Call Me Kat 1.95 (0.4), Welcome to Flatch 1.04 (0.2)
NBC: Law & Order 4.62 (0.6), Law & Order: SVU 4.72 (0.7), Law & Order: Organized Crime 3.44 (0.5)
Telemundo: Exatlon” 0.95 (0.23), Hercai: Amor 1.32 (0.4), Pasion Gavilanes 0.70 (0.2)
Univision: Soltero Con Hijas 1.51 (0.5), Mi Fortuna es Amarte 1.60 (0.5), Madre 1.61 (0.4)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

NBCUniversal has promoted Peter Lazarus to EVP of Sports Ad Sales, and upped Maureen Murphy to SVP of Clients Partnerships.

This Day in History
1943 – An assassination attempt on Adolph Hitler failed.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which controversial 1998 comedy was yanked after four episodes? “The Secret Diary of Desmond Pfeiffer.” Kudos to: Pete Hazell-Discovery/London; Josh Leahy-Fox Stations Sales/NYC; John Kukla-KDFW-Fox 4/Dallas; Greg West-WATC TV/Atlanta; Tom Dempsey-Independent Consultant/NYC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Aaron Paquette-AccelerateSG/Fort Worth, TX; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which Fox series moved to Bravo after seven episodes? (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