03/22/18: NBCUniversal makes the skinny bundle cut

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM OOYALA

The Q4 2017 Global Video Index

Ooyala’s Video Index has the numbers you need to understand the dramatic rise of worldwide content production. Numbers like these:

*110% : the growth in hours of OTT content produced in 2017

*159% : the growth in long-form OTT content alone

*60.3%: mobile’s share of all video starts around the world

Download the new

Global Video Index .

CYNOPSIS

Good morning. It’s Wednesday March 21, 2018 and this is your first early morning briefing.

Tonight’s Premieres:

ABC: Station 19 at 9p

Travel: Mysteries at the Museum at 10p

VH1: RuPaul’s Drag Race at 8p, RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked at 9:30p

WE tv: Braxton Family Values at 9p, Hustle & Soul at 10p

Tonight’s Finales:

A&E: 60 Days In at 10p

Freeform: Beyond at 8p

IFC: Portlandia at 10p

Travel: Mysteries at the Museum at 9p

IN THE NEWS

The Big 4 broadcast nets landed 4 of the top 5 spots in a survey asking connected consumers which network families they’d prefer in a 5-group skinny TV plan. NBCUniversal topped the list (48%), followed by Fox (41%), Disney/ABC (41%) and CBS (38%). “The value of their content is immense; top of mind for many viewers,” said Michael Greeson, director of research for TDG. Turner tied with CBS, followed closely by A+E Networks (37%) and HBO (36%).

ABC soap General Hospital led the field with 26 nominations for the 45^th Daytime Emmy nominations, followed by 25 each for NBC’s Days of Our Lives and CBS’s Young and Restless. Among networks, CBS and syndicated programming each scored 66 nods; Netflix nabbed 51.

The Indianapolis 500 race is switching lanes, moving to NBC in 2019 after 54 years on ABC. In a multi-year deal, NBC Sports landed rights to all IndyCar races, qualifying, practices and Indy Lights races across its platforms.

Opening arguments in the case of the Department of Justice versus the AT&T/Time Warner merger were delayed due to weather yesterday, and rescheduled for today. The judge in the case also rejected a request from former Justice Dept. officials to consider Presidential interference in the proceedings. Argued the former officials in the amicus filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, “Based on the president’s clearly expressed animus toward CNN and his threats directed at the network, defendants likely can make a prima facie showing that the present action was brought with improper motive to retaliate against CNN.”

The Weinstein Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As part of the filing, the company released from non-disclosure agreements victims of sexual misconduct by disgraced former CEO Harvey Weinstein.

Charter Communications was slapped with a $1 million fine by the New York Public Services Commission, which also threatened Charter’s franchise agreement in NYC if it didn’t adhere to conditions related to its purchase in 2016 of Time Warner Cable. The commission said Charter is falling short of the number of additional homes it is required to pass.

Retired U.S. Army officer and Fox News military analyst Ralph Peters said in an email to colleagues that he’s quitting the network. “Over my decade at Fox, I was long proud of the association,” he wrote. “Now I am ashamed.” Peters, who said FNC had “degenerated from providing a legitimate and much-needed outlet for conservative voices to a mere propaganda machine for a destructive and ethically ruinous administration,” made clear he was not referring to Fox Business Network (“the grownups”) or Fox’s news reporters.

The Cynopsis Upfronts/NewFronts portal is more than just a calendar of events. Media buyers and planners looking for news and updates on networks and others with a message to send this season will find everything they need here.

Fred Savage, accused of harassment on the set of Fox’s The Grinder, was cleared by the network. “We conducted a thorough investigation into these allegations and found no evidence of any wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Savage,” said Fox. “We will vigorously defend against these unfounded claims.” In a lawsuit, a female crew member accused Savage of “violently” striking her arm when she brushed dandruff off his suit, using profanity and intimidating other women.

Sony Pictures Television Networks, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation, announced that musical artist Anggun has been named global judge for short form competition Picture This Festival for the Planet. Also joining the list of judges are YouTube vloggers Damon and Jo, who will serve as the digital-native judges for the festival.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

House Ad text here

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

INSP greenlit a third season of State Plate, the culinary/travel series starring American Idol season 5 winner Taylor Hicks. “With season 3 we will achieve our original goal of featuring all 50 states,” said SVP programming Doug Butts.

Digital Circus Media is teaming with Canadian producer/distributor Stephen Ellis to develop state-of-the-art transmedia IP for global entertainment consumers. First out of the gate is Blur, an immersive sci-fi TV series and multi platform video game, in simultaneous production.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe returns with a 6-episode event Monday, April 9 at 7:30p, with weekly premieres culminating with a half-hour special May 7. Fans can catch episodes early by logging onto the Cartoon app and VOD on Monday, March 26.

USA Network set its spring schedule, starting with the return of Suits for the second half of season 7 on Wednesday, March 28 at 9p. Season 3 of Colony arrives Wednesday, May 2, with third rounds of Queen of the South and Shooter premiering Thursday, June 21.

Season 3 of OWN’s Queen Sugar gets a royal launch with a 2-night event Tuesday, May 29 and Wednesday, May 30 at 10p. The series’ regular timeslot will be Wednesdays at 10p. Season 2 of the drama will be available to stream on Hulu starting March 30.

Mitt Romney, Trevor Noah, James Taylor and Jamie Foxx will be going for a spin on the new season of CNBC’s Jay Leno’s Garage, revving up Thursday, April 19 at 10p.

TV Land’s Younger is back for season 5 Tuesday, June 5 at 10p. The news was revealed via an interactive video, which included the date and a sneak peek video.

Close Proximity, a 10-part series looking at the world of fast cars through the eyes of Formula Drift driver Matt Field, premieres on Insight TV Tuesday, March 27.

COMING UP

Viceland is firing up its second annual “Weed Week,” airing Monday, April 16-Friday, April 20. Programming includes sneak previews of new seasons of F*ck That’s Delicious and Most Expensivest, as well as weed-themed extended episodes and marathons of other “herballly-minded” shows.

Paramount Network’s Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story, Netflix’s Bobby Kennedy for President and National Geographic’s Genius: Picasso will premiere at the Tribeca TV festival, taking place April 18-29. Among the other offerings are the season 5 midseason premiere of Comedy Central’s Drunk History, the North American premiere of PBS’s Little Women and the debut of Starz’ Sweetbitter.

ADVERTISING

U.S. ad spend will grow 5.5% in 2018, to $197 billion, projects Interpublic. That’s up half a point from the firm’s December forecast. Also bullish was Publicis Media CEO Steve King, who at Tuesday’s Investor Day said that next week the company will be “increasing our forecast” for the ad economy.

Adult Swim is teaming with BMW for Adult Swim x Desert Gold. The April 12-13 fan event at the Ace Hotel & Swim Club in Palm Springs, CA includes a screening of “Things You’ve Never Seen in a Pool,” featuring unaired episodes and never-before-seen pilots and specials.

CASTING

Amanda Schull was upped from recurring to series regular on USA’s Suits, renewed for season 8 without series stars Meghan Markle and Patrick J, Adams.

Josh Dallas, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison and Emilie de Ravin are all onboard for the series finale of ABC’s Once Upon a Time. “Seven years after we set off on this magical journey, we prepare to say goodbye to the cast, crew and writers that made the ‘happily ever after’ that is Once Upon a Time possible,” said series creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. “We couldn’t think of a more fitting way to say farewell than by reuniting so many of the characters that our fiercely loyal fans spent years with on their adventures.” The end.

DIGITAL DATA

Five days after the news that 50 million Facebook users had their data accessed and improperly stored by Cambridge Analytica – and #DeleteFacebook was trending – Mark Zuckerberg posted a statement. “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can’t then we don’t deserve to serve you,” said the social media giant’s CEO. “The good news is that the most important actions to prevent this from happening again today we have already taken years ago. But we also made mistakes, there’s more to do, and we need to step up to do it.”

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises is partnering with video community musical.ly to develop digital entertainment programs targeting Hispanic members of Gen Z. Original shows include The Cheese, an entertainment and pop culture show, and On the Ball (wt) a sports show focused on the world’s top soccer players. The shows will be created and executive produced by Fluency+, Telemundo’s multi-platform production studio.

Amazon overtook Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday to become the second most valuable public company in the U.S., with a market capitalization of $768 billion. Apple topped the field with a market cap of $885 billion.

In a blog post yesterday, Netflix outlined changes it is making for season 2 of controversial series 13 Reasons Why, which tackles teen suicide, bullying and rape. While a study commissioned by the streamer found nearly three quarters of respondents said the show made them feel more comfortable processing tough topics, the majority of parents wanted more resources. Among the tools for upcoming season 2 will be a custom intro at the start of each season with the cast; additional resources at 13reasonswhy.info; and a new after-show featuring actors, experts and educators. “The hope is that the steps we’re taking now will help support more meaningful conversations as Season 2 rolls out later this year,” wrote Brian Wright, VP of original series.

Snap is making it easier to create AR effects with new Lenses and tools for the Lens Studio. For starters, a partnership with StudioMDHR, developer of video game Cuphead, led to a new lens that places animations of characters from the game Cuphead on the screen.

The Dodo is bringing back Comeback Kids: Animal Edition for season 2. First episode goes live on Facebook Watch Saturday, March 24, and will air on YouTube and Twitter the following day.

Ginx Esports TV lined up a deal to launch on Hot Telecommunications in Israel. “With the growth of competitive gaming internationally, the appetite for an esports TV channel has never been greater. Hot’s cutting edge multi-media network will enable us to deliver the best esports content to a new audience, perfectly aligned with the millennial profile of esports fans,” said Michiel Bakker, CEO of Ginx Esports TV. For more on the fast-growing world of esports, subscribe to Cynopsis’ weekly esports edition: http://www.cynopsis.com/subscribe/

GOING GLOBAL

A gender pay audit revealed that men at BBC Worldwide earn 18.9% more than women, and there is a gender bonus gap of 33.9% on a mean basis and a 21.7% gap on a median basis. “We recognize that the main cause of this imbalance is structural and work is underway to improve this,” said Tim Davie, CEO, BBC Worldwide. Sky reported that men earn an average 11.5% more than women.

CBS Studios International struck a licensing agreement with SIC in Portugal for basic cable rights to The Late Late Show with James Corden. The show will premiere in April, with episodes airing a few days after the U.S. broadcast.

CITVC is premiering Chinese Spring Festival Gala for sale this year at MIPTV. In 20121 the Gala, featuring entertainers and performances, was named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “most-watched National Network TV Broadcast of all time.”

Toronto-based digital distribution company Syndicado is packing a factual slate for MIPTV of over 250 hours of content available for acquisition by digital platforms, including Russian TV series Tank Biathlon and wedding and lifestyle TV series including Rich Bride, Poor Bride.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Recognizing Short Form Video Awards Finalists…

The Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival

TOMORROW, March 22^nd | 9:15am – 3:55pm | SVA Theatre, NYC

In addition to the awards program, winner screenings, and networking with others who are passionate about short form, hear from the experts in these thought-provoking panels:

The Brands Speak

Building your Blueprint for Revenue Success

Short Form Behind the Scenes

[GET TICKETS]

RATINGS

CBS’s Late Show delivered 3.78 million viewers the week of March 16 in Live+3 Nielsens, up +680,000 versus Live+SD numbers.

ABC’s new Shondaland drama, For the People, slipped 25% in the A18-49 demo versus its launch, to .6/3. The show delivered 2.7 million total viewers.

Top 10 U.S. Primetime Shows Video Power Index: Week of March 12, 2018

American Idol (Fox) 2308, 8.9M, 244.8M, 9.2M

Riverdale (CW) 1066, 2.2M, 566K, 4.9M

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) 1006, 999K, 9.4M, 1.7M

Teen Mom (MTV) 575, 269K, 8.6M, 309K

The Flash (CW) 456, 612K, 1.3M, 643K

Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO) 349, 204K, 1.9M, 331K

This Is Us (NBC) 291, 289K, 3.9M, 1.3M

Tucker Carlson Tonight (Fox News) 235, 219K, 4.1M, 237K

The Walking Dead (AMC) 229, 214K, 2M, 2.4M

Once Upon a Time (ABC) 193, 101K, 893K, 195K

Based on Shareablee’s Video Power Index, which combines viewing, consumer interactions and audience scale across all active platforms and includes the video performance of primetime TV shows.

Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions) Tuesday, March 13, 2018 time period averages

Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated Live+SD

NBC: 7.75 million

The Voice 10.96, Rise 5.39, Chicago Med 6.89

CBS: 6.96 million

NCIS 8.05, NCIS 7.50, Bull 5.34

ABC: 3.62 million

The Middle 5.83, Fresh Off the Boat 3.61, Blackish 3.90, Modern Family 3.02, For the People 2.69

FOX: 2.18 million

Lethal Weapon 2.28, LA to Vegas 2.17, The Mick 1.98

CW: 1.25 million

The Flash .94, Black Lightning 1.55

UNIVISION: 1.11 million

El Rico y Lazaro 1.18, Papa a toda madre 1.07, Por Amar Sin Ley 1.01

TELE: 0.84 million

Jose, Jose Principe de la cancion 0.70, Al otro lado del muro 0.83, Enemigo Intimo .98

Tuesday A19-49 Analysis: NBC 1.5/6, ABC .9/3, CBS .7/3, FOX .6/2, UNI .5/2, TELE .4/3, CW .4/2

EXECUTIVE MOVES

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises named Krystyna Hall as Vice President of Corporate Communications. Most recently, Hall was SVP at Edelman.

Genius Brands International appointed Michael Jaffa as General Counsel & Senior Vice President of Business Affairs. Jaffa served as Head of Business Affairs at DreamWorks Animation Television.

Sean Connolly has been named Vice President Development at Bristow Global Media. Connolly joined Bristow Global as a development consultant in May 2017.

Cecile Frot-Coutaz is leaving her position as CEO of FremantleMedia to join YouTube. “Her leadership, guidance, strong network and deep industry understanding will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our partnerships and grow our creator base throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” said YouTube Chief Business Officer Robert Kyncl.

Patty Hirsch joins Warner Bros. Digital Labs as Senior Vice President & General Manager. Previously, Hirsch had been SVP Digital for Time Inc. and GM of their Sports Group.

This Day in History: 1872 – Illinois became the first state to require sexual equality at work.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question: Who guest-starred as Roseanne’s cousin, Ronnie, and convinced Darlene to get her GED and apply to art school on Roseanne (1988-1997)? Joan Collins. Kudos to: Eric Emeric-Showtime Networks/NYC, Dan Quiterio-Understood/NYC, Mark Wajda/Leesburg, FL, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL, Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station, TX, Eric Litt-Tribune Broadcasting/Chicago, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA, Jim Katz-The Carney Awards/LA

Today’s Trivia Question: Which sitcom character worked for Newsview Magazine? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four correct answers from each time zone will be selected.)

Answer to Our Last Anagram: Real Med Verb = Mr. Belvedere. Kudos to: Charlene White-A+E Networks/Stamford, CT, Larry Kahn-Golf Channel/Orlando, FL, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, CA

One Season Series Anagram: Ant Hauls Mom (Email [email protected] with your answer; first three respondents with the correct answer who aren’t in trivia will be posted in tomorrow’s newsletter.)

Lynn Leahey Editorial Director @Lynn_Leahey
Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Diane K Schwartz Senior Vice President Media Communications Group	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina \| 203-218-6480 VP, Sales	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak \| 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

CYNOPSISJOBS – For More jobs, please visit Cynopsis.com

JOB OF THE DAY

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
Manifest
NYC

Dvlp a strategic outbound comm/mktg plan, incl a social and digital strategy. Create business dvlpmt materials; refresh existing assets. Min 5-7 yrs exp in digital mktg/communications, primarily in Business Development/Sales.

Full info/apply HERE

JOB OPENING: AD SALES ASSISTANT/Crown Media Family Networks/NY: Provide support to Ad Sales by working W/ Acct Execs to srvc clients. Including sales orders, move requests and media schedules. Detail oriented w/orgnzt’l skills to keep efficient work sched. BA/BS req. Full info/apply HERE (3/29)

JOB OPENING: SALES PLANNER/Crown Media Family Networks/NY: Provide sales and support to the Ad Sales team for Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama. Maintain media schedules, build sales plans, train Sales Assistants. BS and minimum 1 year exp. req. Apply HERE (3/29)

JOB OPENING: MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT/Manifest/NYC: Dvlp a strategic outbound comm/mktg plan, incl a social and digital strategy. Create business dvlpmt materials; refresh existing assets. Min 5-7 yrs exp in digital mktg/communications, primarily in Business Development/Sales. Full info/apply HERE (3/29)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR BRAND PARTNERSHIPS/Stage 13/NYC: Resp. for driving sales efforts & reaching target accts & agencies for Stage 13, a fearless original digital content brand. 8+ yrs exp digital media sales within an Entertainment/Media or Ad Agency. Mobile ad sales a plus. Full info/apply HERE (3/28)

JOB OPENING: COORDINATOR, ON-AIR PLANNING/Crown Media Family Networks/LA: Assist in strategic sched of on-air promos for Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, & Hallmark Drama. Provide support for monthly promo plans; track projects for Ad Sales. Strong orgnzt’l skills, BA/BS & 1 yr exp. Req’d. Full info/apply HERE (3/27)

JOB OPENING: PRODUCER/NBC NEWS/DC: Produce content (live, taped, multimedia) for various NBC platforms and work with correspondents to prepare live reports. minimum of over 4 yrs editorial exp working in production at a network/cable news operation. Full inf/apply HERE (3/27)

JOB OPENING: RIGHTS SYSTEM REPORTING MANAGER/Viacom/NYC: responsible for all aspects of requirements gathering, rights management system testing, analysis, production roll-out and ongoing support. Min 4 yrs Rights Analysis, and/or Contract Management and rights system management exp. Full info/apply HERE (3/27)

JOB OPENING: RIGHTS SYSTEM CONTRACT ENTRY MANAGER/Viacom/NYC: responsible for all aspects of Viacom program sales contract analysis and entry into the Viacom Rights Management System (“RMS”), and on-going support. 4 years Rights Analysis, and/or Contract Management and rights system management exp. Full info/apply HERE (3/27)

JOB OPENING: SR PRODUCER NEWS/Spectrum/El Segundo CA: Ability to produce live or recorded newscasts. Strong broadcast news writing ability. Ability to anticipate situations and meet strict deadlines. Interpersonal skills and excellent collaboration skills Full info/apply HERE (3/27)

JOB OPENING: TECHNICAL WRITER/WO PROGRAMMATIC/WideOrbit/Seattle: Mng creation of our online end user documentation & ensure all customers understand & use the new features we are releasing; help prod stellar end-user content. 2+ yrs of translating technical/development specifications. Full info/apply HERE (3/24)

JOB OPENING: BROADCASTING CLIENT SPECIALIST/WIDEORBIT/San Fran or Birmingham AL: Engaging communicator to help launch our groundbreaking local media buying platform. 2+ yrs exp media buying for local TV or ad agencies. Exp using new web-based applications & web or phone based training support. Apply HERE (3/23)

JOB OPENING: VP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT & GROWTH INITIATIVES/Fox Deportes/LA: Exp’d Sr exec w/sports & media background to dvlp strategic relationships w/TV media entities, ad agencies, digital streaming services, radio, etc., to drive non-traditional revenue streams. 12 yrs related exp. bilingual: Spanish/English Apply HERE (3/23)

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL SALES DIRECTOR/Tennis Channel/NYC: Focus on leading all aspects of ad revenue derived from website, other interactive, mobile and emerging digital media properties related to Tennis Channel. 6+yrs exp in a results-driven digital sales/mktg or promotion role. Full info/apply HERE (3/23)

JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE, PROGRAMMATIC FOR TV/WideOrbit/NYC: & SFO: Agency Focused acct exec self-starter to Market WO Programmatic offerings to various sized agencies and holding companies, from prospecting to closing. 2+yrs exp @ ad agency. Full info/apply HERE (3/23)

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT – THURSDAY MARCH 22

ABC: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder [f]

CBS: 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament, 2018 NCAA Basketball Tournament

CW: Tough Mudder: Tougher Together, Arrow

FOX: Gotham, Showtime at the Apollo

NBC: Superstore, A.P. Bio, Will & Grace, Champions, Chicago Fire

PBS: This Old House Hour, Royal Wives at War, Antiques Roadshow

Telemundo: Jose, Jose Principe de la cancion, Al otro lado del muro, Enemigo Intimo
Univision: El rico y Lazaro, Papa a toda madre, Por amar sin ley