AVAILABLE TO TARGET YOUR AUDIENCE

When and Where They Consume Media, LIVE!

To get started, visit us at KATZ LIVE

Wednesday April 7, 2021

Today’s Finales
HGTV: “Farmhouse Fixer” at 9p
PBS: “Hemingway” at 8p

IN THE NEWS

Newsy isn’t just over the top – it’s going over the air. On October 1, the E.W. Scripps Company’s national news network will be available OTA in at least 80% of US television homes, carried primarily by Scripps-owned ION stations and select Scripps local television stations and those of other station groups. “Amid an increasingly polarized and divided national climate, Newsy will seize upon this opportunity to serve more Americans seeking quality objective journalism,” said Scripps Networks President Lisa Knutson. “As TV viewers ‘self-bundle’ by combining free television with subscription video-on-demand services, Newsy will build on its successes in OTT by joining the other Scripps Networks in the over the air marketplace.”

NBA analyst Paul Pierce was let go from ESPN, after a racy Instagram Live with the former Boston Celtics star was posted that included exotic dancers. Tweeted Pierce, who began at ESPN in 2017, “I can’t lose even when I lose I’m winning.”

What a difference a year makes. IPG Mediabrands has inked a three-year “creator and content” initiative with TikTok, to develop custom campaigns for clients, just a year after ranking TikTok as the least responsible major social media platform, “As TikTok’s growth surged in 2020, the platform demonstrated an ability to take a forward-looking approach to building its platform with the index’s key principles in mind, and the second half 2020 assessment results reflect a marked pivot toward enhanced third-party brand safety partnerships,” said IPG Mediabrands in a statement. “The latest Index results newly introduce TikTok’s increased focus on principle 3: Diverse and Representative – a principle they were not able to provide substantial public data for in 1H 2020. TikTok also saw substantial shifts in their third-party brand safety partnerships and policy enforcement approaches.”

TEGNA has launched Twist, a women-oriented multicast channel featuring lifestyle and reality programming available in 43 of the top 50 Nielsen DMAs. “Reality TV just got much more exciting for over-the-air viewers,” said Brian Weiss, President and GM of TEGNA’s entertainment networks. “Audiences craving lifestyle and reality programming, who have been underserved in the multicast space, now have free access to high quality shows that have never before been available over-the-air.” Programming includes “Dance Moms,” “Tabatha Takes Over,” “Flipping Out,” “Clean House” and more.

Struggling to expand your audience database? You’re not alone. Katz Media Group is bringing in the experts to show you how to target new audiences and help your advertisers exceed their goals, at a free webinar on April 29 at 1:00 PM ET. Register now!

Over the course of two days, our team and panel of experts will present the freshest thinking on buying and selling for the holistic video marketplace.

GET THE LATEST TRENDS & INSIGHTS ON:
Attribution, Addressable TV, CTV, OTT, Privacy, Data, and Ad Fraud.

LEARN MORE

Sponsored by: Kochava – Matrix – Vevo – a4 Media – Media Ad Council Sales

Netflix greenlit a documentary from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Productions about the Invictus games. “Heart of Invictus,” part of the couple’s deal with Netflix, follows a group of service members who suffered life-changing injuries, on their path to the 2022 games. “As Archewell Productions’ first series with Netflix, in partnership with the Invictus Games Foundation, I couldn’t be more excited for the journey ahead or prouder of the Invictus community for continuously inspiring global healing, human potential and continued service,” said Prince Harry.

Tyler Perry is bursting the quarantine bubble at Atlanta’s Tyler Perry Studios on April 10, after a mass vaccination event at the studio last Saturday. Perry covered the costs for any members of his crew, their family and friends who had not yet received their shots and chose to do so. Strict health protocols will remain in place.

NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony has launched multi-platform content company Creative7 with his business partner Asani Swann. Original, premium content will include documentaries, scripted TV, film, animation, podcast and more, and champion the narratives and voices of the underserved.

Jim Reynolds is moving from “The Neighborhood.” “I am so happy that the show has found such an enthusiastic audience and that it will live on,” said Reynolds, creator, executive producer and showrunner of the CBS comedy for its first three seasons. “At this moment, in light of everything going on in the world, I had concluded that I am not the right person to continue to tell these stories. I am excited to see the show thrive and wish everyone involved the very best.” The move follows reported complaints about Reynolds’ management style.

MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke and her producing partner, Mervyn Macano, inked an overall deal with CBS Studios to develop content through their Field/House Productions. “In our quest to partner with compelling storytellers, Tarana and Mervyn stand out. Their drive and leadership as stewards of change bring a powerful and distinct voice to advancing stories of inclusion and impact,” said CBS Studios president David Stapf. “

ABC ordered “When Nature Calls” (wt), based on BBC Studios format “Walk on the Wild Side.” The non-scripted comedy takes a humorous look at what animals do in the wild.

HBO and HBO Max signed director Jean-Marc Vallee (“Big Little Lies”) and his producing partner Nathan Ross to a three-year, first-look deal. For starters, the two will executive produce limited series “Gorilla and the Bird,” based on the memoir by Zack McDermott.

Landmark Studio Group (“Willy’s Wonderland”), a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment company, is developing a new original drama series, “Heartbeat” (wt), co-created by DJ couple Kiss (Jakissa Taylor-Semple) and M.O.S. (Masud Semple). The story is loosely based on their rise to celebrity DJ status.

Ben Aldridge (“Fleabag”) has joined ITV’s “The Long Call” in the lead role. The four-part crime drama, produced by ITV Studios, is inspired by the novel of the same title from Ann Cleeves(“Vera”). Kelly Jones (“Des and Baptiste”) will write all four episodes.

Tammy Townsend (“K.C. Undercover”) landed a series regular role on season six of OWN’s Ava DuVernay drama, “Queen Sugar,” set to premiere in the fall. The directorial line-up includes Bertha Bay-Sa Pan, Carmen Marrón, Cierra Glaude, Keisha Rae Witherspoon, Marie Jamora, Shari Carpenter, Shaz Bennett and Stephanie Turner, with Lisa France upped to serve as producing director. This marks 42 female filmmakers the series has hired through six seasons, 39 of whom were first-time television directors.

PR, Operations, Marketing, Production, On-air. Is there a woman on your team who makes her mark in these areas? Cynopsis wants to honor her this fall at our Top Women in Media Awards. Nominations are open through May 6. Get started on your entry today!

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Peacock’s “Girls5Eva,” following the former members of a 90s girl group who reunite for another shot at fame, will drop Thursday, May 6. The comedy was created by Meredith Scardino (“The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”).

“Let’s Be Real,” which aired last fall as a comedy special, returns to Fox this spring with new episodes beginning Thursday, April 29 at 8:30p. Executive produced and written by Robert Smigel (“Triumph The Insult Comic Dog”), the satirical comedy series, a Canal+ format, will debut new puppets including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senators Ted Cruz, Kim Kardashian and LeBron James. “Let’s Be Real” is produced by Fox Alternative Entertainment and Propagate Content.

Amazon original YA series “Panic” premieres Friday, May 28. The drama, written and created by Lauren Oliver, based on her bestseller, takes place in a small Texas town where graduating seniors compete in a dangerous, winner-takes-all series of challenges.

“Life Under Renovation” follows five families from across the country as they tackle a home renovation inspired by a major life event. The self-shot, six-episode discovery+ series launches with two episodes on April 28, followed by one episode weekly on Wednesdays.

Cold War spy thriller “Spy City” premieres Thursday, April 15 on AMC+. Dominic Cooper (“Preacher”) stars in the six-parter.

“Best Baker in America” returns to Food Network on Monday, May 3 at 9p, with host Carla Hall putting world-class bakers to the test. This season’s baking challenges focus on creating unique versions of classic American desserts from different states.

Josh Snow, founder of teeth whitening brand Snow, has joined the premiere season of “Going Public.” The reality show, which will enable viewers to invest in companies they see on-screen, starts streaming on Entrepreneur.com this summer.

“The Gorka Reality Check” premieres Sunday, April 11 at 7p on Newsmax. Former Donald Trump strategist Dr. Sebastian Gorka “hits back hard against establishment media, Big Tech, and the Washington Swamp.”

COMING UP

“Everlight,” a special standalone season one episode from workplace comedy “Mythic Quest,” will launch Friday, April 16 on Apple TV+, three weeks ahead of the series’ season two debut. The special addresses the practical and emotional difficulties of returning to normalcy. “It’s full of hope and joy and optimism for a bright future,” said co-creator, executive producer and star Rob McElhenney. “Ahead of our upcoming second season, we felt it was the perfect way (and the perfect time) to invite the audience back into the world of ‘Mythic Quest.’”

Showtime’s “Shameless” will offer a virtual farewell event open to all fanson Sunday, April 11 at 10p, immediately following the show’s final episode. The two-part experience, which will take place at GallagherHouse.com, begins with a cast reunion. In addition to executive producer and showrunner John Wells, cast members confirmed for the event include William H. Macy, Jeremy Allen White, Ethan Cutkosky, Shanola Hampton, Steve Howey, Emma Kenney, Cameron Monaghan, Christian Isaiah, Noel Fisher and Kate Miner.

Ryan Murphy will receive the Cinematic Imagery Award at the Art Directors Guild Awards, streamed Saturday, April 10 at 4p. Matt Bomer (“Boys in the Band”) will present the award.

STREAMING

Netflix remains the dominant player in the streaming world, but with new entrants in the market, its global share declined from 29% at the beginning of 2020 to 20%, according to Ampere Analysis. Amazon Prime Video’s share declined from 23% 16%, per Ampere. Not that Netflix is hurting – during a year that kept so many people in lockdown, the streamer added a record 37 million subscriptions globally.

Gusto TV has launched its food-focused channel on TVPlayer US, Alchimie’s new SVOD platform for US audiences. TV Player US is the latest regional OTT service to be rolled out by Alchimie and complements its other localized European TVPlayer platforms, TVPlayer UK, TVPlayer France and TVPlayer Spain.

TECH TALK

Mobile data-powered CTV platform Sabio announced the launch of its Universal Frequency Pixel to address problems like cross-platform transparency in the advertising industry. The UFP gives advertisers the ability to control ad exposure across mobile and CTV publishers. “Sabio is centered around bridging the gap between mobile and TV,” said Joao Machado, SVP Marketing at Sabio Inc. “We work to build solutions that answer real issues facing clients across the platforms.” Sabio’s UFP is refreshed hourly, giving advertisers near real-time decision-making insight into frequency of ad exposure. The tool also helps partners avoid duplicated reach.

Video advertising platform SpotX reports that as a record number of viewers tuned in to streaming TV in 2020 – with four out of five consumers watching at least some ad-supported CTV programming – global ad spend on its platform grew 42% during the year, driven primarily by over-the-top clients who account for nearly 70% of overall ad spend. Business continued to accelerate last year on a quarterly basis after COVID-19 initially impacted the second quarter, growing globally to 70% YoY in 4Q20.

tvScientific announced the launch of its CTV buying, measurement, and attribution platform. “Until now, Connected TV advertising has been complex, inefficient, and not measurable in the way that digital is, preventing most businesses from advertising on the most influential screen in the house,” said Jason Fairchild, Co-Founder and CEO of tvScientific. “Our new platform allows businesses to buy and measure Connected TV media on one simple platform, and evaluate it the way they do with search and social.”

Secure your complimentary pass to the virtual gala now.

Most of the top in shows syndication had a rough time the week ending March 28, thanks to heavy preemptions for March Madness and President Biden’s March 25 press conference. “Jeopardy” (5.2 Live+SD Nielsen rating, down 2% from the week before), which was hosted by Dr. Oz, declined for the third week in a row and marked the show’s worst household number since the session ending January 3. Sister show “Wheel of Fortune” (4.9, down 2%) also dipped, hitting its lowest rating since the week ending December 27. “Family Feud” (5.4, unchanged) bucked the trend, leading the game shows and all of syndication for the second week in a row.

The SAG Awards is the latest ceremony to fall to an all-time low. The pre-taped, one-hour show drew 957,000 across TNT and TBS on Sunday, versus 2.0 million in 2020 and 2.7 million in 2019. The 52% year-to-year drop was on par with the most recent Grammys (-51%) and Golden Globes (-60%).

Discovery Channel had five unscripted series on cable break into the top 10 among M25-54: “Gold Rush” (#2); “Gold Riush: White Water” (#4); Street Outlaws” #6); “Moonshiners” (#8); and “Street Outlaws: Mega Cash Days” (#9). “Gold Rush” completed the first quarter as television’s #1 unscripted show among M25-54 on Friday nights, beating out all broadcast and cable programs in the demo.

Top 11 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of March 15 ranked in order by HH Rtg
“Family Feud” (CMV) 5.4 AA
“Jeopardy!” (CMV) 5.2 AA
“Judge Judy” (CMV) 4.9 AA
“Wheel of Fortune” (CMV) 4.9 AA
“The Big Bang Theory” (WB) 2.5 AA
“Inside Edition” (CMV) 2.3 AA
“Entertainment Tonight” (CMV) 2.1AA
“Live With Kelly and Ryan” (DAD) 1.8 AA
“Last Man Standing” (DAD) 1.8 AA
“Dr. Phil” (CMV) 1.5 AA
“Hot Bench” (CMV) 1.5 AA
Source: Nielsen

TV Time Binge Report for the week of March 29
“Attack on Titan” (NHK) – 2.60%
“Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC US) – 2.15%
“Modern Family” (ABC US) – 1.89%
“One Piece” (Fuji TV) – 1.58%
“Who Killed Sara?” (Netflix) – 1.55%
“The Office” (NBC) – 1.23%
“Jujutsu Kaisen (MBS) –1.15%
“New Amsterdam” (NBC) – 1.12%
“Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC) -–1.07%
“The 100” (CW) – 1.07%
The weekly Binge Report ranks shows with the most binge sessions. A binge session is when four or more episodes of a show are watched and tracked in the TV Time app within a given day.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, April 5
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: “American Idol”4.72 (0.7), “The Good Doctor” 2.28 (0.3)
CBS: “The Neighborhood” 3.55 (0.5), NCAA Basketball 6.21 (1.2), NCAA Basketball 316.9 (4.12)
CW: “Superman & Lois” 0.54 (0.1), “Superman & Lois” 0.39 (0.1)
FOX: “9-1-1” 2.25 (0.3), “America’s Most Wanted” 1.88 (0.4)
ION: “NCIS: LA” 1.12 (0.2), “NCIS: LA” 1.19 (0.2), “NCIS: LA” 1.12 (0.2),
NBC: “The Voice” 6.02 (0.8), “Debris” 2.43 (0.4)
Telemundo: “Exatlon Estados Unidos” 1.07 (0.2), “La Suerte de Lol” 0.96 (0.2), “Buscando a Frida” 1.10 (0.3)
Univision: “La Rosa de Guadalupe” 1.39 (0.4), “Te Acuerdas DeMi” 1.36 (0.4), “La Hija del Embajador” 1.26 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Sandra Young, formerly Senior Director, Current Programming & Development at Oxygen/NBCUniversal, has joined the Content Group as Vice President, Current Programming & Partnerships.

LivePerson has appointed Monica Pool Knox as Chief People Officer, and Amber Armstrong as CMO. Knows joins from Microsoft, while Armstrong was at IBM.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which was the first show to air on a streaming network to win a best drama series Emmy? “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Sandy Spiegel-WTTW/Chicago, Cory Angerthal-AMC Networks/NYC, Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA, Dan Haberer-Creo Entertainment/Playa del Rey, CA, Louis Lewow-Fite TV/NY, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, Shannon Pieszewicz-New York Interconnect/NYC, Kasey Silver-Network Affiliates/Lakewood, CO, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which two TV series by the same name each lasted one season on CBS, in 1995-96 and 2016? (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.)