Today’s Premieres
Amazon Freevee: Jury Duty
Apple TV+: Boom! Boom! The World vs. Boris Becker
Discovery: Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail at 9p
HBO: Music Box: Jason Isbell: Running with Our Eyes Closed
Hulu: Tiny Beautiful Things; The New York Times Presents: The Legacy of J Dilla at 10p
Netflix: Thicker Than Water; Transatlantic
PBS: Art21: Art in the Twenty-First Century at 10p
Prime Video: The Boarding School: Las Cumbres

Today’s Finale
Apple TV+: Hello Tomorrow!

Saturday’s Premieres
CW: Totally Weird and Funny at 9p
FOOD: Valerie’s Home Cooking at 11:20a
HGTV: Houses with History at 8p; The Renovator at 9p
Lifetime: Pride: A Seven Deadly Sins Story
MGM+: The Portable Door
Nat Geo Wild: Critter Fixers at 9p; Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet at 10p
OWN: Love & Marriage: Huntsville at 8p

Sunday’s Premieres
Disney: Raven’s Home at 8p
Magnolia: Happy to be Home With the Benkos
Showtime: Catching Lightning

IN THE NEWS

For the first time, Nielsen has introduced comparable reporting of local television’s OTT streaming apps when delivered via connected TV devices, apps and/or websites and viewed on the TV glass. The new capability includes feeds that have unique, streamed content that is not available on the station’s over-the-air channels or direct-to-cable station feeds. “We continue to evolve our measurement to account for all local audiences and are thrilled to offer a more inclusive way to capture local audiences across platforms,” said Catherine Herkovic, EVP, Managing Director, Audio and Local TV at Nielsen. “This new innovation is the next step in aligning our local TV measurement to national TV.”

Don Lemon has taken issue with a report in Variety about alleged inappropriate and “diva-like” behavior. While the “CNN This Morning” co-anchor was criticized for a comment he made on February 16 about former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley being “past her prime,” the new claims date back 15 years. One alleged incident involved Lemon suggesting Soledad O’Brien shouldn’t have gotten the job co-hosting CNN’s “Black in America” because she wasn’t Black; another had Lemon making a threatening phone call to a female co-anchor. “Don says the alleged incidents never occurred,” said a CNN spokesperson. “CNN cannot corroborate the alleged events from 15 years ago.” Lemon called the report “reckless” and based on “15-year-old anonymous gossip.”

Hank Azaria, Darren Criss, Sutton Foster and more guest star on season five of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” The fifth and final season of the Amazon Prime Video original series will also feature Danny Strong (“Dopesick”), Sean Gunn, Alexander Gemignani, with David Paymer reprising his role as Harry Drake.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment reported its largest Transactional Video-on-Demand revenue week ever. The Redbox streaming platform hit record revenue with the premium release of “Avatar: The Way of Water” and the premiere of “Creed III.” The simultaneous release of “Plane” at the kiosk and standard Video-on-Demand didn’t hurt, either. Redbox kiosks also saw rentals grow dramatically – new release rental titles in kiosks rose 102% for a rolling three-month period. “We’ve had a record-breaking start to the year driven by what we’ve long expected – big movies are beginning to come back,” said William J. Rouhana Jr., CEO of CSSE. “As the year progresses, we will see even more movie titles come into the pipeline. More movies mean more rentals and more revenue.”

2023 Measure Up! Awards

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Hulu handed a series order for a new drama starring Sterling K. Brown. The as-yet-untitled project comes from Dan Fogelman (“This Is Us”) and 20th Television. Brown will also executive produce.

Hip-hop record exec Suge Knight is taking to the screen with BLK Prime. The streamer is launching a series exploring the life and legacy of Knight, narrated by Knight himself. The series will also uncover untold stories from his life and career, offer insight into his relationships with industry figures and reveal hidden aspects of the music business.

John Cena signed on to star in and executive produce a WWE docuseries. Roku eight-parter “WWE: Recruits” (working title) will follow young wrestlers fighting to make their names known, from training to triumph.

TLC announced a new relationship series. With the help of three international matchmakers (based in the Czech Republic, Colombia, and Morocco), “Match Me Abroad” will center on seven American singles looking to find love outside the US. Discovery Networks and TLC President Howard Lee said the new show “dives right into those candid, surprising connections that our audience craves, and in this new series, they’ll do it with the help of international matchmakers.”

HGTV ordered two new seasons of “Ugliest House in America” with Retta. Traveling across the country to tour properties nominated by homeowners who believe they live in the “ugliest house,” the actress and comedian will award the winner a $150,000 renovation by TV personality and interior decorator Alison Victoria. Seasons four and five of the series will each include five half-hour episodes and a one-hour season finale.

Dan Abrams’ Law & Crime Network secured the exclusive rights to “Cops Reloaded.” The 158-episode series featuring the highest-rated moments from the Fox hit show will be available to stream across the network’s platforms.

Onyx Collective announced the cast for Hulu comedy pilot “1266,” from 20th Television. Karim Diané (“One of Us Is Lying”), Kristin Dodson (“Flatbush Misdemeanors”) and Kassandra Lee Diaz (“You Married Dat”) have come aboard as series regulars alongside previously announced Gabourey Sidibe and recurring guest stars Anna Maria Horsford, Tisha Campbell and Judy Reyes.

Sphere Media inked a development deal with Mark McKinney (“Superstore”) calling for McKinney to partner in developing, starring in and exec producing his first unscripted series. The series will be exec produced by Sphere’s Kim Bondi, Bruno Dubé and Marlo Miazga along with comedy writer and producer Rob Sheridan (“2 Broke Girls”) and McKinney.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

The BBC’s “Wild Isles” with Sir David Attenborough has migrated to Amazon. The five-part nature documentary series narrated by Attenborough takes place in the British Isles, exploring woodlands, grasslands, freshwater and marine life. The series will debut globally on Prime Video on April 21.

As the 25th anniversary of the agreement approaches, “Once Upon a Time in Northern Ireland” offers testimonies of people who lived through Northern Ireland’s violent past. The five-part series premieres on PBS.org and the PBS app in May.

Circle Network announced a sixth season of “The Southern Weekend.” Country music singer-songwriter Natalie Stovall, with recurring guest hosts Molly McKinney and Morgan Myles, will travel from city to city to visit the region’s best sites and pitstops, from fast food to museums. The new season kicks off April 13 at 10p.

COMING UP

“Lyft Comics” winner Zarna Garg launches her comedy special on Prime Video next month. “Zarna Garg: One in a Billion” was filmed last September at the Gramercy Theatre in NYC and will premiere globally on May 16.

And even more comedy! Sarah Silverman is back at HBO for her as-yet-untitled stand-up comedy special this May. This will be Silverman’s second special with the streamer; she won an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special in 2014 for her first HBO special, “Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles.”

“SUGA: Road to D-DAY” follows BTS star SUGA as he travels the world in search of inspiration for his upcoming solo album. The doc comes out Friday, April 21 on Disney+.

Billboard and Telemundo announced the hosts and honorees for “Billboard Mujeres Latinas en la Música,” the first-ever Latin Women in Music event. Queen of Reggaeton, Ivy Queen, will host alongside Mexican actress and television host Jaqueline Bracamontes, and Mexican singer-songwriter Ana Gabriel will be recognized as a living legend. The event will be taped in Miami on Saturday, May 6 and air on Sunday, May 7, at 9p on Telemundo and Universo.

STREAMING

Disney+ launched its ad-supported tier at Roku. The company’s $7.99 “Basic” plan launched four months ago, but wasn’t accessible to Roku users.

The film adaptation of video game “Five Nights at Freddy’s” will open in theaters and on Peacock on October 27. The Blumhouse movie follows a security guard working the night shift at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza.

TECH TALK

CTV/OTT advertising platform Premion shared insights from a co-viewing study from TVision that showed Premion’s CTV inventory exceeds industry benchmarks for co-viewing and capturing viewer attention. Among the TVision CTV Co-Viewing study findings:
* Premion inventory had more than a 19% lift above CTV Norms with views per viewable household (VPVH), defined as the average number of viewers present in the home when the TV is on with the content tuned. The average VPVH for Premion inventory was 1.5, with 1.26 being the average for ad-supported CTV.
* The average attention percentage for Premion placed inventory also exceeded industry norms, with a 3.5% lift from the CTV average. TVision defines the attention index as the average amount of seconds that viewers engage with a program.
* Premion placed inventory captured more attention than the CTV norm in nearly every hour of the day (23 of 24 hours) and this difference is especially notable in Prime and Overnight dayparts, providing additional value to advertisers.
“CTV advertisers want to know how many people are streaming content together and who’s paying attention, and our studies show that attention is closely correlated with both aided awareness and ad recall — two fundamental brand metrics,” said Yan Liu, CEO of TVision. “Premion scored high in attention and views per viewer household which validates the power of premium content. This maximizes value for brands by getting the ads in front of a larger audience without them having to increase ad spending.”

Newsletter platform Substack is introducing a Twitter-ish short-form content feature, Notes, to “foster conversations that inspire, enlighten, and entertain, while giving writers a powerful growth channel as these interactions find new audiences.” Explains a Substack post, “Like our Recommendations feature, Notes is designed to drive discovery across Substack. But while Recommendations lets writers promote publications, Notes will give them the ability to recommend almost anything—including posts, quotes, comments, images, and links.”

Calling all measurement and data industry experts! We’re looking for judges for Cynopsis’ inaugural Measure Up! Awards. Email Carley Ashley by April 17th to find out more, and check out our website to learn more about the event (or enter yourself!).

SPORTS ROUNDUP

A new edition of “MLB Network Presents” debuts April 23. “Tito: The Terry Francona Story” will document Cleveland Guardians manager Francona’s mark on baseball, releasing as he pursues his third World Series championship. Former Red Sox manager Theo Epstein, and former Red Sox players Curt Schilling, Kevin Millar and more will discuss their first-hand experiences with Francona.

Sportradar has renewed its partnership with Big Ten Network to power its OTT platform B1G+ through the 2024-25 college athletics season. Sportradar will collaborate with BTN to enhance user experience through additional front-end experiences, including the integration & visualization of sports data.

Socios.com, the fan engagement and rewards app, announced mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran Shane Burgos as the first official Socios.com US Brand Ambassador ahead of his Professional Fighters League debut on April 14. Fans of Burgos and the PFL will have access to benefits and reward opportunities via the PFL Fan Token, available on the Socios.com US mobile app.

GOING GLOBAL

Keshet International is launching linear pre-sales for the eight-part contemporary thriller “Suspicion” starring Uma Thurman (“Pulp Fiction”) at MIPTV. Keshet UK’s remake of Keshet Broadcasting’s “False Flag” will headline KI’s new Spring 2023 slate.

ITV announced the launch of a new Social Media Awareness Hub, designed to help all participants on ITV-produced or commissioned shows to deal with trolling online. The Hub is part of an ongoing commitment to duty of care for participants of its shows.

Rise Studios, a company driving investment in the MENA entertainment industry, has announced a partnership with Parrot Analytics to drive data-driven decisions as the company looks to streamline its content creation and distribution strategy.

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RATINGS

The first four episodes of NBC’s “That’s My Jam” is averaging 3.5 million viewers – 15% higher than season one – and 0.6 among A18-49 in Live+3 Nielsens, improving the Tuesday at 10p timeslot by 30% in viewers and 64% in the demo versus 1Q23.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Wednesday, April 5
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: The Conners 3.64 (0.49), The Goldbergs 2.28 (0.34), Abbott Elementary 2.72 (0.45), Not Dead Yet 2.07 (0.31), A Million Little Things 1.75 (0.21)
CBS: Survivor 5.19 (0.71), True Lies 2.36 (0.23)
CW: The Flash 0.52 (0.11), Riverdale 0.27 (0.07)
ION: Blue Bloods 1.03 (0.1), Blue Bloods 0.85 (0.1), Blue Bloods 0.88 (0.1)
FOX: The Masked Singer 3.69 (0.60), Farmer Wants a Wife 1.96 (0.28)
NBC: Chicago Med 6.40 (0.46), Chicago Fire 6.77 (0.55), Chicago P.D. 5.04 (0.44)
Telemundo: La Casa de los Famosos 1.32 (0.33), El Señor de los Cielos 1.22 (0.43), Juego de Mentiras 0.82 (0.25)
Univision: Perdona Nuestros Pecados 1.38 (0.37), El Amor Invencible 1.49 (0.42), Cabo 1.36 (0.36)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

The Walt Disney Company named its first-ever chief brand officer. Asad Ayaz will continue in his current role as president of marketing for the studio, which he’s held since 2018. Sad Disney CEO Bob Iger, “Asad is an exceptional creative leader with a deep understanding of what Disney means to millions of people around the world.” Ayaz will be responsible for streamlining marketing initiatives across the company, and will report directly to Iger.

Telemundo 52 & NBC4 promoted Lizette Carbajal to vice president of community relations and communications. In the expanded role, Carbajal will lead engagement and communications strategies for both stations, reporting to President and General Manager Todd Mokhtari.

Love Nature has appointed Sabrina Sahel to the role of Affiliate Sales Director, EMEA.

IN MEMORIAM

Animation artist Leo D. Sullivan died March 25 at age 82. Best known for the animation of a chugging train that opened “Soul Train,” Sullivan’s TV credits also include “Scooby-Doo,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “Flash COfron,” among others.

This Day in History
1948 – The United Nations formed the World Health Organization.

Friday Fun Fact
Most Canadians live south of Seattle

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which sitcom character was killed by a toilet seat from space? George, in “Dead Like Me” (2003-2004). Kudos to: Dave Sikula-San Francisco State University/San Francisco, Heather Allen-WWE Corporation/Stamford, CT, Bobbi Owens/New York, Suzanne Semilof-People in 10/New York, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./New York, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank, CA, Anne Wettig-Fox Corp. S&P/LA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Maggie Takei-Direct Donor TV/Paducah, KY, Katy Angello-Frndly TV/Aurora, CO

Today’s Trivia Question
How did Lena (played by model Bella Hadid) and Steve meet on “Ramy” (2019-)? (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