Tonight’s Finales
ABC: Modern Family at 9p
Fyi: The Liquidator at 9p
MotorTrend TV: Iron Resurrection at 10p
Science Channel: Richard Hammond’s Big! at 11p

IN THE NEWS

At a time when media consumption is up, and most production is shut down due to the coronavirus, networks are looking for ways to serve content to audiences staying home. CBS is bringing back movie night on Sundays for the month of May, featuring blockbusters from corporate sib Paramount Pictures. Forrest Gump, Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mission: Impossible and Titanic make up the lineup. “It’s a five-week programming event with epic films, iconic stars and brilliant stories that viewers love…and love to watch together,” said Noriko Kelley, EVP of program planning and scheduling for CBS Entertainment. CBS had a Sunday night movie showcase until the end of the 2005-06 season; NBCUniversal announced on Monday that some of its channels will launch family movie nights.

Fantasy drama is the genre that’s seen the biggest increase in demand in the US since COVID-19 lockdowns began, according to data from Parrot Analytics comparing the two weeks before March 16 to the two weeks after. Next came (no surprise) School Age Content and Teen Sitcoms. The top three titles in Fantasy Drama during the period: Game of Thrones, Roswell, New Mexico and Motherland: Fort Salem.

AT&T announced that for a limited time, new subscribers to its DirecTV and AT&T TV video services will received a year of HBO for free. Making the deal sweeter, HBO subscribers will be among the first to get HBO Max when the service launches in May. AT&T reports that as stay-at-home orders are being extended, DirecTV on demand transactions are up 90% versus the week of March 2.

In an update on its financial position during the COVID-19 pandemic, AT&T said it had a “strong” cash position and “attractive” liquidity, and announced a $5.5 billion short-term loan agreement with 12 banks for additional financial flexibility. The company said it plans to continue paying its dividend, and promised more information when it reports first-quarter results on April 22.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham is leaving the job, but will remain in the building as chief of staff to First Lady Melania Trump. Grisham, who never held a press briefing during her tenure, replaced Sarah Huckabee Sanders last June after serving as Mrs. Trump’s spokesperson. She’ll be succeeded by Kayleigh McEnany, national press secretary for Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign.

Tom Ascheim is stepping down from his position as President of Disney net Freeform, which he joined in 2013 when it was ABC Family. Ascheim broke the news in a memo to staff, saying he’s decided to accept a new job, which starts July 1. “Your work – the shows, the brand, the oh so many insta posts, the incandescent casts, the extraordinary press, the experimental digital creations – have turned that risky proposition into a thriving brand and business,” he told employees. “I could not be prouder of what you’ve pulled off and I’d like to think the world is a little better because of what we all have done and you will continue to do.”

CNN acquired the assets of Canopy, which it described as a “personalization architecture company,” to help with the development of upcoming news and information platform NewsCo. “This acquisition enables us to light up in a single transaction a proven, best-in-class team whose deep knowledge and skill sets would’ve taken many months or even years to assemble,” said CNN EVP and chief digital officer Andrew Morse. “Canopy’s culture of fast-cycle, iterative software and product development will enable us to more rapidly realize our ambitions and deliver against our goals.”

HGTV is amping up opportunities for housebound viewers to connect with its stars. Efforts include the launch of a new video, Home Is… on its social media platforms and web site, with exclusive content featuring HGTV’s stars at home, along with show-inspired, downloadable backgrounds for Zoom, including images from A Very Brady Renovation. “Social media is always a powerful way to connect with and inspire fans, but during these unparalleled times, it can be even more impactful,” said Jane Latman, President, HGTV. “In recent weeks, thousands upon thousands of fans have shown up live on our social media platforms to interact with our stars and enjoy HGTV content. We come up with new ideas every day so that we can meet the audience’s need to stay connected with us.”

The Clio Awards is extending eligibility and entry windows into 2021 and moving its awards ceremony from October 2020 to April 2021. All submissions completed since the launch on January 27 will be considered as part of the current, extended program cycle. “Dealing with the challenges brought on by the coronavirus has been tough on us and the industry we serve. We understand that everyone is having to make difficult decisions and we wanted to be able to take something off their plate for right now,” said Clio Awards president Nicole Purcell. “With this new schedule, we look forward to getting back to the business of bringing people together to celebrate creativity at a time that feels more appropriate.”

NATPE set new dates for NATPE Budapest, which will now run August 25-27, and NATPE Streaming Plus, now September 15. NATPE Miami will take place as planned January 19-21.

Gray Television employees were told the company does not expect to have to cut their pay or furlough employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. “In addition, we do not plan to reduce paid time off, health care, EAP, dental, vision or any other employee benefit,” said Gray CEO Hilton Howell. “In fact, last month, we suspended certain benefit caps, deductibles and fees related to the coronavirus.”

The Broadcasters Foundation of America is changing the criteria for emergency grant requirements to provide aid to those who have been infected with the coronavirus. “Never in our history as broadcasters have we experienced an event that has caused this much hardship,” said Dan Mason, BFOA chairman. “Thus, we have revised provisions to our emergency grant eligibility guidelines.” The foundation provides grants of up to $1000 to broadcasters who have faced “extreme financial hardship” due to COVID-19 and its impact on the industry.

These past few weeks we’ve seen a 3,000% jump in jobless claims, a historic high. Has this crisis put even more pressure on your hiring hunt? Talented execs are suddenly finding themselves out of work and we want to help you find them. Send your job listing to us between April 6th – April 10th, and we’ll post your listing for 10 days in our edition.

Visit CYNOPSIS JOBS to connect with the right execs for your position.

Vice TV ordered Shelter in Place with Shane Smith, a remotely-produced interview show to premiere Thursday, April 9 at 10p. The Vice Media Group founder will talk to experts from science, journalism, entertainment, food and economics from his home in Santa Monica. Guest number one: Edward Snowden. Produced by Vice TV, Shane Smith, Alex Chitty, Maral Usefi are exec producers.

CONNECTING IN A COVID-19 WORLD

Charter announced plans to increase its minimum wage from $15 per hour to $20 per hour over the next two years. “These employees provide essential communications services to our residential and business communities, including hospitals, first responder and government facilities, which help flatten the curve and protect the country,” said Charter.

FIFA streamer Castro and fundraising platform Softgiving raised more than $200,000 in a 28-hour, online charity streaming event for three charities. The funds will support Direct Relief, Global Giving and No Kid Hungry in the fight against COVID-19, and in recovery after.

Kanal D Drama has joined the global #StayHome initiative to offer free content until May 3. Viewers can watch Turkish series for free, including April’s super premieres, presented for the first time in the US for Hispanic audiences.

AccuWeather is expanding its offer to donate free weather warnings services to hospitals, medical facilities and public health agencies. Over 150 medical facilities signed on to the pilot program, launched initially in the states hardest hit by the coronavirus, including more than 45 Health and Human Service testing sites.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Nat Geo’s Alaska Animal Rescue follows wildlife experts responding to animals in need in the country’s 49th state starting Saturday, April 11 at 9p. The following week at 10p comes the debut of Jungle Animal Rescue, where conservationists and vets are on a mission to help animals in distress in India.

Season two of The Misery Index premieres Thursday, May 14 at 10:30p. Host Jameel Jamil returns, along with the stars of truTV’s Impractical Jokers, as teams compete by rating hilarious and miserable real-life events.

Quiz, a three-part drama from AMC telling the story of a couple who attempted to cheat their way to winning Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, premieres Sunday, May 21 at 10p. Stephen Frears (Philomena) directed.

FX’s What We Do in the Shadows is back for season two on Wednesday, April 15 at 10p, premiering the next day on FX on Hulu. This time around, the vampires will navigate Super Bowl parties, internet trolls, and an energy vampire who gets a promotion and becomes drunk on power.

Cynopsis is shining the spotlight on female leaders and changemakers in media, marketing, digital, social content, content marketing, data analytics, mobile and more. At the Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards, we’ll celebrate not just the C-suite execs but also the many leaders, doers, and organizers who make it all happen. Nominate someone you know (our yourself) by April 16th – that’s just one week from tomorrow!

Travel Channel has two series premieres coming up. Paranormal Nightmare recounts true tales of violent hauntings starting Saturday, April 25 at 10p, while Magic Caught on Camera premieres Sunday, April 26 at 10p, showing magicians performing “mind-blowing” illusions.

The season three premiere of TV One’s Uncensored has been postponed until fall. Docu-series following the lives of celebrities was originally slated to return April 26.

Smithsonian Channel marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day with Last Call for the Bayou. Digital short-form series capturing the catastrophic changes in the bayous of Louisiana starts streaming for free on Friday, April 10.

COMING UP

FOX Business Network will air a virtual town hall, America Works Together, on Thursday, April 9 at 2p. During the one-hour special, Making Money host Charles Payne will interview White House Economic Advisor Larry Kudlow about the latest information regarding stimulus bills, and answer viewer questions surrounding the impact on small business as well as rising unemployment, and more. Audience members will join the broadcast through remote video conferences.

Israel’s Keshet 12 will broadcast The Great Israeli Seder live, inviting viewers worldwide to celebrate today, April 8 from 7:30p Israeli time and also via mako.co.il, where the show will also be available to watch for free. Led by Haim Etgar and Corin Gideon, the Passover Seder will be attended by factors, singers, intellectuals, entertainers, celebrities and families from all over Israel.

Syfy is airing every episode of Battlestar Galactica and Xena: Warrior Princess this month, with marathons hosted by stars Tricia Helfer and Lucy Lawless. The stunt includes #ThrowbackThursday marathons of Xena beginning Thursday, April 16, and a marathon of Battlestar beginning Monday, April 20 at 12a.

Autism: The Sequel premieres on HBO Tuesday, April 28 at 9p, in commemoration of National Autism Awareness Month. The show revisits the five young adults first featured in HBO’s 2007 film Autism: The Musical.

Also coming up on HBO: Bad Education, starring Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney, on Saturday, April 25 at 8p. Film centers on the aftermath of an embezzlement scheme.

STREAMING SNIPPETS

The decision to proceed with Quibi’s April 6 launch in the midst of the coronavirus wasn’t a simple one, said Jeffrey Katzenberg during a podcast interview for Recode Media. “Our gamble was to play offense,” said Katzenberg. “Being able to come to market at a time when the entire world is in a defensive posture, to be able to come with something we’re proud of and delivers on its promise, might turn out to be an advantage. But over and over again we wanted to be certain we weren’t taking advantage of other people’s disadvantage.” While it is undoubtedly a challenging time, Katzenberg said Quibi has sold 100% of its ad inventory for the next 12 months.

Quibi was installed by 300,000 users across Apple and Android devices on launch day, April 6, reported mobile analytics company Sensor Tower, ranking as the #4-ranked free app on Apple’s App store in the US. Disney+ had 4 million installs on its launch day in November.

Comcast is making on demand programming from more than two dozen more entertainment networks and subscription video services available for free for its Xfinity X1 and Flex customers in the coming weeks. Xfinity customers with X1 and Flex can say “Free” into their Xfinity Voice remote to explore programming currently available at no additional cost, for services aimed at African American, Latino and international audiences.

Millennial-focused Insight TV is extending its free trial period to 30 days. “These difficult times can be isolating and lonely, but the television industry has risen to the occasion to provide people with access to content that gives us all a sense of community,” said Rian Bester, CEO, Insight TV. “We wanted to do our part to offer viewers a way to escape into the extraordinary with our vast library of one-of-a-kind series and specials.”

Digital streaming platform Spirits Network (“watch, buy, taste”) is adding #WhiskeyWednesdays to its roster. Every week at 6p via Facebook Live, Chief Curator Flavien Desoblin will offer guided tastings, sponsored by Diageo.

TECH TALK

Broadband consumption is showing indications of reaching a plateau in markets that have been quarantined during the coronavirus pandemic, according to OpenVault. Following three weeks of double-digit percentage growth, the total downstream data usage in those markets with shelter-at-home policies declined 5.80% during the week of March 30-April 3 when compared to the previous week. Overall data usage growth in quarantined markets is 33.1%, measured against OpenVault’s January 2020 usage benchmarks. “It’s too early to say that the industry has weathered the storm of additional usage, but signs point to the greatest surge of growth by far as being behind us,” said Mark Trudeau, CEO and founder of OpenVault. “Operators will need to keep close eyes on any incremental increases – particularly during peak hours and in the upstream – as well as the impact of new quarantines in additional markets, but their networks seem in the meantime to be well-prepared to handle this increased data consumption.”

A new trend tool from AnalyrticOwl offers insights on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting advertising engagement across a range of industries. During the four-week period ending March 22, top advertising categories that significantly increased were media (48.35%), grocery, convenience and liquor stores (32.55%), charitable, religious and non-profits (20.20%), with communications (11.17%) and insurance (8.51%) representing the top five in new user website visits. Not so engaging? Politics (-32.63%) and entertainment (-22.24%) followed by travel and transportation (-19.62%), casino and lottery (-7.31%) and automotive (-7.28%), all of which were impacted by federal and state mandates related to stay at home and social distancing. “Advertisers must rethink their advertising strategy with respect to placement and messaging due to the pandemic,” said Erik Hellum, COO of Townsquare Media. “AnalyticOwl is helping us identify these key trends and create new media strategies for our advertising partners based on real-time data.”

WhatsApp rolled out a new restriction aimed at cutting back on the spread of misinformation. Any message forwarded five or more times will have a limit that prevents a user from forwarding it to more than one contact at a time. “We’ve seen a significant increase in the amount of forwarding which users have told us can feel overwhelming and can contribute to the spread of misinformation,” said the company in a blog post. “We believe it’s important to slow the spread of these messages down to keep WhatsApp a place for personal conversation.”

GOING GLOBAL

The BBC is hosting a telethon spotlighting stories of kindness and hope during the coronavirus epidemic. Produced by BBS Studios, The Big Night In will air live for three hours on BBC One on April 23.

AMC Networks International Southern Europe and Portugal’s NOS are launching Casa e Cozinha (Home & Kitchen), a new lifestyle channel managed through Dreamia, a joint venture in Portugal owned by the two companies. The channel, which will be AMC Networks’ first lifestyle network in the Portuguese language, debuts today with more than 300 hours of programming, including original local productions.

Pluto TV is now available in 17 Latin American countries. ViacomCBS’s free, ad-supported, streaming TV service is now in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Paraguay, El Salvador, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The Edinburgh TV Festival, slated for August 26-28, has been reimagined as an online event. Main sessions will take place on the dates as planned, with other events staged ahead of the digital festival. “Television’s vital role in our lives has never been so present, valued and cherished, and so the team will be doing everything we can in 2020 to keep discussion flowing, talent supported and diversity encouraged,” said Campbell Glennie, the festival’s Managing Director. “It will not be the Festival we know, but it will still be the Festival we love.”

Federation Kids & Family inked a deal with public broadcaster NHK Japan for the first season of the tween series Find Me In Paris, which is produced by Cottonwood Media with ZDF, ZDF Enterprises, Be-Films, and the Opera National de Paris. Series is scheduled to air on NHK’s E-TELE channel starting April 10.

Syndicated talker Live with Kelly and Ryan hit 2.6 in Live+SD national Nielsens the week ending March 29, up 18% from the week before, and a 24% jump year-over-year. Dr. Phil, partially in reruns and repeatedly preempted for breaking pandemic news, slipped 13% to 2.1. In access, Extra (1.2) was up 20% versus the same time last year.

CBS’s 60 Minutes drew 9.855 million total viewers on Sunday. President Trump’s press briefing during the same time period delivered 4.906 viewers to Fox News, 2.849 million to CNN and 1.285 million to MSNBC.

Fox News’ Special Report topped cable news broadcasts for the week of March 30, delivering 5.5 million viewers P2+ and 1.2 million among A25-54.

WWE set WrestleMania Week viewership records with more than 967 million video views across the company’s digital and social platforms, an increase of 20 percent year-over-year.

Univision delivered double-digit year-over-year audience growth during primetime for the third consecutive week among Total Viewers 2+ (21% to 1.7 million), A18-49 (26% to 680,000) and A18-34 (+41% to 289,000).

UniMás’ Vas Con Todo increased the network’s Monday to Friday 10:30p to 12:30a time slot by double-digit margins year-over-year among Total Viewers 2+ (up 19% to 220,000), A18-49 ( up 25% to 106,000) and A18-34 (up 14% to 40,000).

Basic Cable Ratings for the Week of March 30
Top 5 – Primetime (P2+)
Fox News (4,019,000)
CNN (2,219,000)
MSNBC (2,104,000)
TLC (1,167,000)
HGTV (1,156,000)
Top 5 – Total Day (P2+)
Fox News (2,511,000)
CNN (1,553,000)
MSNBC (1,356,000)
HGTV (756,000)
Food Network (626,000)
Source: Nielsen

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of March 23 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy (CTD) 7.3 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 7.2 AA
Family Feud (CTD) 7.1 AA
Judge Judy (CTD) 6.5 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 3.4 AA
Inside Edition (CTD) 3.2 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 3.0 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 2.6 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 2.3 AA
Hot Bench (CTD) 2.3 AA
Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.1 AA

Top 11 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of March 23 ranked in order by A18-49 Rtg
Family Feud (CTD) 1.7 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 1.4 AA
Jeopardy (CTD) 1.4 AA
Judge Judy (CTD) 1.3 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 1.0 AA
Modern Family (DAD) 0.9 AA
Family Guy (DAD) 0.8 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 0.7 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 0.7 AA
Inside Edition (CTD) 0.7 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 0.7 AA
Source: Nielsen

TV Time’s Binge Report for the Week of March 30
Money Heist (Netflix) – 16.75%
Elite (Netflix) – 2.05%
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC) – 1.70%
Friends (NBC) – 1.58%
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – 1.55%
Ozark (Netflix) – 1.52%
The Walking Dead (AMC) – 1.23%
The Office (NBC) – 1.04%
Vikings (History) – .98%
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) – .94%
*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 our TV Time app within a given day.

Late Night Shows Weekly Average Ratings week of March 30
CBS: The Late Show 3.64 million total viewers; 0.44/4 A18-49
NBC: The Tonight Show 2.03 million total viewers; 0.41/3 A18-49
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live 1.95 million total viewers; 0.34/3 A18-49
Source: Nielsen

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, April 6
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Celebrity Family Feud 5.36 (0.9), 20/20 4.90 (0.8), The Good Doctor 7.58 (1.1)
CBS: The Neighborhood 5.08 (0.7), Bob Hearts Abishola 4.28 (0.6), The Neighborhood 3.93 (0.5), The Neighborhood 3.77 (0.6), Home Fest: James Corden’s Late Late Show Special 3.31 (0.5)
CW: Who’s Line Is It Anyway? 0.94 (0.2), Who’s Line Is It Anyway? 0.81 (0.2), Roswell, New Mexico 0.61 (0.1)
FOX: 9-1-1 6.99 (1.3), Prodigal Son 3.61 (0.7)
NBC: The Voice 9.68 (1.7), Manifest 4.27 (0.7)
TELEMUNDO: Exatlon Estados Unidos 1.57 (0.5), La Dona 1.05 (0.4), Coronavirus: Sobrieviv Casa 1.09 (0.4)
UNIVISION: La Rosa de Guadalupe 1.96 (0.7), Amor Eterno 2.11 (0.7), Sin Miedo a la Verdad 2020 1.34 (0.5)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

WildBrain Television appointed Katie Wilson to the role of Vice President, Channels and Curation. Wilson was previously Director of Programming, Kids, at Corus.

IN MEMORIAM

Music producer Hal Willner died April 6 of complications related to COVID-19. He was 64. In addition to producing albums and working on films, Willner was a longtime sketch music producer for Saturday Night Live. “As unique a person as I ever had the good fortune to cross paths with,” tweeted SNL alum Seth Meyers.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who was Tony engaged to when Jeannie first met him on I Dream of Jeannie (1965-70)? His commanding general’s daughter, Melissa. Kudos to: Rev. Mark Wajda/Lakeland, FL, Charles Lore/NYC, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank, Tom Boyd-WGN-TV/Chicago, Dale Warshaw-KMSB/KTTU/Tucson, Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station, TX

Today’s Trivia Question
Which game show aired on NBC from 1956-1960, then jumped to ABC, where it aired until 1964? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four.)