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Today’s Premieres
Disney+: Sketchbook
Netflix: Bullsh*t The Game Show; Komi Can’t Communicate

IN THE NEWS

Warner Bros. Discovery reported financial results for the quarter ended March 31. US ad revenue increased 5% compared to 1Q21, and distribution revenues increased 11%. The quarter ended with 24 million DTC subscribers, up 2 million since the end of 4Q21. (The results do not include first-quarter performance for the WarnerMedia business, which was acquired on April 8.) “With Warner Bros. Discovery, we are creating a pure-play media company with diversified revenues and the most compelling IP ownership, franchises, and brand portfolio in our industry,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO. “I could not be more excited about the massive opportunity ahead.” As for streaming, Zaslav said on an earnings call, “Our goal is to maximize long-term shareholder value and asset value, not just subs. We will not overspend to drive subscribers.”

TelevisaUnivision reported a revenue increase of 12.2% in 1Q22 versus the year prior (looking at the combined business created by the Televisa/Univision merger in January), with ad revenue seeing a 12.0% boost and subscription and licensing revenue up 14.3%, reflecting growth in the US and Mexico. “We’re seeing fantastic results across he board,” said Wade Davis, CEO of TelevisUnivision. “On March 31, 2022, we unveiled our streaming service, ViX, introducing our AVOD tier to tremendous excitement, and this is just the beginning.”

CBS renewed “Blue Bloods” for season 13, after a deal was struck for the return of star and executive producer Tom Selleck. The police drama is averaging 9.81 million viewers. “In its 12th season, with over 250 episodes, ‘Blue Bloods’ not only continues to dominate in the ratings but excels at an exceptionally high creative level,” said Kelly Kahl, President of CBS Entertainment.

“Raising Dion” has been canceled after two seasons. The Netflix superhero drama was based on the comic book about a boy who hones mysterious powers with the support of his mother and a trainer.

GroupM is merging agencies Essence and MediaCom into EssenceMediacom, and has completed the merger of Neo into the Mindshare brand. Specialist units Finecast, Xaxis, and GroupM Services fall under a new organization, GroupM Nexus. “Through GroupM Nexus and our agency powerhouses Mindshare, Wavemaker, and EssenceMediacom we are building a tech-enabled future, side-by-side with our clients, that is accountable to advertisers’ growth goals and to our vision for an advertising ecosystem that works for everyone,” said GroupM Global CEO Christian Juhl.

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions and Laugh Out Loud are merging to form a single company, Hartbeat. Equity firm Abry Partners is making a $100 million investment in the new company, while Peacock, which acquired an equity stake in 2020, will remain a shareholder. “The creation of Hartbeat and our capital raise with Abry represent a new era in comedy,” said Hart. “With this merger and funding, we’re taking the new blueprint we’ve built in entertainment to the next level and creating opportunities for a new generation of comedic talent.” Thai Randolph, who had served as COO of Laugh Out Loud and Hartbeat Productions, has been elevated to CEO of the new company.

WarnerBros. Discovery has hit pause on the development of new scripted programming at TNT and TBS, reports Variety, as the strategy for “TNets” TNT, TBS and truTV is being evaluated. “Kill the Orange-Faced Bear,” a TBS comedy starring Damon Wayans Jr. scheduled to start production next week, will not move forward; the absurdist comedy, starring Wayans as a man out for revenge after a bear eats his girlfriend, was picked up to series in November.

Freeform renewed “Single Drunk Female” for a second season. The net also ordered dramedy “While You Were Breeding,” based on the memoir from Kristen Newman. Newman executive produces along with Susanna Fogel (“The Flight Attendant”) and Blair Breard (“Scenes from a Marriage”). The pilot is directed by Becca Gleason (“Summer ‘03”).

Jenny Han has inked an overall film and television deal with Amazon Studios. “Adapting my novel, The Summer I Turned Pretty, into a television series at Prime Video has been an incredible experience, and I’m so thrilled to now expand my relationship with them,” said Han. “I’m delighted to start this new chapter: creating and championing stories about coming of age at every age for Prime Video’s global audience.”

“Wolf Like Me” was renewed for a sophomore run by Peacock. “We are over the moon that “Wolf Like Me’s” unique and high-stakes love story resonated so strongly with Peacock viewers,” said Susan Rovner, Chairman, Entertainment Content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. Isla Fisher and Josh Gad will reprise their roles as Mary and Gary.

Digital media brand Moviefone announced “Moviefone TV” is coming to broadcast syndication. The series, which explores the secrets of filmmaking from script-to-screen, is already cleared in top 30 markets, as well as The CW Plus. Moviefone also announced a deal to feature the company’s “Made in Hollywood” TV series content as part of Screenvision Media’s Front + Center preshow in movie theaters. “Coming out of the pandemic, our exhibitor partners have shared that audiences are coming to theaters even earlier to more fully immerse themselves in the cinema experience,” said Darryl Schaffer, Chief Partnership Officer, Screenvision Media. “We are excited about working with Screenvision to extend our Emmy-nominated TV series franchise to the big screen while supporting the theatrical experience, great films and talent-driven content,” said Moviefone CEO Cleveland O’Neal. “Partnering with Screenvision enables us to introduce the newly rebranded Moviefone media assets across broadcast, digital, streaming and theater screens to a new generation of movie fans, while reconnecting with those who love the nostalgic Moviefone brand that is synonymous in pop-culture.” 

Banijay Mexico & US Hispanic and singer/actress Becky G (“Becoming a Pop Star”) have partnered to develop a docuseries following female Latin group Angel22. The project will be co-produced with 2Ws Films and Becky G, who will appear in the series.

Documentary studio XTR (“They Call Me Magic”) has acquired a 30,000 square foot studio located in Echo Park on the Eastside of Los Angeles. XTR Studios includes production and post-production facilities, a sound stage, recording studio and offices.

Casting notes: Emily Hampshire (“Schitt’s Creek”) has joined the cast of Roku Original comedy “Slip.”…Rob Lowe’s brother, Chad Lowe, will guest on the May 2 episode of Fox’s (“9-1-1: Lone Star”) as the half-brother of Rob Lowe’s character, Owen….Danielle Deadwuler (“The Harder We Fall”) landed the lead in “Demimonde,” the HBO sci-fi drama from J.J. Abrams.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

“Generation Drag,” following five teens and their families as they prepare for drag show Dragutante, premieres Wednesday, June 1 on discovery+. Tyra Banks (“Dancing With the Stars”) is exec producing.

Detective drama “Signora Volpe” debuts Monday, May 2 on Acorn TV. Emilia Fox (“Silent Witness”) stars and executive produces the three-parter.

COMING UP

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the dates and locations for upcoming in-person ceremonies. The Technology & Engineering Emmys Awards will be held Monday, April 25 in Las Vegas; the Sports Emmy Awards are set for Monday, May 24 in NYC; the Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Awards will be handed out Saturday, June 18 in Pasadena, where the Daytime Emmy Awards will be presented on Friday, June 24. The News & Documentary Emmy Awards will take place Wednesday, September 28 and Thursday, September 29 in NYC; and the first annual Children’s & Family Emmys are slated for Sunday, December 11 in LA.

Bravocon returns to NYC from October 14-16 at the Javits Center. The superfan event offers panels, performances and activations featuring Bravo stars.

Former Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Rolando Cantú has joined Telemundo Deportes as lead NFL analyst for “Sunday Night Football.” Cantú makes his debut for coverage of the 2022 NFL Draft starting tomorrow, April 28.

CNN Special Report “The Fire Still Burns: 30 Years After the L.A. Riots” reveals the true origins of the historic uprising, and how its legacy still smolders, on Friday, April 29 at 11p.

UPFRONT CALENDAR

May 2: NBCUniversal/Peacock NewFront
May 3: Samsung Ads at 9a (Samsung 837, NYC); Roku at 11:30a (Caldwell Factory, NYC)
May 4: Digitas at 9:25a; Blavity at 9:50a; Revolt Media at 10:05a; Black Enterprise at 10:25a; Diversity in the Creator Community at 10:40a; TikTok at 4:30p; Twitter at 6p (Pier 17)
May 5: A+E Networks at 9a; Nielsen at 9:20a; fuboTV at 9:30; Dotdash Meredith at 9:50a; Comscore at 10:10a; LG Ads at 10:20; Innovid at 10:55a; GSTS at 11:05a; Crackle Plus at 11:25a; Estrella Media at 12:45p; Vevo at 4:30p (Hammerstein Ballroom), Canela Media at 1p (virtual) and CincoDeFront at 5:30p (NYC)
May 16: NBCUniversal (Radio City Music Hall, NYC); Telemundo (Ziegfeld Theater, NYC); Fox (Skylight, NYC)
May 17: Univision at 11:30a (Javits Center in NYC); Disney (Basketball City at Pier 36, NYC); YouTube Brandcast at 8p
May 18: Paramount (Carnegie Hall, NYC); Warner Bros. Discovery (Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, NYC)
May 19: The CW (New York City Center Theater, NYC)

STREAMING

The US may have reached peak stacking, according to Kantar’s Entertainment on Demand service. The proportion of US households who have video streaming services has stalled at 86% (up 0.4% points quarter over quarter), after seeing substantial growth 4Q21. While flat overall, there are growth differences across the streaming tiers. SVOD is down 0.2% points to 81.4%, but AVOD grew by 2.2% points to 20.2% household penetration. FAST grew by 0.9% points to 25.3%. Expect to see a greater rate of churn and switching as consumers are more selective about what they watch, says Kantar, which advises that for streaming platforms, now is the time to ensure they keep streamers engaged after they finish a piece of content through easily navigable interface and content recommendations.

New movies will be released every Friday on streamer AMC+, featuring titles from AMC Networks sibs IFC Films, IFC Midnight, RLJE Films and Shudder. AMC+ will be the exclusive streaming home of the company’s slate of films following theatrical and digital distribution, 90 days after release, with select titles premiering day-and-date in theaters and on AMC+. The last Friday of the month will be branded “The Final Friday,” with a new horror film from Shudder. The subscriber benefit kicks off on Friday, May 6 with the streaming premiere of “Clean” from IFC Films, starring Adrien Brody.

Roku and Lionsgate have inked a multi-year deal that gives The Roku Channel an exclusive streaming run of Lionsgate feature films after they air on Starz. “This agreement affirms the great demand for first-run studio movies across a broad array of platforms,” said Jim Packer, President of Worldwide Television Distribution at Lionsgate. “This partnership with The Roku Channel shows our ability to capitalize on opportunities in today’s complex television landscape with a multifaceted, layered approach that meets everyone’s needs.”

TECH TALK

Nielsen and Vizio have inked a multi-year agreement that provides Nielsen with viewership data powered by Inscape Smart TV data. The deal includes a period of exclusivity for data gathered on an expanded roster of 400 local stations that will be processed by Inscape’s systems. “At Nielsen, we have a commitment to the industry to continue to innovate and improve for the future,” said Peter Bradbury, Chief Commercial Officer, Nielsen. “This agreement with one of the premier Smart TV manufacturers, for both national and local measurement, further validates our commitment.”

Samsung Ads has launched Samsung Ads Total Media Solution, a full-service offering that addresses fragmentation by providing buyers with holistic management and measurement of cross-platform media buys, inclusive of ad exposure on networks’ linear and digital streaming apps. With Total Media Solution, Samsung Ads provides advertisers with the ability to “bring-your-own media” (BYOM) for streaming app inventory that has been negotiated directly with TV networks, to Samsung DSP where Samsung Ads will manage and measure cross-platform campaigns using its programmatic adtech platform. “Agencies and advertisers need a simple way to understand and integrate linear and streaming buys to measure outcomes and increase efficiencies,” said Joe Melaragno, Head of Platform Sales & Agency Development, Samsung Ads. “With Samsung Ads Total Media Solution, we are providing an elegantly simple solution for the industry to serve ads, measure, and optimize within Samsung DSP.”

Donald Trump’s Truth Social was the number one app on the App Store on Tuesday, followed by Twitter. On Monday, before Elon Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy Twitter was announced, Truth Social ranked 52nd and Twitter was 39th.

GOING GLOBAL

Curious Films has won a commission from BBC Two and iPlayer for a one-off film following mathematician, author, and radio and television presenter Professor Hannah Fry. In “Making Sense of Cancer with Hanna Fry,” Fry documents her treatment for cancer and investigates whether current medical thinking about how to tackle the disease needs reassessing.

“Celebrity Karaoke Club” is returning to UK’s ITV2 this summer, with “Selling Sunset” star Chrishell Stause onboard.

Federation Kids & Family and China’s UYoung Media struck deals with Discovery Kids in Latin America and UK’s POP for the kids’ animated action comedy series “Kung Fu Wa!”.

CALLING THE TOP WOMAN IN MEDIA!

It’s time to nominate yourself or a colleague for the one-of-a-kind distinction, honoring to the women in the media industry. Don’t be shy…you deserve to be recognized. But if you don’t enter, you can’t win.

Enter Now!

RATINGS

In syndication, “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (1.7 Live+SD national Nielsen rating, up 6% from the week before) topped the talkers for the sixth week in a row. It also drew the biggest audience, averaging 2,379,000 daily viewers (a weekly gain of 59,000). Among courtroom programs, leader “Judge Judy” (4.3, down 4%) and second place “Hot Bench” (1.4, down 7%) both dipped.

Fox Business Network averaged 203,000 total viewers during Business Day for the month of April, with “Kudlow” scoring 278,000 viewers.

Nielsen Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of April 11 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy (CMV) 5.4 AA
Family Feud (CMV) 5.1 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 4.9 AA
Judge Judy (CMV) 4.3 AA
Inside Edition (CMV) 2.2 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.1 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 2.10 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.7 AA
The Dr. Phil Show (CMV) 1.4 AA
Hot Bench (CMV) 1.4 AA

Basic Cable Top 10 for April 2022
Network, P2+ AA (000s)
Primetime
Fox News 2363
TNT 1707
ESPN 1346
TBS 1206
MSNBC 1116
HGTV 1064
TLC 888
INSP 824
Hallmark Channel 797
History 796

Total Day
Fox News 1521
MSNBC 668
TNT 609
CNN 582
ESPN 576
HGTV 570
TBS 570
Hallmark Channel 440
INSP 437
Food Network 431

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, April 25
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: American Idol 4.36(0.6), The Good Doctor 2.27 (0.2)
CBS: The Price Is Right 4.36 (0.6), NCIS 3.78 (0.3), NCIS: Hawai’I 3.42 (0.3)
CW: All American 0,51 (0.1), All American: Homecoming 0.38 (0.1)
FOX: 9-1-1 5.08 (0.7), 9-1-1: Lonestar 456 (0.6)
NBC: American Song Contest 1.44 (0.3), Endgame 1.72 (0.2)
Telemundo: Exatlon 0.94 (0.3), Hercai: Amor 1.24 (0.3), Pasion Gavilanes 0.70 (0.2)
Univision: Soltero Con Hijas 1.45 (0.4)), Mi Fortuna es Amarte 1.69(0.5), Madre 1.77 (0.6)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Disney Branded Television’s unscripted and nonfiction content development has been aligned into three teams: Disney Original Documentary; Disney Branded Television Unscripted; and Disney Branded Television Partnerships and Kids. Promotions tied to the move include Marjon Javadi to VP, Disney Documentary Films and Docuseries, Disney Branded Television; Nicole Silveira to VP, Unscripted, Disney Branded Television; Claire McCabe to VP, Brand Partnerships and Kids, Disney Branded Television; Meghan de Boer to Executive Director, Brand Partnerships and Kids, Disney Branded Television; and Jordan Gilbert to Executive Director, Unscripted, Disney Branded Television.

Matt Sotebeer has joined Digital Remedy as Chief Strategy Officer. Sotebeer was previously VP, Solutions & Sales Engineering at MiQ.

Austyn Biggers has been tapped to join TV One Networks as Senior Vice President of Programming and Production. Biggers was most recently Head of Unscripted Programming at Get Lifted Film Company. Julia VanTuyl, who joined the company in 2010, has been promoted to SVP of Advertising and Sales for TV One and Cleo TV.

NewsNet has named Phil Hendrix as News Director. Hendrix joins from Black News Channel, where he was Senior Producer.

OOH media agency Talon America has appointed Chris Greene as Chief Revenue Officer. Greene was most recently CRO at Cooler Screens.

This Day in History
1959 – South Africa passed the Group Areas Act, formally segregating people by race.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On “Melrose Place” (1992-99), who did Billy Campbell marry during the show’s run? Brooke Armstrong and Samantha Reilly. Kudos to: Rev. Mark Wajda/Clermont, FL; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
For which product did Tom Selleck appear in a TV ad for with Farrah Fawcett? (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