Thursday April 29, 2021

Today’s Finale
FXX: “Cake” at 10p

IN THE NEWS

The global rollout of discovery+ “is off to a fantastic start by any measure,” having reached 15 million paying subscribers, said Discovery Inc. President and CEO David Zaslav, as the company announced first quarter financial results. “We don’t have the one hit show, or the one hit movie, but I think as a result of that we’re seeing much lower churn than our peers and usage that is a lot more,” noted Zaslav. Discovery also wrapped another quarter as the most-watched pay-TV portfolio in the US and its seventh consecutive quarter of international share growth. US advertising revenues decreased 4% and distribution revenues increased 12%, while international advertising revenues increased 16%, and distribution revenues were flat.

OpenAP, the advanced advertising company, announced the launch of the OpenID, its own identifier. The OpenID allows TV publishers to maintain control of data and protect data leakage through the central identity framework, while creating standards that will unlock cross-publisher measurement and attribution. For advertisers, the OpenID increases speed of audience activation, reduces the reporting lag for OpenID audiences, and enables cross-platform use cases to drive investment. “The creation of an interoperable identity framework leveraged by all premium TV networks will give advertisers the clearest path toward omni-channel planning, optimization and measurement,” said David Levy, CEO of OpenAP. “Television has always had a competitive advantage with its quality of content, and now there is tremendous opportunity for publishers to lead the path toward an omni-channel future.”

Facebook handily topped analyst projections, with 2.85 billion monthly active users in the last quarter, up 10%, and ad-driven revenue jumping 48%, to $26.2 billion. At $3.30, earning per share were up 93%.

Apple also crushed expectations, posting a March quarter record revenue of $89.6 billion, up 54% year-over-year. “This quarter reflects both the enduring ways our products have helped our users meet this moment in their own lives, as well as the optimism consumers seem to feel about better days ahead for all of us,” said Tim Cook, Apple CEO.

SeriesFest and National Geographic Documentary Films are launching a new initiative, “Spotlight Your Town,” sponsored by digital wireless company Visible, to encourage independent creators to use their art form to feature the important political and social issues happening in their hometowns. “Spotlight Your Town” supports unscripted storytellers creating authentic, community-driven stories that embody the diversity of the people and places they represent.

ONE WEEK AWAY! Give the women on your team the recognition they deserve by submitting nominations to Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media Awards before the early-bird deadline next week. Nominate by May 6.

Join us today at 1:00 PM ET to find out why we’re asking – and to learn how to transform the way you target viewers, and help advertisers expand their reach.

REGISTER NOW

It’s Hammer time: Talos Films (“Queen of Meth”) has signed an exclusive deal with Casey Hammer – granddaughter of Armand and aunt of Armie – to produce a limited series offering an inside account of the secrets and scandals surrounding one of the US’s most powerful families. Hammer, author of Surviving My Birthright, reveals how the Hammer family grew to control a powerful global business empire, allegedly founded on Soviet espionage, money laundering, routine bribery and deals with notorious dictators.

IMDb TV, Amazon’s free streaming service, has ordered “Sprung,” from writer Greg Garcia. Starring Garret Dillahunt (“Fear the Walking Dead”), the Amazon Studios comedy centers on an unlikely group of formerly incarcerated people who band together to use their criminal expertise for good.

Fox ordered a reboot of “Don’t Forget theLyrics!”, a game show format that originally aired on the net from 2007-09. Niecy Nash (“Claws”) will host. Jeff Apploff (“Game of Talents”), who created the original, will produce the 2.0 version via his Apploff Entertainment, in association with Bunim/Murray Productions.

Fox issued a series order for “The Big Leap,” starring Scott Foley (“Scandal”), Teri Polo (“The Fosters”) and Piper Perabo (“Covert Affairs”). The ballet-themed dramedy comes from Liz Heldens, Jason Winer, Sue Naegle, 20th Television and Fox Entertainment.

“Wolf Like Me,” a romantic comedy form Abe Forsythe (“Little Monsters”), landed a straight-to-series order from Peacock. Josh Gad (“The Book of Mormon”) and Isla Fisher (“Wedding Crashers”) will star in and exec produce the series, from Made Up Stories in partnership with Endeavor Content and Australian streaming service Stan.

Three River Studios has optioned the rights to develop, finance and produce a live action series based on Bryan Talbot’s graphic novels, The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and its sequel Heart of Empire, early steampunk comics. The series is being produced by Jonathan Drake, CEO of Three River Studios; Talbot is attached as an executive producer.

Disney Channel is getting into the kitchen with “Disney’s Magical Bake-Off.” The cooking competition created by Tastemade will be hosted by Dara Renee (“High School Musical: The Musical: The Series”) and Issac Ryan Brown (“Raven’s Home”).

Access two days of hard-hitting content on how to activate your brand with a highly-prized fanbase watching and engaging in sports and esports. You’ll be able to find out where the best opportunities for your business are and which strategies you need to capitalize on. Watch on-demand now!

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Six-part UK drama “Little Birds” premieres on Starz Sunday, June 6. The adaptation of Anais Nin’s collection of short stories follows a New York heiress exploring the degenerate world of Tangiers in 1955.

HBO’s “Betty” is back for season two in June, as the series’ five protagonists navigate the pressures of adulthood, and their male counterparts become true allies. Set in the last chapter of 2020, the season captures the late summer and early fall COVID-19 months in New York City.

It’s “one day at a time, one dish at a time” when Food Network star Michael Symon returns with new, self-shot episodes of “Symon’s Dinners Cooking Out.” Symon is joined by his wife, his social media manager, and his puppy, Norman.

Season two of unscripted series “Going From Broke,” focused on helping young people crippled by debt get their financial affairs in order, premieres Thursday, May 20 on Crackle.

Discovery+ original series “40 Year Old Property Virgin” follows late bloomers who are finally ready to give up their rent-free lifestyle and search for their first home. The series will be available to stream on Wednesday, May 26.

ABC made some minor adjustments to its nonscripted summer schedule: Game shows “Press Your Luck” and “$100,000 Pyramid” had their debut dates shifted from June 9 to May 26, while surfing competition “The Ultimate Surfer,” originally slated to premiere August 16, will instead surface August 23.

Racing series “Touring Car America” starts a new season Thursday, May 6 at 8a on MAVTV Motorsports Network. On Friday, May 7 at 2p, “Sam’s Garage” returns, offering fast and affordable auto repair advice.

Car enthusiasts can also check out new episodes of “Top Gear America,” starting Friday, May 7 on the MotorTrend app. In the US format of “Top Gear,” Dax Sheparad, Rob Corddry and Jethro Bovingdon take the wheel.

Season seven of E! reality show “Botched” launches Tuesday, May 18 at 9p. Drs. Paul Nassif and Terry Dubrow will be back to keep their patients in stitches.

COMING UP

SNL alum Leslie Jones will bring the funny as host of the 2021 “MTV Movie & TV Awards,” airing Sunday, May 16 at 9p.

Boxing champ Floyd Mayweather Jr. will take on YouTuber Logan Paul for a June 6 pay-per-view exhibition fight on Showtime. The bout was originally scheduled for February.

CBS’s “Mission Unstoppable,” spotlighting female STEM professionals, will celebrate National Space Day (Friday, May 7) and Star Wars “May the 4th Be With You” Day (Tuesday, May 4) with a week-long, social media celebration of women in space-related STEM professions. Beginning Monday, May 3, “Mission Unstoppable”’s TikTok, Instagram and Twitch platforms will feature a lineup of aerospace superstars. The platforms will also feature AR filters and stories. The program airs weekly on Saturday mornings as part of CBS’s Educational/Informational programming block.

AccuWeather Network and accuweather.com will be highlighting the impact of wildfires in May, National Wildfire Awareness Month. AccuWeather will focus on preparation and impacts, as well as feature AccuWeather “Heroes” stories about first responders and healthcare professionals who help those affected by wildfires. Segments will be airing daily throughout the week of May 3 at 7:40a and 6:40p.

The Consumer Electronics Show announced it has 1000 companies booked for an in-person convention January 5-8 in Las Vegas next year. Amazon, Intel, AT&T and IBM are among the big players set to return to Sin City; this year’s event was canceled due to the pandemic. “We’re thrilled to return to Las Vegas — home to CES for more than 40 years — and look forward to seeing many new and returning faces,” said CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro.

The premiere of documentary “The Battle for Britney: Fans, Cash and a Conservatorship” will be available to stream Tuesday, May 11 on BBC Select, accessible on Amazon Prime Video and the Apple TV app.

STREAMING

Spotify total revenue for 1Q21 was up 16%, with a 46% rise in ad sales. Growth in active users was 24%, to 356 million, “modestly below” internal expectations. “Reported revenue was toward the top end of our guidance range due to subscriber outperformance, slightly lower headwinds from foreign exchange rates,” said the company.

With a bewildering array of content available to stream, Netflix has launched a “Play Something” feature, aimed at helping the indecisive – or frustrated – find something to watch. “There are times when we just don’t want to make decisions,” wrote Cameron Johnson, Netflix Director, Product Innovation, in a blog post. The feature is available on Netflix TV apps, and will soon be available on mobile for Android devices.

Streaming ads saw a nice pop in 1Q21, with ad attempts up 4%, ad impressions up 13% and missed-ad opportunities dropping 16% quarter-over-quarter, according to Conviva’s Q1 State of Streaming report. Big screens had a 73% share of global streaming viewing.

Spectrum Mobile is offering Apple’s new iPad Pro and the advanced iPhone 12 and iPhone mini in the new purple finish. Availability is April 30.

Formed to develop and produce premium, non-scripted content specifically targeting streaming services, MY Entertainment’s One Foot Forward unit is coming out to the marketplace with content deals and IP involving such partners as Michael Sugar’s Sugar23 (“Spotlight”), Mark Wahlberg, Archie Gips and Stephen Levinson’s Unrealistic Ideas (“McMillions”), Laurent Bouzereau (“Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind”), original SNL writer Alan Zweibel (“Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Jeremiah Crowell (“Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak”), among others.

GOING GLOBAL

Italian producer Cattleya, part of ITV Studios, is launching a production company in Spain. Cattleya Producciones will be ITV Studios’ first scripted production company in Spain, headed up by Managing Director Arturo Díaz. He joins from Netflix, where he was Director, Local Language Originals.

Finnish animation studio Ferly announced its new preschool show “Momolu and Friends” has been acquired for broadcast in the UK by ITV for its channel ITVB. The show will air on littlebe, a dedicated pre-school block between on ITVBe for children aged 2-4.

Cinedigm is launching its classic film and television channel The Film Detective and its classic western channel The Lone Star Channel on Rakuten TV in 36 European countries.

Here’s a peak at what we found:
-Industry is split on preferring a calendar year vs. summer media buying season.
-Nearly 1/2 of industry execs say they are seeing budgets for live linear TV shifting to other outlets.
-Even faced with many challenges, media execs see a wide range of business opportunities.

>

VIEW THE FULL REPORT <

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Keith Le Goy has been elevated from President to Chairman, Worldwide Distribution and Networks at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Le Goy has been at the company for 22 years.

Federico Garza has joined NBCUniversal Telemundo as SVP of Research Strategy and Insights. Most recently, Garza EVP of Research and Insights at iHeartMedia.

Vice has tapped Van Scott to serve as VP of Communications. Scott was most recently at ABC News.

Whip Media announced the promotion of Carol Hanley to Co-President. Hanley previously served as Whip Media’s Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer.

The Creative Marketing and Promotions Department at INSP has been restructured, with Andrea White named the Creative Director of Promotion and Advertising, and Bill Mazzola promoted to Creative Director of Digital Content and Production.

Carlo Dusi, EVP, Commercial Strategy, Scripted for Red Arrow Studios International, has been appointed to the new role of Executive Producer and Strategy Director at Endor Productions.

Phonexa has promoted Armen Karaoghlanian to the role of Chief Marketing Officer. Karaoghlanian has been with Phonexa ever since the SaaS company’s inception in 2016.

IN MEMORIAM

British television director Charles Beeson has died, reportedly of a heart attack. Among Beeson’s numerous credits were “EastEnders,” “The Mentalist,” “Supernatural” and “Smallville.” “A sweeter and more gently gregarious fellow you couldn’t meet,” tweeted actor Jim Beaver.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
In which miniseries did Sigourney Weaver play a former First Lady and current Secretary of State? “Political Animals” (2012). Kudos to: Charles Lore/NYC, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Joel M. Maxwell-Marks, O’Neill, O’Brien, Doherty & Kelly/NYC, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, Sandy Spiegel-WTTW/Chicago, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
Who played Sue, the next-door neighbor of the title character in “Harry O” (1974-76)? 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.)