Tonight’s Finales
ABC: For Life at 10p
Cooking Channel: Man V. Food at 10p
CW: The Flash at 8p
ID: Diabolical at 9p
PBS: Asian Americans at 10p

IN THE NEWS

Fox was the first broadcast network to announce its fall schedule, with series that were for the most part produced before the COVID-19 shutdown, animated comedies that remained in production, wrestling and NFL football. Spectrum Originals’ LA’s Finest, acquired from Sony Pictures TV, makes its network debut, along with Nat Geo’s Cosmos: Possible Worlds, while Filthy Rich and neXt were held over from last season. The Masked Singer and live sports are the only debuts that could be impacted by the health crisis. “As a media company that prides itself on an entrepreneurial spirit and the focus that comes with doing fewer things better, we mobilized, swiftly creating an entirely new, original-programming lineup for the fall to share with our partners this upfront,” said Charlie Collier, CEO, Fox Entertainment. “In remote meetings with advertising and marketing partners over recent weeks, we sought to listen first and understand each partner’s unique concerns. Our primary goal is to help them back to business.” Fox’s schedule is below:
Monday
8p: L.A.’s Finest
9p: neXt
Tuesday
8p: Cosmos: Possible Worlds
9p: Filthy Rich
Wednesday
8p: The Masked Singer
9p: Masterchef Junior
Thursday
7:30p: Fox NFL Thursday Presented By Verizon
8p: GMC Kickoff Show
8:20p: Thursday Night Football Presented By Bud Light Platinum
Friday
8p: WWE’S Friday Night Smackdown
Saturday
7-p: Fox Sports Saturday
Sunday
7p: NFL On Fox
7:30p: The OT / Fox Encores
8p: The Simpsons
8:30p: Bless The Harts
9p: Bob’s Burgers
9:30p: Family Guy

On the day NBCUniversal had been scheduled to hold its Upfront event at Radio City Music Hall, the company held an online “state of the marketplace conversation” with company execs. “We have to come together and actually market our way out of this crisis. It’s our responsibility to create demand,” noted Linda Yaccarino, Chairman of Advertising and Partnerships. A new business partnership with Sky – acquired by Comcast last year – was announced, with advertising and partnership opportunities across both companies available for purchase through NBCUniversal’s One Platform. The company also said it is cutting ad loads on news programming by two minutes, and looking at the reduction of 15-second ads. “Going forward, we’re going to continue to find ways to minimize clutter,” said Laura Molen, President of Ad Sales and Partnerships. “Our goal is to get the very best results for your business, and we have the permission to change right now.”

Cynopsis asked Molen what success will look like for NBCU in the next 12 months. “Success for NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships will look like a few things,” said Molen. “First, supporting our partners, helping them get their businesses in order, and in turn reopening the economy. Second, supporting the entire industry, by leading through transformation and implementing real change that puts us on a future-forward path and leaves legacy thinking in the rearview mirror. Finally, supporting our viewers, by continuing to take big steps to improve the consumer experience, reflect the future they’re already creating, and continue to be the best place for marketers to connect with any audience.”

Charter Communications is working to increase video subscriptions by creating some none-sports-based packages, said CEO Tom Rutledge, to appeal to viewers who don’t want to pay for sports. But because the company’s contracts often require it to sell a minimum of sports programming before it can sell other tiers, “We have limitations on how much creativity we can exhibit,” said Rutledge at MoffettNathanson’s virtual investor conference on Monday. He added the company’s video app has 8 million customers, and “being an app-based provider will allow us to be a better marketer of new video.”

Food Network and Cooking Channel had no choice but to start at-home shooting, but the shows have proven such a success they might outlast the pandemic, said Discovery Inc. CEO David Zaslav during the MoffettNathanson webcast. “Why are we dragging everyone to a studio?” asked Zaslav. “Let’s shoot it in the home. The cost is dramatically less and the audience is lighting up on social media.”

Sports including the NBA, MLB and NHL will return this summer, predicted Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley at the MoffettNathanson event. “July has some potential for some of those leagues to start, or maybe August,” said Ripley, based on his conversations with league officials.

Tell Me a Story will not make it to season three on CBS All Access, but CW is licensing seasons one and two of the horror anthology series from Kevin Williamson for a second window run. CW also acquired scripted series Swamp Thing, Canadian drama Coroner and BBC Studios comedy Dead Pixels, as uncertainty about the timing of fall series debuts continues amid COVID-19 production shutdowns.

About half of ad execs believe the bottom of the rollback of ad spending during the COVID-19 crisis has yet to arrive, according to a report from Pivotal Research Group. Even if that’s not the case, “While we see reasons to believe that April is the bottom … we don’t see signs of a sharp recovery,” said Pivotal.

Female creators will have a chance to win a meeting with execs from AMC Networks at at Stareable Fest 2020, the third annual web series and indie TV festival taking place October 16-18 in NYC. To be eligible to win, the majority of the show’s creator/director/producer team must be made up of women.

President Trump called for the firing of Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd after the Sunday news show aired an edited clip of Attorney General William Barr discussing the Michael Flynn case, during which Barr said, “History is written by the winners, so it largely depends on who’s writing the history.” In the full clip, Barr added, “History would say it was a good decision because it upheld the rule of law.” On Twitter, Meet the Press posted, “Earlier today, we inadvertently cut short a video clip of an interview with AG Barr….The remaining clip included important remarks…we regret the error.”

A fugitive featured on ID’s In Pursuit With John Walsh is now in police custody thanks to a viewer tip. Jeffrey Forrest was profiled on a season two episode that aired on January 15, and was located and taken into police custody in Mexico. He will face charges in Texas for two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child, bail jumping, and failure to appear in court.

STREAMING SCOOP

Disney+ will get a boost from the coronavirus lockdown – reaching 202 million subscribers by 2025, versus a previous forecast of 126 million, according to Digital TV Research’s calculations. “We have completely revised our forecasts for 138 countries in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Simon Murray, Principal Analyst at the UK company. “A major impact of lockdown has been a steep rise in SVOD subscriptions.” Netflix is expected to hit 258 million global subscribers by 2025, HBO Max will draw 25 million and Apple TV+, 14 million.

During NBCU’s online conversation, Laura Molen, President, Ad Sales and Partnerships, said the company’s Peacock would not accept commercials “at this time” for rival streaming services. Peacock, available now to Comcast subscribers, launches wide in July.

Speaking of, Peacock has debuted a short-form series, The At-Home Variety Show, streaming every weekday at 7p for four weeks. Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy) hosts each segment. “Peacock’s launch coincides with a moment in our history when connection, community and content are more important than ever,” said Bill McGoldrick, President of Original Content at Peacock. “We want to deliver fun and timely content in a way that only Peacock can, by bringing together entertainment, news and sports.” Viewers will be encouraged to donate to Feeding America, Americares and United Way Charities.

TECH TALK

When marketers’ data is coming from an agency, “you should ask all the same questions regarding data quality that would of a vendor,” advises the ANA in its new report, “Data Sources for Media: A Buyer’s Guide.” Agency ownership of data assets can come with advantages for advertisers, the report notes, saying, “Integrated data sources can streamline the media buying process for the advertiser and the agency can tailor the offering to the marketer’s needs better than some other third-party data sources.” But marketers must still assess whether an agency’s data “is media or solutions neutral and in the best interest of its brands,” cautions the ANA

Facebook has introduced a new section, Businesses Nearby, that shows users posts from businesses within a certain radius, offering them a way to “get “more virtual foot traffic as they move online to stay open.” Users can adjust the radius from 1 to 500 miles, and show their support with stickers.

Kantar completed an analysis of ads using neuroscience and AI machine learning to develop the best approach for TV creative in the current environment. The result was four “guardrails” for creatives to follow to ensure the highest level of receptivity, engagement and impact: Messaging rooted in deeper human understanding rates higher; Be clear on what your ad is meant to achieve; Deliver more value, even if you are in demand; and Stay true to your brand (don’t overstretch). Kantar is conducting the research in a series of waves, using AI as a predictive tool.

The E.W. Scripps Company and an expanded group from ViacomCBS have joined Project OAR, the consortium working to recommend open standard protocols for TV programmers and platforms to manage, sell and deliver more relevant advertising experiences. Scripps, which operates 60 local TV stations in 42 markets, is implementing addressable advertising across a growing footprint of local OTT apps. CBS was a founding member of OAR; now ViacomCBS’ entire TV footprint is represented. “We know the future of TV requires a smarter, more relevant approach to ad experiences,” said Mike Dean, SVP of Advanced Advertising at ViacomCBS, and one of the founding executives of OAR. “Giving the entire ViacomCBS portfolio representation inside of OAR underscores the serious investment we are making in the future of better programming and ad experiences.”

The Cynopsis Adtech Awards
Enter By May 28th

During a time when in-person events have been cancelled, the adtech community is stepping up. They’re helping to guarantee marketers upfront inventory and preserve revenue for media owners by using breakthrough approaches and solutions. Adtech providers are a group that lives on the cutting edge of innovation, which is why we are celebrating their platforms, campaigns, and strategies in more than 20 categories. View them all here.

FXX renewed Dave for a second season, set to launch in 2021. The show has become FXX’s most-watched comedy series ever, with an average episodic audience of 5.32 million viewers across linear, VOD and streaming.

American Horror Story is spinning off a new series, American Horror Stories, revealed AHS co-creator Ryan Murphy on Instagram. The show would include “one hour contained” episodes.

Co-production platform FilmCapital, a “digital launch pad for independent content,” is officially open. The platform is on the lookout for indie film and TV projects, and incubates them into final productions. The first project on its roster is COVID-2021, starring Robert Carradine (Lizzie McGuire, Revenge of the Nerds). The project is co-produced with BC Entertainment Group.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

The fourth and final season of 13 Reasons Why will drop Friday, June 5 on Netflix. During the drama’s final run, the senior class will “have to keep a dangerous secret buried and face heartbreaking choices.”

The Twilight Zone returns for season two on CBS All Access on Thursday, June 25. Jordan Peele is back as host for the reimagining of the classic anthology series.

Food Network put self-shot outdoor cooking series Symon’s Dinners Cooking Out on the fast track, with the first of three episodes set to premiere Sunday, June 7 at 12:30p. The chef has been giving live cooking classes from his home on Food Network Kitchen’s Facebook page since quarantine began.

Fans are being invited to design one of 1,001 virtual cars for the luxury train that is the setting for TNT’s Snowpiercer. DC artists like Tyler Kirkham, Laura Braga, Tim Seeley and more have created custom designed train cars; as the campaign progresses, additional designs will be unveiled. The drama debuts Sunday, May 17 at 9p.

COMING UP

The cast of BBC America’s Orphan Black will reunite for a two-episode table read on the Orphan Black Facebook page, Sunday, May 17 at 3p. The virtual event is timed to Mental Health Awareness in May and International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia; viewers will be invited to support CenterLink and Sistering.

Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak have joined as co-hosts for multi-hour commencement broadcast #Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020, on May 15th at 2p. Sheryl Sandberg will be giving an introduction to the previously announced commencement address by Oprah Winfrey.

Director and Troma Entertainment co-founder Lloyd Kaufman will make a special appearance on the next episode of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs, streaming Friday, May 15 at 9p. “I knew Lloyd Kaufman when he was a young man struggling to make a living by releasing one cheap exploitation film after another. After a rich and varied career at the helm of Troma Films, he has risen to the top of the indie business and today…releases TWO cheap exploitation films at a time,” said series host Briggs.

A summer-long celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Lifetime Original Movie begins with Niecy Nash (Stolen By My Mother: The Kamiyah Mobley Story) hosting a kick-off movie marathon weekend on May 30-31 (including cult classic Death of a Cheerleader). In June, Father’s Day looks back at movies featuring the best and worst of Lifetime dads, and Independence Day weekend offers two days of the network’s best thrillers. Lifetime Original Movies launched in 1990 with Memories of a Murder.

MTV Documentary Films’ St. Louis Superman will premiere Monday, May 18 at 9p on MTV, VH1 and MTV2 via simulcast. The film tells the story of Representative Bruce Franks Jr., a Ferguson activist and battle rapper who was elected to the overwhelmingly white and Republican Missouri House of Representatives.

GOING GLOBAL

Cozi TV is offering a “Best of Jim” marathon of The Office episodes on Sunday, May 17, starting at 11a. “The Office is one of our most popular Cozi TV series, and in honor of John Krasinski and his Some Good News network, we wanted to celebrate his feel-good spirit and provide our viewers a lineup of favorite Jim episodes for some good TV viewing,” said Meredith McGinn, SVP, Cozi TV and LX.TV Productions. Krasinski’s Some Good News YouTube show is offering “entirely good news” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

GRB Studios acquired two unscripted series for international distribution, originally produced by TV network INSP and distributed by Imagicomm Entertainment: adenture series Turquoise Fever and lifestyle show Handcrafted America.

Part two of ABC’s Disney Family Singalong drew 5.7 million viewers and a 1.3 rating among A18-49, topping the ratings chart for the night but falling below the 10.3 million viewers and 2.6 rating for the first edition.

Season two of Food Network’s Buddy vs. Duff was seen by more than 13.5 million viewers and is the network’s highest-rated series to date this year, averaging a 1.0 P25-54 and 1.3 W25-54 in L+3 numbers.

In more Discovery Inc. portfolio highlights, this was Discovery’s 3rd straight week of growth versus year-ago in Prime…HGTV’s Celebrity IOU has reached more than 21.5 million and ranks as the #2 new unscripted cable series among W25-54 and #3 among P25-54….TLC was the #1 network among W25-54 for the week of April 27 and was up double-digits versus the year-ago week in P/W25-54 ratings...and Travel Channel delivered its highest-rated Thursday night ever outside of Halloween on April 30, with a 0.51 P25-54 across Prime.

The April 29th episode of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills hit a season high across all key demos and delivered 2.51 million total viewers, while the April 27th episode of Below Deck Sailing Yacht hit a season high 1.94 million total viewers.

On E!, the April 30th episode of Total Bellas delivered 624,000 P18-49 and over 1 million total viewers, making it the highest-rated episode in almost two years.

TV Time’s Shows on the Rise for the Week of May 4
Solar Opposites (Hulu) – 99.9%
The Hollow (Netflix) – 95.7%
Dead to Me (Netflix) – 91%
Workin’ Moms (CBC) – 85.7%
The Neighborhood (CBS) – 82.9%
All Rise (CBS) 78.2%
Into the Night (Netflix) – 75.4%
Boris (Fox IT) – 74.9%
Billions (Showtime) – 73.4%
The Ministry of Time (TVE) – 72.2%
Methodology: Every week, millions of viewers around the world use TV Time track their favorite series. “Shows on the Rise” is calculated by determining the week-over-week growth in episodes watched for a given program.

Shareablee Top 10 TV Shows for the week of May 4
Program, Network, Total Actions, Total Content, Actions per Content, Fans & Followers
E! News (E!) 13.7M, 964, 14,197, 37.3M
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (WB/syndicated) 8M, 112, 71,630, 201.4M
Riverdale (The CW) 6.2M, 51, 121,555, 16.4M
Today Show (NBC) 2.3M, 962, 2,357, 13.6M
The Daily Show (Comedy Central) 2M, 147, 13,470, 23.5M
Hannity (Fox News) 2M, 246, 8,039, 9M
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) 1.9M, 97, 19,289, 6.4M
Entertainment Tonight (WB/syndicated) 1.8M, 650, 2,758, 8.9M
Rick and Morty (Adult Swim) 1.7M, 37, 46,795, 10.8M
The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC) 1.3M, 116, 11,195, 12.7M

Shareablee Top 10 Streaming Shows for the week of May 4
Program, Platform, Total Actions, Total Content, Actions per Content, Fans & Followers
Stranger Things (Netflix) 780K, 4, 194,991, 25.6M
Netflix is A Joke (YouTube) 392K, 58, 6,762, 1.8M
Hollywood (Netflix) 296K, 20, 14,823, 84K
Gilmore Girls (Netflix) 224K, 22, 10,160, 4.3M
Space Force (Netflix) 162K, 11, 14,767, 96K
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (Netflix) 155K, 2, 77,462, 2.7M
She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix) 146K, 18, 8,095, 166K
Trailer Park Boys (Netflix) 141K, 23, 6,120, 2.9M
Dead to Me (Netflix) 139K, 72, 1,937, 188K
Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch) 135K, 9, 15,053, 5M

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Friday, May 8
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Shark Tank 4.55 (0.7), 20/20 3.84 (0.5)
CBS: MacGyver 5.77 (0.6), Magnum P.I. 6.87 (0.7), Blue Bloods 6.09 (0.6)
CW: Masters if Illusion 0.65 (0.1), Dynasty 0.37 (0.1)
FOX: WWE Friday Night Smackdown 2.03 (0.5)
NBC: The Blacklist 4.55 (0.6), Dateline 3.86 (0.6)
UNIVISION: Te Doy la Vida 1.62 (0.5), Amor Eterno 1.95 (0.6), Como tu no hay 1.57 (0.5)
TELEMUNDO: Cennet 1.14 (0.3), 100 Dias Enamorarnos 0.78 (0.3), La Reina del Sur 0.67 (0.2)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

MediaCom CEO Stephen Allen is stepping down after 12 years. Global Chief Operating Officer Nick Lawson will take the role effective July 1.

Kevin Johnson, Hearst Television’s director of graphics operations since 2012, has been named the company’s director of veteran recruiting. Johnson, a decorated 20-year Army veteran, succeeds Dave Kaylor, who inaugurated the position in 2015 and who is retiring from Hearst Television.

IN MEMORIAM

Actor/comedian Jerry Stiller died at age 92. Stiller had numerous theater, film and TV roles, early on teaming with his wife, Anne Meara. He was best known in later years for roles on Seinfeld and The King of Queens. “He was perhaps the kindest man I ever had the honor to work beside,” said his Seinfeld “son,” Jason Alexander. “He made me laugh when I was a child and every day I was with him. A great actor, a great man, a lovely friend.”

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
In which series did Mary Tyler Moore replace Dyan Cannon as the main character’s mother? The Naked Truth (1995-1998). Kudos to: John Ferlazzo/London, Charles Lore/NYC, Andrew Goldman-Fathom Events/NYC, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL, Jon Krongard-Wonderama/NYC, Dan Haberer-Creo Entertainment/Playa del Rey, CA, Ken DuBow-Bob’s Your Uncle/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
On which sitcom did Lauren Graham play the mother of a newborn baby, living in a fishing town? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four per time zone.)