Tonight’s Finales
ABC: The Goldbergs at 8p, Schooled at 8:30p, American Housewife at 9p, Single Parents at 9:30p
A&E: Celebrity Ghost Stories at 10p
CBS: Survivor at 8p

IN THE NEWS

Disney+ is fast tracking the premiere of the filmed version of Broadway’s Hamilton – the musical will reach homes on July 3, over a year earlier than planned. The film was originally slated to hit theaters on October 15, 2021, then start streaming. “In light of the extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful,” said Robert Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company. For his part, Lin-Manuel Miranda said he was “grateful to Disney and Disney+ for reimagining and moving up our release to July 4th weekend of this year, in light of the world turning upside down.”

ViacomCBS is launching a unit to develop original movies and limited series within its Entertainment & Youth Group, diving into the company’s library of IP for inspiration. Meghan Hooper White, most recently SVP, Original Movies, Co-Productions and Acquisitions for Lifetime Networks, will man the ship as EVP and Head of Original Movies and Limited Series. Projects will be developed specifically for individual brands.

CTV grew a whopping 69% year-over-year, driving overall growth despite YoY declines in mobile (-12%) and desktop (-24%), according to Innovid. CTV accounted for 49% of total video impressions delivered globally. Telecom saw +244% YoY volume, followed by CPG (+45%). Broadcast publisher volume increased 37% YoY, accounting for 47% of total impressions delivered versus 38% during the same period in 2019. Despite relatively flat movement week-over-week, CPG has weathered recent changes better than most verticals, realizing 45% year-over-year growth in video volume. While CTV has emerged as the dominant device type overall, mobile (43%) still narrowly drives the majority of CPG impressions, closely followed by CTV (42%).

Telemundo released a video statement offering a preview of its programming next season, as well as reaffirming its commitment to Hispanics across all platforms. “While the pandemic came unexpectedly and has presented many challenges, Latinos are extremely resilient, continuing to be an influential demographic shaping the future of the American economy,” said Monica Gil, CMO and EVP, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. “Today’s Hispanics are voracious omnichannel consumers who engage across all platforms and want dynamic content that reflects their youth, values and unique cultural experiences.” New series include telenovela Café, con Aroma de Mujer; thriller series Buscando A Frida; Malverde, El Santo Patron, starring Mexican star Fernando Colunga; and reality competition El Domo del Dinero. For a complete list of new and returning series, go here.

NBC News will host a virtual town hall, United Against Hate, today, May 13 at 4:30p, to examine the rise of racism against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Comedian Margaret Cho, filmmaker Eugene Lee Yang and actress and singer Lea Salonga will make guest appearances. The town hall, featuring legislative reps and nonprofit experts on the panel, will be streamed on NBC Asian America’s site as well as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The stream will also be available on Peacock.

Assistance for local news outlets is included in the $3 trillion coronavirus relief package from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Local stations have so far not been eligible for small business loans if they are owned by larger organizations. The new relief loans would cover “expenses associated with an individual physical location of that business concern to support the continued provision of local news, information, content, or emergency information, and, at the time of disbursal, the individual physical location.”

Litton Entertainment’s Mission Unstoppable, in partnership with Lyda Hill Philanthropies IF/THEN initiative, will launch pro-social digital campaign #StaySafeFor Scence, designed to generate awareness and youth engagement for best public health practices during the COVID-19 pandemic.

HBO Max ordered a pilot and five additional scripts for a comedy based on 1986-1991 ABC sitcom Head of the Class. The show comes from Amy Pocha and Seth Cohen (American Vandal), Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley (Uncle Buck), Bill Lawrence and Doozer Productions and Warner Horizon Scripted Television.

Dramas Kung Fu and The Republic of Sarah landed straight-to-series orders from CW. Kung Fu focuses on a twentysomething who uses her martial arts skills to fight crime, while Sarah centers on a rebellious high school teacher leading a group of misfits as they attempt to start their own country.

HLN reboot Forensic Files II had been renewed for second and third seasons with16 half-hour episodes in each. Bill Camp (The Outsider) will continue as narrator of the docu-series, HLN’s highest-rated original series to date.

Quibi ordered sketch series Alternatino from series creator, writer and star Arturo Castro (Broad City, Narcos, Flipped) and Comedy Central Productions. Season one debuted on Comedy Central in June 2019. “I’m thrilled to launch Alternatino in this exciting new platform while being able to remain a part of the Comedy Central family. I’m also thrilled about the churro truck they offered as part of the deal. Thanks Quibi!” said Castro.

Children’s media and consumer products industry executives Claudia Scott-Hansen and Rob Bencal have formed Cookbook Media LLC, an agency aimed at helping IP owners and content creators build franchise value through brand development, licensing, marketing, and content strategy and distribution.

HBO has selected the top twenty-five emerging directors for the semi-final round of the 2020 HBOAccess Directing Fellowship, but is tweaking the selection of the final winners, said Kelly Edwards, SVP of Talent Development, WarnerMedia Entertainment: “With production temporarily halted, the program will be pivoting to a virtual workshop until restrictions are lifted. This will give us the opportunity to expand the program to include a larger class. Instead of three participants, we will invite up to ten finalists to participate in this year’s program.”

Netflix picked up Sweet Tooth, a coming-of-age story about a part boy, part deer, from Team Downey in association with Warner Bros. Television. Jim Mickle (Hap and Leonard) and Beth Schwartz (Arrow) will serve as co-showrunners, writers and executive producers of the eight-episode series.

Sofia Coppola and Apple are developing an adaptation of Edith Warton classic The Custom of the Country, for Apple TV+. The project would be written and directed by the Virgin Suicides director.

STREAMING SCOOP

“I attribute everything that has gone wrong to coronavirus. Everything,” Jeffrey Katzenberg told the New York Times of the disappointing launch of Quibi. The company estimates the streaming app has been installed by about 3.5 million customers so far during its free trial, a number Katzenberg said is “not close to what we wanted.” While Quibi was intended for use on smartphones, people sheltering at home are looking for content on the big screen. Now, Quibi is making moves to allow for viewing on TV screens, and scaling back on marketing money “until we are in an environment where we can get a return on our investment,” said Katzenberg.

Court TV, relaunched last year by Katz Broadcasting, is now available on YouTube TV. The original Court TV on cable ran from 1991 until 2008, when it was rebranded as truTV.

Fox Nation, the on demand, subscription streaming service designed to complement the Fox News Channel experience, is now available to Cox Contour TV customers and to Internet-only customers with the Contour Stream Player. Cox customers can access to FOX Nation across devices via the Contour app and portal, as well as the Contour Stream Player.

UK’s Goldfinch has launched streaming platform BirdBox.Film, with three channels of curated content around documentaries, drama and festival favorites. On the way are channels for horror, shorts and sci-fi. “BirdBox.Film adds a key direct distribution function to Goldfinch, which is totally in tune with the digital viewing habits of our modern audiences,” said Phil McKenzie, COO of Godlfinch. “Whilst our business plan is focused on the UK initially, the technology also gives us the opportunity to expand into other territories, and provide a white label service to festivals, markets, distributors and media companies.”

HBO Max landed US streaming rights to UK hit The Dog House. The Channel 4 series follows life at a dog rescue center.

TECH TALK

Twitter employees were notified that they can continue to work from home for…pretty much as long as they want to. “Opening offices will be our decision, when and if our employees come back, will be theirs,” said Chief HR Officer Jennifer Christie. Twitter, which encouraged its employees to starting working from home in early March, also said there will be no business travel before September, and no in-person company events for the rest of the year.

Are you working from home as a result of the pandemic? If so, we want to hear from you. Our super quick, 4-question survey won’t take more than a minute of your time, plus a few folks will win Amazon gift cards. Cynopsis thanks you in advance!

Instagram introduced new features to combat online bullying. “We know it can feel overwhelming to manage a rush of negative comments, so we’ve been testing the ability to delete comments in bulk, as well as block or restrict multiple accounts that post negative comments,” said the company in a post. “Early feedback has been encouraging, and we’ve found that it helps people, especially with larger followings, maintain a positive environment on their account.” Also rolling out are new controls that allow users to manage who can tag or mention them.

Facebook announced that OpenSlate ratings are now integrated with Content whitelists for managing in-stream campaigns on Facebook. Content whitelists, formerly known as Dynamic Content Sets, give advertisers the ability to work with trusted third-party partners – now including OpenSlate – to review and customize brand-suitable video sets for running in-stream campaigns.

Parents now have more control over content on the Spotify Kids app. In addition to selecting whether a child is directed to the an experience for younger or older kids, the Listening History option will allow parents to see what their child has streamed over the past three months and block specific tracks.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Showtime’s The Good Lord Bird, starring and exec produced by Ethan Hawke, premieres Sunday, August 9 at 10p. Based on the best-seller by James McBride about abolitionist John Brown, the limited series is told from the point of view of an enslaved boy who becomes a member of Brown’s family of abolitionist soldiers.

Family members are pitted against each other in Food Network reality show Summer Rush, debuting Thursday, June 4 at 10p. The four-parter is a “fresh, new docu-soap series examining the high-stakes and high-stress of a seasonal restaurant business,” said Courtney White, President, Food Network.

Tuesday nights get crowded on TLC with the return of Outdaughtered – and America’s first, all-female quintuplets – on Tuesday, June 2 at 9p, followed two weeks later on June 16 at 10p with the Waldrops and their nine children for season three of Sweet Home Sextuplets.

Nat Geo WILD is bringing back Heartland Docs, DVM for a second season beginning Saturday, May 30 at 8p. The series – one of Nat Geo WILD’s strongest ever – follows the lives of Nebraska vets who this time around, have adopted a fainting pygmy goat.

PBS is celebrating LGTBQ+ Pride Month with the launch of Prideland, a new one-hour special and short-form digital series following host and actor Dyllón Burnside (Pose) on a journey across the South. The six-episode short-form series will launch on PBS Voices, a new documentary-focused YouTube Channel by PBS Digital Studios, beginning Tuesday, May 26. A one-hour companion special, also hosted by Burnside, will premiere on Friday, June 12 at 9p (check local listings).

Beginning Thursday May 21 through Memorial Day week, AccuWeather Network will run stories under the banner “AccuWeather Explores: From Home,” recognizing the challenges regarding the hampered ability to travel extensively. Segments include creative home improvement ideas; how to prepare the best vegetable garden; determining the best weather options for painting your deck or grilling; along with the landscaping tips to help keep the bugs away.

Home renovation and design show Sell This House debuts Monday, May 18 at 10p on FYI. Airing within the Home.Made block, the series is a reboot of the original show, which ran on sister network A&E from 2003-2011, and features brand integrations from home and hardware stores, autos and home design partners.

Crumbling roofs and rotted floors are back when renovation series Good Bones starts a new season on Tuesday, June 9 at 9p on HGTV.

Room 104 is back for its fourth and final season Friday, July 24 at 11p on HBO. The anthology series explores a variety of genres in 12 new episodes.

COMING UP

ABC tweaked the title of its latest Bachelor show. The spin-off formerly known as The Bachelor: The Most Unforgettable – Ever! is now called The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons – Ever! Chris Harrison is still host, and the premiere date remains Monday, June 8 at 8p.

Comedian Mo Mandel (Conan, Chelsea Lately) visits small towns with bad reputations in Discovery special Small Town Throwdown, premiering Wednesday, May 20 at 10p. “I’m showing up, and giving the towns a chance to show how unique and awesome they really are. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves, and help every community get the credit it deserves,” said Mandel.

Stand-up special Hannah Gadsby: Douglas drops on Netflix Tuesday, May 26. Gadsby won a Peabody for her first Netflix special, Nanette.

The Paley Center for Media announced a new selection for its Paley Front Row series. HBO’s Westworld: A Conversation with the Stars and Creators will be available for view on the Paley Center’s YouTube channel on Friday, May 22, at noon.

GOING GLOBAL

Entertainment One announced that WarnerMedia’s Cartoon Network and Boomerang have acquired the exclusive pay-TV broadcast rights to season one of the animated children’s comedy series Cupcake & Dino: General Services in Australia and New Zealand. Episodes are due to begin airing from July.

Endemol Shine Group struck a multi-territory content partnership with Plex, the global streaming media company. The agreement includes programming from Endemol Shine Group’s library, which will be available for Plex users across the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

Studiocanal is increasing its current stake in StudiocanalTV/Tandem Productions to 100%, acquiring the remaining shares of partners Rola Bauer, Tim Halkin and Jonas Bauer.

From July 2019 to date, Fox News’ Outnumbered Overtime has nabbed 1.7 million total viewers and 295,000 A25-54. Last week, the show drew in nearly 2 million total viewers, and 303,000 in the demo.

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Jeopardy (7.0 Live+SD national Nielsen rating, up 11% from the week before) rose enough the week of April 27 to grab the game show lead from Family Feud (6.9, down 3%). Feud had been first or tied for first among the quiz and give-away programs for the past three weeks.

This past April was Universal Kids’ most-watched month in over 2 years among total viewers and highest-rated month in a year among K6-11 in Live+3 ratings.

The May 6 episode of Discovery’s virtual talk show, Josh Gates Tonight, reached 1.7 million total viewers throughout the hour. In the talker, the Expedition Unknown star shares updates and unseen footage from his adventures.

During the month of April, Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel – with numerous cable and satellite providers participating in a “freeview” of both networks’ programming, coupled with government stay-at-home orders – experienced record-breaking success during the month. Outdoor Channel delivered its highest household impressions for the month of April during total day since April 2014, growing household impressions by +39% and +27% with Men 25-54 compared to February 2020. Sportsman ranked among the Top 20 networks with year-over-year growth in households and Men 25-54, posting gains in households (+42%), Men 18-49 (+54%), Men 25-54 (+48%), and Men 35-64 (+51%).

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of April 27 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy (CTD) 7.0 AA
Family Feud (CTD) 6.9 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.5 AA
Judge Judy (CTD) 6.2 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 3.3 AA
Inside Edition (CTD) 2.8 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.7 AA
Hot Bench (CTD) 2.2 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 2.1 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 2.1 AA

Basic Cable Top 5 Week of May 4
Primetime (P2+)
Fox News (3,522,000)
MSNBC (1,845,000)
CNN (1,498,000)
HGTV (1,268,000)
TLC (1,257,000)
Total Day (P2+)
Fox News (1,890,000)
MSNBC (1,128,000)
CNN (1,023,000)
HG TV (754,000)
Food Network (562,000)
Source: Nielsen

Late Night Shows Weekly Average Ratings week of May 4
CBS: The Late Show 2.83 million total viewers; 0.32/3 A18-49
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live 2.02 million total viewers; 0.33/3 A18-49
NBC: The Tonight Show 1.86 million total viewers; 0.33/3 A18-49
Source: Nielsen

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, May 11
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: The Bachelor: Listen to Your Heart 2.84 (0.6), The Baker and the Beauty 2.35(0.4)
CBS: Price Is Right 5.99 (0.9), The Neighborhood 4.12 (0.6), Bob Hearts Abishola 3.51 (0.4), Bull 3.91 (0.4)
CW: Whose Line Is It Anyway? 1.05 (0.2), Whose Line Is It Anyway? 0.96 (0.2), Roswell, New Mexico 0.68 (0.1)
FOX: 9-1-1 7.29 (1.3), 9-1-1: Lone Star 3.49 (0.6)
NBC: The Voice 7.29 (0.9), Songland 3.65 (0.6)
Telemundo: Cennet 1.21 (0.4)), 1000 Dias Enamorarnos 0.94 (0.4), La Reina del Sur 0.69 (0.2)
Univision: Te Doy la Vida 1.65 (0.6), Amor Eterno 2.01 (0.6), Como Tú No Hay 2 1.67 (0.6)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

AMC Networks is adding two senior leaders to its Distribution group. Jon Sichel has joined the company as EVP of distribution sales and strategy, and Barbara Kalosieh is onboard as SVP distribution. Sichel joins AMC Networks from Discovery, where he was general manager of content acquisitions and operations for the company’s lifestyle and entertainment brands, while Kalosieh most recently held senior roles at GoNoodle, Inc. and Discovery Education.

Charlie Pavlounis, CFO and Head of Business Development at CBS News, is leaving the company. “I have no doubt Charlie will continue to explore his passion for combining his financial discipline with identifying new content and distribution opportunities in media during the next chapter of his impressive career,” said CBS News President Susan Zirinsky in a memo to staff. “We plan to announce Charlie’s successor shortly and we appreciate Charlie remaining through June so that we can have an orderly transition.”

WarnerMedia announced new members of its Inclusion Leadership Team: MyKhanh Shelton, SVP Enterprise Inclusion, most recently SVP, Global Inclusion, Engagement & Diversity at 21stCentury Fox; James Anderson, SVP Enterprise Inclusion (Marketing &Communications), who spent 14 years at Turner as SVP Communications for Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Boomerang and most recently TCM; and Samata Narra, SVP Enterprise Inclusion (Content), joining from Fox, where she was SVP of Comedy Development and Current Programming.

WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks & Sales has appointed Athreyan Sundararajan as its Vice President – Marketing & Brand Services for its business in Southeast Asia and the Pacific region. Prior to joining WarnerMedia, Sundararajan was SVP of marketing and commercial strategy for Fox Networks Group, Hong Kong & Southeast Asia.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On which sitcom did Lauren Graham play the mother of a newborn baby, living in a fishing town? Townies(1996). Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
What was the full name of Martin’s dog, Eddie, on Frasier (1993-2004)? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four responses per time zone.)