Today’s Premieres
Apple TV+: Lovely Little Farm; For All Mankind
discovery+: 90 Day Fiance: Love in Paradise; Love in Paradise: The Caribbean
Disney: Bunk’d at 7:30p
Freevee: Hollywood Houselift with Jeff Lewis
Netflix: First Kill; Intimacy; Peaky Blinders
Prime Video: Boundless; Fairfax
FailArmy: Your Pranks, Our Show

Today’s Finales
CW: Charmed at 8p
Showtime: Couples Therapy at 8p

Sunday’s Premieres
AMC: Dark Winds at 9p
Estrella TV: La Acadamia at 9p
History: The Booze, Bets and Sex That Built America at 8p
Paramount+: Evil
Showtime: Spotlights: A Showtime Short Film Series at 7:30p
Starz: Becoming Elizabeth at 9p

Sunday’s Finales
Starz: Gaslit at 8p
TLC: Unexpected at 10p

IN THE NEWS

In a major Walt Disney Co. shake-up, Peter Rice was fired as Chairman of General Entertainment content and replaced by his top lieutenant, Dana Walden. The Wall Street Journal reports Disney CEO Bob Chapek informed Rice he was no longer a “good fit” for the company. In a statement, Chapek didn’t address the reason for Rice’s departure, but noted Walden has a “well-earned reputation for championing creative talent and developing programming that truly captures the cultural zeitgeist.” Rice joined Disney in 2019, as part of Disney’s acquisition of assets from 21st Century Fox.

As for Chapek, the Disney CEO got a vote of confidence from his company’s board of directors. “The strength of The Walt Disney Company’s businesses coming out of the pandemic is a testament to Bob’s leadership and vision for the company’s future,” the board said in a statement. “In this important time of business growth and transformation, we are committed to keeping Disney on the successful path it is on today, and Bob and his leadership team have the support and confidence of the Board.”

One more piece of Disney news: The company will kick off its 100th anniversary celebration, Disney100, at its annual D23 fan event on Friday, September 9 with “an epic presentation that includes the Disney Legends Awards Ceremony,” according the the D23 web site.

There will be five new awards to hand out at next year’s Grammy Awards ceremony. Added to the honors are Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical; Best Alternative Music Performance; Best Americana Performance; Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media; and Best Spoken Word Poetry Album. Also new is a Special Merit Award addition: Best Song for Social Change. “The Academy’s top priority is to effectively represent the music people that we serve, and each year, that entails listening to our members and ensuring our rules and guidelines reflect our ever-evolving industry,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy.“

American Rust,” cancelled by Showtime after one season, has been resurrected by Amazon AVOD Freevee. Stars Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney will return for season two on the streamer. “I’m grateful to Amazon Freevee for giving us the chance to make Season Two of ‘American Rust’,” said Daniels. “Set inside a struggling American small town, our authentic, realistically told story is built for streaming. The movies they don’t make anymore are being made as series at places like Amazon Freevee.”

Jumping into the awards game is the Digital Place-based Advertising Association, with the first annual Digital Out-of-Home Excellence Awards, presented in partnership with digital out-of-home demand side platform Quotient. “As the world opens, ad budgets increase and out-of-home continues its fast growth trajectory this is the perfect time to recognize the best in DOOH excellence and innovation,” said Barry Frey, President & CEO of DPAA.

Twitter’s board is complying with Elon Musk’s demands for data by offering access to its entire “firehose,” a massive stream of tweets and metadata, according to The Washington Post. Musk had put on hold his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter until he was provided access to data he says is necessary to understand the amount of spam and bot activity on the platform.

Is Elon Musk also in the market for a news network? Maybe, suggested Robert Herring, owner of right-wing, poorly distributed One America News Network. “We just received a call from somebody very close to @elonmusk telling us that he’d like to talk to us about purchasing @OANN,” tweeted Herring. False, replied Musk with the tweet, “Only Twitter.”

A lawsuit accusing former “Good Morning America” producer Michael Corn of sexual assault has been dismissed by a New York judge. Corn had called the allegations “demonstrably false.” The judge also rejected the claim that Jaffe had created a hostile work environment, though acknowledged the incidents described were “boorish, ill-advised and inappropriate.” Corn is now president of news programming at NewsNation.

National TV ad spend in the sports wagering category jumped 281%, to $282 million, from September 2021 through May 2022, according to iSpot.tv. The biggest spenders were FanDuel, Caesars Entertainment, DraftKings, BetMGM and Fox Bet.

VUit has reached new carriage agreements with six broadcast groups that will result in 18 new stations and five new markets joining the hyper-local news platform. The new carriage deals are with Weigel Broadcasting Co., Capitol Broadcasting Company, Lockwood Broadcast Group, Marquee Broadcasting Inc., Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, and Sunbeam Television.

LATE DEADLINE: JUNE 15th!
THE TOP WOMEN IN MEDIA AWARDS

The early entry deadline for this year’s Top Women in Media Awards has passed, but don’t worry, you still have time to enter. Our final deadline is June 15th.

Check out the site to see all the amazing categories, from DEI Dynamos to Marketing Trailblazers.

ENTER NOW

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Olivia Spencer (“Truth Be Told”) signed an expansive deal with ID, discovery+ and October Films for premium unscripted true crime content. Spencer’s Orit Entertainment and October Films will develop and produce projects for ID and discovery+, which Spencer will executive produce. “As an avid fan of true crime, to now be partners with ID and October Films is a dream,” said Spencer. Shared Jason Sarlanis, President of Crime and Investigative Content, Linear and Streaming at Warner Bros. Discovery, “Upon learning that [Spencer] and her amazing team at Orit share a deep passion for crime and investigative content, and had joined forces with our trusted partners at October, we knew this was a relationship we wanted to invest heavily in.

”The “RuPaul’s Drag Race” franchise is expanding with “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada Against the World,” from World of Wonder. Brooke Lynn Hytes, Brad Goreski, and Traci Melchor will serve as judges. The series will stream later this year on WOW Presents Plus in the US and Crave in Canada.

The improbable rise of boxing champion Andre Ward is explored in a Showtime doc produced by Lebron James and Maverick Carter’s Uninterrupted. The undefeated, five-time world champ and Olympic gold medalist Ward reveals his journey from a turbulent childhood in Oakland, CA through the pressures of world championship expectations and ultimately to his induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame this weekend. The currently untitled film will premiere on Showtime in early 2023.

Lifetime has ordered a new Ripped from the Headlines movie, “Girl in Room 13.” Inspired by real events, the film focuses on the human trafficking industry. Lifetime alum Anne Heche (“Girl Fight”) stars with Larissa Dias (“Supernatural Academy”) and Max Montesi (“The 100”). Elisabeth Rohm will direct.

Motor Trend Group gave the green light for “Super Turbo Story Time,” an adult animated series telling stories from the automotive world. Co-produced by Titmouse (“Big Mouth”) and by MotorTrend Studio, the eight-episode series is the first adult animated project in the history of MotorTrend.

Netflix placed an order for feature doc “Stand Out: The Documentary,” exploring themes including comedy as activism, diversity in stand-up, and new queer culture. Page Hurwitz is writing and directing, as well as exec producing alongside Wanda Sykes for Push It Productions, and Brian Graden, Dave Mace and LB Horschler for Brian Graden Media.

A “genre-bending” series starring Colin Farrell (“The Batman”) scored a series order from Apple TV+. Drama “Sugar” comes from Apple Studios; Mark Protosevich (“Thor”) will executive produce alongside Simon Kinberg via his Genre Films. Audrey Chon, Scott Greenberg, and Chip Vucelich will also EP.

Jim Patterson and Maria Ferrari will take over showrunning duties for season three of Fox comedy “Call Me Kat.” They replace Alissa Neubauer.

Apple Original Films inked a first-look feature deal with Nike’s Waffle Iron Entertainment and Makeready to develop and produce sports films. Under the deal, the companies will team up to deliver a slate of films to inspire the next generation of athletes and celebrate the power of sport.“

Pinches Momias,” the first scripted series under the first-look deal between TelevisaUnivision and Propagate Fuego, began filming in Mexico City. The original production is headed for ViX+ in July. Propagate Fuego, Propagate’s recently launched Spanish-language division, and Perro Azul are producing the action-horror-comedy series.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

HGTV’s “My Lottery Dream Home” returns Friday, July 8 at 9p, with David Bromstad helping newly wealthy families find their perfect homes.

“Kitchen Crash” returns to Food Network Tuesday, July 12 at 10p, with host Jeff Mauro bringing a new twist to outdoor culinary competitions. On each of the four episodes, professional chefs head to an unsuspecting local neighborhood block party and surprise the attendees with an outdoor cook-off, using only provisions provided by the residents.

“Menudo: Forever Young” will debut with all four parts on Thursday, June 23 on HBO Max. Through interviews with more than a dozen former members of the Latin American boy band, the series examines how an extravagant facade was disguising serious harm.

Welsh crime drama “Hidden” returns for its third and final season on Acorn TV on Monday, June 20.

Reelz series “On Patrol: Live” (w/t), from the producers of “Live PD,” is set to premiere this summer, Friday and Saturday nights from 9p to 12a. Following live news-gathering protocols, the series’ cameras will document in real time the everyday work of police officers on patrol from diverse departments across America.

Nick Cannon-hosted “Wild ‘N Out” will return to VH1 with all new episodes beginning Tuesday, June 21 at 8p.

Oprah Winfrey, who also serves as executive producer, will be featured “The Hair Tales,” alongside Issa Rae, Chlöe Bailey, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Marsai Martin and Chika. The six-part limited docuseries will premiere later this year on OWN and Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ in all other territories. Each episode will lead the audience through a journey of connecting the personal tales of Black women to broader societal and historic themes.

Season two of cat-and-mouse drama “We Hunt Together” kicks off Sunday, July 3 at 7:30p on Showtime, and will be available for streaming two days earlier, on July 1. The season was originally slated to start streaming on June 24.

COMING UP

Two-part documentary “Right to Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution,” exploring the progression of Black comedy and the comedians who have used humor to expose, challenge and ridicule society’s injustices and to articulate the Black experience in America, debuts Wednesday, June 29 at 9p on A&E.

Cinedigm has acquired North American rights to family drama “We Are Gathered Here Today,” which it will release on digital and streaming service Dove Channel on Tuesday, August 16. The film tells the story of a patriarch dying of Covid-19 who must say goodbye to his family via video.

World Channel will mark the Juneteenth holiday with a slate of documentaries and episodes that tell the stories of Black people and American heroes of African descent, including films and episodes from World Channel original series “America ReFramed”; “Local, USA”; “AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange” and more.

AXS TV is honoring Juneteenth with a two-day event spotlighting some of music’s iconic African-American artists. The weekend block presents a selection of profiles, documentaries, concerts and more, beginning Saturday, June 18 at 12p, and continuing through Sunday, June 19.

One Caribbean Television is programming a half-hour TV special and a series of vignettes to highlight Caribbean Americans throughout June in honor of National Caribbean-American Heritage Month. The special, “Caribbean America,” will premiere Monday, June 13 at 8:30p and Thursday, June 16 at 10p.

STREAMING

Allen Media Group’s Local Now has partnered with Arab media company Rotana Media to launch four Rotana channels: Rotana Cinema, Rotana Classic, Rotana Drama, and Rotana Music. They are the first Arabic FAST channels in the US.

Shopping channel QVC is now live on Fubo TV. “QVC’s fun and engaging livestream shopping experience lines up with FuboTV’s mission to offer a leading portfolio of premium entertainment and lifestyle content alongside sports and news,” said David Apostolico, SVP Platform Strategy, Development & Distribution for Qurate Retail Group.

Wurl struck an agreement with TED to power the launch of the TED channel, the company’s first FAST channel. The channel will distribute and monetize programming from a library of original content.

Two of Anthem Sports & Entertainment’s properties, AXS TV Now and Fight Network, are now available as ad-supported FAST channel offerings on XUMO. They join fellow Anthem property The IMPACT Wrestling Channel, which launched on XUMO in 2020. All three services have multi-year agreements on the platform.

TECH TALK

Advertisers allocate 20-30% of their premium video budget towards streaming, and the rest to traditional TV, according to Comcast Advertising’s inaugural Comcast Advertising Report, “Actionable Insights for the Modern TV Advertiser.” Other findings include:
· Viewers prefer live content on both TV and streaming – 89% of traditional TV viewing is spent watching live TV and 54% of digital video viewing is live.
· Viewers are exposed to more digital ads than ever. Ad views on digital services increased by 45% from 2H20 to 2H21.· Audience targeted campaigns have increased by over 50% year-over-year.
· Programmatic ad views have grown 80% year over year. There was also an increase in programmatic campaigns bought on a guaranteed basis.
· As sellers move to programmatic models, they are working with an average of 13 different programmatic partners – and up to 30 in total.”
To effectively reach audiences in today’s marketplace, it’s important for advertisers to understand the landscape from all perspectives — how viewers are viewing, buyers are buying, and sellers are selling,” Pooja Midha, Chief Growth Officer, Comcast Advertising, tells Cynopsis. “The Comcast Advertising Report offers a uniquely comprehensive perspective across linear and streaming with critical insights, compelling predictions, and actionable advice to help advertisers keep up with this fast-moving industry, and optimize their success.”

Basis Technologies, provider of cloud-based workflow automation and business intelligence software for marketing and advertising, announced the release of data visualization capabilities that streamline campaign reporting. Data Canvas is designed to improve communication between agencies and their clients through live, customizable dashboards. “I believe the Basis platform showcases how agencies can improve their business relationships as well as the health of our industry overall by weaving together disparate teams, processes, and platforms,” said Tyler Kelly, President, Basis Technologies.

Nearly half of consumers say they know nothing about the metaverse, yet 2/3 of consumers already participated in Metaverse-like environments (68% of 13-56 year olds and 88% of Gen Zs) according to a study from UTA and Vox Media. In fact, 53% of Gen Zs say they are more comfortable in the metaverse than in real life. “What this study reveals is that creators and brands who sit idly awaiting some ‘golden moment’ when the Metaverse ‘arrives’ do so at their own peril,” said Joe Kessler, Partner and Head of UTA IQ. “In fact, the metaverse won’t present itself in a singular moment. It’s here now, and it’s the latest stage of the ever-accelerating evolution of media consumption and engagement, one in which consumers – especially young ones – can experience truly immersive interaction inside the digital environments they inhabit. This creates immense new opportunities for the artists who create and curate those environments, and for the brands that facilitate them.”

For insights on unlocking the value of the metaverse, along with other media industry solutions, register for the Cynopsis Big TV Conference, taking place live in NYC on September 29-30.

CASTING

Set to star in Disney Channel’s animated superhero comedy “Hamster & Gretel” are newcomer Meli Povenmire; Michael Cimino (“Love, Victor”); Beck Bennett (“SNL”); Joey King (“Kissing Booth”); Matt Jones (“Bob Hearts Abishola”); and Carolina Ravassa (“Maya and the Three”).

Saara Chaudry (“The Mysterious Benedict Society”) and Anders Holm (“Inventing Anna”) have joined the cast of Disney+ upcoming live-action series, “The Muppets Mayhem,” joining previously announced stars, Lilly Singh (“A Little Late with Lilly Singh”) and Tahj Mowry (“Smart Guy”).

Amber Chardae Robinson (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) landed a series regular role in Apple TV+’s “Mrs. American Pie,” starring Laura Dern and Kristen Wiig.

GOING GLOBAL

Armoza Formats game show “Who’s Asking?” has been commissioned in Cyprus. The 60 episodes season will be produced by Galinis Production Studio for public broadcaster CYBC.

Amcomri Entertainment has acquired the assets of Flame Media, a global distributor and library owner of factual and documentary TV content. Flame will be operated by Amcomri’s TV content distribution business Abacus Media Rights. The transaction closed approximately 15 months after the passing of Flame Media founder and CEO John Caldon OAM.

THAT BIG TV CONFERENCE

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Early-bird special is open through June 21. Register today to save $600.Companies added to the lineup include Spotify, Twitter, AMC Networks, Warner Bros Discovery, GroupM, VAB, Moonbug Entertainment, and more!

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RATINGS

Nielsen Top 10 Streaming Chart for the week of May 9
Program, # Episodes, Minutes (Millions)
Ozark (Netflix),44, 1730
The Lincoln Lawyer (Netflix), 10, 884
Senior Year (Netflix), 1, 797
CocoMelon (Netflix), 18, 715
Grace & Frankie (Netflix), 95, 584
Candy (Hulu), 5, 577
Criminal Minds (Netflix) 321, 546
NCIS (Netflix), 356 529
Workin’ Moms (Netflix), 70, 512
Our Father (Netflix), 1, 450
Source: Nielsen Streaming Content Ratings (Amazon Prime, Disney+, Hulu, Netflix and Apple TV+), Nielsen National TV Panel, U.S. Viewing through Television.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Wednesday, June 8
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live! Game Night 2.80 (0.5), NBA Countdown 3.53 (0.8), NBA Finals 11.52 (3.7)
CBS: Let’s Make a Deal 3.52 (0.3), The Price Is Right 3.70 (0.4), S.W.A.T. 1.93 (0.3)
CW: The Flash 0.58 (0.1), Kung Fu 0.47 (0.1)
FOX: MasterChef 2.17 (0.4), So You Think You Can Dance 1.40 (0.3)
NBC: Chicago Med 3.08 (0.3), Chicago Fire 2.87 (0.3), Chicago PD 2.85 (0.3)
Telemundo: La casa de los famosos 1.03 (0.3), Amor Valiente 0.70 (0.1)
Univision: Mexicana y el Guerro 1.17 (0.4), Mi fortuna es Amarte 1.59 (0.5), El Ultimo Rey: El Hijo del Pueblo 1.10 (0.3)

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Warner Bros. Discovery has appointed Luis Silberwasser as Chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. Silberwasser most recently served as President of TelevisaUnivision, Inc. U.S. Networks Group.

Jeff Frost is stepping down as President of Sony Pictures Television Studios. “Jeff is one of the hardest working and most dedicated executives I’ve ever met,” said Ravi Ahuja, Chairman, Global Television Studios, in a company email. “He has been an outstanding leader at Sony Pictures Television during a time of extraordinary transformation in our industry, and I am certain that he will continue to succeed in whatever he pursues in the future.” Frost joined SPT in 2008.

Jordana Hochman has been promoted to EVP and Head of Programming at ITV America. Hochman previously served as Head of East Coast Programming.

René Santaella has been elevated to the role of Chief Digital and Streaming Officer for Estrella Media. Santaella, who had been EVP, Digital & Streaming Media, helped launch the company’s streaming and AVOD platforms.

This Day in History
2007 – The finale of “The Sopranos” aired.

Friday Fun Fact
Kentucky has more caves than any other place on earth

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On which sitcom did Christopher Llloyd play a retired rocket scientist? “Stacked” (2005-6). Kudos to: Charles Lore/NYC; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Rev. Mark Wajda/Clermont, FL; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
Which sitcom was based on the book, The Fifteenth Pelican? (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