Today’s Premieres
Netflix: Alchemy of Souls; Spriggan

Saturday’s Finale
HGTV: Renovation Goldmine at 10p

Sunday’s Premieres
E!: Mathis Family Matters at 9:30p
Food Network: Beachside Brawl at 10p
Fox Nation: Duck Family Treasure
ID: Murdaugh Murders: Deadly Dynasty at 9p
MSNBC: The Culture Is: Black Women at 10p
PBS: Hotel Portofino at 8p; Endeavor on Masterpiece at 9p
TLC: I Love a Mama’s Boy at 10p
TNT: Animal Kingdom at 9p
TV5 Monde: L’absente at 11p

Sunday’s Finales
HBO: The Time Traveler’s Wife at 9p
Showtime: I Love That for You at 8:30p; The First Lady at 9p
Travel Channel: Expedition Bigfoot at 10p

Monday’s Premiere
HBO: Mind Over Murder at 10p

IN THE NEWS

As advertisers adopt new currencies in the shift to more accurate measurement, more than 40% of NBCUniversal’s Upfront business will be conducted outside of traditional “age and gender” guarantees. That nugget was revealed during NBCU’s briefing discussing its cross-platform measurement currency tests with iSpot.tv. NBCU noted it reaches 237 million adults each month across its portfolio, including audiences that are “streaming-exclusives” – for campaigns studied, 64% of the impressions delivered on Peacock were to streaming-only audiences. When it comes to using streaming properties as effective complements to linear schedules, NBCU says it now has the data to recommend the optimal mix of OTT is in the 30-40% range. “We see more and more marketers lean in as we continue to train and test and give them the resources that they need,” said Laura Molen, President, NBCU Advertising Sales & Partnerships.

The national board of SAG-AFTRA has voted to approve a tentative agreement for its Network Television Code, which will now head to members for ratification. Highlights of the contract, negotiated with major networks and producers, include wage increases of 3%; lodging and transportation enhancements; substantial increases for dancers and singers; and a requirement to pay scale for promotional announcements for new media, among other benefits. “Thanks to the strength of SAG-AFTRA, which fought for the substantial gains acquired through this negotiation, many will benefit. The biggest beneficiaries being dancers, stand-ins and promotional announcers,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “But, also in the interest of elevating consciousness and sensitivity of a performer’s safe space, it expands protections for those performing nude or in intimate scenes. That’s a seminal step toward providing a safer environment on set and moving the needle toward an industry that respects boundaries.”

Talk show “The Jennifer Hudson Show” has been cleared in over 95% of the country and will head to syndication this fall with “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” executive producers Mary Connelly, Andy Lassner and Corey Palent serving as EPs and showrunners. Hudson, Lisa Kasteler Calio, Graehme Morphy and Walter Williams III will also exec produce. The show premieres September 12 on Fox Television Stations, Hearst Television, Sinclair Broadcast Group, TEGNA, Nexstar Media Group, Scripps Media, and Gray Media Group, among others.

It appears there will only be four nominees this year in the late-night show Emmys category, based on the number of submissions – 19 – in the nominations-round voting. According to Television Academy rules, 16-19 submissions warrant 4 nominations. The category included five nominations last year.

HBO Max renewed “Hacks” for season three. “We are overjoyed at the audience and press response to the new season, and glad to give viewers more of this gorgeous, hilarious, moving show,” said Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content.

Visual effects company DNEG (“Stranger Things”) and Sports Ventures Acquisitions Corp. have canceled their planned merger. The companies labeled the decision “a result of current unfavorable SPAC market conditions and other factors.” According to an SEC filing, DNEG paid a termination fee of $1.5 million.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) has introduced the “Health and Location Data Protection Act,” prohibiting data brokers from sharing information about people’s health or location. “Data brokers profit from the location data of millions of people, posing serious risks to Americans everywhere by selling their most private information,” said Warren. “With this extremist Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade and states seeking to criminalize essential health care, it is more crucial than ever for Congress to protect consumers’ sensitive data.”

“Abbott Elementary” scooped up the most nominations for the TCA Awards, scoring five. Joining the freshman ABC comedy in the race for Program of the Year are AMC’s “Better Call Saul”; Apple TV+’s “Severance”; HBO’s “Succession” and “The White Lotus”; Netflix’s “Squid Game”; and Showtime’s “Yellowjackets.”

MEASUREMENT & DATA CONFERENCE

IN CASE YOU MISSED US

If you weren’t able to make it, you can purchase M&D On Demand.
Use the code ONDEMAND22 at checkout

FIND OUT MORE

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

The Natural Studios, a joint venture with Banijay, has partnered with wildlife documenter Coyote Peterson (“Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild”) to collaborate with adventure star Bear Grylls (“Running Wild with Bear Grylls”) and the label’s Co-CEO, Delbert Shoopman, in creating new IP for audiences worldwide. “The Natural Studios was born from a passion for adventure and many of our strategic partnerships have been concentrated in this space,” said Grylls. “Coyote is a raw talent who has captured a global market, and he lives and breathes our sense of adventure exploration.”

Nickelodeon has hopped on “Super Duper Bunny League” (wt), a new adventure-comedy preschool series based on the kids’ comic book series by cartoonist Jamie Smart. The animated series centers on a diverse group of bunny friends who must battle danger as they defend their city and the world from their archnemesis. “Super Duper Bunny League” is slated to launch 2024 in the US and continue to roll out on Nick Jr. channels internationally.

Tomorrow Studios announced plans to adapt for television the novel I Love You but I’ve Chosen Darkness, by Claire Vaye Watkins. Director Stephanie Laing (“Made for Love”) reteams with Tomorrow Studios and screenwriter and author Alissa Nutting (“Made for Love”) for the adaptation.

HGTV has picked up 12 one-hour episodes of “Married to Real Estate.” The show’s freshman run attracted more than 19 million total viewers and was the #2 non-news/sports cable program among upscale P25-54 and upscale W25-54 in its Thursday timeslot.

Fulwell 73 (“The Kardashians”) jumps into true crime with “D.B Cooper: Where Are You?”. The four-parter, produced with PMZ Pictures, chronicles the quest to find the man who hijacked a passenger jet in 1971 and escaped with $200,000. Premiere date on Netflix: Wednesday, July 13.

Another four-part doc, “How to Change Your Mind,” drops on Netflix Tuesday, July 12. The series is based on Michael Pollan’s book about mind-altering substances.

Showtime is developing a limited series starring and executive produced by Ethan Hawke. “The Whites,” based on the novel by Richard Price, centers on a police detective dealing with a murder case that threatens to derail his life. Jez Butterworth (“Ford v. Ferrari”) will write and executive produce. Hawke executive produces through his Under the Influence banner along with Ryan Hawke. Price will also executive produce. Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, and Nena Rodrigue are executive producing via T-Street. The show is a Civic Center Media production in association with MRC Television.

“Home Economics” creators Michael Colton and John Aboud inked an overall deal with Lionsgate Television – and they have high expectations. “Lionsgate has been an amazing partner for us on ‘Home Economics’,” said Colton and Aboud. “We’re excited to extend and expand our relationship with them, and we’re pretty sure our new deal guarantees that we can direct the next ‘Saw’ movie.”

Disney General Entertainment’s Directing Program will, for the second year, guarantee episodes to first-time episodic directors on participating scripted television series. The 2022-2023 program seeks to be a steppingstone for experienced directors from underrepresented backgrounds with an existing body of non-episodic directing work who are looking to break into episodic television directing. Applications are being accepted for the upcoming cycle.

Ovation TV has signed Aaron Dworkin as its first Poet-in-Residence. Over his year in residency, Dworkin will produce and record monthly poetry readings, to be shared on the Ovation NOW app and at ovationtv.com/watch.

Casting notes: Thomas Mann has been upped from guest star to series regular for season two of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.”…Tiffany Boone (“Hunters”) landed a starring role in Apple TV+ series “The Big Cigar,” following Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton’s escape to Cuba….Jay Ellis (“Insecure”) will host season two of Smithsonian Channel’s “How Did They Build That?”.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Comedic thriller “The Resort” opens Thursday, July 28 on Peacock. The multi-generational eight-parter focuses on a marriage put to the test when the couple becomes embroiled in a bizarre mystery.

ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” moves to a new night for its sophomore run – the show joins the Wednesday comedy lineup on September 21 at 9p. “Big Sky” also moves to Wednesdays, at 10p. “Shark Tank” returns for it 14th – but first-ever live – season on Friday, September 23 at 8p. Among newcomers, spin-off “The Rookie: Feds” premieres Tuesday, September 27 at 10p, and “Alaska Daily,” starring Hilary Swank, makes its debut Thursday, October 6 at 10p.

Season two of HBO drama “Industry” premieres Monday, August 1 at 9p, picking up a year after the height of the pandemic in the world of high finance.

TLC’s “Say Yes to the Dress” celebrates 15 years and 20 seasons when it returns Saturday, July 9 at 8p. Among the highlights: a bride-to-be who was engaged just hours before her appointment, and another who uses her feet instead of her hands.

The sixth and final season of OWN’s “Black Love” premieres Saturday, July 23 at 10p. The docu-series aims to expand the way people looks at love and relationships.

“American Dynasty” will explore the backstories of the American aristocracy, featuring relatives of Rockefellers, du Ponts, Kennedys and more as special guests, starting Monday, June 27 on Fox Nation.

“Parking Lot Payday” puts concert fans to the test starting Tuesday, July 12 at 8p on AXS TV. The summer series travels to concert parking lots to give attendees a chance to cash in on their knowledge of their favorite bands.

On Sunday, June 19, Fox Nation will release five episodes of its new series “Duck Family Treasure,” fronted by the Robertson crew from “Duck Dynasty.” The next five installments will be released the following Sunday.

COMING UP

Netflix has partnered with Sandeman’s New Europe Tours to provide free guided walking tours that include visits to locations featured on series like “Emily in Paris.” The tours take place July 11-17.

Allen Media Group’s HBCU GO will debut two documentaries in celebration of the Juneteenth holiday that explore the meaning of freedom and the Black experience. “Portraits ‘N Color: Repowered” first airs Saturday, June 18 at 3p, and “History Half Told Is Untold” airs Sunday, June 19 at 8p.

STREAMING

Nearly 50% of DTC marketers who plan to spend more on CTV/OTT in 2022 say it will be the brand’s first time investing in the space, according to a study from Digital Remedy in partnership with Dynata. Forty-seven percent said offering brand lift measurement would have the most impact on convincing them to increase their CTV/ OTT budget, and 43% of those who allocated budget to CTV/OTT in the first half of 2021 will spend more in 1H22. “While DTC marketers recognize the potential of CTV/OTT, many of them are just beginning to allocate spend there,” said TJ Sullivan, SVP of Sales at Digital Remedy. “Industry research shows that roughly 70% of DTC consumers say they spend more time watching streaming TV each week than they spend on social media, meaning brands can feel confident their new investments in the channel are well-spent.”

Paramount+ has launched on Korean streaming platform TVing. The streamer’s first foray into Asia is part of Paramount’s partnership with CJ ENM.

TECH TALK

In a virtual town hall meeting for Twitter employees, Elon Musk adjusted his RTO stance. “The bias for me may be strongly toward working in person, but if somebody is exceptional then remote work can be okay,” he said. That response comes as Musk is receiving backlash for his demand that employees at Tesla return to the office. As for layoffs at Twitter, Musk said, “Right now, costs exceed the revenue, so that’s not a great situation to be in. But anyone who’s obviously like a significant contributor should have nothing to worry about.” And despite questions about whether Musk plans to go through with the $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, the entrepreneur talked about his desire to grow the platform’s user base to “at least a billion people,” and increase monetization opportunities for creators.

Sell-side advertising platform Magnite has certified Comscore, iSpot, Nielsen, Innovid, and VideoAmp across its CTV inventory to simplify measurement activation and facilitate more transparent programmatic transactions between buyers and sellers. “Magnite works with a variety of measurement and attribution experts to provide our clients with a range of solutions to transact,” said Kristen Williams, SVP, Strategic Partnerships at Magnite. “Without a standardized form of measurement at play, Magnite’s role as an independent technology platform is to enable easy activation of any measurement solution that brings greater transparency to TV transactions while building trust across our diverse client base.”

FreeWheel has teamed with AMC Networks to introduce a fully self-serve addressable solution allowing programmers to unlock previously hard-to-access inventory for monetization purposes, as well as provide ease of management. “At FreeWheel, we strive to connect the ecosystem with solutions that make TV advertising more efficient. And so, our ‘ah ha’ moment behind this launch was that, for the longest time, lack of scale and difficulty of execution were two big industry hurdles,” Sara Wallace, Executive Director, Product Manager for FreeWheel, tells Cynopsis. “Working with AMC, we’re now introducing a new offering that marks the first time the programmer has been able to offer addressable advertising in national linear inventory across the Canoe footprint, further unlocking new opportunities for buyers and sellers.”

Facebook plans to change its main feed to look more like rival TikTok’s. Instead of prioritizing posts based on the accounts that users follow, Facebook’s Feed algorithm will recommend posts, regardless of where they originate, based on passive viewing habit data, according to The Verge.

Using AR makes 80% of shoppers feel more confident in their purchase, and 66% of shoppers using AR are less likely to return their purchases, according to findings from a study released by Snap and Publicis Media Exchange. “When buying products online, shoppers want to make sure they’re making a purchase that they will ultimately be happy with, and AR unlocks a huge opportunity when it comes to buyer confidence because of the advancements in fit and placement technology,” said Dave Roter, VP of Global Agency Partnerships at Snap Inc. “Immersive customer experiences using AR are helping our advertisers sell more products while driving more long-term customer value.”

THAT BIG TV CONFERENCE
LESS THAN 1 WEEK TO SAVE!

Early-bird special is open through Tuesday, June 21. Register today to save $600.

Don’t miss this 2 day event in NYC on September 29th & 30th!

REGISTER NOW

RATINGS

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Wednesday, June 15
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Stanley Cup Pre-game 3.65 (0.7), Stanley Cup 4.20 (1.3)
CBS: The Price Is Right 50th 4.04 (0.4), S.W.A.T. 2.20 (0.3)
CW: The Flash 0.50 (0.1), Kung Fu 0.42 (0.1)
FOX: MasterChef 2.38 (0.4), So You Think You Can Dance 1.74 (0.3)
NBC: Chicago Med 3.07 (0.3), Chicago Fire 2.90 (0.3), Chicago PD 2.38 (0.3)
Telemundo: La casa de los famosos 1.21 (0.3), Amor Valiente 0.85 (0.2), Infiel: Historia de un Engano 0.92 (0.2)
Univision: Mexicana y el Guerro 1.33 (0.4), Mi fortuna es Amarte 1.67 (0.5), El Ultimo Rey: El Hijo del Pueblo 1.00 (0.3)

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Former Wall to Wall Managing Director Richard Thomson has joined Humble Bee Films as Executive Chair.

Kantar has appointed Will Bordelon as CEO of its Insights Americas business. Prior to joining Kantar, Will held various executive roles at Merkle.

Wheelhouse DNA’s talent management division, Additive Creative, has hired Michael Senzer as senior manager. Senzer joins the company from TalentX Entertainment.

Influencer marketing platform CreatorIQ has named Tribe Dynamics co-founder Jon Namnath as its new Chief Operating Officer.

AccuWeather elevated Kurt Fulepp to President of Digital, and Brian Baker to Chief Product and Design Officer, the position previously held by Fulepp.

This Day in History
1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrived in NYC.

Friday Fact
Texas was the first state to declare Juneteenth a state holiday, in 1980.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which actress voiced, Sally, the title character’s never seen friend on “Felicity” (1998-2002)? Janeane Garofalo. Kudos to: Faye Kulik-Disney/Brooklyn, NY; Jordan Bienstock-E.W. Scripps/Atlanta; Tara Berman-NBC News/NYC; Emily Miller-MNN/NYC; Wendy Holmes/Denver; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Eric Litt-Nextstar/Chicago; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
The first season of which series featured the main character attending a Juneteenth party? (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