06/26/23: Paramount+ axes four series

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Cynopsis Medias First Morning Read
Monday June 26, 2023

Today’s Premieres
ABC: Claim to Fame at 8p; The Bachelorette at 9p
Acorn TV: Cannes Confidential
BET+: Average Joe
FX: Reservation Dogs at 10p
PBS: POV at 10p

Finale
Fuse: Big Freedia Means Business at 9p

IN THE NEWS

The Directors Guild of America has ratified an agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, with 87% of members voting in favor of the deal. “Our new contract secures gains on wages, global streaming residuals, safety, diversity and creative rights that build for the future and impact every category of member in our Guild,” said DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter.

Meanwhile, actors’ guild contract negotiations with the AMPTP have been “extremely productive,” said SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher. “We’re standing strong and we’re going to achieve a seminal deal.” Negotiations started June 7.

Ahead of Tuesday’s launch of Paramount+ with Showtime, Paramount+ has canceled four shows. “We are refining our content offering to deliver the best streaming experience for subscribers,” said a statement from the company. “This is consistent with our content strategy since launch and across our business, which ensures we make smart, efficient choices, informed by audience data and insights. We are removing select programming as we look to optimize Showtime’s robust slate of premium originals.”
Axed are the revival of “The Game” and drag queen singing competition “Queen of the Universe” after two seasons; prequel “Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies” after one; and animated kids’ show “Star Trek: Prodigy,” despite its renewal in 2021 for a second run. All of the series will be removed from Paramount+ (“a particularly brutal move,” wrote “Pink Ladies” creator Annabel Oakes on Instagram) and shopped by their studios. Like Disney and WBD before it, Paramount Global will take a tax write-off for the move.

Season five of “Magnum P.I.”, picked by NBC after CBS canceled the show last year, will be its last – barring another rescue. Ten more episodes remain and have been scheduled for midseason 2024.

“Last King of the Cross” has been renewed for a second season on Paramount+. The Australian crime drama follows the journey of a nightclub mogul.

Also headed for a sophomore run is Peacock’s “Bupkis,” starring Pete Davidson, Edie Falco and Joe Pesci. “Bupkis” is executive produced by Lorne Michaels for Broadway Video.

What’s the next move for Geraldo Rivera? The journalist’s final appearances on Fox News’ “The Five” are slated for June 29 and 30, but he has said his contract with the network runs through 2025. “I am unsure about my next career move,” tweeted Rivera on Friday, adding that he’ll make an announcement this Friday about whether his future includes FNC or not. Last week, Rivera said “growing tension that goes beyond editorial differences” prompted his exit from “The Five.”

The Federal Trade Commission has proposed rules making it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions, and imposing penalties for companies violating those rules. The proposal would make canceling a subscription “at least as easy” as signing up for it. Not so fast, said Computer & Communications Industry Association SVP and Chief of Staff Stephane Joyce, who warned, “The expansive, new rules would create duplicative and inconsistent obligations that would invite confusion and uncertainty for both businesses and consumers.”

Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly negotiating to sell half of its film and TV music publishing assets, to the tune of around $500 million. No word on which assets are up for grabs, but the library includes a wealth of titles.

The call for judges for this year’s Best of the Best & Rising Star Awards is now open. If you’re in the media business and are interested in helping determine the winners, please email Lauren Toolen by July 14 with a short blurb on why you’d be a great judge. Want to enter to win or find out more? Check out our website.

Gray Television has reached a deal that renews all 54 of its CBS affiliates. “At a time when local news is more valued than ever — and under greater pressure than ever — Gray is very pleased to have reached an agreement that builds upon the decades-long relationship with CBS in dozens of markets, large and small,” said Pat LaPlatney, co-CEO of Gray Television. “With this renewal, we intend to continue to invest in local news, weather and sports reporting, while bringing CBS’ premium programming to our local communities.”

Tom Brokaw opened up to his former “Today” co-host Jane Pauley, now host of “CBS News Sunday Morning,” about his ten-year battle with incurable blood cancer. Brokaw, “NBC Nightly News” anchor from 1982-2004, told Pauley the condition forced him to walk away from his elder statesman role at NBC News. “I really had to give up my daily activity with NBC,” he told Pauley. “You know, I had to walk away from them, as they were walking away from me.”

Cynopsis’ BIG TV Conference

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We have an exceptional roster of speakers who will bring you next-level discussions and in-depth answers on how to navigate success for your media business in this volatile marketplace. Get ready for our 2023 program, bringing you accurate answers and meaningful connections to carry you well into 2024. Join us this September 27-28 in NYC!

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

An adaptation of the novel Forget Me Not, which follows an ambitious wedding planner working with her florist ex, is being adapted for TV by Universal International Studios. “I am absolutely ecstatic to be working with Universal International Studios on an adaptation of Forget Me Not,” said author Julie Soto. “I was blown away when I heard the news that they were interested in my book and even more excited at the prospect of a series adaptation.”

RETURNING SERIES

“Love During Lockup” returns for a new season on WE tv on Friday, July 21 at 9p. The “Love After Lockup” spinoff follows people in romances with prisoners (props to the publicist who came up with the line, “It’s time to cell-abrate love!”).

STREAMING

James DuBose, former GM of Fox Soul, is launching an AVOD platform to amplify Black voices and stories. In The Black Network is slated to launch on October 2 with content spanning sports, music, scripted, talk, kids/family and feature films.

COMING UP

“Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks” will honor the late Tina Turner, with Rutledge Wood (“Hot Wheels: Ultimate Challenge”) and Zuri Hall (“Access Hollywood”) serving as hosts. The spectacle airs Tuesday, July 4 at 8p on NBC.

The Heroes & Icons Network is the new destination for Weigel Broadcasting Co.’s annual 4th of July presentation of “Rod, White & Blue: A Twilight Zone Celebration,” a marathon of 86 episodes of “The Twilight Zone” series airing from Sunday, July 2 at 12p-Tuesday, July 4 at 12p. The stunt previously aired on Decades network.

“The Slumber Party,” a coming-of-age comedy based on the YA novel The Sleepover by Jen Malone, is set to debut Thursday, July 27 at 8p on Disney Channel. The film depicts the aftermath of a sleepover birthday party hypnotism gone wrong.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

YouTube TV is dropping the New York Mets’ pay-TV network, SNY, effective June 30. In a tweet, NYI encouraged YouTube viewers to “find another provider” to watch Mets games. SNY is controlled by Sterling Equities; Charter and Comcast hold minority stakes.

NBC Sports Washington is being rebranded to Monumental Sports Network, following the RSN’s sale from Comcast to Monumental last year. In addition to new visuals, the revamped net will include an interview show hosted by Rachel Nichols and alternate broadcast feeds for Wizards and Capitals games.

Rob Ninkovich’s time at ESPN is running out. As part of cutbacks at the network, the contract of the Super Bowl champ, who served as an on-air personality for shows including “NFL Live,” will not be renewed.

FuboTV struck a marketing partnership with the Seattle Mariners, its fourth with a Major League Baseball team following recent agreements with the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Guardians and St. Louis Cardinals. The partnership includes the display of Fubo branding at select Mariners home games as well as fan engagement opportunities. Additionally, Mariners season ticket holders will receive an invite from the club inviting them to join Fubo through a free 30 day trial. Non-season ticket members will be eligible for a free 14 day trial.

Cynopsis’ Best of the Best & Rising Star Awards

Shine among the stars of the media & entertainment industry

For our 2023 Best of the Best & Rising Star Awards, we’re coming to you live and in-person in New York City on September 27th, where you’ll rub elbows with some of the best this industry has to offer. Join some noteworthy veterans, including past winners from Food Network, NBC News, TLC, PBS, CNBC, and more. Don’t wait – entry prices increasing by $100 this Thursday!

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RATINGS

The premiere episode of “The Walking Dead: Dead City” is the #1 season premiere in the history of AMC+ in terms of viewership across all new and returning series, including “The Walking Dead.” In linear viewership, the first episode of the new series attracted a total premiere audience of 2 million viewers, 768,000 among A25-54 and 573,000 among A18-49 in Nielsen Live+3 ratings. The linear ratings reflect total viewership of a multi-network simulcast and Sunday night encores on AMC.

The NBA draft averaged 3.74 million viewers across ESPN (both rounds) and ABC (first round), up 23% from last year, to rank as the most-watched program of the day across all of television.

This Day in History
1870 – The first section of the Atlantic City, NJ boardwalk opened.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which “SNL” alum appeared in a Doritos commercial in which he swiped a bag of chips from an old lady? Chevy Chase. Kudos to: David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which 1970s series included soap opera parody sketches titled “Love of Chair”? (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

Lynn Leahey
Editorial Director
@Lynn_Leahey

Kerry Smith
Division President
Access Intelligence

Robbie Caploe
VP/Group Publisher
@robertacaploe

Executive Director of Sales
Albert Nassour
917-545-3129
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Check out more jobs in Cynopsis Classifieds »
Job of the day

BRAND ASSISTANT >>
THE LEDE COMPANY/NYC: Full-service communication, strategy, and social impact consulting firm, specializing in corporate, brand, entertainment, and nonprofit sectors, is seeking a Brand Assistant to join the Brand team in our New York office. The Assistant will play an integral role in supporting accounts for a wide variety of Fashion, Beauty, CPG and Lifestyle clients. Full info HERE

TALENT ASSISTANT >>
THE LEDE COMPANY/LA: Full-service strategy, communications and social impact consulting firm, specializing in corporate, entertainment and nonprofit sectors. We are looking for a Talent Assistant to a Talent Publicist in Los Angeles. We are seeking enthusiastic candidates who can work in a fast-paced environment, are driven & have strong communication and writing skills. Full info HERE

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER FOR NATIONAL POLITICAL SHOW >>
BAHAKEL COMMUNICATIONS/CHARLOTTE NC: Develop and oversee the production of a daily or weekly national political show that covers the most important political news and events of the day. Develop and execute strategies to increase the show’s audience and engagement. At least 5 years of experience as an executive producer for a political show or similar program. Full info HERE

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF NEWS/ENTERTAINMENT >>
BAHAKEL COMMUNICATIONS/CHARLOTTE NC:
Oversee all editorial and entertainment content, news production and presentation. Responsible for day-to-day operations of the show: producing, writing, and guiding creative. Develop content for the News @ TEN, plan, assign and create production schedules. 7 years of experience as executive producer or show producer. Network experience preferred. Full info HERE

SR. DIRECTOR, PRODUCT MANAGEMENT >>
SHOUT! FACTORY/LOS ANGELES: P&L responsibility, ownership over all aspects of a project, standalone releases or a licensed library of titles. Works w/production, publicity, creative services, distribution/sales, digital, finance, legal, acquisitions & licensors to best position the project for success. 7+ yrs of exp. in marketing, business development, or product management. Full info HERE

SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER >>
SHOUT! FACTORY/LOS ANGELES: Prepare accurate reports using data from internal & external sources for sales planning & analysis. Communicate w/our distributor on a regular basis with an understanding of their systems & deadlines. Announce release date, pricing confirmation & metadata for staff & distributor. 3+Yrs exp. in Sales Planning & Analysis/Finance Administration. Full info HERE

SENIOR CONTENT PRODUCER
INTERACTIVE ONE
NYC

Oversee video/creative production team thru ideation, production planning, crew/talent hiring, & budget/project management. Shepherd campaigns from development, pre-production, & production thru editing & delivery. Help w/shoots as well as postproduction team. 5+ yrs exp. spanning editorial, design, advertising agency, film, branded entertainment. Full info HERE

CREATIVE DIRECTOR
INTERACTIVE ONE
NYC

Respond to both RFPs and direct-to-client assignments from brands and agencies. Examine client brief and lead ideation or adapt pre-existing creative. Identify innovative storytelling and emerging video formats. Minimum of 7 yrs exp. producing compelling video, television and digital media content across multiple channels and platforms. Full info HERE

AD SALES PLANNER >>
SINCLAIR BROADCASTING GROUP/NYC, Hybrid:
Responsible for creating, analyzing & communicating sales proposals to the Sales team for presentation to advertising agencies and/or clients. Collaborate w/all media platforms & departments to create proposals, execute campaigns, manage stewardship & pacing of linear & digital deals. Point of contact post sale & provide excellent client services. Full info HERE

DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION LIFETIME/LMN MARKETING PRODUCTION OPERATIONS
A+E NETWORKS
Remote

Lead campaign planning & production oversight, ensuring best-in-class creative. Direct Campaign Planning rollouts & ensure production readiness of marketing initiatives. Oversee production on high-end graphics/design/editorial projects. 7+ yrs working in a fast-paced, highly collaborative team, with relevant work exp. in production management. Full info HERE

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA INC/NYC: Determine best news stories for the program and create daily rundown. Work with show host in program preparation and execution. Identify compelling news stories. Delegate responsibilities as appropriate to producers, associate producers, and casting producers. 3+ years executive producing experience or overseeing newscast production. Full info HERE

STAGE MANAGER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA INC/WASHINGTON DC: Works with Production management to maintains cast and crew lists and manages local rehearsal and show calendar. Oversee daily technical run-throughs directly prior to shows. Willing and able to work shifts between 12noon to 11pm and occasional Weekends and some longer hours during election and special events. Full info HERE

BROADCAST ENGINEER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA INC/WASHINGTON DC: Troubleshooting, repair, and preventative maintenance of television broadcast equipment, computers, and broadcast computer networks in a 24x7x365 environment. Serve as E.I.C. during live and taped shows. Electrical Engineering, or other technical degree preferred. 5+ yrs as broadcast engineer, or equivalent knowledge. 5+ yrs in live TV production. Full info HERE

PRODUCER >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA INC/NEW YORK: Generate story ideas through research of news reports, social media, websites & contacts. Strong understanding of Newsmax brand & talent. Identify impactful news stories that result in provocative, compelling television. Delegate responsibilities as appropriate to associate producers, assignment editors & video editors. Bachelor’s degree preferred. Full info HERE

DIRECTOR, GENERAL AUDIENCE PUBLICITY >>
PBS/ARLINGTON VA, Hybrid:
Leads the strategy, development & implementation of external communications to support PBS’s general audience content & provide support for PBS’s reputation & executive visibility. Manage relationships w/notable on-camera talent, producers – including partner agencies, managers, or agents supporting their programs. 8+ yrs of public relations exp. Full info HERE

AD SALES COORDINATOR, DIRECT RESPONSE
TV ONE
NYC, Hybrid, Remote

Work with account executives & sales planners utilizing internal computer system to fulfill sales orders through the execution of client schedules. Serve as the primary point of contact for ad agencies & TV One to resolve discrepancies, confirm schedule changes & distribute post & pre-logs. Bachelor’s degree or 2 yrs of exp. in advertising sales. Full info HERE

MANAGER OF ENTERPRISE CONTENT, WTKR
SCRIPPS NETWORKS
NORFOLK, VA

Collaborates w/other newsroom managers to leverage the Scripps content strategy as the foundation for market-specific local content strategy. Leading a team of people to regularly & reliably produce targeted enterprise & investigative stories of impact & importance to our community. 3 yrs of exp. in digital media, journalism, broadcast preferred. Full info HERE

SR. DIRECTOR, DIGITAL PLATFORMS AND PARTNERSHIPS
TV ONE
SILVER SPRING MD, NYC, Hybrid Remote

Develop, cultivate, and socialize vision, mission, and strategy for Digital Business, Programming Visibility, Content Creation and Content Partnerships & Data Governance. Lead and facilitate cross-functional and cross-company project teams. 12 yrs in the media & emerging platform landscape with building digital platforms and vMVPD growth strategy. Full info HERE

VP OF BROADCAST ENGINEERING >>
NEWSMAX MEDIA, INC./NYC, NEW YORK: Oversee the planning, management, installation & maintenance of the networks technical infrastructure: studios, transmitters, digital production platforms & automated systems. Ability to deploy in the field to coordinate special events. 8+ yrs of broadcast troubleshooting in a television network environment, preferably in a network News environment. Full info HERE

MEDIA RESEARCH MANAGER
CIRCLE MEDIA
NASHVILLE, TN

Evaluate programming for our linear and FAST channel schedules to provide insights for content strategy and audience growth. Analyze & interpret media research for programming, ad sales, marketing, and affiliate sales. Research, & preferably Nielsen background is a strongly preferred. Media Research with linear, or similar platforms, is required. Full info HERE

SCHEDULING ASSISTANT- PROGRAMMING DEPARTMENT
CIRCLE MEDIA
NASHVILLE, TN

Partner with the Programming Director to perform scheduling tasks for our Linear and FAST Channels. This includes data entry and distributing weekly schedules. Strong attention to detail and love for data entry/meta data is a plus. This role is ideal for someone looking to break into the media world. Full info HERE

TRAFFIC ASSISTANT- AD SALES METADATA ENTRY
CIRCLE MEDIA
NASHVILLE, TN

Performing a variety of administrative tasks to provide support to the Traffic Department. The majority of this role will focus on metadata entry and must have strong attention to detail. This role will also assist team members with projects and serve as an idea source during team meetings. Full info HERE

VIDEO EDITOR- MOTION GRAPHICS
CIRCLE MEDIA
NASHVILLE, TN

Responsible for editing a variety of content, including but not limited to: network promos, show promos, sponsor ads and graphics. The ideal candidate is highly skilled in the Adobe editing suite and is highly motivated and organized. After Effects/Motion graphics skills are needed and coding is preferred, but not required. Full info HERE

VICE PRESIDENT, COMPENSATION
A+E NETWORKS
NYC, Hybrid, Remote

Review current compensation programs to identify changes needed for a true best in class compensation approach. Develop simple tools that can be used by recruiters, candidates, & employees to effectively communicate all aspects of a compensation package. Minimum of 10 + years of experience in compensation. Full info HERE

MONDAY JUNE 26
ABC: Claim to Fame [p], The Bachelorette [p]
CBS: The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola, NCIS, NCIS: Hawai’i
CW: The Rising, Nancy Drew
FOX: Stars on Mars, Crime Scene Kitchen
NBC: American Ninja Warrior, The Wall, Weakest Link
PBS: Antiques Roadshow, The Great American Recipe, POV [p]
Telemundo: Top Chef VIP, Betty en NY, Secretos de Sangre
Univision: Perdona Nuestros Pecados, El Amor Invencible, Mujer

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