PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
DIY Network announced it will premiere 121 primetime hours from now through the end of the year, including 5 new series: Amazing Space, Rustic Renovation, Vintage Rehab, Bargain Mansions and Containables. Also in the pipeline are 10 pilots that will support the 2018 lineup. Returning with new episodes by year’s end will be The Vanilla Ice Project, Rehab Addict, Barnwood Builders, Salvage Dawgs and Maine Cabin Masters.
RESEARCH
TiVo’s just-released quarterly Video Trends Report offers insights on what’s happening across pay-TV, OTT, VOD and TV Everywhere. Among the findings: 57.7% of Netflix subscribers selected the ability for each household member to have their own profile as their top feature, while 40.7% liked that Netflix recommends content based on previous viewing habits. And when finding something to watch, pay-TV subscribers with access to video recommendations are 15.2% more satisfied than those without them. Bottom line: It behooves pay-TV providers to keep up with consumer demand as they roll out user experience upgrades like recommendations.
On the sports front, TiVo noted that in 1Q17, 13.5% of respondents have watched a live sporting event on a social media network. What does that mean for pay-TV services? “While many of the sports leagues tend to refer to their streaming partnerships as an experiment, the number of professional games streamed via the internet is growing, and based on the survey results consumers are starting to change their viewing habits and are tuning in,” Billy Purser, Sr. Director of Product Marketing for the Advanced Search & Recommendations, tells Cynopsis. “Sports content has always been a major differentiator for pay-TV providers, and if the ability to watch more games via streaming services continues, it could further disrupt the industry and ultimately have a positive effect on cord-cutting.”
Research from Turner and Samba TV took a look at the effectiveness of promotion supporting the premiere of TNT’s Animal Kingdom. The data indicated increasing frequency through off-channel buys towards male skewing networks such as FX, USA and AMC could reinforce the message across these networks that delivered higher tune-in rates; exposure to both TV and digital platforms had the highest conversion to viewership compared to just TV or just digital ads; and on-channel promos on TNT were key to driving in tune-ins and had the highest tune-in rate across episodes.
About two-thirds of US adult broadband users use online SVOD services on a home television, according to a study from TDG, which noted sub-segments between TV subscription streamers. “Understanding the differenced between these segments is vital to designing content and services that speak to the unique needs of disparate consumers,” says the report. Categories include:
Pay-TV Supplementers – Defined by their affinity toward traditional pay-TV services, Supplementers use SVOD to complement their TV viewing, not as a substitute or replacement. Live broadcast remains their first choice for TV viewing.
Pay-TV Substituters – Substituters use SVOD as their primary video source (accounting for two-thirds of their total video time).
Quantum Viewers – The youngest of the four TSS segments, QVs tend to watch SVOD on all their devices, not just TVs. But while they are more likely than other segments to use virtually all types of consumer electronic and computing devices, they appreciate all forms of video on all their screens.
Video Luddites – This group spend the least amount of time watching all types of video on all types of devices, but consider online video services as their key source of entertainment.
Netflix now has more total subscribers than cable TV, according to Leichtman Research. The streaming service counts 50.85 million subs, versus 48.61 million for cable. (Small cable networks were not taken into account.)
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
How It’s Made: American Made launches on Science Channel Thursday, June 22 at 9p. Kicking things off is “Baseball Edition,” featuring bats, gloves, scorecards and a wristwatch that contains wood from the original 1923 Yankee Stadium.
Disney’s DuckTales reboot will debut with a one-hour TV movie on Saturday, August 12 at midnight on Disney XD and be presented for 24 consecutive hours, then premiere with 2 new episodes airing Saturday, September 23 at 7a, 11a, 2p, 5p, 8p and 10:30p.
Velocity’s The Auto Firm With Alex Vega, premiering Wednesday, July 5 at 10p, follows car designer Vega as he creates super rides. First up: a Ferrari for MLB pitcher Carlos Carrasco, and a surprise build for a 16-year-old cancer survivor.
COMING UP
New Smithsonian Channel series Amazing Monkeys premiered last night, taking a look at what has made primates one of the most successful groups of creatures on Earth. Next week’s installment, “Conquest of Africa,” charts a journey across that continent to find species from the sifakas of Madagascar, to the “King of the Apes,” Uganda’s gorillas. Not to mention the chimpanzee, with whom we share 98% of our DNA. Series airs Wednesdays at 8p.
Olympian Michael Phelps will receive the Legend Award at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Sports 2017, airing Sunday, July 17 at 8p. Seattle Seahawk Super Bowl champ Russell Wilson hosts.
TV One’s News One Now will broadcast live from Miami on today and Friday from 7a-9a during the American Black Film Festival. Roland S. Martin will integrate exclusive interviews with the actors and filmmakers from ABFF into the daily show, in addition to behind-the-scenes coverage of festival events and regular news.
El Rey Network has a Father’s Day gift for Dad (if he doesn’t watch golf): A stack of martial arts master Bruce Lee movies starting at 8a, leading into the Baja Desert Championship: San Felipe 250 at 5:30p, Sunday, June 18.
Disney XD is launching DIXP, a daily summer programming block devoted to gaming on Saturday, July 15 from 9p-3a. The TV and multiplatform destination will feature content produced in collaboration with ESPN, Disney Digital Network and its Maker creators, IGN, Attack Media, Warner Bros. Television Group’s Blue Ribbon Content, Banger Films, ESL and Vice’s Waypoint. Core demo: 13+.
PBS grabbed North American rights to Bill Nye: Science Guy and will release the documentary, which debuted at SXSW, nationwide. Next year, reports Deadline, the film will premiere on POV. Nye, currently hosting Netflix’s Bill Nye Saves the World, starred in Bill Nye the Science Guy, which aired on PBS from 1994-1999.
CASTING
John Martinez (House of Cards) will recur on TNT’s Major Crimes as the sociopathic father of a possible kidnap victim….Jason O’Mara is onboard season 3 of Amazon’s The Man in High Castle as a series regular….Yasmine Al Massri is leaving ABC drama Quantico after 2 seasons.
DIGITAL DEVELOPMENTS
Digital production studio Scripps Lifestyle Studios is launching a global talent incubation unit aimed at developing the next generation of influencers in the lifestyle space. The Scripps Lifestyle Experts group will enhance digital content, accelerate content creation and offer added integration opportunities. “Discovering and creating stars is something brands like HGTV and Food Network have been doing for years, across all platforms, and this concentrated effort will further expand our digital offerings and make talent more accessible,” said Vikki Neil, GM of Scripps Lifestyle Studios.
VidAngel has set its sights on Amazon and Netflix. The service, forced to close in 2014 after film companies argued that its sanitization of movies for faith-based audiences violated their copyrights, is offering subscribers of the streaming services edited versions of programming, for $7.99 a month.
Outdoor Sportsman Group is launching a global SVOD service for outdoor lifestyle enthusiasts. MyOutdoorTV, super-serving people looking for hunting, fishing and shooting content, will be available in nearly 200 countries.
History is offering a Father’s Day special for direct-to-consumer SVOD service History Vault. History lovers can get curated collections for 6 months for $23.95, or 12 months for $44.95.
VIDEOS IN SHORT
Women in Film has launched a comedic short-form digital series, Flip the Script, part of a campaign to open a fresh dialogue about gender parity in Hollywood. The satirical series is based on real-life, sexist experiences of women in the industry, re-enacted verbatim, but with gender roles swapped. “The goal of this series is to make itself irrelevant,” said series writer/creator Ally Iseman (American Housewife). “Progress only occurs when the needle is pushed from sympathy to empathy and humor is a powerful tool to create that shift in perspective.” For more from Iseman and Flip the Script, check the latest Cynsiders here.
Short-form digital series Making a Scene with James Franco returns via new streaming platform Blackpills on Monday, June 26. Season 3 of the series satirizing pop culture will follow Franco & Co. as they create episodes determined randomly by a dartboard.
GOING GLOBAL
MY Entertainment announced a new partnership with SBS Broadcasting in South Korea and Critical Density Media to co-develop a global social experiment format. The Power focuses on society’s relationship with money, class, social status and power. SBS aired a pilot in July 2016.
Disney Channels EMEA announced new series 101 Dalmation Street, Gigantosaurus and Space Chickens in Space at the Annevy Animation Festival in France.
Studio 100 Media inked a deal with HSCC – Slutsky Communications for TV and VOD rights for Studio 100’s Heidi and animation show Zeke’s Pad for Israel. Both series will be aired as an Israeli premiere on children’s channel Yes Kidz.
