08/14/23: SAG-AFTRA grants waiver for selected series and films

Monday August 14, 2023

Today’s Premieres
Hulu: Solar Opposites
TLC: 90 Day: The Last Resort at 9p

Today’s Finales
FOX: Crime Scene Kitchen at 9p

IN THE NEWS

The WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes have made an “immediate impact” on the share of ad spending, according to Guideline. June 2023 marked the third lowest month in nearly seven years for proportion of spend against new entertainment programming (20.9%) versus repeat entertainment programming (79%), the lowest dip in share since the pandemic. How might this impact Upfront buying? “We can expect to see a shift in favor of Upfront buying – but it may be less pronounced,” said Guideline’s Darrick Li, VP, North America Media Owners. “Advertisers will want to have (more) flexibility to tap into unsold inventory and/or place their investments closer to the air date in order to mitigate risk tied to a short runway of new content. As a result, we may see media owners respond amicably, as this would give them a better understanding of the reach and target audience composition of their programming – which would ultimately be reflected in ‘Scatter Premium’ pricing.”

Speaking of the Upfront, the linear TV Upfront market was down 5% versus last year, with broadcast and cable primetime commitments falling to $19.12 billion for the 2023-2024 TV season, according to Media Dynamics. Broadcast TV fell 3%, to $9.59 billion, while cable was down 7%, to $9.52 billion. Streaming platforms on TV network-owned companies saw a 31% increase, however, putting total ad commitments for primetime on the plus side, up 3% to $27.14 billion. “What we are witnessing is both forms of TV content access — linear and streaming — coming together in the thinking of major national TV advertisers and their time buyers,” said Ed Papizan, President of Media Dynamics. “TV is no longer thought of as being simply a combination of broadcast TV and cable….Streaming has come of age, with sufficient scale to be considered a third alternative, which is why the FAST and AVOD services scored sizable ad revenue gains despite their high CPMs. It’s all TV now.”

Back to the strikes…After meeting with the AMPTP on Friday, the writers’ guild informed members it had received a counterproposal from producers and will respond this week. The WGA’s message was scant on details. “Sometimes more progress can be made in negotiations when they are conducted without a blow-by-blow description of the moves on each side and a subsequent public dissection of the meaning of the moves,” said the WGA. “That will be our approach, at least for the time being, until there is something of significance to report, or unless management uses the media or industry surrogates to try to influence the narrative.”

SAG-AFTRA granted waivers to select series and films under an interim agreement. Under a new film and TV contract, members “may work on these productions without being in violation of the strike order.” Projects on the list include Angel Studios’ “The Chosen,” Apple TV+ series “Tehran,” and revival “Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.”

Producers Guild presidents joined the SAG-AFTRA picket line in Los Angeles and New York last week. PGA Presidents Stephanie Allain and Donald De Line, as well as SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director and Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, and WGA Board Member Marjorie David, took to the picket line at Amazon Studios in Culver City and Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank. The Producers Guild said in a previous statement that it “stands with SAG-AFTRA as its members make the difficult decision to strike against the studios, companies, and streamers that make up the [Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers].”

Jodie Sweetin was “very surprised” to learn her upcoming film, “Craft Me a Romance,” had been sold to Great American Family. Sweetin told People, “I am disappointed, but in keeping with my mission of supporting the LGBTQ+ family, any potential or future money made from this sale will be donated to LGBTQ+ organizations.” Sweetin’s former “Full House” co-star and current GAF chief creative officer Candace Cameron Bure drew backlash last year after telling The Wall Street Journal she believes the network “will keep traditional marriage at the core.”

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

The production company behind “Fleabag” is onto its next project at the BBC. “Dinosaurs,” starring co-creator Ashley Storrie, as well as David Carlyle, Lorn Macdonald and Danny Ashok, follows an autistic woman in her 30s living with her sister and best friend. The series has started filming in Scotland and will air on BBC Three and BBC Scotland.

COMING UP

Season four of Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” kicks off Tuesday, September 5 at 9p. Excommunicated ex-Mormon Monica Garcia joins the returning Housewives.

“James Martin’s Spanish Adventure” will air on ITV in the fall and be launched to buyers at Mipcom as planned despite recently surfaced allegations of bullying, reports Deadline. A formal complaint in 2018 accused Martin of “repeated incidents of inappropriate, intimidating and bullying behavior” on “James Martin’s Saturday Morning.” Last month, “Spanish Adventure” producer Blue Marlin said, “lessons have been learned which have been discussed with members of the team and with ITV.”

TECH TALK

Are Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg closer to duking it out? “Not holding my breath for Elon,” posted Zuckerberg on Threads, responding to X (formerly Twitter) owner Musk’s announcement that he and Italy’s Prime Minister and Minister of Culture had agreed on an “epic location” for a brawl. (Not at the Colosseum, and not in Rome, clarified Minister of Culture in Italy Gennaro Sangiuliano.) Musk also said the fight would not be overseen by the UFC, but rather by his and Zuckerberg’s organizations – a statement contested by Zuckerberg. “When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game,” he said on Threads. “You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card.”

Zoom has updated its terms of service to say it won’t use any customer content in training artificial intelligence models. Previously, Zoom’s TOS said it didn’t use customer content for training AI “without consent.” Now, “Zoom does not use any of your audio, video, chat, screen sharing, attachments or other communications-like Customer Content (such as poll results, whiteboard and reactions) to train Zoom or third-party artificial intelligence models,” said the company in a blog post.

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RATINGS

Discovery’s “Expedition Unknown” was the #1 unscripted cable series among M25-54 on Wednesday nights at 9p, averaging a 0.7 Live+3 rating across the demo. Airing through July 12, the eight-episode season was the highest-rated in three years, increasing 14% over the prior season and securing the second consecutive year of viewership growth.

Spain’s Women’s World Cup match between Spain and Netherlands delivered 1.777 million viewers Thursday on Fox, making it the second-most-watched non-US quarterfinal match ever on US English-language television.

Since the premiere of “Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge” on July 16, the series has attracted nearly 12 million viewers across HGTV, discovery + and Max. On air, it averaged a .54 Live+3 rating among A25-54 and a .81 among W25-54, increases of 72% and 99%, respectively, over the prior six weeks. The Sunday, August 6 finale delivered the season’s best performance with a .56 A25-54 and .81 W25-54 Live+3 rating, up 33% and 40% over the prior six weeks.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Fox Corp. Chief Legal and Policy Officer Viet Dinh is stepping down on December 31, and becoming a “special advisor” to the company. Dinh, who oversaw the legal strategy for Dominion Voting Systems’ defamation suit, will be paid $23 million as part of his separation agreement, along with $2.5 million per year for his advisory services through 2025, according to an SEC filing.

This Day in History
1995 – “Battle of Brit Pop” rival bands Oasis and Blur released singles on the same day

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What is Claire’s middle name on “Modern Family” (2009-2020)? Melinda. Kudos to: Heather Allen-WWE Corporation/Stamford, CT, Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA, Claire Hambrick-A+E Networks/NY, Rev. Mark Wajda/Clermont, FL, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./New York, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
What snack did JWoww leave the club early to go eat on “Jersey Shore” (2009-2012)? (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.)

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Represent FETV & FMC to media community via ongoing communications & relationship building. Maintain & develop strong working relationships w/both agencies & internal departments in support of sales efforts. Work w/sales management, pricing & planning to achieve quarterly revenue goals. 5+ yrs media sales exp. preferably in cable TV- agency exp. +. Full info HERE

SENIOR DESIGNER, MOTION GRAPHICS & DIGITAL >>
REELZ/ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Strong graphic design foundation including – typography, color, composition & concepts & stays up to date with motion design trends & visual effects. Expert level experience w/After Effects, Photoshop & Illustrator is req. Knowledge of InDesign & 3D design software is a +. Exp. in greenscreen keying, tracking & rotoscoping techniques are also a +. Full info HERE

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SENIOR MANAGER, AD SALES MARKETING
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Manage the pre-sale client facing pitch process and post-sale activation of cross-platform television, streaming, digital & social media integrated marketing programs. Write & create compelling sales presentations, one-sheets & cross-platform sponsorship opportunities. 5+ yrs exp. with ad sales marketing, integrated marketing, brand advertising. Full info HERE

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MONDAY AUGUST 14
ABC: The Bachelorette, Claim to Fame
CBS: The Neighborhood, Bob Hearts Abishola, NCIS, NCIS: Hawai’i
CW: Son of a Critch, Run the Burbs, Children Ruin Everything, Bump
FOX: Stars on Mars, Crime Scene Kitchen [f]
NBC: American Ninja Warrior, Weakest Link
PBS: Antiques Roadshow, Antiques Roadshow, Weekend in Havana
Telemundo: Los 50, Secretos de Sangre
Univision: Eternamente Amándonos, Tierra de Esperanza, Mujer

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