2022 Esports Business Summit

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Today’s Premieres
Netflix: Chad & JT Go Deep

Today’s Finale
Freeform: Motherland: Fort Salem at 10p

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM GAMUT

Cynopsis Special Report:
GAMUT TAKES LOCAL ADVERTISING TO THE NEXT LEVEL
With Uber-Local Messaging More Important than Ever, Gamut Gets Personal

They say what’s old is new again. For the advertising industry, whose roots are in targeting audiences by postal code via direct mail, that adage rings true today. Streaming may be replacing stamps, but the core tenet remains the same: If you want to engage consumers and drive ROI, you need to reach specific audiences with specific messaging.

Read the Special Report

IN THE NEWS

The premiere of Peacock’s “The Resort” will get a promotional push with an NBC airing on Wednesday, August 24 at 9p after the network’s most-watched show, “America’s Got Talent.” “Peacock audiences are hooked on the week-to-week mystery of ‘The Resort,’ and bringing the premiere episode to NBC is the perfect way to introduce it to new fans,” said Lisa Katz, President of Scripted Content at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. The comedic thriller started streaming last month.

“Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power” will have a one-night-only theatrical premiere ahead of its September 2 debut on Prime Video. The first two episodes of the “Lord of the Rings” prequel series will hit the big screen on August 31, thanks to a deal between Amazon and Cinemark.

“The Company You Keep,” starring and executive produced by Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”), has been picked up to series at ABC. The drama, produced by 20th Television, follows a con man and undercover CIA officer.

Walmart topped the chart of retail brands who spent on new-airing programming in the first half of the year, according to iSpot, jumping ahead of Target and Macy’s with 10.1% of TV ad impressions. Retail brands spent $685 million, up nearly 8% year-over-year.

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Showtime has signed executive producers and writers Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson to an overall deal. They will continue to serve as showrunners of “Yellowjackets,” alongside fellow showrunner Jonathan Lisco, while also developing new projects exclusively for the network.

Apple TV+ is not proceeding with limited series “My Glory Was I Had Such Friends,” which had been handed a straight-to-series order back in 2018. Jennifer Garner’s departure from the project, from Bad Robot and Warner Bros. Television, for scheduling reasons, prompted the decision, reports Deadline.

Casting notes: Peri Gilpin (“Frasier”) and “SNL” alum Rachel Dratch will guest star on season two of AMC’s “Kevin Can F**k Himself.”…Merrit Wever (“Godless”) is joining the cast of Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things” as a recurring guest star….Debi Mazar (“Entourage”) is onboard Netflix’s “Kaos” as Medusa….Julianna Margulies will return to Apple TV+ drama “The Morning Show” in a major recurring role as news anchor Laura Peterson….Chelsea Frei (“Dollface”) will also play a major recurring role, in season two of Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

The Weather Channel has a new series on the way that combines extreme weather events and home renovation. “Fast: Home Rescue” follows families whose lives have been devastated by weather and natural disasters. In partnership with disaster relief organization Reach Out Worldwide, founded by late “Fast & Furious” star Paul Walker, homes are rebuilt in affected communities.

Season seven of Showtime’s “The Circus” premieres Sunday, September 25 at 8p. The season will capture the eight-week sprint to Election Day.

Freeform’s “The Come Up,” following a group of friends in NYC, debuts September 13 at 9p.

Can kids’ TV solve CTV’s transparency problem? Media analyst Alan Wolk offers his take in Cynsiders.

True crime limited series “Welcome to Chippendales” premieres Tuesday, November 22 on Hulu. New episodes will drop weekly.

COMING UP

James Denton (“Desperate Housewives,” “A Kiss Before Christmas”) and Sherri Saum (“The Fosters”) will star in Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ “Perfect Harmony,” premiering this fall. Sheppard Denton reunites with his father on-screen for the first time since his debut role in Hallmark Channel’s “For Love and Honor” in 2016. Denton performs the original song “Ooh Wee Ooh,” and Saum duets with him on “Perfect Harmony,” also written for the movie.

New titles premiering on Disney+ Day, September 8, include Marvel Studios’ “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Assembled: The Making of Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi’s Return,” “Remembering,” “Dancing with the Stars: The Pros’ Most Memorable Dances,” “Tierra Incógnita,” the “Frozen” and “Frozen 2” Sing-Alongs, and “Welcome to the Club,” a new short from The Simpsons. Additionally, Disney+ Day special screenings will return to select AMC Theatres from September 8-19.

Documentary “In Her Hands,” from executive producers Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, launches on Netflix and select theaters on November 16. The film is a Propagate production in association with Moondogs & HiddenLight Productions.

Also on deck at Netflix is “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” following Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) as he takes on a new case. The film, also starring Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick and Madelyn Cline, with Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista, will be released December 23.

AXS TV turns back the clock this Labor Day Weekend, with a Sounds Like The 90s three-day event beginning September 3 at 12p, as host Katie Daryl and a celebrity panel countdown the best 90s One-Hit Wonders on “The Top Ten Revealed.”

STREAMING

Canela Media has bolstered the content lineup for Canela Kids through partnerships with Moonbug Entertainment and Blue And Media. Added to the platform are Moonbug Kids, Love Nature and Mundo Pequeño.

Cinedigm FAST channel on Midnight Pulp has launched on Amazon Freevee. The channel is a mix across the horror, thriller and action genres. “Since its launch, Midnight Pulp has been a major success in building audiences via its linear channel and VOD apps, as well as on social media, and we are thrilled to be expanding its reach,” said Channel Manager, Cinedigm Networks Matthew Kiernan.

SPORTS

Prime Video and ONE Championship announced updates to their first event, “ONE on Prime Video 1: Moraes vs. Johnson II,” slated for August 26. The lead card start time is 8p, with a total of 10 bouts across the evening’s lead and main cards.

TUDN is growing its talent roster, announcing the addition of Tania Rincón, Felipe Sebastian, Maria Fernanda Mora, Manuel Barrera and Sirey Moran. “TUDN is proud to bring sports fans the most relevant Spanish-language sports content through the voices of the most trusted experts in the industry who cover soccer and other sports that our viewers want to watch, like nobody else can. We are excited to welcome a diverse group of new faces who will continue to strengthen the team and keep adding value to our passionate audience both in U.S. and Mexico,” said Olek Loewenstein, President Sports Content at TelevisaUnivision.

Catching up on the sponsorship front, the Pac-12 and Twisted Tea cemented a multi-year partnership that designates Twisted Tea as the Official Hard Iced Tea of Pac-12 football, as well as an official partner of the Pac-12 Football Championship Game, presented by 76. As part of the new partnership, Twisted Tea will also serve as presenting sponsor of a new Pac-12 Networks feature, “Gameday Traditions.”

The PGA TOUR announced that Southern Company renewed its relationship as Proud Partner of the TOUR Championship in an agreement that extends through the 2027 tournament. Southern Company remains alongside The Coca-Cola Company and new addition Accenture as the three Proud Partners of the PGA TOUR’s season finale, which returns to Atlanta on Aug. 24-28, to crown the season’s FedExCup champion.

Race car driver Lindsay Brewer joined the C4 Energy family as their latest brand ambassador. This move just as Brewer is about to participate in her last two races of the season in St. Louis and Portland.

The NBA 2K League announced that the second annual NBA 2K League All-Star presented by Google Pixel will be held in Los Angeles at The Novo on Sept. 30 at 8p and will be broadcast on Stadium and the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and YouTube channels. For the first time, the 2022 NBA 2K League All-Star event will include both 5v5 and 3v3 gameplay formats.

The second season of former World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka’s Think About It video and audio podcast debuted on multiple domestic and international Tennis Channel platforms. All episodes will be available at the start of the new season, with the network focusing on and promoting one of each successively during eight-consecutive weeks this summer and fall.

TECH TALK

While consumers agree that data privacy is a priority, only 50% feel confident in the security of their online data when browsing the web, according to a new study from Integral Ad Science, “2022 Future of Privacy-First Advertising Report.” Nearly 62% of media experts agreed that having an understanding of data privacy is a priority this year, with the 89% saying privacy relating to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is top of mind for brands. “With upcoming online data and privacy policy changes coming down the pipe, privacy continues to be a priority for both consumers and media experts,” said Yannis Dosios, Global Chief Commercial Officer, IAS.

The National Broadcasters Association’s PILOT tech innovation is teaming with the Google News Initiative to help local broadcasters master what they need to know to develop new, first party data-based solutions amid the end of third-party cookies and consumers’ changing privacy expectations. Ten of NAB’s television and radio members will participate in phase one of the six-month educational program with Google.

Google is also partnering with The Black List, for the joint creation of the Black List x YouTube Originals Black Voice Creator Fellowship. The Fellowship will provide financial and creative support to four television writers. “As part of Google’s commitment to help build a world where everyone can belong, our team looks forward to providing these talented artists with equitable access to resources that can serve as a key to unlocking a world of opportunity,” said DeMira Pierre, Creative Executive, Impact & Racial Justice, YouTube Originals.

Parrot Analytics has partnered with Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Data Analytics & Business Intelligence division to support Sony’s TV programming and strategy for their linear business as well as content production, distribution, and sales to other distributors. “We will be identifying sales opportunities by analyzing supply and demand among key SVOD players, analyzing content trends to develop new productions aligned with the market needs, and analyzing the demand performance of Sony’s productions on individual SVOD players,” said Alejandro Rojas, Vice President of Applied Analytics at Parrot Analytics.

GOING GLOBAL

“Love Island UK” host Laura Whitmore will not return next season. “Laura has been a fantastic host across the last three series of the show,” said ITV. “We are so grateful for everything she has brought to the programme but understand and respect her decision, and we look forward to working with her on upcoming ITV projects.”

Endemol Shine Germany, part of Banijay Germany, will produce “Limitless Win” (Ohne Limit) for RTL Germany. Created by Hello Dolly and co-developed and co-produced by Mitre Studios and Hello Dolly in the UK, this marks the first international adaptation of the format which has already been commissioned for a second run on ITV.

“Blow Up” is headed to Australia’s Channel 7 and 7plus in 2023. The balloon competition comes from Endemol Shine Australia.

2022 THAT BIG TV CONFERENCE

Early Bird Rate Deadline: August 24

Keep some money in your pocket by registering today for this year’s That Big TV Conference! This event continues to add top name speakers to ensure you make the most out of your 2-day conference.

Claim your early bird rate today

RATINGS

The series finale of “Better Call Saul” was the most-watched episode of the season with an audience of 2.7 million on AMC in Nielsen Live+3 ratings, including 1.1 million adults 25-54 and more watching on AMC+, where the final season remains the #1 acquisition driver in the history of the streaming service. In Live+SD viewing, the series finale was the most-watched episode on AMC since the season three finale on June 19, 2017, with 1.8 million viewers.

HBO’s “House of the Dragon” delivered 2.6 million US households tuning into the premiere episode in its initial six hours of viewership on both linear and streaming, according to Samba TV. The episode generated the highest viewership for any premium cable or streaming premiere in 2022.

Shareablee Powered by Comscore Top 10 Streaming Shows for the week of August 15
Better Call Saul (Netflix), 2m, 68, 30,218, 3.7m
Euphoria (HBO Max), 2m, 22, 91,130, 9.3m
Never Have I Ever (Netflix), 1.7m, 47, 36,394, 1.03m
Game of Thrones (HBO Max), 1.5m, 21, 72,235, 38.9m
Sex Education (Netflix), 1.2m, 4, 311,238, 5m
The Sandman (Netflix), 1m, 41, 24,827, 277k
Stranger Things (Netflix), 937k, 5, 187,456, 35.9m
Cobra Kai (Netflix), 734.3k, 11, 66,752, 3.8m
The Boys (Prime Video), 537k, 8, 67,123, 2.9m
Get Organized With The Home Edit (Netflix), 521k, 35, 14,889, 6.9m
She Hulk (Disney+), 470k, 74, 6,335, 130.7k

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Friday, August 19
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Shark Tank 2.21 (0.3), 20/20 2.56 (0.3)
CBS: Secret Celebrity Renovation 2.09 (0.2), Blue Bloods 2.07 (0.2), Blue Bloods 2.40 (0.2)
CW: Killer Camp 0.18 (0.0), World’s Funniest Animals 0.26 (0.0), World’s Funniest Animals 0.32 (0.0)
FOX: WWE Friday Night Smackdown 2.08 (0.5)
NBC: American Ninja Warrior 1.44 (0.2), Dateline 1.70 (0.2)
Telemundo: Top Chef VIP 0.83 (0.2), Amor Valiente 0.83 (0.2), Infiel: Historia de un Engaño 1.02 (0.3)
Univision: La Mexicana y el Güero 0.87 (0.3), La Herencia: un Llegado de Amor 1.16 (0.3), Mujer de Nadie 1.02 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Producer Nevision has promoted Anne Morrison to CEO and Creative Director. She will also continue in her role as Creative Director, Factual Programmes.

Maria Vilchez Lowrey has joined Direct Digital Holdings as Chief Growth Officer. Lowrey comes to Direct Digital Holdings from Just Energy, where she served as Senior Vice President of Direct Sales and Partnerships for Just Energy, Amigo Energy, Tara Energy, and Terrapass, its affiliate brands.

Jake Novak has joined NewsNation as Deputy Managing Editor, Ali Bradley has joined as a Southwest correspondent, and Hayley Turner has been named senior producer of “On Balance with Leland Vittert.”

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment has formed a new senior leadership team drawn from both Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and Redbox. Changes include Senior Vice President Corporate Communications, Peter Binazeski heading the company’s corporate communications and public relations; Chief Innovation Officer, Jason Kwong shifting duties to newly expanded role incubating and developing future areas of growth for the combined business; and Chief Legal Officer, Fred Stein expanding his Redbox role to oversee all legal, business affairs and risk management.

Vision Films has hired Scott Kamins as Executive Director of International Sales and Strategic Partnerships. Kamins comes to Vision Films from Cinedigm Entertainment Group.

This Day in History
2005 – Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which pay TV series also aired for one season on Fox during its ‘90s run? “Dream On” (1990-96). Kudos to: John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL; Austin Cassidy-Wilmington,DE; Andrew Goldman-Grooveee/NYC; Eric Dunefsky-Crossmedia/NYC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Who played Abby’s mother on “ER” (1994-2009)? (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