Today’s Premieres
Hulu: Spellbound
Max: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake
Netflix: One Piece; Karate Sheep
Sundance Now: The Pact

IN THE NEWS

CNN has a new leader. Mark Thompson, former chief executive of The New York Times and former Director General of the BBC, has been appointed Chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, effective October 9. “There isn’t a more experienced, respected or capable executive in the news business today than Mark,” said David Zaslav, CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery. “Mark is a true innovator who has transformed for the digital age two of the world’s most respected news organizations.” Thompson replaces Chris Licht, who was let go in June.

“We face pressure from every direction – structural, political, cultural, you name it,” said Thompson in his first note to CNN staff. “Like many other media organizations, CNN has recently felt some of the uncertainty and heartache that comes with all of that. There’s no magic wand that I or anyone else can wield to make this disruption go away. But what I can say is that where others see threat, I see opportunity – especially given CNN’s great brand and the strength of its journalism.” As for his leadership style, Thompson wrote, “It won’t be my plan that wins the day but our plan, the plan we devise and implement together.”

There’s a new chief at NBCUniversal, too – Mark Marshall has been promoted to the role of Chairman, Global Advertising and Partnerships. Marshall has served as interim Chairman since May, when Linda Yaccarino decamped for Twitter/X days before the company’s Upfront presentation. “Mark stepped into this role on an interim basis at one of the most critical times of year for the ad sales business, and over the past three months he has more than proven himself to be the leader NBCU needs to guide this team into the future,” said Mark Lazarus, Chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group. “Mark’s relationships are second to none, and coupled with his transformative vision, I have no doubt that under his leadership we will continue to reinvent and innovate the sales business while super-serving our clients and partners.”

The Video Advertising Bureau has asked Nielsen to scrap its plan to incorporate Amazon-generated first-party data in its audience estimates for “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video, saying it gives Prime Video an unfair advantage over the networks that carry NFL games. “There are significant upsides to marketers in measurement, currency, precision audience-based buying, and data-driven full-funnel marketing/analysis that the proper infusion of first-party data from as many publishers as possible will create,“ said the VAB in a letter to Karthik Rao, CEO of Nielsen Audience Measurement. “Those wins will come by having all first-party ad video sell-side players playing by the same rules, all accomplished in extremely well-lit and evenly lit end-to-end processes; that is the only way to proceed that assures both the marketer wins and the best level of fair competition across publishers. We are calling on Nielsen to not go forward with its plans to unfairly force first-party data from Amazon’s TNF property into the NFL third-party data sets.”

But Nielsen isn’t playing ball. In response to the VAB’s request, Nielsen said complaints about its measurement were “inaccurate.” “We recognize this is a period of exceptional change in which all parties are at different stages of their own evolution,” wrote Rao to VAB president and CEO Sean Cunningham. “However, the search for perfection risks further delaying the measurement innovations that will ultimately help drive the industry into the future. We believe that our principled, transparent and open approach to integrating first-party data requires all publishers to play by the same rules and will accelerate the industry’s move toward a streaming-first world.”

All eight CBS-owned stations that currently are affiliates of The CW Network will transition to independent stations beginning Friday, September 1. The stations’ fall schedules will feature a total of seven local, one-hour newscasts, and seven of the new independents will air CBS News’ “48 Hours” in primetime, beginning Monday, September 11, when the series launches in weekday syndication. “We are excited to be in this unique position that allows us to reimagine our local brands and programming lineups at these eight stations,” said CBS Stations President Tom Canedo. “We are beginning by opportunistically establishing local news beachheads in primetime in several markets….These are the first brush strokes on a fresh canvas. We will continue to seek out opportunities to add even more local programming, including live sports and shows from across the Paramount Global brands in the months ahead.”

Meanwhile, The CW announced that it has expanded and extended its network affiliation agreement with Gray Television. Gray will continue carrying The CW’s entertainment and sports programming on stations in 55 markets across the country. In addition, Gray will launch The CW on PeachtreeTV in Atlanta. “Gray Television has been a great partner of The CW from the beginning,” said Dennis Miller, president of The CW Network. “We look forward to sharing more success together as we transform and grow.”

TelevisaUnivision unveiled a new organizational structure for its Local Ad Sales team, which will operate under three units: a Holding Company Unit, Multi-Market Unit, and a Local Sales Unit. “Our efforts to align with the competitive landscape that exists in our industry have resulted in this client-centered mentality where all three units are focused on streamlining agency and client relationships, allowing for more strategic and efficient engagement and support,” said Antonio Roman, EVP, Local Media Sales at TelevisaUnivision. “This important restructuring features an account vs. market approach and allows each client to have one point of contact within their respective unit for a true client-first mentality.”

Hulu has canceled “The Great” after three seasons. The critically acclaimed period comedy drama starred Elle Fanning as Catherine the Great.

Happier news for fans of “The Lincoln Lawyer,” which has been renewed for a third season at Netflix. “The audience response to the show has been so gratifying and wonderful, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to dive back into Michael Connelly’s universe and bring Mickey Haller and his world to the screen again,” said Ted Humphrey and Dailyn Rodriguez, co-showrunners and executive producers.

Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards

2023 Honorees Announced
The fifth annual Top Women in Media Awards salutes the contributions of the women leading the media industry. This year’s celebration will be held on October 11 at the Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers in NYC. Here are some of our honorees:
Denise Ocasio, GroupM
Marybeth Strobel, Warner Bros. Discovery
Louise Cousins, Onyx Collective
Want to join in on the celebration?
REGISTER TO ATTEND & VIEW ALL HONOREES

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Woodcut Media explores female heroism in three-part history docuseries “World War II: Women on the Frontline,” currently in production. The series has been pre-sold to Channel 4 in the UK, and SBS (Australia).

A docuseries about stunt performers from 87North and Universal Pictures Content Group is in post-production. The six-parter follows the everyday lives of performers and features behind-the-scenes access to Hollywood movie sets.

“Invisible Boys,” based on the book by Holden Sheppard, has been commissioned for production in Geraldton and Perth, Western Australia. Stan commissioned the series following a Stan and Screenwest joint development initiative, designed to foster local talent and spark the development of new series in WA. Banijay Rights will handle international distribution for the series.

Gary R. Benz, CEO of GRB Studios and Sophie Ferron, CEO of Media Ranch have entered into a joint venture partnership to create a distribution organization. The new entity, GRB Media Ranch, will combine the companies’ content catalogs for a portfolio that includes over 5,000 hours of factual, unscripted, and scripted programming as well as formats in all genres.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Discovery’s “Gold Rush” is back for a new season on Friday, September 29 at 8p, with 28-year-old mining prodigy Parker Schnabel at a crossroads. Does he play it safe and scale back his operation, or risk it all on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire historically gold-rich virgin ground?

NBC has tweaked its Wednesday lineup. Starting October 4, “Quantum Leap” will kick off the night at 8p, followed by “Magnum P.I.” at 9p and “Chicago” encores at 10p. Previously, the network had “Chicago” encores set for 8p, followed by “Quantum” and “Magnum.”

Season three of Circle Network’s “Landmarks: The Stages of Country Music” will feature country music stars including Jelly Roll, Ernest, Elle King, Priscilla Block, Maggie Rose, Ricky Skaggs, Jon Randall and more. The new season kicks off Sunday, September 6 at 11:30.

Also headed for a third season is Starz drama “BMF,” starting Friday, March 1. The series was inspired by brothers Demetrius “Big Meech” Flenory (Demetrius Flenory, Jr.) and Terry “Southwest T” Flenory (Da’Vinchi), who established one of the most infamous crime families in the country known as, Black Mafia Family.

“Our Flag Means Death” returns to Max for season two on Thursday, October 5. The comedy is very, very loosely based on the true story of 18th century would-be pirate Stede Bonnet, who finds love with the infamous Captain Blackbeard.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race UK” returns this fall on WOW Presents Plus in the US and select territories worldwide, day-and-date with its local airing on BBC3 in the UK. Among this year’s nine guest judges are Cush Jumbo (“The Good Wife”), supermodel Kristen Mcmenamy, and Yasmin Finney (“Heartstopper”).

The season premiere of AXS TV’s “Parking Lot Payday” airs Tuesday, October 3 at 8:30p, with shock rocker Alice Cooper sitting in the hot seat.

TECH

The US Copyright Office is undertaking a study of the copyright law and policy issues raised by generative AI and is assessing whether legislative or regulatory steps are warranted, part of its AI initiative. “We launched this initiative at the beginning of the year to focus on the increasingly complex issues raised by generative AI. This notice of inquiry and the public comments we will receive represent a critical next step,” said Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights and director of the US Copyright Office. “We look forward to continuing to examine these issues of vital importance to the evolution of technology and the future of human creativity.”

Creativity is a key driver for effectiveness when it comes to DOOH, according to research from System 1, Lumen Research and JCDecaux UK. “What comes out clearly from the study is that brand is boss – clients that make their branding bolder, increase the size of their logo, cut down on copy and make their call-to-action bigger will see real results,” said Chris Felton, Director of dData and Insight at JCDecaux UK. Key findings for guidelines for best practices include:
· Using a fluent device makes your creative 1/3 more effective.
· Logos at the top deliver +32% brand recall.
· Products that take up >50% deliver 38% more attention.

Snapchat is launching Dreams, a feature enabling users to use generative AI to create fantastical selfies (think mermaids and renaissance-era royals). The first eight Dreams images that a user creates are free; then it’s time to pay up.

STREAMING

Pluto TV is expanding its game show offerings with the new channel, More TV Game Shows. All of the current programming on Pluto TV’s existing channel, Pluto TV Game Shows, will be pushed to the new “more” channel, while new programming like “25 Words or Less” and ‘Pictionary’ will be available on Pluto TV Game Shows.

COMING UP

FOX News Media’s Stuart Varney and Dana Perino and Univision’s Ilia Calderón will co-moderate the second Republican presidential primary debate of the 2024 election. Broadcast on FOX Business Network and Univision, the debate will take place on Wednesday, September 27 at 9p at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.

NBCUniversal is going big with coverage of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, taking place August 28-September 8, 2024. More than 140 hours of Paris Paralympic television coverage across NBC, USA Network, and CNBC will be presented, including daily live coverage of every competition day on USA Network and CNBC; nine hours of programming on NBC; and 1500 hours of coverage on Peacock.

Netflix announced its fall streaming release schedule for films. First up are documentary “Scouts Honor: The Secret Files of the Boy Scouts of America” on September 6, and rom-com “Love at First Sight” and dark comedy “El Conde” on September 15.

SPORTS UPDATE

Super Bowl champ and ESPN regular Ryan Clark has signed on to host The CW’s weekly series “Inside the NFL,” kicking off Tuesday, September 5. “I dreamed of being a host, but not even in my wildest dreams did I think it would be the host of ‘Inside the NFL’,” said Clark. “I played against all the analysts who will be with me on Tuesday nights and always admired the way they approached the game of football. I’m excited to see that same passion poured into the new ‘Inside the NFL’ now that we are all on the same team.”

The third season of live NHL on TNT coverage will include a 62-game regular season schedule, starting with the TNT debut of rookie Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks as part of a marquee opening week doubleheader on Wednesday, October 11. Additional highlights include the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day, regular live game coverage on Wednesday nights and live Sunday afternoon games starting in February 2024.

Africa’s highest ranked football clubs will compete in the Inaugural African Football League (“AFL”), designed to showcase the best of African club football. The competition starts with knock-out quarter finals and will be followed by the semi-finals and the final, all of which will be played over two legs. The first match takes place on October 20 in Dar es Salam, Tanzania.

SailGP has expanded its collaboration with T-Mobile for Business for seasons four and five spanning 2023 through 2025. SailGP will leverage a 5G Hybrid Mobile Network from T-Mobile’s 5G Advanced Network Solutions (5G ANS) portfolio to further elevate fan experience with immersive views of live race action and provide SailGP athletes advanced on-water performance analysis.

The Association of Pickleball Players has partnered with Pickleball Australia to become the promoting partner of the country’s premier event, now titled The 2023 GemLife Australian Pickleball Championships powered by The APP, held September 29 through October 2 in Sydney. With more than 600 players expected to compete, it will be the largest-ever competitive pickleball event in the southern hemisphere.

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RATINGS

FOX News Channel finished August 2023 as cable television’s most-watched network across both primetime and total day viewership and second in the 25-54 demo with total day behind ESPN, according to Nielsen. In total day, FNC delivered 1.2 million viewers and 144,000 among A25-54 demo. In primetime, FNC netted 1.9 million viewers and 226,000 in the demo. Month over month, FNC posted a 22% increase in total viewers and 54% in the 25-54 demo.

Hallmark Channel was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable network in Weekend Primetime throughout its “Summer Night” month-long stunt among Households, Women and Persons 18+, and Total Viewers, reaching 20 million Unduplicated Viewers throughout the month of August.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Elaine Bauer Brooks is exiting her job as EVP, Development and Multiplatform Content at CBS Media Ventures. “I want to thank Elaine for all her hard work and contributions to CMV over the last nine years,” wrote President and CEO of CBS News and Stations Wendy McMahon in an email to staff. “She has been integral to the success of this division and will truly be missed.” Brooks will stay through November to aid in the transition.

Elly Steinberg has been named Head of Development, Natural History & Science at Plimsoll Productions. Previously, Steinberg held back-to-back roles as a Development Producer at Pioneer Productions and eOne Entertainment and Pioneer, where she led development of natural history content.

Innovid has hired Sarah Ripmaster as SVP, Strategic Accounts. Ripmaster joins Innovid from Smartly.io, where she served as Global Chief Sales Officer.

IN MEMORIAM

Production designer and art director Chip Dox died August 15. He was 80. Dox was best known for his Emmy-winning work on daytime soap operas “Days of Our Lives” and “General Hospital.”

This Day in History
1888 – The body of Jack the Ripper’s first victim was found, in London’s East End.

Fast Fact
Seventy-two percent of people polled by Gallup support the striking WGA members, and 67% side with striking actors.

Today’s Trivia Question
Where was the season five finale of “Friends” (1994-2004) shot? (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.)

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On which sitcom were John Astin and Jamie Lee Curtis series regulars? “Operation Petticoat” (1977-78); Kudos to: Mark Prince-denstu/NYC; Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago; Craig Kallin-Schellman/Orlando; FL; David Rubinsohn-American Public Television/Boston; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Greg West-WATC TV/Atlanta; John Kukla-KDFW Fox 4/Dallas

Cynopsis Team