Today’s Finale
CBS: Tough as Nails at 9p

IN THE NEWS

AT&T is considering the sale of digital advertising unit Xandr, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Exploration of a sale is at an early stage, said the Journal, and “may not ultimately result in a sale, which is unlikely to fetch more than the amount AT&T paid for AppNexus in 2018.” AppNexus was acquired for about $1.6 billion in 2018, after which AT&T’s ad tech business was rebranded to Xandr. AT&T is reportedly mulling the sale of some other noncore assets to reduce debt.

While AT&T hasn’t commented on plans for Xandr, it has gone public with its intention to press the FCC for changes to a federal law that protects media giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter from liability for users’ posts. “AT&T will join the growing consensus of voices concluding that online platforms should be more accountable for, and more transparent about, the decisions they control that fundamentally shape how we communicate, learn, shop, and are informed and entertained,” said Joan Marsh, EVP of Regulatory & State External Affairs, in a blog post. AT&T plans to file comments pushing the FCC to attempt to limit web companies’ legal protections under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which currently immunizes websites from civil suits based on material posted by users.

Juried Awards for the Emmys, which are screened by a panel of professionals in peer groups, were announced Tuesday and will be presented at the 2020 Creative Arts Awards ceremony on Thursday, September 17, streaming on Emmys.com for four consecutive nights beginning Monday, September 14 at 8p with a fifth broadcast ceremony on Saturday, September 19, at 8p on FXX. For a list of winners, go here.

Banijay is pulling out of Mipcom’s October 12-15 physical event in Cannes. Like other production companies, including ITV Studios and Fremantle, Banijay cited health concerns due to the pandemic. “As ever, we continue to support Reed Midem, with many of our employees likely to register for Mipcom Online+,” said a Banijay spokesperson.

In less than a month we’ll be hosting our 3-day virtual conference: That Big TV [Virtual Experience]. There are a variety of benefits to attending, but one in particular is quite exciting and available now! Once again, built for attendees only, our Resource Center is dedicated to providing information, videos, white papers, and more about all of our phenomenal partners + sponsors. We think you’ll find it very useful. There are only a limited number of free spots still available, then tickets go on sale for $299 for attendees. Register today and gain access!

Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss are adapting Chinese sci-fi book trilogy The Three-Body Problem as the first project under their overall deal with Netflix. Alexander Woo (The Terror: Infamy) will write and executive produce alongside Benioff and Weiss. Rian Johnson (Knives Out) will EP with producing partner Ram Bergman, and Plan B will exec produce alongside Primitive Streak’s Rosamund Pike and Robie Uniacke.

NCIS stars LL Cool J and Chris O’Donnell are executive producing Come Dance With Me, a reality dancing competition with a series order from CBS. “We reminisced about our kids’ dance lessons and how it would look if they had to teach us how to dance,” said LL Cool J and O’Donnell in a statement. “The show is about being creative, having a good time and bringing families together.”

Father/daughter comedy Stop Embarrassing Me got a green light from Netflix. Jamie Foxx stars in and executive produces the series, inspired by his relationship with his daughter, Corinne Foxx, who produces alongside Alex Avant. Kyla-Drew (The Good Doctor) and David Alan Grier (Sprinter) star.

Limited series Five Days at Memorial, from John Ridley and Carlton Cuse, landed an order from Apple TV+. Based on the book by Sheri Fink, the series from ABC Signature centers on the first five days in a New Orleans hospital after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Emma Roberts (Scream Queens) inked a first-look deal at Hulu via her Belletrist TV, with a focus on adapting books for television. First up is Tell Me Lies, a project based on Carola Lovering’s novel about a woman’s obsession with a mysterious past.

Amazon is developing a series with Orlando Bloom (Carnival Row) about human rights lawyer Jared Genser. The project will be produced by Amazon Studios, Bloom’s Amazing Owl Productions and TrueNorth Media.

Dierks Bentley will star in and EP mockumentary series Hot Country Knights, about the parody country music group he fronts, for Quibi. Critical Content is producing.

Daniel Kyri has been elevated from recurring to series regular for season nine of NBC’s Chicago Fire. Kyri’s character debuted in the second episode of season seven.

ID has expanded its relationship with James Patterson with a deal that has the best-selling author draw on true crime stories from ID’s library of content as inspiration for three upcoming book releases. Prior to each book’s release, ID will air a stack of programming that includes the stories that inspired each book’s content. The first release, on Tuesday, September 15, Murder Thy Neighbor, will be preceded by a programming stack on ID that will air from 8p-12a on Saturday, September 12.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

PBS gets back to Nature when the wildlife series kicks off season 39 on Wednesday, October 21 with Pandas: Born to be Wild, following Chinese cinematographers as they travel through the Qinling Mountains in search of wild pandas.

New Travel Channel series Doomsday Caught on Camera features footage of shocking weather and nature events – volcanoes, earthquakes, tsumanis – along with firsthand accounts from people who survived them, starting Monday, September 14 at 10p. Compilation show Paranormal Caught on Camera: Top 100 makes its debut Sunday, September 27 at 9p, offering expert evidence and eyewitness accounts of UFOs, aliens, poltergeists and more.

Tiffany “New York” Pollard invites famous friends to spill the tea on VH1’s Brunch with Tiffany, premiering Monday, September 7 at 10:30p with back-to-back episodes – and unfiltered conversation.

TV One’s Uncensored returns for season three on Sunday, September 6 at 10p with the story of actor Larenz Tate (Love Jones), who opens up about the realities of being a Black man in America.

Meet the 2020 Cynopsis Top Women in Media Honorees! These trailblazers (view here) are powering through a pandemic with breakout campaigns, creative strategies and motivational content. Join us from 2PM – 3PM daily (Oct 13 – 16) as we applaud these honorees during the virtual awards event. Registration is free – click here to get started.

COMING UP

The Way I See It, a documentary about Pete Souza, official White House photographer for Presidents Reagan and Obama, will make its television debut on MSNBC on Friday, October 9 at 10p. The doc first premieres at the Telluride Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival.

AXS TV will be the exclusive broadcast partner for Farm Aid, airing the benefit music festival for the seventh consecutive year. The three-hour-plus telecast of Farm Aid 2020 On the Road airs Saturday, September 26 at 8p.

Freeform’s “31 Nights of Halloween” stunt kicks off with drive-thru experience “Freeform’s Halloween Road,” an immersive event taking place at the Heritage Square Museum in LA. The experience includes themed surprises, interactive experiences, live entertainment and photo moments.

Fox Business Network gets down to dollars and sense during a virtual town hall, America Invests Together, today, September 2 at 2p. In the special, Charles Payne will answer questions about how to invest during a pandemic, and share best practices on financial management.

ID’s The Butcher Baker: Mind of a Monster airs tonight at 9p. The two-hour special, part of the net’s Serial Killer Week, pieces together the truth about a seemingly mild-mannered family man who turned from hunting big game animals to preying on women from Anchorage’s red-light district.

Lucille Ball: We Love Lucy includes stories from Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, Debra Messing and Suzanne Somers about the impact of the trailblazing comedy icon. The Reelz special premieres Saturday, September 12 at 8p.

ABC’s 9/11 Remembered: The Day We Came Together, a dedication special filmed at the 2014 opening of the 9/11 Memorial Museum at the site of the World Trade Center in NYC, will air Friday, September 11 at 8p.

French Riviera Film Festival and short-form streaming platform It’s A Short are teaming to take the festival online on September 18 and 19, celebrating short film and short-form content. “As COVID-19 has truly changed the film festival circuit, we hope to forge a long term partnership with It’s A Short,” said Gotham Chandna, co-founder FRFF. “While we’re optimistic that our festival will be held live again in May 2021 during the time period of Festival de Cannes, we’re now planning to also hold the online festival moving forward.”

MotorTrend, in partnership with Discovery-owned Eurosport, is bringing race fans every twist and turn of this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. Beginning Thursday, September 17, coverage of practice and qualifying sessions will be livestreamed, followed by live coverage of the 88th annual 24 Hours of Le Mans beginning Saturday, September 19 at 8:15a exclusively on the MotorTrend App.

STREAMING SCOOP

Syncbak, the platform for live local OTT, announced launch of VUit, a free, ad-supported national streaming service. Aiming to be “The Netflix of Live, Local and Free,” VUit expects to stream more than 3 million hours of live programming annually featuring local, regional and special interest programming produced by leading television stations, along with thousands of “VUit Originals.” VUit’s initial launch partners include more than 200 television stations owned by Gray Television, Meredith Corporation, Cowles Media Company, Heritage Broadcasting Group, and Morgan Murphy Media.

Future Today announced that Kidtagious Entertainment and Millimages have chosen HappyKids, the company’s flagship channel, as their preferred platform. “Kidtagious and Millimages are recognized leaders in family programming,” said David DiLorenzio, SVP Kids & Family at Future Today. “Together, they bring an extensive and unduplicated library of content that is both innovative and entertaining and will keep our audience captivated and engaged. They are the perfect complement to our existing library.”

TECH TALK

Verizon Media is continuing its expansion into DOOH by partnering with Broadsign to directly integrate Verizon Media’s programmatic demand-side-platform with the Broadsign Reach programmatic DOOH supply-side-platform. Using the combined solutions, Verizon Media advertisers can access Broadsign’s global programmatic DOOH inventory as part of their omnichannel buys. “Programmatic DOOH is following a similar trajectory to display advertising, but at the speed of light. The past year has seen programmatically-available screen inventory reach critical mass with the next steps in the evolution of the industry being enhanced forecasting, decisioning and dynamic optimization. The integration between Broadsign Reach and Verizon Media will help deliver on that vision,” shared Adam Green, SVP and GM, Broadsign Reach.

In support of its new series, Lovecraft Country, HBO is launching a social VR event series, Lovecraft Country: Sanctum, transporting invited guests into a world inspired by the show. One hundred influential voices will experience three events consisting of immersive theater, escape rooms, art installations, puzzles and a live concert, via the Oculus Quest headset. The events will be simultaneously run on the social VR platform VRChat, which allows guests to talk and interact with each other in real time within the environment, and streamed via YouTube Live. “So much of Lovecraft Country is rooted in the idea of travel as a catalyst for self-discovery,” said Dana Flax, VP, Program Marketing at HBO. “Sanctum provides a way for fans to come together virtually and safely in a unique new place and experience incredible performances that further explore themes and ideas from the show.”

Investigation Discovery has partnered with global production and video game publisher Klabater on their upcoming game This is the Zodiac Speaking. Launching globally September 24 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC, This is the Zodiac Speaking – a single-player noir/psychological thriller based on the story of real serial killer – is currently accepting pre-orders and community building via a Kickstarter campaign.

The Africa Channel has partnered with Amagi, focused on cloud-based technology for broadcast and streaming TV, to streamline its broadcast workflow across cable, satellite and digital OTT services. “As we cater to both cable and streaming TV audiences, having two different broadcast operations impacted our ability to scale, and swiftly respond to rapidly changing viewer and platform preferences,” said Narendra Reddy, VP and General Manager, The Africa Channel. “Partnering with Amagi allows us to leverage their deep technical integration with leading video service platforms enabling The Africa Channel to reach the underserved African diaspora audience worldwide with premium African content.”

GOING GLOBAL

Facebook announced it will prevent publishers and people in Australia from sharing news on the platform, following word that the country plans to require the social media giant to pay local digital media companies for their content. “Assuming this draft code becomes law, we will reluctantly stop allowing publishers and people in Australia from sharing local and international news on Facebook and Instagram,” wrote Facebook Australia & New Zealand Managing Director Will Easton in a blog post. “This is not our first choice – it is our last. But it is the only way to protect against an outcome that defies logic and will hurt, not help, the long-term vibrancy of Australia’s news and media sector.”

French animation production and distribution company Dandelooo has secured pre-sales with broadcasters in Europe for pre-school series Pompon Little Bear. The latest broadcasters onboard include France Televisions, SVT (Sweden), YLE (Finland), SRF (German-speaking Switzerland), RTS (French-speaking Switzerland) and TV5 Monde.

Filming has begun on a new crime series for Sony Pictures Television Networks Central Europe and free to air channel Polsat, who will serve as the project partner. Endemol Shine Poland’s The Crack is an adaptation of the best-selling novel of the same name and its sequel, The Pact, by Igor Brejdygant.

FINALISTS ANNOUNCED!

In the face of surprising acquisitions, privacy concerns, and drops in ad spend, we at Cynopsis are blown away by the incredible work we see the ad tech community producing – and we want everyone to hear about it. See who made the cut and stay tuned for ceremony details coming on early December.

[ VIEW FINALISTS ]

MTV’s Video Music Awards, simulcast on 13 ViacomCBS brands, delivered 6.4 million viewers for the pre-show, main show, post-show and encores. That’s a 5% dip from last year.

As the 2019-20 season comes to a close Judge Judy emerged as syndication’s number one show in household ratings with a 6.2 Live+SD season to date national Nielsen, as of the session ending August 23. Coming closest to Judy were shows that mainly air in prime access time periods: Family Feud (6.1 season to date), Jeopardy (6.0) and Wheel of Fortune (5.8). (Access typically has far higher viewing levels than daytime.)

FOX News Channel closed out the summer as the top-rated network in all of primetime, and marked the month with its highest-rated primetime delivery across total viewers and A25-54 of any August on record. Delivering increases of 32% in total day and 49% in primetime year-over-year, FNC also led all of cable in upscale viewers (income of 100K+) in both weekday total day and primetime among total viewers, the A25-54 demo and among A18-49.

FOX Business Network ended August 2020 with double-digit year-over-year growth across Business Day, Market Hours and Total Day viewership. As viewers anticipated market reaction to the ongoing economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, FBN’s Business Day programming drew 222,000 total viewers, and saw double-digit audience increases of 28% year-over-year. During Market Hours, FBN was up with 225,000 total viewers (+26%), while the network’s Total Day average of 164,000 total viewers saw an increase of 33% compared to August 2019.

Univision captured the No. 2 broadcast network ranking on Saturday night, with the back-to-back soccer matchups of Cruz Atletico vs. America and Cruz Azul vs. Necaxa. Liga MX delivered an average audience of 626,000 Total Viewers 2+, 313,000 A18-49 and 163,000 A18-34.

Basic Cable Top 5 for the Week of August 30
Primetime (P2+)
Fox News (5,303,000)
MSNBC (1,559,000)
CNN (1,488,000)
TNT (1,433,000)
HGTV (1,369,000)
Total Day (P2+)
Fox News (2,264,000)
MSNBC (1,138,000)
CNN (998,000)
HGTV (705,000)
TNT (600,000)
Source: Nielsen

TV Time’s Shows on the Rise for the Week of August 24
Cobra Kai (YouTube) – 99%
Trinkets (Netflix) – 97.1%
Aggretsuko (Netflix) – 96.8%
Big Little Lies (HBO) – 76.7%
The Resident (FOX) – 58.5%
Hoops (Netflix) – 54.8%
Biohackers (Netflix) – 38%
Lovecraft Country (HBO) – 27%
How to Get Away with Murder (ABC) – 20.8%
The Crown (Netflix) – 20%
Methodology: Every week, millions of viewers around the world use TV Time to track their favorite series. “Shows on the Rise” is calculated by determining the week-over-week growth in episodes watched for a given program.

TV Time’s Binge Report for the Week of August 24
Lucifer (Netflix) – 9.38%
Trinkets (Netflix) – 3.64%
The Umbrella Academy (Netflix) – 2.44%
Modern Family (ABC) – 2.06%
The Office (NBC) – 1.41%
Friends (NBC) – 1.38%
One Piece (Fuji TV) – 1.23%
Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) – 1.22%
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC) – 1.02%
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) – .97%
The weekly Binge Report ranks shows with the most binge sessions. A binge session is when four or more episodes of a show are watched and tracked in the TV Time app within a given day.

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the Week Ending August 23, in order by Nielsen HH Rtg
Judge Judy (CTD) 5.5 AA
Family Feud (CTD) 5.4 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 4.4 AA
Jeopardy (CTD) 3.9 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 2.5 AA
Inside Edition (CTD) 2.3 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.1 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 2.0 AA
Hot Bench (CTD) 2.0 AA
Dr. Phil (CTD) 1.9
Source: Nielsen

TV Time’s Shows on the Rise for the week of August 17
Lovecraft Country (HBO) – 99.9%
Lucifer (Netflix) – 84%
Teenage Bounty Hunters (Netflix) – 62.5%
Dirty John (Bravo) – 42.5%
Glow Up: Britain’s Next Make-Up Star (BBC Three) – 39.4%
It’s Okay to Not Be Okay (TVN) – 32.6%
The Legend of Korra (Nickelodeon) – 29.9%
One Tree Hill (The CW) – 24.4%
3% (Netflix) – 23.3%
The Crown (Netflix) – 15.7%
*Methodology: Shows on the Rise is calculated by determining the week-over-week growth in episodes watched for a given program.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, August 31
Show, P2+ 0000s, (A18-49)
ABC: The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons Ever 1.51 (0.2)
CBS: The Neighborhood 3.49 (0.4), Young Sheldon 3.09 (0.4), Love Island 1.58 (0.3), Bull 2.20 (0.3)
CW: Whose Line Is it Anyway? 0.89 (0.a), Whose Line Is it Anyway? 0.84 (0.1), Penn & Teller 0.92 (0.1)
FOX: Fox Movie 1.18 (0.3)
NBC: American Ninja Warrior 3.45 (0.5), Dateline NBC 2.77 (0.4)
Univision: Rosa de Guadelupe 1.46 (0.4), Medicos Linea de Vida 1.56 (0.5), Dulce mbicion 1.23 (0.4)
Telemundo: Exatlon 1.38, Cennet 1.69
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Brian Lesser has been named Executive Chairman of Consumer Identity Management for startup InfoSum. In April, Lesser resigned from his post as CEO of AT&T’s Xandr when AT&T decided to fold Xandr into WarnerMedia.

Ramsey Naito has been named President of Nickelodeon Animation. Naito was previously EVP of Animation Production and Development for the Nickelodeon Group.

Studio 100 Media named Joachim Knödler as Head of Licensing. Most recently, Knödler was Managing Director, Central Europe at (Wildbrain) CPLG Central Europe.

Independent distributor Hat Trick International has restructured its sales team. Jonathan South, Senior Sales Executive, will handle all sales to North and South America, Spain and Portugal. Senior Sales Executive Elfyn Morris is now handling sales to Scandinavia. Elfyn previously looked after CEE territories, which have been taken over by James Mill, Sales and Marketing Executive. Former VP Distribution at Gaumont International, Hana Zidek, has now added the role of Senior Sales Executive for sales to France alongside her Acquisitions Executive position. And Cassandra Toller has been promoted to Senior Sales Executive and handles sales to UK and Germany.

Fugitive, the content development, financing and executive producing company, has added four sales consultants. Acting as agents and operating at SVP level are Joanna Rowley, based in London; Tania Jacobson in Los Angeles; Charo Penedo in Madrid; and Anne Roder-Botbol in Paris.

Kathleen Saxton is joining MediaLink as EVP and Managing Director. Saxton was Founder of London-based talent advisory firm The Lighthouse.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which TV show inspired a comic strip, trading cards, a magazine, and a Pontiac GTO? Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In (1968-1973). Kudos to: Charles Lore/NYC, Rev. Mark Wajda/Clermont, FL, Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC, Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank, David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which daytime soap recast the character played by Chadwick Boseman with his future Black Panther co-star, Michael B. Jordan? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four.)