On September 29th-30th,
join senior executives
from top industry brands
for a deep-dive
into building connections
in the content multiverse.

Register now for That BIG TV Conference.

Today’s Premieres
CBS: FBI at 8p; FBI: International at 9p; FBI: Most Wanted at 10p
Fox: The Resident at 8p
Hulu: Reboot
NBC: New Amsterdam at 10p

Today’s Finales
ABC: The Bachelorette at 8p
Food Network: Supermarket Stakeout at 10p

IN THE NEWS

Live TV from a traditional pay TV service remains the most common first stop for viewing, according to Hub’s “Decoding the Default” study, but is at its lowest point since the study was first done in 2015. Other findings include:
· 28% of those surveyed said that linear channels from a cable, satellite, or telco TV subscription is their TV home base.
· Netflix is second, at 23%, while no other individual source reached double digits. Netflix reached a saturation point as a default in 2018 (23%) and has been fluctuating around that level ever since.
· The other “Big 5” streaming subscription services have made more consistent gains. While no single service in this group comes close to Netflix, in combination they’re now just 7 points behind.

NBCUniversal has launched the Creative Impact Lab, an initiative focused on nonprofit storytelling that provides opportunities for apprentices from diverse backgrounds to hone their production skills. “It is critical for nonprofits to visually illustrate their impact through personal, human stories,” said Hilary Smith, EVP, Corporate Social Responsibility. “Powerful marketing can help drive recruitment and serve as a fundraising tool. By giving diverse students unique assignments to create these assets under NBCU employees’ mentorship, the Creative Impact Lab is providing value on multiple levels.”

For the second weekend in a row, DirecTV had to apologize for outages that disrupted its NFL Sunday Ticket stream. “We recognize we didn’t meet expectations on Sunday for customers looking to stream some of the games, and we want to apologize,” read a tweet from the company on Monday. “While it won’t bring the games back, we plan to reach out to those affected to automatically reimburse them for week two.” The Sunday Ticket package is in its final season of DirecTV exclusivity.

2022 Esports Business Summit

YouTube, Twitter & TikTok come together for EBS 2022!

Kick-off Day 2 of EBS with “Top of the Morning: The Platform Perspective with YouTube, Twitter & TikTok,” where you will be joined by Rishi Chadha, Global Head of Gaming Partnerships at Twitter, Harish Sarma, Global Head of Sports & Gaming at TikTok, and Kendra Johnson, Director of Gaming Publishers & Commerce Content Partnerships at YouTube. Learn and network with some of the best and brightest industry leaders and…

REGISTER NOW

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Alison Sweeney is expanding her relationship with Hallmark Media with a multi-picture overall deal. “Alison Sweeney has been an incredible creative partner for us over the years – both on screen as well as behind the camera as a producer,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, EVP, Programming, Hallmark Media. “She’s long been a fan favorite and we can’t wait to continue our work together as we bring new stories to life.” Part of Sweeney’s deal includes “A Magical Christmas Village,” as star and an executive producer.

A+E Studios has entered into a first-look deal with Foster Driver and Zoë Kent through their production company Driver+Kent Media. Under the pact, Driver+Kent Media will develop and produce projects for A+E Studios for sale on all global and domestic television platforms and services. Among the Driver+Kent Media projects already set up at A+E Studios are “Dead Eleven,” based on the book by Jimmy Juliano, and “Summerset,” created by George Northy, among others.

Sarah Paulson (“American Horror Story”) will star in and executive produce a scripted adaptation of HBO Max docu-series “The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin.” Currently in development, the series comes from Campfire Studios and Huntley Productions. Michelle Dean (“The Act”) will serve as showrunner and EP.

Hearst Magazines is partnering with ITV America’s Good Caper Content to produce new true crime docuseries “Hell in the Heartland,” exposing small-town America crimes. The first season, “Hell in the Heartland: The Witches of Nebraska,” will delve into the occult influences and local culture that led to a victim’s untimely death.

HGTV has picked up second seasons of “Building Roots” and “Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?”, slated to premiere in 2023. “’Building Roots’ and ‘Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?’ performed well right out of the gate,” said Betsy Ayala, SVP, Programming & Development, HGTV. “Their success contributed to the more than 50 million viewers who tuned in to HGTV in the second quarter, confirming that we should order more episodes of these series for next year’s programming slate.”

Studio71 and YouTube gaming property FGTeeV have teamed to develop and produce “noobies.” The animated coming-of-age series will be set amid a backdrop of video game culture.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis (“The Profit”) pivots from turning around businesses to renovating homes in HGTV’s “The Renovator,” premiering Tuesday, October 11 at 8p. “Throughout the season, I met some amazing families who needed someone on their side to provide solutions that transform their homes into ideal spaces and help strengthen their relationships,” said Lemonis. “I use my own life experiences and my passion for design to create a stronger foundation for their home and their family.”

Bounce series “Finding Happy, a dramedy centered on the Black female experience through the eyes of Yaz Carter, makes its debut Saturday, September 24 at 8p.

COMING UP

True Royalty TV is offering two new specials commemorating the late Queen Elizabeth II. The first is a special edition of biweekly talk show, “The Royal Beat,” while the second, “Recollections: Memories of Her Majesty,” focuses on the personal stories and memories of working with the Queen from Royal correspondents and associates

TECH TALK

NBCUniversal and Samsung Galaxy are teaming for a “metaverse” video game called “Tonight at the Rock – Powered by Samsung Galaxy.” The goal: players work their way up to Studio 6B at NBC headquarters 30 Rockefeller Plaza in NYC. The free game is available on the Fortnite gaming platform. “We’ve been collaborating with Samsung on unique, engaging integrations for over the past few years to bring ‘Tonight’ show audiences first-of-its-kind experiences they can’t connect with anywhere else,” said Mark Marshall, President, Advertising and Partnerships, NBCUniversal. Tomorrow, September 21, “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” will air an in-show integration mirroring one of the games in real life.

Comcast Cable is going greener. At the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2022, the company announced plans to double its network energy efficiency by 2030, cutting the electricity per consumed terabyte of data in half. “We’re on the path to a greener internet,” said Comcast Cable president of Technology, Product, Experience Charlie Herrin. “The smart technologies powering our new network architecture are transforming how data is delivered, providing the industry’s best combination of speed, coverage, and control – all more sustainably.”

SPORTS

The PGA TOUR and Autograph, the web3 brand co-founded by Tom Brady, struck a long-term deal to create a comprehensive “digital collectibles” NFT platform, by allowing fans to own “a token of its storied history.” The PGA TOUR will work with Autograph to create a digital collectibles platform that pulls from TOUR competition video, data, imagery and other competition-related components. Golf fans will have the opportunity to own and collect NFTs featuring the best PGA TOUR golfers in the world as well as some of their favorite moments from the archives and the current FedExCup Season.

The National Basketball Association is bringing back NBA Launchpad for another go-around, the league’s initiative to “source, evaluate and pilot emerging technologies that advance the NBA’s top priorities on and off the court.” Companies and entrepreneurs can now apply to NBA Launchpad by submitting innovations that address one of six priority areas: Basketball – Soft Tissue Injury Prevention and Recovery, Healthy Playing Habits in Youth Basketball, Disrupting the Game (Open Category); and Fan Experience – Game Production and Viewing Experience, In-Seat Experience, Sports Betting Experience. Following a rigorous evaluation process, selected applicants will participate in a six-month R&D project within the NBA’s ecosystem.

MLB Tonight will offer viewers a behind-the-scenes look into how the show is produced during its live telecast today at 6p. MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger, Scott Braun, Siera Santos, Cliff Floyd, Dan Plesac and Harold Reynolds will take viewers into the areas that help bring the show to life, including the production and graphics control rooms, plus highlights center. The program will feature the real-time conversations amongst the production team, technical crew, and on-air personalities as they work together to execute the live show in Studio 3 and Studio 42.

CBS Sports announced its college football Saturday showcase for October 1 at 3:30p, selecting the SEC on CBS matchup between No. 2 Alabama and No. 10 Arkansas. Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and reporter Jenny Dell will be on the call. The day’s action kicks off at noon with Navy/Air Force. Rick Waltz, Aaron Taylor, along with reporter Sherree Burruss will call the action.

All Sports Television Network is launching Countdown to Qatar, a 40-episode television series. The series, which will air beginning in September, offering lead-in coverage previewing all the nations, players and the host nation as Qatar prepares for the World Cup.

2022 BIG TV Conference

BIG TV confirms more thought-leaders!

BIG TV is quickly filling up with some of the biggest attending brand names of the industry, including Roku, Warner Bros Discovery, Genius Brands International, Nickelodeon, A+E Networks, Disney, and NBCUniversal! These are just some of the fantastic brands and executives we have lined up for you at this year’s BIG TV Conference. Registration still open- join us on September 29th-30th!

REGISTER NOW

RATINGS

The return of “Halloween Baking Championship” was Food Network’s highest-rated Monday this year, posting a 1.0 P18+ Live+3/1.3 W18+ Live+3 rating, the highest-rated season opener in series history among both demos (up +12% and +9% respectively vs. prior season opener). More than 4.3 million viewers tuned in, with the series ranking as the #2 non-news/sports program in its timeslot among P18+ and W18+.

FOX News Digital closed out August reaching over 2.9 billion total multiplatform minutes, 1.5 billion total multiplatform views, and 77 million multiplatform unique visitors, according to Comscore. The FOX News Mobile App reached nearly 6.3 million unique visitors in August, seeing month over month growth.

Top 10 Streaming Shows for the week of September 12
Show, Platform, Actions, Posts, Actions per Post, Audience
Cobra Kai (Netflix), 2,049,268, 55, 37,259, 3,984,497
House of the Dragon (HBO Max), 1,593,052, 28, 56,895, 2,162,285
The Kardashians (Hulu), 635,783, 39, 16,302, 1,765,260
The Boys (Amazon), 585,126, 14, 41,795, 3,060,810
High School Musical: The Series (Disney+), 560,504, 9, 62,278, 582,658
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu), 543,907, 31, 17,545, 2,370,677,
Ozark (Netflix), 445,450, 3, 148,483, 866,779
Never Have I Ever (Netflix), 433,521, 10, 43,352, 1,098,856
Get Organized With The Home Edit (Netflix), 423,171, 30, 14,106, 6,927,903
The Grand Tour (Amazon Prime), 320,608, 6, 53,435, 6,152,909
Source: Comscore Social Powered by Shareablee

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Friday, September 16
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Shark Tank 2.50 (0.3), 20/20 2.33 (0.3)
CBS: Secret Celebrity Renovation 2.26 (0.2), CBS Fall Preview 1.78 (0..2), Young Sheldon 1.59 (0.2), Blue Bloods 2.30 (0.2)
CW: Killer Camp 0.16 (0.0), Dynasty 0.19 (0.0)
FOX: WWE Friday Night Smackdown 2.21 (0.6)
NBC: Capital One College Bowl 1.84 (0.2), Dateline 2.77 (0.3)
Telemundo: Top Chef VIP 0.83 (0.2), El Fuego del Destino 0.71 (0.1), Infiel: Historia de un Engaño 0.87 (0.2)
Univision: La Herencia, Un Legado de Amor 1.25 (0.4), Los Ricos También Lloran 1.31 (0.4)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Common Sense Networks promoted Sharon Kroll Cohen to Chief Marketing Officer. Cohen joined Sensical as VP, Marketing in December 2021,

Viant Technology has named Ritesh Patel as its Chief Legal Officer, and Arish Gajjar as its new SVP, Deputy General Counsel. Most recently Patel served as the Head of Legal for Apeel Sciences. Gajjar joins Viant from The Trade Desk, where he was Lead Director and Associate General Counsel.

ESPN has hired Susie Piotrkowski as VP, espnW. In her new role, she will help drive the future vision for the espnW portfolio, including the new W. Studios group.

GLAAD has hired Julian J. Walker as Associate Director, Communities of Color & Media. Walker starred in the 2014 film “Blackbird.”

This Day in History
1984 – “The Cosby Show” premiered on NBC.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
For which series did Catherine O’Hara will her first Primetime Emmy? “SCTV” (1976-1984). Kudos to: Marni C. Gold/Hawthorne, NJ; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Wendy Holmes/Denver; David Rubinsohn-American Public Television/Boston; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg- M and S Entertainment/LA; David Garber-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
Which TV icon guested as Hopskotch the Sasquatch on “Kidding” (2018-20)? (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