PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
NBC put in development workplace comedy Like Magic, from Bridget Kyle and Vicky Luu (Superstore), Matt Hubbard (Forever), CannyLads Productions and Universal Television, about a woman following her dreams at the Magic Palace.
Ruthless, a drama centered on a teenage girl eager for adventure and a former CIA operative, is in development at the CW. Series comes from Michael Weatherly (Bull) and his Solar Drive Productions and CBS Television Studios.
Connect3 Media and Racine Media have secured the television rights to The Butchers of Berlin. In partnership with Cineflix Media, the companies will be developing the murder mystery into a scripted series for the international market.
Rashida Jones and Will McCormack’s Le Train Train Productions closed a first-look television deal with MRC (House of Cards). Under the deal, Jones and McCormack will create, develop and executive produce new television projects for the studio.
Netflix ordered three sci-fi series: The I-Land, from Neil LaBute; October Faction, based on the IDW comics; and Warrior Nun, inspired by the Manga novels.
Top 10 Weekend Domestic Box Office Estimates: September 28-30, 2018
Night School (Universal) $28.0 million, opening weekend
Smallfoot (Warner Bros.) $23.0 million, opening weekend
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Universal) $12.5 million (week 2), cume revenue $44.8 million
A Simple Favor (Lionsgate) $6.6 million (week 3), cume revenue $43.1 million
The Nun (Warner Bros.) $5.4 million (week 4), cume revenue $109.0 million
Hell Fest (Lionsgate) $5.1 million, opening weekend
Crazy Rich Asians (Warner Bros.) $4.2 million (week 7), cume revenue $165.7 million
The Predator (Fox) $3.7 million (week 3), cume revenue $47.6 million
White Boy Rick (Studio 8) $2.4 million (week 3), cume revenue $21.7 million
Peppermint (STX) $1.8 million (week 4), cume revenue $33.5 million
COMING UP
Among the stars coming out for ABC’s Mickey’s 90th Spectacular are Kristen Bell (Frozen), Sofia Carson (Descendants), Tony Hale (Veep), Sarah Hyland (Modern Family) and Walt Disney chairman Robert Iger. Two-hour event honoring Mickey Mouse airs Sunday, November 4 at 8p.
“Raven’s Home: Remix,” a musical episode of Disney Channel’s Raven’s Home, premieres Friday, October 12 at 8p. Show features eight original song and dance numbers performed by the cast.
ADVERTISING
In today’s Advertising Week session, “The Industry’s First Data Transparency Label Is Here,” the DMA Council for Data Integrity will offer details about a new industry standard toolset. The Data Transparency Label will provide data buyers with insights to help evaluate data segment quality, and make more informed data and media buying decisions. Along with CIMM, ARF and DMA, the initiative has been driven by DMA member companies including LiveRamp, Neustar, Oracle Data Cloud, Acxiom, Moxie, Experian and more.
U.S. advertising will grow 5% in 2019, projects MoffettNathanson Research, with digital advertising’s 18.3% gain accounting for much of the growth. Without this year’s boost from Olympics or midterm elections, local TV station business will be down 7.2% in 2019, the big four broadcast nets will be off 3.5%, and national cable is expected to dip 3%.
Disney shared details about changes in its ad sales unit that will provide marketers and agencies with a single, integrated organization led by six SVPs of Ad Sales, each reporting to Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales. Ferro’s group will be divided into three divisions: Sales, Client & Brand Solutions, and Revenue & Operations. The change will “result in a more efficient and effective way for our clients to do business with us,” said Ferro.
Facebook introduced two new ad formats. For In-Stream Reserve, aimed at premium online video and TV buyers, ad placements are bought in advance to target audiences verified by Nielsen. Thruplay allows advertisers to pay only for ads watched all the way through, or for at least 15 seconds.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan have started handing out subpoenas as they look into media buying practices in the ad industry, reports the Wall Street Journal. At issue are nontransparent buying practices like agencies accepting rebates from media outlets.
CASTING
Jennifer Beals (Taken) will recur in streaming drama Swamp Thing, headed for the DC Universe subscription service in 2019.
MEASUREMENT & DATA
A Nielsen survey this summer revealed that, not surprisingly, restaurants and bars are the most popular out-of-home TV viewing locations for sports, with 26% of respondents saying the only place they watched OOH sports was at a restaurant or bar. Separated by age, about two thirds of both P18-34 and P35+ said they watched sports at a restaurant or bar, but 49% of the younger group reported watching sports at someone else’s home versus 39+ for their elders.
DIGITAL
Have you changed your password yet? Facebook announced Friday that it had discovered a security issue that exposed the personal information 50 million users, allowing hackers to take over accounts and potentially steal profile information (but not credit card data). The breach was fixed and the company is working with law enforcement officials to investigate.
Seasons one and two of Designated Survivor are moving from Hulu to Netflix, which picked up the political drama after it was canceled by ABC. Production on season three is slated to begin later this year for a 2019 bow.
Disney is shuttering kids gaming franchise Club Penguin, which it acquired in 2007 and at one time boasted over 200 million registered accounts. The original Club Penguin game got a mobile-only reboot last year, but it didn’t fly – subscribers were notified last week that, “Club Penguin will be sunsetting at the end of this year.”
Outdoor Sportsman Group added four seasons of MeatEater with Steven Rinella to streaming platform MyOutdoorTV. Shows from across four seasons are now available.
True Horror drops on streaming service Shudder on Thursday, October 4, offering real horror stories told through documentary interviews and scripted drama.
GOING GLOBAL
Syndicated U.S. home improvement show Today’s Homeowner with Danny Lipford is headed to Canada, where it will air on The Rural Channel starting September 28.
