Wednesday October 6, 2021

Today’s Finales
A&E: Neighborhood Wars at 10p
CW: Riverdale at 8p, In the Dark at 9p
TLC: My Feet Are Killing Me at 10p

IN THE NEWS

One day after Ozy Media founder/CEO Carlos Watson told “Today” that the decision to shutter his company had been reversed, he sent an open letter to the “Ozy family,” saying he “deeply regrets” mistakes that hurt his team, investors and partners. “As deeply proud as I am of the work that our team has done, I also wish we had done many things differently,” he wrote. In particular, Watson noted lapses in work culture, data and transparency, and marketing, and said he was starting the process of owning what the company did wrong, and “fix it well.”

At least one Ozy investor is starting the process of a lawsuit. LifeLine Legacy Holdings is claiming Media “engaged in fraudulent, deceptive and illegal conduct,” and wants compensatory and punitive damages in a jury trial.

What was behind the massive outages on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp on Monday? “Our engineering teams have learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication,” said Santosh Janardhan, VP of infrastructure for the social media giant. “This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt.” Got it!

Likely more concerning to Facebook than its technical trouble was yesterday’s Senate hearing with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen. The former product manager discussed internal documents stating that Facebook and Instagram can be addictive and harmful to children, and that Instagram damages the mental health and body image of teenagers. But despite her accusation that the company has chosen profit over safety, Haugen stopped short of saying the company be broken up. Instead, she suggested, “They need to admit they did something wrong, and they need help to solve these problems.”

In response, Lena Pietsch, Director of Policy Communications for Facebook, noted that Haugen worked for the company for less than two years, and did not work on the subject matter in question. “We don’t agree with her characterization of the many issues she testified about,” said Pietsch. “Despite all this, we agree on one thing; it’s time to begin to create standard rules for the internet. It’s been 25 years since the rules for the internet have been updated, and instead of expecting the industry to make societal decisions that belong to legislators, it is time for Congress to act.”

Ed Sheeran is joining NBC’s “The Voice” as a season 21 Mega Mentor. The “Thinking Out Loud” hitmaker will help mentor competitors who have made it through the Battle Rounds and prepare for the Knockouts, beginning Monday, October 25 at 8p.

LeVar Burton has been named Grand Marshal of the 2022 Rose Parade. The announcement was made on National Teachers Day, prompting Burton to suggest, “So, if you know a teacher, hug one. If you’re vaccinated.”

TLC’s fifth annual Give A Little event, in partnership with Kind Campaign, will be presented as a PSA this October during National Bullying Prevention Month, on TLC, within social media and the Give A Little website. TLC’s contribution will help sponsor five educational school assemblies throughout the 2021 school year, with a focus on having honest conversations about girl-against-girl bullying.

We want to see your BEST work! Entries are open for the Cynopsis 2021-2022 Best of the Best and Rising Star Awards. Submit now and save $150 when you submit by October 29th. Then celebrate with us in February. See the full list of categories. Get started today!

Three great reasons to nominate:

Team appreciation: Show your colleagues you appreciate their work
Earned publicity across Cynopsis platforms and industry insiders
Networking opportunities at the Best of the Best Awards Gala
featuring the Rising Stars February in NYC

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Will Packer (“Straight Outta Compton,” “Girls Trip”) has been named Producer of the 94th Annual Academy Awards. Though it will be his first time tackling the assignment,“There is no one better than Will Packer to celebrate our collective love for cinema,” said Craig Erwich, President of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment. “Will is a world-class hitmaker and the ideal producer to capture the prestige of the Oscars and deliver a powerful and moving event.” The show is set for March 27 on ABC.

NBCUniversal and the BBC have ordered US and UK adaptations of Studio Lambert’s hit Dutch format “The Traitors,” which sees teams competing on missions in a castle. The Dutch version, launched in March, attracted a 43% share of 25-54 year olds and 50% share of 16-24 year olds.

Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) is out, and Jessica Biel (“The Sinner”) is in on Hulu’s true crime drama series, “Candy,” about a Texas woman who killed her church friend with an axe. Biel will also executive produce, with her producing partner Michelle Purple via their Iron Ocean. Moss reportedly stepped away due to scheduling conflicts.

“Talk the talk, but more importantly, walk the walk. Never expect your team to do something you wouldn’t do yourself,” advises Nancy Daniels. Chief Brand Officer, Discover & Factual for Discovery, Animal Planet and Science Channel, and an honoree at the Cynopsis Top Women in Media, in-person Awards Gala on October 27 in NYC. To join us in celebrating Daniels and other stand-out leaders, register today! Vaccine mandate and all CDC protocols to gather safely are in place; limited tickets remain. Questions? Contact [email protected].

Brothers Shamier Anderson and Stephan James signed a first-look deal with Boat Rocker, to develop and produce TV projects through their Bay Mills Studios. “Shamier and Stephan are true creative forces,” said David Fortier and Ivan Schneeberg, co-executive chairmen, Boat Rocker Media, and co-chairmen, Boat Rocker Studios, in a statement. “As actors, producers, business leaders and activists, they are breaking new ground and achieving new heights.”

Tori Sampson “Three Women” will co-create an adaptation of Deesha Philyaw’s book, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies. Sampson and Philyaw will write and EP the drama project. Sampson has a first-look deal at HBO and HBO Max with her Viva Maude.

Casting notes: Finn Jones (“Dickinson”) and Jessica McNamee (“Mortal Kombat”) will star in Epix film “The Visitor.”…Bailey Bass (“A Jenkins Family Christmas”) landed the role of Claudia, played by Kirsten Dunst in the 1994 movie, in AMC’s “Interview With The Vampire.”…Jill Wagner (“Mystery 101”) and Nick Bateman (“A Brush With Love”) will star in GAC Family movie “A Christmas Miracle for Daisy” (wt), premiering Saturday, December 11 at 8p.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

“Sex and the City” sequel “And Just Like That…” will premiere in December (no specific date provided) on HBO Max. The series follows Carrie, Miranda and Charlotte “as they navigate the journey from the complicated reality of life and friendship in their 30s to the even more complicated reality of life and friendship in their 50s.”

Amazon romantic comedy “With Love” makes its debut on Amazon on Friday, December 17. The five-part series from Gloria Calderón Kellett follows siblings on a mission to find love and purpose during the holidays.

In the series debut of “Mysterious Creatures with Forrest Galante,” the wildlife biologist travels to a village on the Zambezi River to investigate after villagers go missing. Premiere date on “Animal Planet”: Sunday, October 17 at 9p.

“Bering Sea Gold” puts miners to the test in Alaska when a new season kicks off Tuesday, October 26 at 8p on Discovery.

Australian psychological drama “Wakefield” makes its US debut on Showtime on Monday, October 18 at 9p. The series looks at what happens “when the sanest individual in a psych ward begins to lose his grip.”

New reality drag series “Call Me Mother” premieres Tuesday, October 25 at 9p on OUTtv. Toronto drag legend Farr N Hyte has jumped aboard as judge and choreographer.

Season eight of MotorTrend’s “Garage Squad” premieres with a new co-host: Bogi Lateiner, host of “All Girls Garage,” is joining the team. The season streams Thursday, October 14 on the MotorTrend App, and on MotorTrend TV starting Wednesday, October 20 at 10p.

Call for Submissions: Cynopsis is producing our annual Holiday Programming Guide, which comes out on October 28 and will be sent to all Cynopsis subscribers. If your network has holiday programming airing from October 28 through January 1, please send your listing to [email protected] and [email protected] no later October 15 with the subject line: Holiday Guide. To be included, programs must be listed by date, title of program, and start times, in the following format: “Thursday, November 19: Network Name: My One Christmas Wish at 9a, Paper Angels at 11a, 12 Days of Giving at 1p”. Holiday-related programs only! A confirmation email will be sent following each submission (if you don’t receive a confirmation email, please resubmit).

COMING UP

Peanuts special “For Auld Lang Syne,” the first new original holiday special to come from Apple’s expanded partnership with WildBrain, premieres Friday, December 10 on Apple TV+.

This year’s Critics Choice Association event honoring achievements in Black filmmaking also includes television. Anthony Anderson (“black-ish”) will receive the Producer Award for Television, and Barry Jenkins will be presented with the Director Award for Television for “The Underground Railroad” during Celebration of Black Cinema & Television on Monday, December 6.

The next phase of a partnership between NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and Susan G. Komen kicks off tomorrow, October 7, with a day of programming on Telemundo highlighting the impact of breast cancer within the US Hispanic community. Activations across Telemundo platforms will bring awareness to the disparities that exist for Hispanic women, facilitate informed conversations for families and healthcare providers, and provide access to tools to help assess risk.

Kicking off World Space Week, new special “Get Curious with Vice President Harris” follows a group of kids as they meet Vice President Kamala Harris, go on a scavenger hunt with clues delivered by NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, and get exclusive access to the United States Naval Observatory. The show premieres Thursday, October 7 at 9a on the NASA YouTube Channel and the YouTube Kids app.

STREAMING

HBO Max will launch in 27 European countries over the coming year, beginning in the Nordics, Spain and Andorra on October 26. In early 2022 the rollout will continue with 14 additional Central American and Eastern European territories, as well as Portugal, with seven more countries after that.

Genius Brands International struck a deal with Pluto TV to stream a branded Kartoon Channel!. “We are thrilled to bring Kartoon Channel! to the Pluto TV audience. Their mission of providing quality ‘content with a purpose’ to kids of all ages and their families is a perfect complement to our diverse range of programming as we look to further broaden Pluto TV’s content offering,” said Amy Kuessner, SVP of Content Strategy & Global Partnerships, ViacomCBS Streaming.

TECH TALK

An app to help content producers create live shows with the ability to interact with the audience had its launch yesterday. Co-founded by entrepreneur/“Shark Tank” star Mark, Fireside enables content creators to start interactive shows from their phone. The Fireside app will record and transcribe the shows, let users stream their shows automatically to other platforms and allows creators to earn money by selling tickets.

There is a resurgence ahead for contextual targeting, according to “The Outlook for Contextual Solutions in Data Driven Advertising & Marketing,” a study conducted by Winterberry Group. Research shows 52% of marketers intend to increase their spending on the approach over the next 24 months, while 86% of media owners expect it to grow. The revival of contextual targeting arises as both marketers and media owners reassess their media targeting toolkits in an era of cookie deprecation, evolving privacy expectations and proliferating media channels. “With third-party cookies phasing out, we are entering a new era of advertising with consumer privacy and security at the center,” said David Kashak, co-founder and CEO of Connatix. “While the industry is exploring many options, contextual targeting is the clear dark horse. Contextual data gives publishers a ton of highly valuable insights, while offering a scalable targeting solution for advertisers and added privacy for consumers.”

Kantar announced the global launch of Digital Video AI, an AI-powered creative effectiveness tool that predicts the performance of digital video advertising. Unilever partnered with Kantar through the tool’s development and has tested hundreds of ads on the platform to improve their performance against their effectiveness and ROI goals. “At Unilever we consider ourselves to be pioneers in pre-testing in the creative development process” said Neha Sharma, Global Brand Engagement Lead, Unilever. “Digital Video AI enabled us make quick decisions, pick from our best creatives, test video edits and even measure competitor campaigns with speed and at scale.”

Ad-serving, analytics and rights management company Extreme Reach has received accreditation for CTV video advertising impressions from the Media Rating Council, joining DoubleVerify, FreeWheel, Innovid, Moat, Pixelate, Protected Media and Hulu. MRC also received accreditation for mobile app, under the MRC category “rendered ad impressions – video.”

Taboola, which powers recommendations for the open web, inked a new, multiyear deal with NBC Sports for mid-article placements. The placements offer video advertisers a brand safe environment to reach relevant consumers, while also allowing NBCSports the ability to recommend and promote their own content and initiatives. The agreement builds on a seven-year partnership between Taboola and NBCSports.

Estrella Media’s ad-supported digital inventory is now available to buyers in the Xandr Marketplace. “Gaining access to inventory from Estrella Media is an exciting development as Xandr continues to focus on diversifying the audiences available to buyers in our marketplace,” said Mike Bagliebter, Director, Marketplace Development, Xandr. “Today, there are over 62 million Hispanics in the US, making up about 19% of the population, and we’re excited to power content for this significant audience segment.”

DIVERSITY & MENTORSHIP

WarnerMedia has announced a new mentorship and training program geared toward developing historically underrepresented talent in primetime animation. The HBO Max x WarnerMedia Access Animated Shorts Program will provide up to seven artists with the tools, instruction, and resources to create original animated short films for adult audiences. This year’s theme: “Only You,” as HBO Max looks to discover artists whose style and voice push the boundaries of what’s possible in animation and storytelling. “So many of the world’s best animators got their start with an animated short,” said Aaron Davidson, Director, Comedy and Animation, HBO Max.” We’re proud to offer a space where creators that have yet to be discovered can nurture and share their ideas with the world while learning from and working with the very best storytellers the industry has to offer.”

Laugh Out Loud and Sundance Institute announced the three selected fellows for their inaugural Women Write Now screenwriting fellowship, a program designed to champion the next generation of Black women in comedy. As part of a new partnership between Laugh Out Loud and NBCUniversal, the projects from all three fellows will stream exclusively on Peacock, and one fellow will receive a development deal. The three selected writers, Wilandrea Blair, Danielle Nicolet, and Moni Oyedepo, were chosen from a pool of over 670 scripts submitted by aspiring writers.

Doritos has signed on as the first brand partner for Gaming While Black, an original content platform from entertainment studio 3BLACKDOT that “celebrates the achievement and authenticity of BIPOC gamers, exploring representation and lived experiences in the vast world of video games.” The studio is looking to tackle the challenges many BIPOC Creators and Black gaming talent face such pay equity, access to opportunity, investment in Black-led projects, and more.

GOING GLOBAL

UK comedy streaming platform NextUp announced its integration with Samsung and LG TVs. Smart TV owners can now livestream live stand-up shows.

Vuulr, online content marketplace for film and TV rights, has partnered with Turkey’s Kanal D International, which will list 24 titles on the Vuulr platform totaling approximately 2,160 hours of content, mostly in the romantic comedy and premium drama genres. Among the titles that Kanal D International is listing are dramas “Twist of Fate” and “Recipe of Love,” along with “Hekimoglu,” the Turkish version of the hit US series “House M.D.”

Moonbug Entertainment struck a new partnership with France’s TF1 Group for “CoComelon”. Starting later this month, episodes of the kids’ content will be available on demand in French on TFOU MAX.

Protagonist Pictures is set to talk to more buyers about Showtime boxing documentary “The Kings.” Territories sold on the doc include Canal+ for France and Poland, ESPN for Australia, New Zealand and Latin America, Nordic Entertainment Group’s Viaplay streaming service for the Nordic region and the Netherlands, Movistar for Spain, NRK for Norway, DR for Denmark, Channel 1 for Russia, discovery+ for the Philippines.

See the work taking home the gold this year during the Tempest Awards Gala, meet the people who stopped at nothing to raise the industry’s bar for excellence, and party with esports biggest players.

Don’t Miss Out- Register Now!

With a boost from coverage of the Met Gala, New York Fashion Week and the Emmys, September 2021 was E! News’ best month of 2021 to-date across digital and social platforms, and also led E! News digital to its second-highest month on record overall. E! News digital (E! Online) delivered 66 million visits, 45 million unique visitors, and 192 million page views (US-only), while E! News social platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok) achieved their best month of 2021 to date with 77 million total engagements.

The latest season of HGTV’s “Good Bones” delivered more than 24 million viewers, averaging a .61 Live+3 rating among P25-54 and a .80 Live+3 rating among W25-54 in its Tuesday timeslot. It also garnered a .67 Live+3 rating among upscale P25-54 and a .92 Live+3 rating among upscale W25-54.

Spectrum News ranked as the number one source of news for Spectrum customers in September, averaging more than 2.7 million daily viewing households across its linear and digital platforms in its 10-state footprint. Additionally, Spectrum Networks recorded 12% year-over-year increases in household ratings in September.

In syndication, “Jeopardy” (5.4 Live+SD national Nielsen rating, up 6% from the week before), with temporary host Mayim Bialik at the podium, tied “Family Feud” (5.4, up 2% in reruns) in the week ending September 26. The last time “Jeopardy” topped syndication was the week ending April 18, 2021 when Green Bay Packers star quarterback Aaron Rodgers was the guest host.

The premiere of “Love Strikes Twice” on Saturday, October 2 helped boost Hallmark Channel to become the most-watched entertainment cable network during Weekend Prime among Households, Women 18+ and Total Viewers. The premiere was the most-watched entertainment cable program of the day among Households, Women 18+, Total Viewers and W25-54 and averaged 1.8 million Total Viewers and 206,000 W25-54.

Top 5 Most Engaging Ads From SNF: Tom Brady’s Return to New England
Presented by EDO, Inc.
Brand, Creative, Search Engagement
Sleep Number, Game-Changing Sleep for NFL QB Dak Prescott, 124 Search Engagement Volume
Subway, Freshly-Baked Fragrance of #Bready, 117 Search Engagement Volume
Toyota, Words of Encouragement, 107 Search Engagement Volume
FTX, FTX. You in?, 104 Search Engagement Volume
Hyundai, Question Everything: Jason, 78 Search Engagement Volume
Click here to see more creatives.
Read as: approximately 124,000 incremental online searches for Sleep Number were generated by the Game-Changing Sleep airing during the Sunday Night Football game on NBC on October 3rd.
Footnote: Search Engagement is EDO’s proprietary measure of the increase in online search activity for a brand or product in the minutes immediately following a TV ad airing.

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, October 4
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Dancing with the Stars 4.78 (0.8), The Good Doctor 3.78 (0.4)
CBS: The Neighborhood 5.34 (0.6), Bob Hearts Abishola 5.01 (0.5), NCIS 7.59 (0.6), NCIS: Hawai’i 5.37 (0.4)
CW: Roswell, New Mexico 0.48 (0.1), Turn That Frown Upside Down 0.39 (0.1),
FOX: 9-1-1 3.20 (0.5), The Big Leap 2.21 (0.4)
ION: NCIS: LA 0.80 (0.1), NCIS: LA 0.74 (0.1), NCIS: LA 0.68 (0.1)
NBC: The Voice 7.23 (0.9), Ordinary Joe 2.78 (0.4)
Telemundo: La Casa del los Famosos 1.41 (0.4), Hercal: Amor e Venganza 1.49 (0.4), Malverde: El Santo Patrón 1.05 (0.3)
Univision Disenando Tu Amor 1.67 (0.5), Si Nos Dejan 1.73 (0.5), La Hija Del Embajador 1.65 (0.5)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

FreeWheel a Comcast company, promoted Virginie Dremeaux to Vice President, Marketing and Communications, in the UK and across Europe. Dremeaux joined FreeWheel as Executive Director, Product and Sales Marketing, International in 2019.

WarnerMedia announced several promotions and expanded roles. Michal Shapira has been appointed to the newly-created role of Head of WarnerMedia Marketing Solutions & Branded Content Studios. She was previously SVP of Marketing Solutions for News. Noelle Huynh joins the ad sales team as SVP, Measurement & Research from HBO Max, where she was Vice President of Research. And Amit Nizan has been elevated to SVP, Insights, from VP, Strategy & Insights.

Greg Walsh has been appointed CEO of North America for Havas Media Group. Walsh, who was previously COO and retains that role, succeeds Colin Kinsella, who left Havas in January.

Blue Ant Studios has brought on Casey Kelly to serve as Vice President of Unscripted Development. Prior to joining the team full time, Kelly worked as a consulting development producer for Blue Ant.

Geopath, a non-profit provider of audience metrics for OOH advertising, has appointed new members to its Board of Directors that bolsters the group’s representation from the advertising and ad tech industries. Joining the Executive Committee is existing Board member Chris Olsen, President US at Rapport and Betsy McLarney, CEO at EMC Outdoor, for the newly created role of At Large Independent Agency Member. Newly elected to the Board of Directors for a three-year term are John Laramie, CEO at Project X/ADstruc and Jon Carmack, COO at Talon/The Buntin Group, as well as Geopath’s first programmatic Board member, Michael Provenzano, CEO and Co-Founder at Vistar Media. Bill Tucker, Group EVP Data Tech Measurement at ANA and Ashwini Karandikar, EVP Media, Technology, Data at the AAAA’s (4A’s) have also joined as Ex-Officio members of the Board.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which sitcom did Jane Lynch have to leave to take her role on “Glee” (2009-15)? “Party Down” (2009-2010). Kudos to: David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Susan Nessanbaum-Golberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Jesse Demastrie-GMMB/Washington, DC; Emily Calamita-CineCal Productions/NYC; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL; John Kukla-KDFW/Dallas; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC

Today’s Trivia Question
What motivated Shirley Bennett to enroll in college in “Community” (2009-2015)? (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.)