Friday October 7, 2022

Saturday’s Premieres
BET Her: The Waiting Room
Crunchyroll: Blue Lock; Bocchi the Rock!; Welcome to Demon School Iruma-Kun; Yowamushi Pedal Limit Break

Saturday’s Finales
HGTV: First Home Fix at 10p
Ovation TV: Red Election

Sunday’s Premieres
Bravo: The Real Housewives of Potomac at 8p
CBS: NCIS: Los Angeles at 10p
Discovery: Alaska: The Last Frontier at 9p
PBS: Secrets of the Dead at 8p
Showtime: Let the Right One In at 10p

Sunday’s Finale
PBS: Van der Valk on Masterpiece at 9p

IN THE NEWS

David Nevins has decided to step down at the end of the year from his role as Chairman and CEO of Paramount Premium Group and Chief Creative Officer of Paramount+ Scripted Series. “Over the past several months I’ve come to the conclusion that I am ready for the next phase of my life and my career,” said Nevins in an internal memo. “The industry is transforming rapidly, and I am genuinely excited about what the future holds.”

In a note to staff in which Paramount CEO Bob Bakish lauded Nevin’s accomplishments, Bakish also outlined adjustments to the company’s leadership. Showtime Networks will move into Paramount Media Networks, under the leadership of Chris McCarthy; Showtime’s OTT teams will move into Paramount Streaming, reporting to Tom Ryan; and BET will now move under George Cheeks’ group, as will Paramount Television Studios, where it will continue to operate as a studio alongside CBS Studios.

In another big move, Rob Wade has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of FOX Entertainment. Wade most recently served as President, Alternative Entertainment and Specials of FOX Entertainment. “Since the formation of FOX Entertainment, Rob has been an integral part of the leadership team responsible for delivering on its long-term strategy of creating an independent media company built on broadcast, developing an owned content portfolio and maintaining a disciplined in-house infrastructure,” said Executive Chair and CEO of Fox Corp. Lachlan Murdoch. “Given Rob’s sharp creative instincts and proven operational acumen, he is well-suited to lead FOX Entertainment in what promises to be an exciting next chapter in its rich history.” Wade replaces Charlie Collier, who left Fox last month to join Roku.

“Twitter will not take yes for an answer,” said lawyers for Elon Musk in a court motion. They were referring to the fact that despite Musk reversing course and agreeing to buy Twitter for the original deal price of $44 billion, Twitter has not ended legal proceedings for a trial, set to start October 17, without guarantees the deal will close. While Musk’s team says “debt financing parties are working cooperatively to fund the close,” Twitter is (understandably, no?) reluctant to move forward without assurances that Musk won’t walk again.

Its ad-supported tier is still in the planning stages, but Netflix’s ad revenues will hit $2.7 billion by 2025, according to a forecast by MoffettNathanson. That includes $1.7 in the US and Canada, and $1 billion in the rest of the world. “To be clear, due to an initial low volume of impressions, it is obviously unlikely that Netflix will see any real ad-revenues this year even if it launches its ad-supported offering as imminently as next month,” notes MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson in the report, adding the streamer should be able to “ramp up quickly” and reach $1 billion in 2023.

Sixty-five percent of North American consumers say they have canceled at least one SVOD in the past 12 months, according to a survey conducted by Blue Label Labs. Among the streaming cutters, Amazon Prime Video was cited by 9.5%, followed by Netflix and Disney+ (both 8.6%). Over a third reported canceling a service because it wasn’t being used; 25.9% cited price as the motivator; and 11% said the content was redundant with others.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone fired off a letter to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel expressing concerns about the proposed acquisition of TEGNA by Standard General. “After reviewing the public record, we are concerned that this transaction would violate the FCC’s mandate by restricting access to local news coverage, cutting jobs at local television stations, and raising prices on consumers,” wrote the lawmakers. An FCC spokesperson said they were reviewing the letter.

Newsweek released its annual list of Most Loved Workplaces, and A+E Networks (#20) was the top entertainment company to make the cut, earning kudos for encouraging input from its employees via town halls and coffee chats. Also on the list was Paramount (#43); Dell was #1.

The January 6th Committee has scheduled its next hearing for October 13. The hearing was originally scheduled for September 28 but postponed due to Hurricane Ian.

CJC Television Network has launched its multiplex networks on Limex Broadcasting. The networks include CJC, CJC 2, CJC Global, CJC Cinema, TheGrid and TheGrid Cosmopolitan. CJC and TheGrid is available as an OTA and OTT network.

Charter Communications has awarded $1.1 million in Spectrum Digital Education grants to 47 nonprofits working to enhance digital education, training and technology in local communities. The latest round of grants increases Charter’s overall investment in the six-year-old program to $8 million.

Prime Video sci-fi western “Outer Range” has been renewed for a second season, with Charles Murray (“Sons of Anarchy”) hopping aboard as showrunner. “Outer Range” is executive produced by Murray, Heather Rae, Brolin, Zev Borow, Watkins, Tony Krantz and Plan B Entertainment for Amazon Studios. Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner and Ernest McNealey executive produce on behalf of Plan B.

Starz has greenlit the drama series “The Venery of Samantha Bird,” starring Katherine Langford (“13 Reasons Why”). The series is created by Anna Moriarty, who also serves as executive producer. Salvatore Stabile (“Waco”) is showrunner and executive producer. Jessica Rhoades (“Station Eleven,” “Sharp Objects”) executive produces through her Pacesetter Productions shingle, with Rachel Polan serving as co-executive producer.

Media Ranch is partnering with the “Wild America” brand. First up: the creation of “Wild America Challenge,” an adventure and survival competition format.

Paramount+ ordered a docuseries focused on grassroots activists. Eight-part “The Changemakers” (wt) is part of Paramount’s Content for Change initiative, aimed at counteracting bias and stereotypes.

The ATS Team announced the launch of its new original content production arm, ATS Originals, and full production services arm ATS Productions. Focused on challenge and game show formats, travel docuseries and dating show content, ATS Originals will create original, non-scripted formats for networks and broadcasters globally. VP of Development & Production, Mike Woodward will lead the new division from the US overseeing a UK team, which is piloted by Development and Production Executive, Shayna Waldman.

Kids content producer Cottonwood Media and German broadcaster ZDF announced season two of “Theodosia and the Oasis of Magic.” Based on the books by Robin L. LaFevers, the show is set against the backdrop of Edwardian London and Egypt.

At a New York Comic-Con panel for original adult animated series “Koala Man,” Hulu announced the casting of Jemaine Clement, Rachel House, and Jarrad Wright with Miranda Otto and Hugo Weaving set to make guest appearances. “Koala Man” follows middle-aged dad Kevin and his titular not-so-secret identity, whose only superpower is a burning passion for following rules and snuffing out petty crime in the Australian town of Dapto.

Comic-Con attendees also learned of casting for HBO Max’s adult animated series “Velma,” telling the origin story of the Scooby-Doo character. In addition to EP Mindy Kaling, who plays Velma, are Constance Wu as Daphne; Sam Richardson as Shaggy; and Glenn Howerton as Fred.

Call for Submissions: Cynopsis is producing our annual Holiday Programming Guide, which comes out on November 2 and will be sent to all Cynopsis subscribers. If your network has holiday programming airing from November 2 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).

NEW AND RETURNING SERIES

“The Culpo Sisters” debuts on TLC on Monday, November 7 at 9p. The reality show follows sisters Aurora, Olivia and Sophia Culpo in LA.

“NBC’s 1st Look” returns October 15 with a special three-episode run of the new series “Free Agent Fan,” hosted by “American Ninja Warrior” host Matt Iseman. The series follows rabid football fans as they work to convince uncommitted and dispassionate football fans to join their side. “When it comes to sports, there are super athletes and superstar teams – but sports are nothing without the love, loyalty, and passion of the superfans,” said Marni Sabia, LXTV Vice President of Original Content & Development. “On the flip side, there are casual fans who have no allegiance to any team, are undedicated and emotionally unattached. With Matt Iseman leading the charge as host, ‘Free Agent Fan’ will present a unique competition that will pull at the heartstrings and competitive nature of football fans everywhere.”

New millennial political series “The Gen Zone” launches Tuesday, October 11 on Fox Soul. The interactive weekly news show uses humor to relate to younger media users.

Season eleven of FX anthology series “AHS: NYC” premieres Wednesday, October 19 at 10p. The premiere will include the first two episodes of the 10-episode season, followed by two episodes each Wednesday for four subsequent weeks.

HGTV’s “Celebrity IOU” returns Monday, November 14 at 9p with eight new episodes. The series, which attracted 16.8 million viewers and was the #1 cable program for women during its latest run earlier this year, showcases celebrities swinging sledgehammers to surprise deserving people with spectacular home makeovers.

COMING UP

Discovery+ feature doc “January 6th” will start streaming one day ahead of the two-year anniversary of the storming of the US Capitol. The story is told from the perspectives of first responders and survivors of the attack, made with full access to officers of the Capitol and Metropolitan Police Departments.

Great American Family unveiled a slate of 18 original movies for its holiday programming event. First out of the gate is “Destined at Christmas,” premiering Saturday, October 22 at 8p.

Fox Nation is also getting in the holiday spirt. The streamer’s second original film,
“Christmas at the Greenbriar,” premieres Thursday, November 24 – aka Thanksgiving.

SPORTS

NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises announced that Ray Warren, President of Telemundo Deportes, will retire in early 2023. Following Telemundo’s exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in November, Warren will exit after a 15-year career with Comcast NBCUniversal, including six years at the helm of the network’s sports division as President of Telemundo Deportes.

NBC Sports and U.S. Figure Skating announced the skate slate for the 2022-23 figure skating season. Running October-April, NBC Sports and Peacock will provide more than 200 hours of coverage, beginning with Skate America. As the exclusive streaming home of U.S. Figure Skating, Peacock will stream coverage of every skate throughout the 2022-23 season.

MLB.TV clocked over 11.5 billion minutes watched during the 2022 season, marking the first time in its history the service surpassed 11 billion. This season’s total marks a 9.8% uptick over last year’s tally of more than 10.5 billion minutes watched. MLB.TV achieved the previous record in 2021 when more than 10 billion minutes was watched for the first time ever.

Google Cloud and MLB announced an expanded, multi-year, strategic partnership to “scale, modernize, and amplify MLB’s media products and properties, such as MLB.TV and other media platforms.” MLB has chosen Google Cloud as its strategic cloud provider to accelerate its worldwide delivery efforts that will help yield more real-time and personalized experiences for baseball fans around the globe.

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports landed Jamal Crawford to a multiyear deal which will see the three-time Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year featured as an NBA analyst across TNT, NBA TV and social media platforms. As part of his new role, Crawford will serve as a regular studio analyst for NBA on TNT Tuesday appearing alongside Shaquille O’Neal, Candace Parker and Adam Lefkoe.

Meanwhile, the NBA revealed its marketing campaigns for the upcoming season, “The Nonstop NBA” for its brand campaign and “This is Happening” for the new NBA App campaign. “The Nonstop NBA” featured features an All-Star lineup of NBA players, coaches and legends, the spot celebrates the return of the NBA, showcasing how the game and its culture is constantly evolving. To celebrate the new app, the league released its campaign, “This is Happening,” featuring LaMelo Ball and Jordan Poole.

As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, there’s much to cheer about. Yet the game is far from over. SeeHer’s initiative, SeeHer in Sports, has just launched the SeeHer in Sports Scorecard Powered by AT&T, allowing brands, sports leagues, and media organizations to quantify and benchmark their gender equality initiatives and programming. SeeHer EVP/Membership Christine Guilfoyle discusses the creatior of the Scorecard, how it will fill the data gap, and how the resource will increase awareness, in Cynsiders.

STREAMING

Amazon’s Fire TV has added free ad-supported video and live content to its platform in the US, including trending trailers, food and cooking programming, and sports highlights from MLB, NBC Sports and Fox Sports. The content is accessible from dedicated rows on the Fire TV Home and Free screens.

TECH TALK

Smart TV advertising platform Vizio Ads announced it has concluded its upfront season with more than $200 million in direct advertising commitments from agency holding companies, brands and studios, a 100% year-over-year increase. The company attributes the growth to audience migrations from linear to streaming along with better targeting and measurement direct-to-device advertising deals, and an expanded library of programming on VIZIO’s streaming service, WatchFree+.

Advertising and measurement and optimization platform Videoamp has released “Second-by-Second Ads Viewership,” enabling TV publishers and advertisers to better assess advertiser performance and benchmark against program averages. Count BET, which leveraged the new metrics to understand key moments during the 2022 BET Awards, as a believer. “Our teams utilized this transformative data to identify the most compelling program elements, such as show performances, commercials, host presentations, and more,” said Berj Kazanjian, SVP of Ad Sales Research at BET. “These advanced metrics allow us to enhance our content, further our reach, and deepen our engagement with our community.”

IAB Tech Lab announced that the Open Measurement SDK is now available on CTV. As one of the most widely adopted solutions from Tech Lab, OM SDK gives advertisers flexibility and choice in the verification solutions from their preferred providers by making it easier for publishers to integrate one SDK and enable ad verification with all verification vendors. OM SDK was released for iOS and Android in 2018 and web browsers in 2020.

GOING GLOBAL

Jiva Maya announced its global broadcast and digital partners for eight-part documentary series “Lucky!”, the story of Formula 1 as told by founder Bernie Ecclestone. DAZN has acquired rights to the series for its platforms in Japan, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, and Italy; discovery+ will launch the show in the UK and Ireland; and Star+ has acquired the rights to stream the series exclusively in Latin America.

ITV Studios Germany is in production on the German adaptation of French comedy series “Irresponsable” for ZDFneo. The eight-episode German version will be entitled “Like a Loser” (wt).

Great pastry chefs from around the country will battle for the title of Australia’s Dessert Master in “MasterChef: Dessert Masters,” premiering in 2023. Produced by Endemol Shine Australia, the series sets a dozen of the nation’s sugar-hit specialists against each other.

Friday Fun Fact
Ketchup was once marketed as a medicine.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What are the names of the original hosts of “The Great British Bake Off”? Sue Perkins and Mel Giedroyc. Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Linda Walker-Smith-Comcast Cable/Orlando, FO; Marty Wadsworth-Netflix/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
In which series did Hal Linden replace Lou Rawls, who played the lead in the show’s pilot? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four per time zone.)