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Happy Friday, readers! Here’s what you need to know this morning:
- Peacock Boasts Its Second Profitable Quarter In A Row
- DraftKings Is Footing The Bill On Local Election Coverage
- J.J. Watts Cements His Position As CBS Sports’ New NFL Analyst
Don’t forget: today’s the deadline to submit to our Cynopsis Holiday Guide, there’s still plenty of time! Please send your listings (from Nov. 4 to Jan. 1) to janetdilauro@gmail.com, alyssa@cynopsis.com and victoria@cynopsis.com no later than Oct. 23 with the subject line: Holiday Guide.
To be included, programs must be 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.
A confirmation email will be sent following each submission. If you don’t receive a confirmation email, please resubmit!
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| In The News |
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Proud as a Peacock. The now 6-year-old streaming service just achieved its second profitable quarter in a row with $261 million in pre-tax revenue, according to Comcast’s earnings report on Thursday. Peacock’s paid subscriber base also increased 17% year over year to 48 million, despite a recent price hike in August.
- Domestic advertising revenue grew 14.6% to $1.8 billion, thanks in no small part to Telemundo achieving the highest-rated Spanish-language FIFA World Cup coverage in US history. (However, growth would have been flat at $1.6 billion for the quarter if you exclude the incremental revenue from the World Cup.)
- Comcast is confident that NBCUniversal and Sky will be in a good position when the two spin off next year into one publicly traded company, said Co-CEO Mike Cavanagh, who’ll be running the new standalone company.
But Comcast’s fate isn’t all sunshine and roses The media and broadband conglomerate is planning significant job cuts across its cable, telecom and wireless divisions as part of a restructuring effort that will cost $1 billion during the fourth quarter this year. Sources say the layoffs are not expected to affect NBCU.
HBO – and, by extension, new owner Skydance – have a lot riding on the success of the new “Harry Potter” series. A source familiar with production told Deadline that the show is on track to be one of the most expensive series ever made by the cable network, costing possibly £18.8 million ($25.3 million) per episode. With that in mind, HBO might be sweating over J.K. Rowling’s new essay, in which she reinforces her anti-transgender viewpoints that have spurred backlash among fans.
The BBC is doing more belt-tightening. Beginning in January, the British broadcaster is consolidating its TV and audio commissioning teams across genres, including comedy and classical music. The content team restructuring will result in approximately 100 job cuts and £500 million ($669 million) in savings. The changes will also result in decommissioning some shows, fewer show orders across genres and a reduction in development spend by roughly 15%. Among the programming cuts so far: “Blankety Blank,” “Celebrity Mastermind” and “Live At The Apollo.”
Local CBS stations will air sponsorships from sports gambling and prediction market company DraftKings during their Election Day coverage, Status reported late Wednesday morning.
- This wouldn’t be the first time a news outlet has teamed up with an organization that makes money on the outcome of current events. For example, Kalshi is CNN’s “official prediction market partner” as of last year and CBS News will be using Kalshi data in its midterm reporting this year.
- According to a CBS Television Stations spokesperson, the sponsorship with DraftKings is merely commercial and won’t be used in making editorial decisions. Still, employees objected to the deal when they learned about it, citing concerns about how the partnership will be perceived by viewers.
Elon Musk has invested $1 billion in Skydance, Semafor reported Thursday. The South African entrepreneur has long maintained a friendship with CEO David Ellison’s father, Larry Ellison, who also personally invested $40 billion to finance Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery.
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| New & Returning Series |
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For sneak peeks, check out Cynopsis Trailer Park.
Paramount+ released first-look images of its new limited series “The Day,” starring Minnie Driver (“Emily in Paris”), Luca Pasqualino (“Rivals”) and Louisa Harland (“Derry Girls”). The premiere date has yet to be announced.
Moonbug Entertainment is launching a “Blippi” spinoff called “Meekah,” starring Lauren Vaz as Blippi’s best friend. The series will premiere on its own YouTube channel Nov. 7 – but given Moonbug’s previous success in licensing “Blippi” and its other children’s series “CoComelon” out to larger streamers like Netflix, expect to see Meekah in a lot more places soon.
New home renovation series “Fixer Upper: Chip Bought a Mansion,” about a couple’s quest to revitalize a 15,000-square-foot property in East Texas, will premiere on Magnolia Network and HGTV Dec. 27.
TLC’s three-part documentary series “Crown of Deceit: Inside the Miss Universe Scandal” premieres its first episode on Nov. 12.
“Monsters Inside Me,” a series exploring medical threats including parasites and other invasive infections, premieres Nov. 11 on Discovery Channel.
Acorn TV released a new trailer for the latest season of “The Madame Blanc Mysteries,” premiering on Nov. 9.
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| Today’s Premieres |
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AMC+: “Yaga”
Hallmark: “Winter Wonderlanes” at 8 p.m.
NBC: “Happy’s Place” Season 3 at 8 p.m.; “Newlyweds” at 8:30 p.m.
Netflix: “Fading Grandeur”; “Lupin”
The Roku Channel: “Battle of the Streaming Stars”
Shudder: “Joe Bob’s Halloween House Party”
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| Saturday’s Premieres |
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Great American Family: “A Christmas Prayer Tradition” at 8 p.m.
Hallmark: “Forgotten Holiday” at 8 p.m.
Lifetime: “Secrets of Mercy Hospital” at 8 p.m.
Prime Video: “Final Table”
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| Sunday’s Premieres |
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Hallmark: “What if Christmas” at 8 p.m.
Lifetime: “Murder in a Small Georgia Town” at 8 p.m.
Netflix: “My Happy Marriage” Season 3
Paramount+: “A Course Called Ireland”
Peacock: “The Wolves of Real Estate: The Alexander Brothers”
Shudder: “2026 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards” at 9 p.m.
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| Coming Up |
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Summer H. Howell in “Carrie”
Prime Video renewed “Carrie” for a second season, mere weeks after the Stephen King adaptation premiered. King will return as co-executive producer alongside Mike Flanagan, the series creator and showrunner.
Hearst Media Production Group’s home safety education series, “Home for Good,” has been renewed for a second season. The series will pick back up on ABC starting Jan. 9.
“The Outlaws” creator Elgin James is developing a TV adaptation of “King of Ashes,” a crime thriller novel by S.A. Cosby. The series is bound for FX with a production roster that includes Amblin, Higher Ground and 20th Television.
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| Coming Up |
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Legendary R&B artist Chaka Khan will receive the Classic Soul Honor at the 2026 Soul Train Awards when it airs on BET and CBS Nov. 27.
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| Sports Report |
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After unexpectedly taking over for Tony Romo on CBS Sports this summer, former defensive lineman J.J. Watt has been named the network’s new lead NFL analyst as part of a multiyear deal. This means Watt will be on hand to call next season’s Super Bowl LXII telecast on CBS in 2028.
Prime Video has brought on comedian Matt Friend as a recurring contributor to “The Friend Zone With Matt Friend,” a new comedy segment within the Thursday Night Football postgame shows. The new segment debuted Oct. 22 after the matchup pitting the New England Patriots against the Chicago Bears.
A new ESPN docuseries chronicling the establishment of the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) is now in production, starring brothers and PLL co-founders Mike and Paul Rabil. The premiere date is still unconfirmed, but the series is slated to run ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics in LA, which will include lacrosse as an official sporting event.
Marketers want in on sports, too, but they don’t all want to fork over the cost of an in-game commercial break, reports Digiday. Instead, brand sponsorships and social media appearances are becoming more popular ways for advertisers to capitalize on fandom. Sponsorships now account for 15% of revenue for the NBA, for example, and many brands are inking deals with online creators knowing that many young sports fans use their phones during games (and while watching TV in general, for that matter.)
Sports, meet AI. Sports Studio Inc. has moved its free, ad-supported streaming service, Free Live Sports, to a streaming platform called Gizmeon. The migration comes with an AI-powered electronic program guide that makes it easier for viewers to find the sports content they’re looking for, including by sorting programming based on viewing behavior and preferences. Coming soon is – surprise, surprise – a vertical video feed with short clips and commentary.
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| Distribution |
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TV at the movies? From Nov. 6 to 30, Regal Cinemas and Sphere Abacus will screen the first six episodes of “Heated Rivalry” Season 1 in pairs across more than 650 theaters. The goal is to capitalize on fan excitement for the upcoming second season in 2027.
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| Executive Moves |
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Telemundo’s “Top Chef VIP” Season 5 finale reached the No. 1 spot among Spanish-language television networks in prime time, according to Nielsen data. The episode drew 1.5 million total viewers, including 449,000 adults 18-49.
Between the FIFA World Cup ending and back-to-school season starting up, TV viewing declined 4.4% overall in August, according to Nielsen’s latest Gauge Report. However, streaming still made up 49.6% of TV viewing hours during that time. Disney also moved back into the No. 2 spot just behind YouTube, while NBCUniversal and Versant dropped down to No. 4.
Top 10 Broadcast Networks for the Week of Oct. 12
P2+ AA (000)
NBC 6,428
ABC 5,315
CBS 4,211
FOX 1,790
Telemundo 994
Univision 958
Me TV 638
CW 460
ION 401
Grit 319
Source: Nielsen Big Data + Panel, Live + Same Day
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| In Memoriam |
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Tom Skerritt, star of the CBS family drama “Picket Fences” as well as countless other television series and films, died of natural causes at age 93, his family announced on Thursday.
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| Friday Fun Fact |
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The mask that Michael Myers wears in the original “Halloween” movie was a spray-painted William Shatner “Star Trek” mask that cost the production $1.98.
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Which “Seinfeld” actor did ABC originally want to play the title character in “Monk” before the role went to Tony Shalhoub instead?
Email answers to Trivia@Cynopsis.com and include your name, company and city/state (don’t forget!). Only the first four correct responses from each time zone will be included.
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YESTERDAY’S TRIVIA ANSWER
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Canonically, how tall is Jack Reacher from the hit Prime Video series “Reacher” supposed to be? 6 foot 5
Congrats to: Greg Moloznik-Focus Media 121/Lakewood Ranch, FL; Megan Armillay-Condron Sweda Advertising/Clarks Green, PA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA
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