Today’s Finales
TLC: Little People, Big World at 9p, Sweet Home Sextuplets at 10p

IN THE NEWS

More people will be leaving the building at Fox News Media, with the workforce operating virtually “wherever possible” after what Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace described in a memo as “a few positive cases” of COVID-19 at the company. In the week ahead of the election, “It is crucial that we continue to remain vigilant,” said the memo. “We know this election will be like no other and it will be exciting to witness it first hand, but only those employees who are critical to that night’s production will be permitted to work from 1211 [Avenue of the Americas].”

Will all bets be off? Two federal lawsuits were filed against Google and Apple by Alabama residents who purchased app-based games they contend amount to illegal gambling under state law. “Google and its chief mobile software competitor, Apple, both allow customers to purchase games that are no more or no less than casino-style slot machines, casino style table games, and other common gambling games,” the suit alleges.

After helping to register 4.4 million voters for the 2020 election, “We hit our goal,” wrote CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a Facebook post. Zuckerberg announced in a June USA Today op-ed that his company was embarking on “the largest voting information campaign in American history,” with a goal of 4 million registrants.

Home & Auto insurance brands significantly decreased their TV spend in April and May of this year, but spending recovered by July as confirmed cases per day reached a summer peak. However, compared to the same period in 2019, spend this year for the same set of brands declined 6.5%. That’s according to a new report from TV data and measurement company, Alphonso, which analyzed Home & Auto insurance companies from March to September 2020, to track COVID-19’s impact on their national TV advertising strategies. Additional findings include:
§ The top 5 brands constitute of approximately 75% of total spend from Mar-Sep 2020
§ Almost half of the TV budgets for these brands was spent on ads during prime time (35%) and on the weekend (13%)
§ In Q2, ABC had the highest share of investment from Home & Auto insurance brands at $17.4 million, followed by Fox News ($15.7 million) and NBC ($15.1 million)
§ In Q3, NBC topped the list, with these brands spending $29.5 million, followed by ESPN ($28 million, thanks to the return of live sports) and ABC ($23.9 million)

Sign up for our free webinar this Thursday, Oct. 29th and find out the 3 critical steps to ending racism in the media space. Byron Allen, owner of THE WEATHER CHANNEL & ALLEN MEDIA GROUP and TheGrio’s Natasha Alford, are presenting a new chapter in the ongoing conversation around stopping the racism that has plagued the advertising world in this ‘Black Owned Media Matters’ webinar.

Telemundo Deportes sports commentator Andres Cantor has been named the recipient of the National Soccer Hall of Fame 2020 Colin Jose Media Award. Cantor is the first Spanish-Language broadcast personality to be so honored.

The SpringHill Company and CNN are producing a documentary that explores the history of Black Wall Street and the violent events of late May and June 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. “Dreamland: The Rise and Fall of Black Wall Street” is directed and produced by Salima Koroma (“Bad Rap”), and executive produced by LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Jamal Henderson, and Philip Byron of The SpringHill Company, and Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton of CNN Films. CNN Films will be the linear television distributor for the feature throughout North America; HBO Max has acquired streaming rights.

OWN has renewed Cherish the Day, the anthology drama series from Ava DuVernay, for a second season. Raynell Swilling and Teri Schaffer, co-executive producers for season one, will serve as EPs and co-showrunners for the sophomore run.

Thomas Haden Church (Divorce) is set to star in and exec produce “The Texanist,” a comedy in development at Fox inspired by David Courtney’s Texas Monthly column. Rob Long (“Cheers”) is writing the project, a co-production of SideCar and Fox Entertainment.

Glass Entertainment Group announced an option deal for the social justice title, “Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s 50-Year Battle for a More Unjust America” by best-selling journalist, lawyer and author Adam Cohen. Under the terms of the deal, GEG (“Pope: The Most Powerful Man in History”) will adapt a television docu-series based on the book.

Netflix inked a deal with Orchid Pictures, the production company just launched by Suzanne Mackie (“The Crown”). “Starting my own company felt like an exciting next chapter in my career,” said Mackie, who was previously Creative Director at Left Bank. “The opportunity of further deepening my collaboration with Netflix presented an immensely exciting opportunity.”

HBO Sports, Imagine Documentaries and Fuqua Films are in production on The Day Sports Stood Still, a feature-length documentary that tells the story of the sports shutdown in March of 2020. Antoine Fuqua (“What’s My Name | Muhammad Ali”) will chronicle the stoppage, athletes’ role in the cultural reckoning on racial injustices that escalated during the pandemic and the complex return to competition. From producers Brian Grazer and Justin Wilkes, along with Fuqua, the film debuts next year and will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max.

Atomic Monster is producing a Netflix series loosely based on supernatural horror podcast “Archive 81,” starring Mamoudou Athie (“Jurassic World: Dominion”) and Dina Shihabi (“Altered Carbon”). Rebecca Sonnenshine will serve as showrunner.

Vendetta Productions landed a first-look TV development and production deal with A+E Studios. Vendetta’s Sheldon Turner and Jennifer Klein will work with studio head Barry Jossen and EVP Creative Affairs Tana Jamieson. “Sheldon and Jennifer are fantastic producers whose strong talent relations result in discovering unique voices and captivating stories,” said Jamieson. “With new series in production and a robust development slate, A+E Studios continues to grow and evolve.”

Genius Brands International and ABG Entertainment announced a new animated comedy, action-adventure series for kids, “Shaq’s Garage,” starring Shaquille O’Neal. The series will be executive produced by O’Neal, Genius Brands, PRP, and ABG Entertainment. Through the partnership, O’Neal is also becoming a shareholder in Genius Brands.

Get the tools you need to solve 2021’s cross-platform challenges at Cynopsis’ Measurement & Data Virtual Experience. Plus, who doesn’t love to win free stuff? Our sponsors are giving away an Apple Watch, Bose Headphones, and more. Ticket prices increase after midnight today, so we encourage you to register ASAP to take advantage of the savings!

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

The fourth and final run of Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premieres Thursday, December 31. Over Part 4’s eight episodes, the witches wage war, and Nick begins to slowly work his way back into Sabrina’s heart.

Empires of New York, set amid “the grit, greed, and glory” of 1980s New York, premieres Sunday, November 29 at 8p on CNBC. Among the tycoons covered are Ivan Boesky, Leona Helmsley, John Gotti and future president Donald Trump.

Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills will include the franchise’s first Asian American housewife, in season 11. Crystal Kung Minkoff, an entrepreneur and wife of filmmaker Rob Minkoff, joins Kyle Richards, Erika Girardi, Lisa Rinna, Dorit Kemsley as well as Garcelle Beauvais, who became RHOBH’s first Black cast member last season.

Go Green is a digital makeover show with an splash of wish granting, a dose of environmental learning, and assists from Mark Ruffalo and Don Cheadle. Lucia Entertainment co-founder and CEO Nicole Winters talks about the project in Cynsiders.

Freeform digital series “The Clock Is Ticking” premieres today, October 27, on Freeform’s Instagram. The two-parter starring and exec produced by Yara Shahidi (“grown-ish”) is part of the net’s multiplatform voting initiative.

TECH TALK

Facebook is diving into cloud gaming, with free-to-play games launching in beta on its desktop website and Android app. Users can play a game streamed from Facebook’s data centers without having to download the game on their device. Apple devices are excluded. “We have a great app,” said Jason Rubin, Facebook’s VP, Special Gaming Initiatives. “We would have to use Apple’s technology and browser on iOS, and that isn’t optimized to the benefit of cloud games.”

The biggest deterrents for viewers of pirate sports streams are the fear of disruption to their viewing, and the risk of legal and social consequence, according to a report from video software provider Synamedia, “Tackling Sports Piracy in an IP World.” Consumer education won’t curtail piracy, the study found – three quarters of the sports fans surveyed already believe piracy is morally wrong yet they continue. Instead, the report asserts that a more effective approach is to make pirate streams so unreliable that consumers lose trust in the service while making legitimate services more attractive.

With the approach of holiday shopping season, Daniel Elad, Chief Strategy Officer of TheViewpoint, offers a look at key CTV viewer groups – their psychological peculiarities, content preferences, interests, and purchase habits – to help brands define the right approach to their target audience, in Cynsiders.

COMING UP

Crazy, Not Insane, directed and produced by Alex Gibney (“Agents of Chaos”) debuts Wednesday, November 18 at 9p on HBO. The documentary explores attempts to look beyond the grisly details of homicides into the hearts and minds of the killers themselves.

It’s bakers competing against makers when Cake Boss Buddy Valastro vies with non-cake artists on Food Network’s “Buddy vs. Christmas,” premiering Sunday, November 22 at 10p. The four-parter was filmed before Valastro impaled his hand in an accident at his home; his road to recovery is documented in a TLC special premiering Wednesday, December 23 at 9p.

AspireTV and REVOLT are hosting virtual symposium, “Stop Killing Us! Challenging Police Practices In America,” on Wednesday, October 28 at 7p. Moderated by Tanika Ray, panelists include Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, David Banner, Rev. Stephen Green and Mayor Aja Brown. The full panel discussion will stream on both AspireTV and REVOLT websites, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter platforms.

Documentary “With Drawn Arms” premiered on Starz on Monday, November 2 at 9p. The film covers the legacy of Olympian Tommie Smith who, after winning the gold medal at the 1968 Summer Olympics, thrust his fist in the air during the playing of the national anthem in silent protest against racial inequality.

The Campaigns That Made History premieres tonight, October 27 at 9p on History. The special focuses on the ten most surprising and shocking political contests.

Also airing tonight: “Not Done: Women Remaking America,” chronicling the eruption of women’s organizing since the 2016 election, through the eyes of activists and celebrities like Shonda Rhimes, Gloria Steinem, America Ferrara and more. The doc debuts at 8p on PBS.

Insight TV will broadcast two events from Red Bull Media House next month. On November 14 starting at 2p, the channel will premiere Red Bull Street Style Final 2020 freestyle soccer competition. The live broadcast of the Red Bull BC One World Final 2020 airs on November 28 starting at 11a.

STREAMING SCOOP

Outdoor Sportsman Group and Connecticut-based Obsession Media have entered a strategic partnership for content distribution on the Obsession Media platform, Outdoor America. The partnership will expand the reach of independent producers and endemic advertisers to diverse audiences across linear OTT and CTV’s on AVOD platforms.

Fox unscripted series I Can See Your Voice is now available for streaming on Tubi. Weekly episodes from the debut season roll out on Tubi a short time after their linear broadcast premieres.

Redbox live TV service has added support for Xbox devices. “Our Free Live TV service continues to grow at a rapid pace and we’re committed to creating a product that our customers love and we know that includes adding awesome channels such as Vevo that we know our audiences will enjoy,” said Chris Yates, general manager at Redbox On Demand.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Twitch CEO Emmet Shear got a letter from major music organizations accusing Amazon-owned Twitch of failing to secure proper synch and mechanical licenses for its new Soundtrack tool, and enabling streamers to use their members’ music without authorization, reports Variety. “Twitch appears to do nothing in response to the thousands of notices of music infringement that it has received nor does it currently even acknowledge that it received them, as it has done in the past,” says the letter. Responded Twitch, “Soundtrack is not only a fully-licensed way for streamers to play great music in their live streams but also an important discovery tool for independent artists and labels.” Twitch also said it “responds to each valid DMCA notification it receives.”

GOING GLOBAL

Wildlife and nature brand Love Nature, is debuting in the Nordics as a linear platform, launching on Pay TV operator T-We by Telenor Norway. The two-year carriage deal will introduce Love Nature’s programming to the carrier’s 600,000 English-speaking subscribers.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who narrated The Simpsons’ version of Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven in the series’ first “Treehouse of Horror” Halloween special in 1990? James Earl Jones. Kudos to: Pete Hazell-Discovery Communications Europe/London, Sean Meenagh-CoxReps/Stamford, CT, John Ferlazzo/London, Austin Cassidy-Nectarine Media/Jacksonville, FL, Daniel Laub-Premion, NYC, Theonia Williams-PHD Media/NYC, Tori Gallarello-Alcock-Little Roosters/Bronx, NY, Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA, David Westberg-Sag-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question
Which series starred Sam Waterston and Regina Taylor? (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.)