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Today’s Premieres
Disney+: The Tatami Time Machine Blues; Zootopia; Save Our Squad with David Beckham; The Montaners
Discovery: Moonshiners at 9p; Diesel Brothers at 10p
E!: If We’re Being Honest with Laverne Cox at 10p
HBO: Hard Knocks in Season: The Arizona Cardinals at 10p
History: Pawn Stars Do America at 8p; Secret Restoration at 10p
Netflix: The Crown; FIFA Uncovered
Prime Video: Breathe Into the Shadows
Smithsonian: Rooted: America’s Tree of Life at 8p

IN THE NEWS

Starting November 30, Peacock Premium Plus customers will have access to their local affiliate station through a channel on the Peacock homepage. The live stream channel will include NBC’s full lineup of local news, sports and weather, market-by-market, as well as “Today,” “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and NBC prime. “With Peacock’s local affiliate livestream, our subscribers are getting the unique combination of the ad-free on-demand content they love with the local news and NBC programming that is already part of their daily life,” said Kelly Campbell, President, Peacock and Direct-to-Consumer, NBCUniversal. “NBC affiliates have long been an integral part of local communities, and we look forward to being another point of connection and engagement for those communities across the country.”

Apple TV+ handed a season two renewal to dark comedy “Bad Sisters,” executive produced and starring Sharon Horgan. “If you’d have told me three years ago that I’d be making a series about five murderous sisters chasing a man around Ireland trying to kill him I’d have said; yeah, that sounds about right,” said Horgan. “The response to our show had been beyond what we could have hoped for.”

US consumers are steadily losing interest in the news and use of social media to manage their mental well-being, according to GWI study, Connecting the Dots. Findings include:
· Gen Z cares less now for social media. Following influencers as a top reason for using social media has dropped 22% for Gen Z, though interest in influencers is increasing by 16% YoY, and can grow as long as content is aspirational vs. inspirational.
· Consumers are hunting for the next best “#ThriftFlip” – the hashtag has garnered over 2.8 billion views on TikTok and interest in buying pre-owned items increased by 12% YoY.
· True crime saw a 21% growth in listeners from 2Q20, now becoming a top genre.

Disney reported total revenue of $20.15 billion for the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, up 9% over the year-ago quarter but short of Wall Street’s forecast of $21.44 billion. The company had a happy streaming story to share, with Disney+ adding 12.1 million subscribers in the quarter, and combined direct-to-consumer subs for Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu hitting 235.7 million, topping analysts’ expectations. “The rapid growth of Disney+ in just three years since launch is a direct result of our strategic decision to invest heavily in creating incredible content and rolling out the service internationally, and we expect our DTC operating losses to narrow going forward and that Disney+ will still achieve profitability in fiscal 2024, assuming we do not see a meaningful shift in the economic climate,” said chief executive Bob Chapek.

Nexstar Media Group reported 3Q22 financial results that included record net revenue of $1.27 billion, an increase of 9.7% from the same quarter of 2021. While Core ad revenue of $400 million was down 7.6%, political ad revenue was up 943%, to $129.3 million. Distribution fee revenue of $642 million was up 3.7%, and digital revenue rose 5.7%, to $86 million. As for the company’s acquisition of The CW on September 30, “The transaction is expected to solidify the company’s programming and revenue opportunities as the largest CW affiliate group, diversify its content outside of news, and establish it as a scaled participant in advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) services via The CW App,” said the company in its earnings release.

While Nextstar’s goal is to cut costs at The CW and turn a profit – hence the cancellations of a number of scripted series, including “DC’s Stargirl,” “Nancy Drew” and “The Flash” – “Warner and Paramount are not precluded from selling us programming,” said Nextstar CEO Perry Sook on an earnings call. “It’s just going to have to be a financial deal that we like. And there may be a couple of shows that distinguish themselves this year that we want to hold over to next year.”

Netflix is exploring offering live sports, according to The Wall Street Journal. While no talks have come to fruition, the streamer has bid for tennis rights, and was in talks to buy the World Surf League last year.

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Fox has ordered new animated comedy “Universal Basic Guys/The Hoagie Bros.” (wt) from creators Adam and Craig Malamut (“Sports Friends,” “Game of Zones”) for 2024. The series, following brothers “overflowing with the perilous combo of free time and stupid ideas,” will be co-produced by FOX Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television, with Fox Bento Box Entertainment serving as animation studio.

Netflix gave a series order to “Neon,” following three friends who dream of making it big in the world of reggaeton. The comedy comes from Shea Seranno, author of The Rap Year Book.

Ensemble comedy “Overcompensating” is in development at Amazon Studios. The show, from comedian/actor Benito Skinner, Charli XCX, Strong Baby Productions and A24, follows a football player struggling to accept his sexuality.

Disney is looking to develop an Indiana Jones TV show for Disney+, reports Variety. While there have been meetings with writers for the potential project, no plans have been confirmed.

Food-themed content studio Chefclub has entered a programming partnership with Spanish-language streaming servie ViX that allows Chefclub’s branded programming to be accessed by Hispanic households across the US and Spanish-speaking Latin America. “Food is a passion point for Hispanic audiences and a beautiful part of our cultural DNA,” said Bilai Joa Silar, SVP of OTT Content at TelevisaUnivision. “We are thrilled to partner with Chefclub to bring ViX users a modern culinary entertainment experience with content that brings families together and feeds their love for food.”

Sitcom pilot “Group,” from the late Aaron Carter, will be completed and shopped to networks, with the stamp of approval from Carter’s management. In the show, Carter played a fictionalized version of himself as he dealt with mental health struggles. “Aaron was so excited about the show and helping raise awareness for mental health, a topic he was very passionate about,” said writer/director Brian Farmer. “He said being a part of the show gave him something positive to work toward.” The former teen idol was found dead in in his home on November 4; he was 34.

Three months ago, BBC Studios put global syndication and ad sales under one roof, a move aimed at unlocking growth. Tara Maitra, Chief Commercial Officer, Global Distribution, tells Cynopsis how it’s going so far, in Cynsiders.

Edgar Ramirez (“The Undoing”) will star in season two of Peacock anthology series “Dr. Death,” as a doctor whose botched surgeries are investigated. Season one’s showrunner, executive producer and writer Patrick Macmanus (“The Girl from Plainville”) will executive produce via his Littleton Road Productions banner, under his overall deal with UCP.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Season three of VH1’s “Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition” launches Monday, November 28 at 8p. The series goes international as the cast heads to Jamaica.

“Inside the Black Box” returns for a second season on Crackle on December 1. “’Inside the Black Box’ is a special series for so many reasons,” said co-host Joe Morton. “Black performers are often forced to speak words that are not in line with their experience. Our goal is to create a safe space where artists of color can speak their minds and tell their stories.”

Homeowners get budget hacks from a high-end designer in HGTV’s new series, “Luxe For Less,” making its debut Thursday, December 1 at 9p.

Casey Anthony, accused and acquitted of murdering her daughter, tells her side of the story in Peacock limited series “Casey Anthony Where the Truth Lies,” premiering Tuesday, November 29.

Season 12 of Discovery’s “Moonshiners” premieres tonight, November 9 at 8p, followed by a new episode of “Master Distillers.” Both shows come from Magilla Entertainment, and according to Matthew Ostrom, EP and Co-Owner of Magilla, the pairing makes sense. “We’ve been working on ‘Moonshiners’ for a decade plus, which has allowed us front row seats into a region of the country and way of life that began hundreds of years ago,” said Ostrom. “On the other end of the spectrum, ‘Master Distiller’ takes a traditional craft and elevates it to a competitive culinary art. Together, these shows paint a full picture of a multi-generational custom that has become an important part of their culture, and our pop culture.”

COMING UP

Tate McRae, David Hasselhoff, German-raised model and influencer Leonie Hanne, and Canadian singer-songwriter Lauren Spencer Smith have been added to the line-up of presenters at the “MTV EMAs,” airing Sunday, November 13.

SPORTS

Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, announced a series of updates to its multiplatform programming offering. In addition to the more than 30 play-by-play voices, game analysts, soccer experts and correspondents who will be providing coverage on the ground, Telemundo Deportes will have more than 10 distinct positions across Doha, including four sets and additional picturesque positions. “We are proud to be the home of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. This will be an extraordinary year for NBCU and Telemundo as we present the world’s biggest and greatest sporting event,” said Ray Warren, President, Telemundo Deportes. “Our team and the entire NBCU family are prepared to deliver deeper coverage, unique perspectives, unforgettable stories and more excitement than ever before.”

As the World Cup kick off approaches, Michelob ULTRA has enlisted Christian Pulisic, Carli Lloyd and Guillermo Ochoa to compete against each other in foosball as the brand launches its World Cup Campaign. Michelob ULTRA also partnered with Guillermo Andrade to create a limited edition, unofficial World Cup jersey for fans.

Ryan Reynolds is looking to expand professional sports team ownership to hockey. The Canadian actor confirmed his interest in the NHL’s Ottawa Senators on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Monday. To acquire the team, Reynolds said he will need “a partner with really deep pockets.” Reynolds currently co-owns Wrexham AFC, the lower-league soccer club in Wales, with Rob McElhenney.

RTVE will air the next two UEFA Champions League finals. The matches for 2023 and 2024 will also stream on RTVE’s La1 channel, with “special programming” in the week leading up to the final. Last month’s final between Real Madrid and Liverpool was watched by an average of 7.7 million people over linear on La1 and was the most-watched league final in Spain.

Continuum Media has launched a new sports division, Continuum Sports, led by Lori Taylor as Director of Advertising Sales for Continuum Sports. Taylor was previously Head of Branded Content/Director, US Commercial Sales at SportFive Sports Marketing Agency.

TECH TALK

datafuelX has launched the data driven linear components of M3, a SaaS platform designed to support planning, forecasting, deal optimization, stewardship and posting. “Data-Driven Linear spend continues to rise” says Spencer Lambert, Director, datafuelX. “And at the end of the day, DDL still needs to innovate significantly. Publishers need better, more granular estimates to forecast and better analytics to optimize for yield while providing the value to advertiser partners. The current process simply leaves too much waste. That’s why we’re aiming our decision science at the M3 SaaS platform. DDL needs a new solution architected with fresh thinking to better address emerging challenges.”

STREAMING

HBO Max is getting into the holiday spirit with an assist from some Warner Bros. Discovery sibs. Seasons five and six of HGTV’s “Property Brothers: Forever Home” and Food Network’s “Chopped” holiday shows drop on HBO Max today, November 9 followed on November 14 by seasons seven and eight of Food Network’s “Holiday Baking Championship.”

AccuWeather has launched on TiVo+. “I’m certain our audience will be compelled by the stories illuminating the potential impact of forecasted weather on sports, health, and travel as well as the long-form storytelling AccuWeather NOW delivers,” said Bill Neighbors, Chief Content Officer for TiVo’s parent company Xperi.

Cinedigm has acquired the worldwide rights (excluding Italy) to three Italian documentaries by Annalaura di Luggo: “We Are Art: Through the Eyes of Annalaura,” “Blind Vision,” and “Napoli Eden.” The films are set to stream in early 2023.

GOING GLOBAL

Innovid has integrated its capabilities for UK and Germany-based clients with The Trade Desk. The agreement provides independent, automated incremental reach analysis through The Trade Desk platform. Select users of The Trade Desk will now have access to a suite of cross-platform, incremental reach insights for advertisers running campaigns on CTV, surfacing the incrementally of streaming beyond linear TV, as well as unique reach by publisher, including publisher-by-publisher analysis.

Canada-France Series Lab, a joint venture between Series Mania Forum, Telefilm Canada, CNC, and BANFF World Media Festival, has been formed to encourage and facilitate the development of new relationships between Canadian and French producers and ultimately create new co-production opportunities, while at the same time fostering the development of projects with strong international potential in a competitive environment.

2023 Model D & It List Awards

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Outstanding Reporting and Analytics
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RATINGS

The final game of the 2022 World Series delivered 12.5 million viewers, according to Nielsen Live+SD data, with 3.8 million among A18-49. That’s down from 14.3 million and 4.5 million in the demo last year, but the series average across games of 11.7 million viewers matched last year’s number.

Fox reports that for the fourth consecutive year, the network has ranked as the #1 network of Premiere Week in entertainment programming among A18-49 and A18-34 in Live + 35 Day ratings. For the week of September 19, Fox delivered the #1 entertainment program (“The Simpsons”), #1 drama debut (“Monarch”) and four of the top five comedies (#1 “The Simpsons,” #3 “Family Guy,” and a tie for #4 with “The Great North “and “Bob’s Burgers”).

“Manifest,” ordered for a fourth and final season on Netflix after it was canceled by NBC, drew 57.1 million hours of viewing in its first three days for the season’s first ten episodes.

Hallmark Channel had the top two entertainment cable programs of the past week: “A Magical Christmas Village” and “Lights, Camera, Christmas!”, respectively. The net’s Countdown to Christmas stunt made it the #1 most-watched entertainment cable network of the week in Total Day and Weekend Total Day among Households, Women 18+, Women 25-54, Total Viewers

In syndication, “Extra” (0.6 Live+SD national Nielsen rating, up 20% from the week before) and “TMZ” (0.7, up 17%) were the only first-run shows anywhere in access to score double digit increases against game one of the World Series in the week ending October 30. “Live with Kelly and Ryan” (1.5, down 6%) remained at the top of the talk show class for the 23rd straight week, including eight ties.

Nielsen Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of October 24 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy! (CMV) 5.4 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 4.9 AA
Family Feud (CMV) 4.8 AA
Judge Judy (CMV) 4.3 AA
Inside Edition (CMV) 2.1 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.0 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 1.8 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.5 AA
Dr. Phil (CMV) 1.4 AA
Hot Bench (AT) 1.3 AA

Nielsen Basic Cable Ranker for the week of October 31
Network, P2+ AA (000)
Prime Time
ESPN 3150
Fox News 2462
Hallmark Channel 1180
MSNBC 1013
TLC 755
HGTV 719
TBS 619
INSP 605
Food Network 566
USA 567
Total Day
Fox News 1630
ESPN 966
MSNBC 676
Hallmark Channel 665
CNN 431
HGTV 420
Food Network 358
INSP 367
TV Land 351
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 324

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, November 7
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Bachelor in Paradise 2.46 (0.6), On the Road to the CMAs 1.43 (0.2)
CBS: The Neighborhood 3.78 (0.4), Bob Hearts Abishola 3.43 (0.3), NCIS 3.85 (0.2), NCIS: Hawai’i 3.19 (0.2)
CW: All American 0.45 (0.1), All American: Homecoming 0.36 (0.1)
FOX: 9-1-1 5.09 (0.7), The Cleaning Lady 2.28 (0.3)
NBC: The Voice 5.87 (0.6), Quantum Leap 2.65 (0.4)
Telemundo: Exatlon Estados Unidos 0.92 (0.2), La Reina del Sur 0.80 (0.2), El Fuego del Destino 0.68 (0.1)
Univision: Vencer la Ausencia 1.50 (0.4), Ricos Tambien Lloran 1.63 (0.4), La Madrastra 1.21 (0.3)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Matt Thunell has joined Skydance Television as President. Thunell, formerly VP of Spectacle and Event Television at Netflix, replaces Bill Bost, who is leaving to form his own production company.

Stark Townsend has been named Chief Agency Partnership Officer at GlassView. Townsend was previously Head of Agency Partnerships at Ampersand.

CafeMedia has hired Rashmi Singh as Senior Vice President, Affiliate Commerce. Singh joins from Yahoo.

Vault AI has promoted Rachel Krauss to President, Insights and Strategy. Prior to joining Vault AI, Krauss was SVP and General Manager, Franchise and Content Strategy at MarketCast.

This Day in History
1961 – The Professional Golfers’ Association eliminated its “Caucasians only” rule.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On “Cheers” (1982-93), what had party girl Rebecca’s nickname been at UConn? Backseat Becky. Kudos to: Dave Braxton-DaveBVO/Las Vegas; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago; Sandy Spiegel/Chicago; Michael Goodman-Radio One/Atlanta; Gary Arlen-Arlen Communications/Bethesda, MD; Scott Osborne-Univision/NYC; Eric Dunefsky-Crossmedia/NYC; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
On “Wings” (1990-97), what were the names of Fay’s three husbands? (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.)

Cynopsis Team