Today’s Finales
Cooking: Food Paradise at 9p
HBO: Cost of Winning at 9:30p
ID: Crimes Gone Viral at 9p

The new round of job eliminations expected at WarnerMedia have begun, as the company looks to cut costs. “We have arrived at a number of difficult decisions that are resulting in a smaller WarnerMedia team,” wrote CEO Jason Kilar in a memo to staff on Tuesday. “This is a function of removing layers and the impact of consolidating previously separate organizations.” Starting yesterday, employees in North America impacted by the cuts were notified; a review is underway for changes in other countries. “Many of you have patiently waited to hear how the reorganization would affect you personally, which is both uncomfortable and stressful,” said Kilar. “Reducing this period of uncertainty was one of the many reasons we pushed so hard to get through this work as quickly and as thoughtfully as possible, although it probably didn’t feel fast enough. I want to thank you all for continuing to contribute your best, despite this challenging period and the additional pressure of everything else that has been going on in the world.”

Disney’s Peter Rice, Chairman of the General Entertainment Content, shared details of a reorganization that separates content creation from distribution and commercialization. “For our team, this means we will wholly focus our resources on developing, producing and marketing exceptional content to fuel the company’s streaming and linear platforms,” he told staffers in a memo.

Rice’s leadership team remains, with some tweaks: Ravi Ahuja – President, Business Operations, Disney General Entertainment Content, leads Finance, Strategy and Operations; James Goldston – President, ABC News, oversees all aspects of the news division’s journalism, including broadcast, streaming, mobile and audio; Gary Knell – Chairman, National Geographic Partners, oversees the global joint venture between The Walt Disney and National Geographic Society; John Landgraf – Chairman, FX, oversees development, production, marketing and publicity for the FX brand of original programming on Hulu and linear networks; Gary Marsh – President and Chief Creative Officer, Disney Branded Television, will lead the expanded Disney Branded Television Group that will now include all Disney-branded television content made by DGE for kids, tweens, teens and families; Courteney Monroe – President, National Geographic Content, will join Rice’s leadership team as a direct report overseeing National Geographic branded content development and production for Disney+ and the linear networks; and Dana Walden, Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, oversees the development and production operations of Disney Television Studios, Hulu Originals, ABC Entertainment and Freeform.

Who-ray! NBC is bringing a holiday tradition to life with “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch Musical!”. “Glee” star Matt Morrison will play the Grinch, with Denis O’Hare (“True Blood’) as his mutt companion, Max, in a production staged at the Troubadour Theatre in London. Morrison also serves as a producer. “My wish is to bring some Who-ville magic to this holiday season,” said Morrison. “While the pandemic presents some challenges…we are excited to present a unique version of this seasonal favorite in a new creative and imaginative way.” The show will go on Wednesday, December 9 at 8p.

Horror streamer Shudder is taking a different path to celebrate the holidays. “A Creepshow Holiday Special,” set to premiere Friday, December 18, centers on a man who fears he’s a murderer and searches for answers for his “unique condition” from an unusual support group. Starring Anna Camp (“Pitch Perfect”) and Adam Pally (“The Mindy Project”), the special is written and directed by Creepshow showrunner Greg Nicotero, based on a short story by J.A. Konrath. “The Spirit of Christmas is alive and well in true ‘Creepshow’ fashion,” said Nicotero. “Reimagining how we look at the holidays and Santa Claus with an outrageous ensemble cast, a myriad of creepy crawlies and a few thrills and chills shouldn’t be missed.”

“The Umbrellla Academy” aced a season three order from Netflix, with production set to begin in February. Steve Blackman will return as executive producer/showrunner for the superhero series.

“Alex Rider,” which makes its US debut Friday, November 13 on IMDb TV, has been renewed for a second season by the streamer. The teen spy series premiered on Prime Video this summer in Australia, Germany and the UK.

“The Outsider,” an adaptation of the Stephen King novel, will not make it to season two on HBO. “We thank HBO for a great partnership in the first season, and for helping to bring in a massive audience who fell in love with ‘The Outsider,’” said MRC Television President Elise Henderson. “We are looking forward to finding a new home for this remarkable series.” The show had originally been developed as a limited series, but studio MRC has a concept for another season, expanding on King’s book.

Nielsen is adding addressable measurement to its National TV currency. Through strategic data integrations, Nielsen will add ~55 million devices across smart TVs and set top boxes to help scale addressable TV; addressable measurement will include AT&T’s DirecTV, Dish, Nielsen Advanced Video Advertising and addressable campaigns on VIZIO that utilize the open addressable standard developed by Project OAR. Nielsen plans to begin sharing preview data in the first half of 2021.

NBC picked up Canadian medical drama “Nurses” from eOne and ICF Films. The 10-part series, following five young nurses working in a busy downtown hospital, will launch Monday, December 7 after “The Voice,” moving to Tuesdays at 10p starting January 5.

Annual New York comedy event Stand Up for Heroes, hosted by Jon Stewart, is going virtual. The benefit, presented by the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the New York Comedy Festival, will air Wednesday, November 18 at 9p on ABC News Live, TikTok, Facebook Watch, Cheddar, Twitch and Armed Forces Network.

Are you part of a team that works on an exceptional series, short form content, or awareness campaign? Get the recognition you deserve by entering Cynopsis’ 2020-2021 Best of the Best Awards – deadline is next Thursday, 11/19.

Digital comic publisher Webtoon is expanding into the entertainment space with the launch of Webtoon Studios, a multi-platform production division that connects Webtoon’s library of titles and creators with entertainment platforms including film, television, interactive entertainment, licensing, and merchandising. Adding to partnerships already formed with The Jim Henson Company and Crunchyroll, are new partnerships with Vertigo Entertainment, Bound Entertainment and Rooster Teeth Studios.

The Jim Henson Company and King Features have partnered to produce a new animated family sitcom inspired by the comic strip, Hägar the Horrible. Eric Ziobrowski (“Fresh Off the Boat,” “American Dad!”) is on board to write the new series.

Season two of Epix drama “Godfather of Harlem” has started production in NYC. Cast members Erik LaRay Harvey (“Luke Cage”) and Demi Singleton (“King Richard”) have been upped to series regulars for season two.

The agenda is now available for our highly-anticipated, virtual Digital Awards event. Check out our website to see who’s being honored – and when – on December 1! Tickets are free, and all are welcome to attend. Register here >

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

ABC released 2021 debut dates for new and returning shows. Season 25 of “The Bachelor” premieres Monday, January 4; new game shows “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” “The Chase” and “The Hustler” bow Thursday, January 8; “To Tell the Truth” is back for its sixth primetime season on Tuesday, January 26; and “American Idol” returns for its fourth ABC iteration on Sunday, February 14.

Fox also shared winter premiere dates, starting Sunday, December 27 with “The Masked Dancer” at 8p. Sunday, January 3 brings the series premiere of “Call Me Kat” at 8p, followed by the final season debut of “Last Man Standing” at 8:30p. “Hell’s Kitchen” is back Thursday, January 7 at 8p, and Tuesday, January 12 brings “The Resident” at 8p and “Prodigal Son” at 9p. “9-1-1” and spin-off “9-1-1: Lone Star” are back Monday, January 18 at 8p and 9p, respectively.

“Mission Unstoppable” returns for season two as part of Saturday morning’s
“The CBS Dream Team” block.

Four new and three returning couples look for true love on season eight of TLC phenom “90 Day Fiance,” premiering Sunday, December 6 at 8p

“Breaking Beauty,” a body positivity show featuring 350-pound model Josh Varozza, premieres Thursday, November 19 on Crackle . “Josh Varozza’s fun and inspiring series breaks down conventional beauty in a way that will uplift our audience with positivity, hope and laughter,” said Philippe Guelton, President of Crackle Plus.

Sesame Street is back for season 51 on Thursday, November 12. This will be the first season to debut on HBO Max, with 35 new episodes airing on Thursdays. The new season, which will also air on PBS Kids in Fall 2021, features celebrity guests including Hailee Steinfeld, who will perform the series’ new anthem.

CASTING

Marnee Carpenter (“Criminal Minds”) is set as a series regular is CBS’ “Clarice.” Recurring on the “Silence of the Lambs” sequel will be Jayne Atkinson (“Criminal Minds”), Shawn Doyle (“The Comey Rule”), and Tim Guinee (“Homeland”).

STREAMING

fuboTV announced its unaudited financial results for 3Q20. “Q3 was the strongest quarter in fuboTV’s history, exceeding targets in all of our key metrics: subscription revenue grew 64% year-over-year, ad revenue grew 153% year-over-year and we ended the quarter with an all-time high of 455,000 paid subscribers,” said David Gandler, co-founder and CEO, fuboTV. “A heavy sports calendar, busy news cycle and Hollywood’s fall entertainment season delivered many viewing options for consumers. We continued to grow fuboTV’s premium, personal viewing experience with the launch of new product features and new programming including Disney Media Networks (ABC, ESPN, many more), MLB Network, NBC News Now and more.”

Altice News announced the launch of “News 12 New York,” a daily regional digital news network featuring local news, events, community updates and more from across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Delivered as a curated OTT streaming news feed, the hyperlocal news show will leverage the News 12 Network’s news footprint, and is available on Tubi and The Weather Channel’s free streaming service, Local Now. Coming soon: Plex and VIZIO SmartCast.

Spotify is ramping up efforts to monetize its content with a deal to acquire podcast technology company Megaphone for $235 million. Megaphone (rebranded from Panoply Media in 2019) offers podcast hosting, distribution and ad insertion tools for podcast publishers.

Spotify rival Audible announced a first-look deal with NBA champ Stephen Curry’s production company, Unanimous Media. The multi-project slate, focusing on stories of family, sports and faith, kicks off with two original titles, “The Greatest Sports Story Never Told” and “Fifteen Minutes from Home.” “We are excited to be expanding our Unanimous ecosystem into the audio space, and are proud to team up with Audible to carry out our vision in producing compelling content that will spark conversations,” said Stephen Curry and Erick Peyton, Unanimous Media Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer.

TECH TALK

TiVo and Comcast are burying the hatchet with a 15-year patent license agreement, effective as of the expiration of Comcast’s prior agreement in 2016, providing broad coverage under TiVo’s patent portfolios into 2031. The agreement also resolves all of the outstanding litigation between the companies. “We are very pleased to conclude this agreement with Comcast, one of the world’s leading media and technology companies that is widely recognized for its innovative products and solutions,” said Samir Armaly, President, IP Licensing for TiVo owner Xperi. “The agreement illustrates our ability to execute key renewals with our largest customers as the video market continues to experience significant technological and business evolution.” TiVo and Comcast have engaged in patent disputes since 1Q16, when Comcast let its license lapse.

Key announcements at Apple’s “One More Thing” event on Tuesday: The company is building its own chips for Macs (as it already does for iPads, iPhones and Apple Watches), a move Apple says will offer better performance…The new MacBook Air is up to 3.5 times faster than the previous generation, and with no fans, is silent…iOS apps will now be able to run on a Mac…The new Mac Mini is up to three times faster, and with a base price of $699, also $100 cheaper.

“Storelessness” during quarantine combined with government privacy regulations and browser/OS data restrictions are driving 60% of marketers to stress-invest in first-party data, according to IAB’s Brand Disruption 2021: The IAB Annual Report on the Evolving Consumer Ecosystem. Other findings include massive growth in directly shoppable media and advertising, as well as FAST:
· Free, ad-supported streaming TV is a high-growth medium, and the introduction of shoppable formats will make it quite formidable.
· Directly “shoppable media” — livestreams, social commerce, virtual consultations, and shoppable ad formats — will be the fastest-growing advertising categories for the foreseeable future. Companies including L’Oréal and General Mills are already making the shift.
· This year, global livestream-generated sales are expected to double to $120 billion. In China, one event, Singles Day 2019, generated $2.9 billion in sales.

Connected TV ad impressions grew 55% year-over-year, according to Innovid’s US Video Benchmarks Report. Compared to mobile and desktop, CTV is the only device that gained more video ad impression share, jumping from 33% in 2019 to 41% in 2020, representing a 23% year-over-year. However, Despite CTV’s growth, mobile devices defended a narrow lead of 2 percentage points over CTV. Desktop impressions continue to trend downward. When analyzing growth by comparing standard and advanced video impressions, mobile growth fared better with advanced (formats that are personalized or interactive) video (+27% YoY), while CTV dominated standard (+56% YoY).

Allroll, the ad tech company that helps Roku content creators grow their channels, announced a self-serve offering available on its marketing platform. The self-serve option is aimed at providing Roku channel owners with full control over their campaigns and ad spend. “We’re experiencing the explosion of self-serve advertising. And while brands and agencies have a wider choice of self-serve ad platforms, publishers, especially tapping into the CTV environment, have limited exposure to ways of buying advertising to promote themselves,” said Alex Zakrevsky, CEO of Allrolll. “As the Roku audience is growing and more content distributors will be looking for ways to improve their viewership, we’re facing the challenge to make growing Roku channel easier with Allroll self-serve.”

COMING UP

OWN has three new Christmas movies set to air Tuesdays at 9p in December. “A Christmas for Mary” debuts December 8; “Cooking Up Christmas” premieres December 15; and “First Christmas” arrives December 22. “Following the overwhelming success of our inaugural holiday movie slate last year, we’re excited to announce all-new movies with heartwarming stories the whole family can enjoy,” said Tina Perry, President, OWN.

Lifetime’s also getting in the holiday spirit, adding four new movies to its “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” slate: “Too Close for Christmas” (Friday, December 4 at 8p), “The Christmas High Note” (Tuesday, December 22 at 8p), “Christmas at the Castle” (Wednesday, December 23 at 8p) and “My Sweet Holiday” (Thursday, December 25 at 8p).

Family Broadcasting Corporation is going the distance to air sports programming, acquiring the exclusive domestic cable and streaming rights to the Israel Basketball Super League. Two live games per week will be broadcast on FBC’s two cable and satellite networks, FETV and WHT. “The ISBL features some of the most competitive professional basketball in the world,” said FBC CEO Drew Sumrall. “American viewers will be delighted and entertained by the quality of play in the ISBL.” The ISBL regular season runs from November through April, with playoffs in June.

TRIBUTES

Game Show Network is airing a “Jeopardy!” marathon on Saturday, November 14 from 9a-3p, in honor of Alex Trebek, who died November 8 at age 80. The event will include “words of tribute” from GSN talent.

TCM celebrates Sean Connery on Wednesday, November 25 with a lineup of the late actor’s movies, starting at 8p with 1965’s “Thunderball.” Connery died October 31 at age 90.

SOCIAL GOOD

A+E Networks announced a slate of Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives across their portfolio to celebrate the nation’s heroes, in addition to the premiere of a “Variety’s Salute to Service” airing today, November 11 at 10p on The History Channel. “A+E Networks and The History Channel have pledged to support veterans and their families and highlight their stories of service not just on Veterans Day, but all year long,” said Paul Buccieri, President of A+E Networks Group. “We are proud to present special programming and initiatives across all of our platforms that honor those who have served.”

Charter is marking Veterans Day by celebrating employees who served in the military, or who are continuing to serve in the National Guard and Reserves, noting that approximately 10% of its workforce are former military. “Veterans bring a mission-oriented mindset that helps us across all aspects of our operations, from customer care to our technicians who provide essential connectivity and maintenance service for our network,” said Tom Adams, EVP of Field Operations for Charter. “We recognize and value the skills veterans develop during their service and our goal is to help them build on these talents for a meaningful career with Charter.”

Nickelodeon is partnering with nonprofit organization Baby2Baby this holiday season for the “Blues Clues & You!” Blue Friday, dedicated to celebrating families, on Friday, November 20. In honor of Blue Friday, Nick will make a donation to Baby2Baby to support their mission of helping kids and families in need.

GOING GLOBAL

Insight TV has partnered with Huawei to launch its lifestyle channel Insight TV and its short-form content channel InShort on HUAWEI Video in Europe. The launch of Insight TV and InShort on Huawei’s mobile-first video platform follows HUAWEI Video’s rollout across Europe earlier this year. Insight TV and inShort will be available in 11 European countries in HUAEI Video’s footprint.

Finland’s Ferly and Belgium’s Digital Graphics/Germany’s Atmosphere Media announced the commission of their preschool show, “Momoly and Friends,” by TVOKids (Canada), Knowledge (Canada), YLE (Finland) and SRC (Societe Radio Canada).

all3media International struck deals for two new package deals in the Czech Republic. Commercial broadcaster TV Seznam has selected three of all3media International’s detective dramas, including dark crime drama “Baptiste,” and “The Missing,” the hit thriller that inspired “Baptiste.”

Today’s Trivia Question
What was the first production collaboration between Danny Thomas and Aaron Spelling? (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.)