Everyone Is On Our List!
#1 Most-Watched in Total Day
HHs, W18+, W18-49, W25-54
A25-54 & Total Viewers

28 Million Unique Viewers-to-Date
Click here for source.

Wednesday November 17, 2021

Today’s Finale
Science: If We Built It Today at 8p

IN THE NEWS

Season seven of OWN’s “Queen Sugar” will be its last. Said series creator Ava DuVernay, “To write and produce seven seasons of a modern drama centered on a Black family is a radical act in our industry and a triumph that has far exceeded every hope I held. Now I feel strongly that the story, which began as a sunrise of a suggestion from Oprah, is ready for its sunset as a dream fully realized.” Writing on the final season has commenced and production will begin in early 2022 in New Orleans.

While 97% of tweets come from the top quarter of Twitter users, only 14% were original posts – 49% were retweets and 33% were replies to other users, according to a Pew Research report analyzing the impact Twitter has on news consumption in the US. Also of note: Although 69% of people said thy use Twitter to get news, just 8% said it was the “most important” source of news. Forty-six percent of respondents said Twitter increased their understanding of current events over the past year, but 33% reported seeing “a lot of misleading or inaccurate information.”

Days before season four of “Star Trek: Discovery” was set to stream outside the US on Netflix, ViacomCBS ended its overseas deal with with Netflix and pulled all seasons of the show from the platform. The series will make a global move to Paramount+ next year.

The overall ethnic skew of employees in the marketing/advertising industry is growing increasingly diverse, according to a new study by the ANA and the ANA’s Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing. However, while Asian representation continues its strong trends relative to their proportion of the US population, African American/Black and Hispanic/Latino are significantly underrepresented. “A Diversity Report for the Advertising/Marketing Industry” also addressed gender equality and revealed that the industry continues to skew female, including top marketing industry executives. “This report reveals that marketing industry is making important strides toward improving diversity among our ranks at all levels,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “However, it also shows that we still have work to do to achieve a truly diverse balance in our workforce.

“9-1-1” cast member Rockmond Dunbar has left the Fox drama because of new Covid protocols. He applied for medical and religious exemptions and was denied. “In order to ensure a safer workplace for all, Zone A personnel who do not confirm their vaccination status and do not meet the criteria for exemption will not be eligible to work,” said Sony Television.

Eliza Dushku spoke in front of the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday about being fired from CBS’ “Bull” and forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement, after accusing the show’s star, Michael Weatherly, of sexual harassment. She reportedly received a $9.5 million settlement. “My first week on my new job I found myself the brunt of crude, sexualized and lewd verbal assaults,” Dushku told lawmakers. “I suffered near constant sexual harassment from my co-star. This was beyond anything I had experienced in my 30-year career.” The actress spoke in front of a hearing titled “Silenced: How Forced Arbitration Keeps Victims of Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment in the Shadow.”

Show us your BEST! Submit your work for the Best of the Best Awards and nominate your colleagues for the Rising Star Awards. Nominating is easy. Extended deadline: this Friday, November 19th. Best of the Best & Rising Star Awards will be in person February 2022 in NYC. Complete your entry today!

Fox Weather is partnering with the Mississippi State University Foundation to further increase diversity in the meteorology field by creating scholarship opportunities via an endowed scholarship fund for students studying weather forecasting. In addition to a scholarship, Fox Weather will provide a mentor for each recipient.

Best of the Best Category List

Rising Star Nominations

Extended Deadline until November 19th

<<FINALIZE YOUR ENTRY TODAY>>

Nickelodeon ordered two new animated series. “Max & the Midnights” is based on the book series by cartoonist Nick Peirce, and “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” which brings the childhood game to life, is the first short picked up for series from Nick’s Intergalactic Shorts Program. “Translating the mega-popular Max & the Midknights from a book to television series is a creative undertaking that we can’t wait to dive into, and the comedic adventures of friends Rock, Paper and Scissors is truly made for our Nickelodeon audience,” said Ramsey Naito, President of Animation, Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Animation.

A TV game show adaptation of Trivial Pursuit is in development with eOne and LeVar Burton Entertainment. Burton, a one-time contender for the hosting job at “Jeopardy!”, will exec produce alongside Tara Long and Geno McDermott from eOne and LBE’s Sangita Patel. “LeVar Burton has been an iconic member of American pop culture for decades from ‘Roots’ to ‘Reading Rainbow’ to ‘Star Trek’ and beyond,” said Tara Long, President, Global Unscripted Television, eOne. “His love for intellectual curiosity paired with his ability to connect with audiences worldwide make him the perfect partner to bring Hasbro’s beloved trivia game to households in a new and exciting way.”

Starz handed is ready to “Party Down” again. The revival of the 2009-10 comedy will include original cast members Adam Scott, Jane Lynch, Ken Marino, Martin Starr, Ryan Hanson and Megan Mullaly.

Not reprising her “Party Down” role is Lizzy Caplan. The “Masters of Sex” star, who recently landed the female lead in Paramount+ series “Fatal Attraction,” has also been tapped for the lead in FX on Hulu series “Fleishman Is in Trouble,” based on the bestseller by the same name.

Andrea McArdle, who originated the role of Annie in the 1977 Broadway run of “Annie,” has joined the cast of NBC’s “Annie Live!”, airing Thursday, December 2 at 8p on NBC.

DC Thomson and Beano Studios have teamed for the launch of Emanta Studios, to develop UK comics for TV and film. The division has struck deals with Westbrook Studios for a drama based on The Amazing Mr X, and Jerry Bruckheimer TV and CBS Studios for a live-action dramedy based on Dennis the Menace.

Thunder Studios and Infinite Reality have entered into a strategic alliance with social media ecommerce platform Display Social to bring virtual production tools to user-generated live content broadcast in the metaverse. Infinite Reality’s photo-realistic metaverse technology will fuel Display’s metaverse experiences for the platform’s stable of content creators and curated communities. “Our strategic alliance with Display Social enables us to empower content creators in the metaverse by combining the three categories where Gen Z and Millennial consumers spend 80% of their time on mobile devices- gaming, entertainment, and social media,” said Rodric David, CEO of Thunder Studios.

“The Accidental Wolf” has been renewed for season two by Topic. Laurie Metcalf, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Denis O’Hare, Judith Light, Judith Ivey and Sahr Ngaujah will join the drama’s star, Kelli O’Hara, for the sophomore run.

A venture of real estate firms Hackman Capital Partners and Mile Capital Managegment have agreed to pay $1.8 billion for LA’s CBS Studio Center, reports The Wall Street Journal. That’s a hefty half billion more than the studio was expected to sell for when it was put on the market three months ago.

London-headquarted Buccaneer Media is teaming up with actor Dougray Scott (“My Week With Marilyn”) to launch a new production business. Buccaneer Scotland will be based in Glasgow, with a mission is to promote Scottish voices and culture and bring original stories from the country’s talent to a global audience.

Stampede Ventures and UTA announced the launch of HappyNest, an independent animation production company focused on helping artists and creators launch kids and family animated projects. HappyNest will work with artists to incubate their ideas through artistic and financial support, and shepherd the concepts through the econtent-building process.

“Days of Our Lives” producer Corday Productions has ordered its first movie, “Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas.” It’s not the first spinoff of the venerable soap opera – limited series “Days of Our Lives: Beyond Salem” premiered on Peacock in September.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Chefs can use only the ingredients from a mystery fridge to create delicious dishes in competition series “Raid the Fridge,” hosted by food writer and restaurateur Dan Ahdoot. The grand prize? A fridge full of cash. Series premieres Tuesday, December 28 at 10p on Food Network.

Docu-series “Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records” premieres Sunday, December 5 at 10p on Epix. The two-parter will feature music from The Police, The Carpenters, Joe Cocker, Carole King, and The Go-Go’s, among others, and interviews with Peter Frampton, Quincy Jones, Sheryl Crow, Yusuf/Cat Stevens, and more.

The six small communities to get an assist from HGTV stars on “Home Town Kickstart Presented by People” (wt) have been revealed. Buffalo, Wyoming; Cornwall, New York; Winslow, Arizona; LaGrange, Kentucky; Thomaston, Georgia; and Minden, Louisiana made the cut for the renovation series, launching in spring 2022.

Freeform’s “Single Drunk Female” debuts Thursday, January 20 at 10p, slipping into its regular 10:30p timeslot the following week.

Romantic drama series “Under the Vines” makes its US and Canada debut Monday, December 6 on Acorn TV. The six-parter focuses on city slickers who inherit a failing vineyard in rural New Zealand.

In more wine series news, cooking/wine pairing competition “Sparklers” premieres on Somm TV on Tuesday, November 23. The show features sparkling wine from around the world.

ABC News limited series “City of Angels, City of Death” will debut on Hulu Wednesday, November 24. The Hulu Original will focus on hunts for notorious LA serial killers.

Join us on Tuesday, December 7 from 1:00-3:30 PM ET for the Masters of the Metaverse webinar brought to you by our partners at Super League Gaming. You’ll learn how brands are rethinking their marketing strategies to include building their own virtual worlds, actionable insights through case studies of early activations, and more. Save your seat now!

COMING UP

Diplo will serve as musical curator for the “2021 American Music Awards,” DJing his tunes during the ceremony. Also added to the show’s performer lineup are Italian rock band Maneskin, country artists Mickey Guyton and Walke Hayes, rapper Tyler, The Creator and German singer/songwriter Zoe Wees. The AMAs air Sunday, November 21 at 8p on ABC.

Telemundo started the one-year countdown to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 with a preview of its coverage plans, with all 64 matches broadcast live. Ancillary content will be tailored for digital and social platforms. “Qatar will offer unique opportunities for us to bring home the excitement and drama of the 2022 World Cup to our fans across the country,” said Ray Warren, President of Telemundo Deportes. “From its location and the proximity of the venues to the gathering of fans from around the world, we’ll be able to bring viewers the most intimate and engaging experience ever seen across all platforms.”

CBS’ Thanksgiving Day Parade show, kicking off at 9a on November 25, will be anchored by Kevin Frazier and Keltie Knight from “Entertainment Tonight,” with performances from the casts of musicals “Waitress” and “Chicago.”

“The Suicide Texts: The Friends Speak” premieres Saturday, November 27 at 8p. The Reelz special follows the tragic true story of a Florida teenager who encouraged his friend to kill himself.

For the first time, the cast members from all eight “Harry Potter” films will reunite, for HBO Max special “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts,” premiering Saturday, January 1. The special will also debut on TBS and Cartoon Network in spring 2022 ahead of the Warner Bros. Pictures theatrical debut of “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.”

Lifetime has set airdates for two original movies. Home invasion film “Safe Room” premieres Saturday, January 15 at 8p, followed one week later by “Vanished: Searching For My Sister.”

TECH TALK

Discovery Advertising Sales announced a suite of streaming advertising solutions that provide interactive, advanced advertising products for the company’s streaming platforms, discovery+ and Discovery GO. Discovery’s Advanced Streaming Advertising Products include:
· Green-Light Ads: A one-day immersive sponsorship that allows advertisers to be the first ad that all viewers see on discovery+.
· High-Light Ads allow advertisers to own the first ad break of a show.
· Lime-Light Ads: A limited commercial interruption experience.
· Stop-Light Ads interact with viewers even when they take a break from viewing.
· Showcase Ads: A shoppable ad format allows viewers to take action from their TV screen.
· Spot-Lite Ads: Advertisers can reward committed viewers with an ad-free environment.
· Marquee Collections: Custom curated collections that allow advertisers to select episodes from Discovery’s streaming library to tell their story.
· Search-Light Ads help advertisers align their message with contextually relevant content.
“Our suite of advanced advertising solutions is an opportunity for our partners to amplify their brand messages across Discovery’s valuable streaming platforms,” said Jim Keller, Executive Vice President, Digital Advertising Sales and Advanced Advertising, Discovery, Inc.

Snap has launched multi-format delivery, enabling markerters to buy multiple ad formats on its app in a single set. In addition to video ad formats Snap Ads, Story Ads, Collection Ads and Commercials, AR offerings will be available by 2Q22.

Don’t know what to watch on Netflix? Ask Alexa. Amazon and the streamer are putting rivalry aside to team for a random content playback feature using Alexa voice controls. “Over the past 12 months, we’ve seen that Fire TV customers that used voice engaged with content almost twice as much as those who didn’t,” said Charlotte Maines, Director of Fire TV, in a statement. “With Fire TV and Netflix’s ‘Play Something’ we can quickly help customers find the TV show or movie that’s right for them.”

The NYC Media Lab, a consortium of local universities working with news publishers, has launched The AI & Local News Challenge. In the program, “startups and university teams in creative tech, journalism, design and technology and other disciplines will be tasked with developing project concepts and prototypes that leverage a range of AI technologies to solve problems for and empower news organizations, journalists and news audiences,” said the NYC Media Lab. Applications are open through December 1.

Samba TV has filed with the SEC to go public. “Through our first-party, opt-in relationships with audiences, Samba TV has built and scaled our business on providing comprehensive, actionable insights into real-time, real-world content consumption that enable brands, agencies, programmers, and publishers to build attentive, engaged audiences. The result, we hope, is a more personal and rewarding entertainment experience for everyone,” wrote Samba TV CEO Ashwin Navin in a letter to prospective investors. The company said it has generated $82.8 million in revenue through the first nine months of 2021, compared to $67 million during the same period of 2020.

No matter how important the business issues and struggles you’re facing, you have to take a step back and put them in a broader perspective, advises Rick Allen, CEO and co-founder of streaming tech company ViewLift – and former White House Deputy Assistant to President Bill Clinton. Allen explains how his political experience led to being a SaaS CEO in Cynsiders.

STREAMING

Swerve TV announced the launch of Swerve Sports, a free movie network devoted to sports and films that tell the stories behind inspirational athletes. Swerve Sports is available on channel 234 on The Roku Channel’s Live TV Guide.

GOING GLOBAL

Fourth Wall´s animated preschool series “Milo” will launch in Spain on Clan, in CEE on MiniMini+ and Puls2 TV (Poland), MTVA (Hungary) and ?eská televise (Czech Republic), in China on Senyu and in Brazil on Globoplay. The show has also been acquired by ABC Kids in Australia, by Cartoonito in Latin America (HBO Max and Cartoon Network) and by SVT in Sweden and YLE in Finland.

Local versions of Red Arrow Studios International format “ Married at First Sight” have been recommissioned by M6 in France for a sixth season from Studio89. In the Netherlands, RTL has recommissioned the format for season seven, and also picked up season eight of the Australian version and the first season of the Australian reunion specials. Additionally, RTL has taken season 12 of the US version, season six of the UK version and seasons one-three of the Australian version for its SVOD service, Videoland.

SVOD service revenue in Japan is expected to increase at a compounded annual growth rate of 17.7% from 2020 to 2025, driven by increasing SVOD subscriptions and steady rise in average monthly revenue per SVOD household, according to GlobalData. The boost in the country’s SVOD subscriptions will be helped by the continued rise in household penetration of fixed broadband services, particularly fiber optic services, and the subsequent consumer shift from traditional pay-TV services to various OTT video platforms.

Japan’s Nippon TV announced that French prodco Incognita has finalized production of the scripted French-language format of Nippon TV’s drama series “Mother.” “Sauver Lisa” (Saving Lisa) is currently streaming on the French streaming platform Salto and is airing in primetime on M6.

Banijay Brands has secured the brand licensing rights to the Banijay Kids and Family catalogue. The newly launched Banijay Kids and Family brand incorporates Zodiak Kids and Family, Monello Productions and Tiger Aspect Kids and Family.

DoubleVerify has made its DV Publisher Suite available to European publishers, and expanded its Publisher Division to Europe. “DV provides publishers with the industry’s first comprehensive yield solution — combining data automation, campaign performance, media quality insights, and inventory optimization across all of a publisher’s inventory, whether direct-sold or programmatic,” said Mimi Wotring, SVP, Publisher Sales & Client Services at DoubleVerify.

HBO Max has acquired non-exclusive SVOD rights to the first two seasons of “Odd Squad” for Latin America. Episodes of the kids’ comedy math series are expected to launch on the streaming platform in 2022.

Thought-provoking sessions. You may have missed EBS but you didn’t miss out- hear the expert insights from the 2021’s summit now for JUST $99!

WATCH ON-DEMAND NOW!

CBS special “Adele One Night Only” drew 10.33 million viewers, making it the most-watched special since the Oscars. Opposte Adele was NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” which scored 12.6 million viewers.

“Mayor of Kingstown” was Paramount Network’s biggest new scripted cable premiere since the launch of “Yellowstone” in 2018, with 2.6 million total viewers. “It’s already outpacing ‘Yellowstone’ in key demos (p18-49 and p25-54) which is why we’re confident our franchise strategy is working and ‘Mayor of Kingstown’ will continue to thrive after it moves exclusively to Paramount+ on November 28th,” said Chris McCarthy, President and CEO, MTV Entertainment Group.

The November 13 episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” delivered 5.8 million viewers and 1.37 among A18-49 for linear and digital viewing through Sunday, November 14. That’s up a bit from the 5.7 million viewers and 1.3 in the demo the week prior, but the big story was social thanks to musical guest Taylor Swift. The singer drew 3 million views for her Please Don’t Destroy the Music video with Pete Davidson, and 2.4 million for her 10-minute performance of All Too Well.

The latest season of Fremantle and Syco format “China’s Got Talent,” with new broadcast partners Tik Tok China and JiangsuTV, has seen ratings rise from 100 million views to 460 million cumulate views on TikTok China across the first three episodes. The show premiered on Jiangsu TV with 15 million viewers across the first broadcast and all repeats.

In syndication the week ending November 7, “The Dr. Phil Show” and “Judge Judy” hit four week highs of 1.8 and 4.8 Live+SD national Nielsen ratings, respectively. “Judge Judy” scored a higher rating than all other court shows combined, while “Dr. Phil” was the only talk show in the top 12 to see a ratings increase from last year.

Basic Cable Top 5 Nielsen Ratings for the week of November 8
Network, P2+ AA (000)
Prime Time
ESPN 3038
Fox News 2419
Hallmark Channel 1421
MSNBC 1160
TLC 864
Total Day
Fox News 1500
ESPN 922
Hallmark Channel 804
MSNBC 682
HGTV 514

Broadcast Nielsen Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of November 1 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy (CMV) 5.6 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 5.3 AA
Family Feud (CMV) 5.2 AA
Judge Judy (CMV) 4.8 AA
Inside Edition (CMV) 2.3 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.1 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 2.0 AA
The Dr. Phil Show (CMV) 1.8 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.6 AA
Hot Bench (AT) 1.5 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 1.3 AA

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Promotions are aplenty at Paramount Television Studios. Jenna Santoianni is now EVP, Paramount TV Studios; Cheryl Bosnak, EVP and Head of Current Programming, will add oversight of current programming at Paramount+ to her purview; Erika Kirkwood has been elevated to EVP and Head of Business Affairs at Paramount TV Studios; and Erin Calhoun has been named EVP Communications Showtime Networks and PTVS.

Lisa-Renee Ramirez has been elevated to President of Lifestyle Networks at Allen Media Group. Ramirez was previously EVP and Executive Producer of AMG Television.

IN MEMORIAM

Heath Freeman, best known to TV audiences for his role on “Bones,” has died at age 41. No cause was disclosed. “A brilliant human being with an intense and soulful spirit, he leaves us with an indelible imprint in our hearts,” said a statement from his team. “His life was filled with deep loyalty, affection, and generosity towards his family and friends, and an extraordinary zest for life.”

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which future television funny woman starred in a 1995 commercial for a savings bank? Tina Fey. Kudos to: Paul Schur-Discovery/NYC; Marni C. Gold/Hawthorne, NJ; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Erik Rankin-Cox Media Group/NYC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which series scored the most Emmy nominations in a single year – 22 – for a comedy? (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.)