Friday December 3, 2021

Saturday’s Premieres
BBC America: Wild Patagonia at 8p
HGTV: Holmes Family Rescue at 8p
ID: Deadly Affairs: Betrayed by Love at 11p

Saturday’s Finale
HGTV: Outgrown at 9p and 10p

Sunday’s Premiere
Epix: Mr. A & Mr. M: The Story of A&M Records at 10p

Sunday’s Finales
AMC: Fear the Walking Dead at 9p, The Walking Dead: World Beyond at 10:14p
BBC America: Doctor Who at 8p
TLC: 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way at 8p

IN THE NEWS

Lifetime has partnered with OLAY for a custom branded content experience during its annual “It’s A Wonderful Lifetime” holiday movie event. Mini-movie “A Merry & Bright Makeover,” featuring Monique Coleman (“High School Musical”), bows during the premiere of Lifetime’s “A Christmas Dance Reunion” tonight, December 3 at 8p. “Our custom mini-movies are a heartfelt and highly engaging way for clients to connect with consumers,” said David DeSocio, EVP Ad Sales & Partnership Marketing, A+E Networks. “Our co-production with OLAY showcases themes of diversity and beauty, it allows the product to shine and personifies themes and values important to the brand.”

Byron Allen’s $10 billion lawsuit against McDonald’s, accusing the fast-food chain of racial discrimination, was dismissed by a US judge – but Allen isn’t throwing in the towel. Allen has accused McDonald’s of not advertising with lifestyle channels owned by his Entertainment Studios Networks since their 2009 launch, or with The Weather Channel since Allen bought Weather Group in 2018. The judge ruled Allen’s companies did not press hard enough with McDonald’s only to be rebuffed, but left open the door for an amended complaint. And Allen is stepping through. A lawyer for the media mogul said, “We will be adding more details to the complaint as directed by the court; and fully expect the case to go forward with discovery and trial.”

The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement is working with The Project X Institute and TRev on a guide to converged TV measurement providers in the US. “With the increase of streaming and viewing across connected platforms, new industry initiatives, buy-side demands for more comprehensive measurement and, of course, the growing range of providers, the pace of change at which the industry is now accelerating is rapid,” said CIMM CEO Jane Clarke. “This has propelled the need for us to take a look at the key converged TV measurement providers and create an impartial guide to dispel any confusion that might exist across the industry.” Clarke is retiring at the end of the year, with Project X Institute Executive Director Jon Watts succeeding her in her CIMM managing director role.

The doctor is not in the house – at least not in New York and Philadelphia. The Fox Station Group yanked syndicated “The Dr. Oz Show” from its New York (which reaches parts of Pennsylvania) and Philly stations after host Dr. Mehmet Oz announced his candidacy for the US Senate in Pennsylvania. Why pull the plug? If Oz’s show continued, other Senate candidates would be entitled to equal time on the program.

No network, no problem! Nominees for the 79th annual Golden Globes awards will be announced on Monday, December 13 at the Beverly Hilton. That’s despite the fact that the 2022 Globes show was canceled by NBC because of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s lack of diversity (a situation it is working to address). Winners will be announced – somehow, somewhere – on Sunday, January 9, the same day the Critic’s Choice Awards will air on The CW.

Hulu pulled a documentary about the November 3 tragedy at Astroworld one day after it premiered, amid backlash from viewers. But Hulu didn’t attribute the move to critics on social media. “Astroworld: Concert From Hell” was “an investigative local news special from ABC13/KTRK-TV in Houston that originally aired on November 20th,” said a Hulu spokesperson. “This was not a Hulu documentary and has since been removed to avoid confusion.”

Discovery has come up with a new spin on giving. Starting today, December 3, discovery+ users determine how Discovery will donate this holiday season with “You Pick, We Give.” Jessica Beatus, Group VP of Standards and Social Good, Discovery, explains how – and why – the approach works, in Cynsiders.

Univision news anchor Teresa Rodriguez will become the spokesperson for a new company initiative aimed at celebrating the positive contributions of Hispanics in the US, as well as other projects. Details will be announced in early 2022. Rodriguez – who joined the company in 1982 – will leave her role as co-host of Univision’s primetime newsmagazine “Aquí y Ahora” (Here and Now) at the end of this year to focus full-time on her new assignment.

BNC has reached a carriage agreement with Cox Communications. Cox video customers now have the option to watch BNC on Contour and find the network by speaking “BNC” into their Contour Voice Remote. “BNC’s culturally-specific news and stories are filling a void in our news landscape that has existed for too long and provides opportunities for our partners to connect with Black and Brown communities that we super serve on a daily basis,” said Princell Hair, CEO of BNC.

Microblogging site Tumblr released its 2021 Year in Review, including a data-driven look at the site’s most talked-about TV shows. “Supernatural” landed at number one, despite coming to an end last year, followed by “Loki,” “The Owl House,” “The Mandalorian” and “Miraculous: Talks of Ladybug & Cat Noir.”

Join over 400 executives to learn what’s working, what’s not and what’s next in this ever-growing industry, you can’t miss this virtual conference.

REGISTER TODAY- IT’S FREE!
SPONSORED BY: Premion and Future Today

Jon Stewart has boarded the cast of ABC’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” restaging of 1979-88 sitcom “The Facts of Life,” airing Tuesday, December 7 at 8p. The former “Daily Show” anchor joins Jennifer Aniston, Kathryn Hahn, Gabrielle Union and Allison Tolman in “a surprise role.”

ABC announced “Let the World See,” a docuseries produced in association with Roc Nation, Westbrook Studios, Kapital Entertainment and Cobble Hill Films that is a companion piece to its upcoming limited series, “Women of the Movement.” “Let the World See,” centered on Mamie Till-Mobley’s quest for justice after the murder of her son, Emmett Till, premieres Thursday, January 6 at 10p.

Everywoman Studios and the Change Content, the team behind HBO Max and CNN Films’ feature documentary “LFG,” have partnered with Procter & Gamble to launch an impact initiative inspired by the film and focused on gender equality in sports and beyond. Under the #WhenWeValueWomen banner, the campaign will feature “LFG” screenings and events, digital and social engagements, grass roots community outreach and more.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

CNBC’s “American Greed” is back for season 15 on Wednesday, January 5 at 10p. The net’s longest-running primetime original series will celebrate its 200th episode during the upcoming run.

There will be a showdown in Sin City when “BattleBots” premieres Thursday, January 6 at 8p on Discovery. More than 60 teams travel to Las Vegas for a chance to take home the greatest prize in the sport: The Giant Nut.

“American Idol” kicks off its fifth season on ABC on Sunday, February 27, with returning judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and producer/host Ryan Seacrest. Also on the way: ABC’s “Jeopardy! National College Championship,” hosted by Mayim Bialik, airing February 8-11, February 15-18, and February 22.

A reboot of “Ghost Hunters” series kicks off Saturday, January 1 on discovery+. The original TAPS team, Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves and Dave Tango, along with Shari DeBenedetti, reunite to revisit past cases and investigate new hauntings. This is the third home for the show, which aired on Syfy from 2004-2016 and on A&E in 2019-2020.

COMING UP

A&E’s “BTK: Confession of a Serial Killer” provides access into the mind of Dennis Rader, who is currently serving 10 consecutive life sentences. The two-parter premieres Saturday, January 8 and Sunday, January 9 at 9p.

Oxygen special “Alex Murdaugh: Death. Deception. Power.” premieres Sunday, December 12 at 8p, following the story of the South Carolina attorney who, after his wife and son were found murdered in June 2021, admitted to hiring a former client to kill him.

IAB’s annual NewFronts will take place May 2-6, live in-person as well as streamed, concluding virtually on the final day. On May 10-12, IAB Podcast Upfront will take place virtually.

Allen Media Group digital platform HBCUGo.TV, media provider for the nation’s 105 Historically Black Colleges and Universities, announced an expanded sports programming roster starting tomorrow, December 4. A double-header match-up features of Howard University (WBB) vs. Hofstra University at 2p and Howard University (MBB) vs. American University at 5:30p available to stream live for free.

Agatha Raisin holiday special “Kissing Christmas Goodbye” premieres on Acorn TV Monday, December 20.

STREAMING

Fox News Media’s AVOD streaming service Fox Weather will simulcast its live weekend programing on Fox Business Network starting Saturday, December 4. The simulcast marks the first time the streaming service will be made available to a linear audience since the platform launched in October 2021.

Ovation TV has launched a new FAST channel, Mystery Alley, featuring international series and films spanning. The Mystery Alley brand originally launched in late 2020 as a Saturday night linear destination on Ovation TV and as an AVOD destination within the Ovation NOW app. “We’ve had exponential success in the FAST ecosystem with our travel channel JOURNY,” said Will Marks, SVP of Business Development and Digital, Ovation TV. “Now, with Mystery Alley, we are pleased to bring even more premium content to our new FAST channel partners and look forward to announcing more soon as we continue to expand our digital footprint.”

Churn rates for SVODs could hit 30% in some markets next year, thanks to international expansion and the surge in the number of streaming services, according to analysis from Deloitte Global. “The better news is that, overall, more subscriptions will be added than cancelled, the average number of subscriptions per person will rise, and, in markets with the highest churn, many of those cancelling may resubscribe to a service that they had previously left,” wrote Ariane Bucaille, global technology, media and telecom industry leader for Deloitte, in a blog post. “These are all signs of a competitive and maturing SVOD market.”

TECH TALK

IPG Mediabrands is expanding its partnership with NewsGuard, empowering responsible digital programmatic advertising into a pre-planning capacity as well as co-creating a tool to evaluate and rate individual broadcast and cable news programs and networks. The new rankings will encompass 117 shows on 27 networks and will launch in spring 2022. “In this age of misinformation and disinformation, one of the most important things we can offer our clients is greater assurances that their media dollars are not supporting misleading content,” said Dani Benowitz, President, U.S., of MAGNA. “NewsGuard is rapidly earning trust among viewers as an unbiased evaluator of news networks and sites.”

fuboTV Inc. has closed its acquisition of Edisn.ai, an AI-powered computer vision platform with video recognition technologies. Edisn.ai’s computer vision technology – which can recognize and track key objects in live video feeds (including athletes, actors, brand logos, products, events and more) – will enable fuboTV to further innovate its interactive live TV streaming experience, and help fuboTV to expand its ad tech capabilities, such as better detection of ad breaks and targeted contextual advertising, in addition to creating the potential for integrated e-commerce (e.g. “buy what you see on screen”).

Integral Ad Science has expanded its Context Control solution for advertisers and publishers globally, giving customers more control over the context of digital ad placements. Publishers can now activate Context Control segments directly in their ad servers to avoid or target towards contextually relevant content.

Playground, a new platform for creators, has opened for beta testing, with a public launch set for January. Once a profile has been created and basic interests and information have been recorded, users can browse a discovery page of global communities and explore shared content. From there, users can “save” or “favorite” the content most interesting to them or subscribe to receive newsletters and SMS notifications from their desired communities. “We see ourselves as the next meaningful social platform built around group features that encourage play – events, community profiles and chats,” said founder and creator Jia Ling Yang. “We intentionally stripped out the scrolling and filtering and passive entertainment. What’s left is a platform that empowers creators to build community and inspires people to participate.”

Tubular Labs announced the ability to correlate social video viewing with ecommerce on Amazon. By leveraging global opt-in behavioral data panels and official measurement partnerships, Tubular is connecting public video viewership across key social platforms with viewers’ shopping behaviors, such as product browsing, in-cart activities, purchasing and posting reviews on Amazon. “Social video has weaved its way into the cultural fabric of our society, but until now its impact on commerce was unconventional wisdom,” said Josh Schmiesing, Chief Marketing Officer, Tubular Labs. “Now that the business and publisher communities can see unique reach, frequency and get conversion rates for ecommerce, brands can rethink how they invest in social video and unlock its potential.”

November 1-3, 2022| MGM Grand, Las Vegas
If you’re looking to understand the power of esports, learn how your brand can profit from this billion-dollar industry and make the connections you need, EBS is your gateway to get in the game.

REGISTER NOW

“Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses” reached 3.1 million total viewers across TBS and Cartoon Network this past weekend. The inaugural episode premiered on Sunday, November 28 as cable’s #1 new unscripted series of 2021 and delivered the most-watched premiere of the year for both networks.

“The Wendy Williams Show” (0.8 Live+SD national Nielsen rating, up 14% from the week before) moved up sharply in the week ending November 21 with guest-hosts filling in for Williams. That was still no match for top talker “The Dr. Phil Show” (season high 1.9, steady). “The Dr. Oz Show” sunk to a season low 0.5, down 17%.

Spectrum News reported growth in November across its 11 metered markets, recording an average month-over-month increase in Nielsen household ratings of 9%. Year-over-year ratings also increased, recording 4% growth over November 2020.

Hallmark Channel’s Countdown to Christmas movie premieres over Thanksgiving weekend made the network the week’s #1 most-watched network across all of cable among Women 18+ for the ninth consecutive year, and secured Hallmark Channel’s foothold as the #1 most-watched entertainment cable network in 4Q21 to-date among Households, Women 18+, Women 25-54 and Total Viewers. On sister network Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, the Saturday night original movie premiere garnered 1.6 million total viewers and 148,000 Women 25-54, elevating the network to be the #2 most-watched network on Saturday among Households.

The premiere of Nickelodeon holiday film “A Loud House Christmas” delivered a 1.9/383,000 among Kids 2-11, a 2.1/252,000 among Kids 6-11 and 881,000 total viewers in Nielsen Live+SD data.

Broadcast Nielsen Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of November 15 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Jeopardy (CMV) 5.7 AA
Family Feud (CMV) 5.3 AA
Wheel of Fortune (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) 2.1 AA
The Dr. Phil Show (CMV) 1.9 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.7 AA
Hot Bench (CMV) 1.5 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 1.2 AA

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Wednesday, December 1
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: The Goldbergs 3.11 (0.5), The Wonder Years 2.13 (0.3), The Conners 3.24 (0.5), Home Economics 2.0 (0.3)
CBS: Survivor 5.50 (0.8), Tough As Nails 2.76 (0.4), CSI: Vegas 3.95 (0.4)
CW: Beebo Saves Christmas 0.23 (0.1), World’s Funniest Animals: Christmas 0.43 (0.1)
FOX: The Masked Singer 4.02 (0.8), Alter Ego 1.90 (0.4)
NBC: Christmas in Rockefeller Center 5.90 (0.8), Kelly Clarkson Presents: Christmas Special 4.32 (0.6)
Source: Nielsen, live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Cheryle Harrison has been appointed the head of Bounce. Harrison has served in various roles at Bounce since it was launched in 2011 as the first Katz network.

Digital agency Goodway Group has promoted Susan Kirksey to VP of Media Solutions and Amanda Martin to SVP of Corporate Development & Strategic Partnerships. Kirksey formerly led the agency’s Media Center of Excellence, while Martin led the partnerships team collaborating with the Centers of Excellence to pursue new opportunities.

Habu has appointed Alice Stratton Chief Revenue Officer and David Danziger SVP Strategic Partnerships. Stratton spent seven years at LiveRamp, and Danziger joins from The Trade Desk.

IN MEMORIAM

Actor Eddie Mekka, best known to TV audiences for his role as Carmine Ragusa on “Laverne & Shirley,” died November 27 at age 69. “A genuinely good guy and purveyor of cheer whenever things got cheerless,” tweeted Mekka’s former co-star, Michael McKean.

Friday Fun Fact
Russia has eleven times zones.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On which fellow late-nite funnyman’s Hanukkah special did Jon Stewart pop in to teach a lesson about the Festival of Lights? Stephen Colbert in “A Colbert Christmas Special,” (Comedy Central, 2008). Kudos to: Rick Dascher-WarnerMedia Studios/Atlanta; Mark Selby-Melbar Entertainment Group/Toronto; Sandy Spiegel-WTTW/Chicago; Faye Kulik-Disney/Brooklyn, NY; Jane Pook/NYC; Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Bubank; Matt Sautter-WideOrbit/York, PA; Richard Quan-Deloitte Digital/San Francisco; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Odyssey Network was rebranded as what network in 2001? (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.)