Cynopsis 02/14/24: Things are looking up for “Invasion”

Cynopsis Medias First Morning Read

 

Wednesday February 14, 2024

Today’s Premieres
Apple TV: The New Look
Discovery: Ghost Adventures: Screaming Room at 10p
Disney: Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures
Netflix: Good Morning, Veronica; Love is Blind
Syfy, USA: Resident Alien at 10p

IN THE NEWS

Paramount Global is undergoing a planned round of layoffs affecting 800 jobs, or 3% of the company’s workforce. Impacted US employees were notified by the end of the day yesterday. CEO Bob Bakish, who confirmed the cuts in January, said in a memo to staffers, “While I realize these changes are in no way easy, as I said last month, I am confident this is the right decision for our future. These adjustments will help enable us to build on our momentum and execute our strategic vision for the year ahead – and I firmly believe we have much to be excited about.”

Netflix is holding a “first-look presentation” for media buyers on May 15, followed the next day by an all-day interactive “Netflix Experience” at NYC’s Pier59 Studios, with experiences like “Squid Games” challenges. Netflix’s plan to hold its first in-person upfront-y event last year was switched to a virtual presentation amid strike concerns.

Havas has acquired UK-based B2B marketing agency Ledger Bennett, which will be branded Ledger Bennett, a Havas Company. Ledger Bennett, founded in 1985, has offices in Chicago and San Francisco and also operates in Europe, the Middle East & Africa and the Asia Pacific region.

WWE and the Ad Council’s “Love Has No Labels” campaign announced an expansion of their partnership, making “Love Has No Labels” WWE’s first official heritage month partner. The campaign aims to promote the acceptance and inclusion of all people across race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, age and disability.

TruTV canceled its last comedy, “Tacoma FD,” after four seasons. The season four finale aired in October.

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PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Universal Television acquired rights to The Ascent, with Davis Entertainment enlisted to produce, reports Deadline. The debut novel by former police officer Adam Plantigna follows the struggle for survival in a maximum security prison. “With Adam’s experience as a police officer and sergeant, you feel the intensity, nuances and compassion of the characters with his debut novel,” said Vivian Cannon, EVP of Drama Development at UTV. “This story has all the elements of a thrilling series, including multi-faceted characters in heart-pounding situations.”

Netflix renewed “Survival of the Thickest” for season two. The comedy stars Michelle Buteau as a plus-sized, newly-single woman rebuilding her life after a breakup.

Apple TV+ ordered a third run of “Invasion.” “This new season will continue to build on the scale, stakes, and propulsion of the ‘Invasion,’ while keeping our characters front and center, bringing them together in ways that will hopefully surprise and most importantly move our audience, who have been so incredibly supportive and inspiring since day one,” said creator and EP Simon Kinberg of the sci-fi drama.

HGTV not only renewed “Bargain Block” for season four, but ordered spin-off “Bargain Block: New Orleans.” Both series, hosted by Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas, are slated to premiere in the fall.

Stephen Amell (“Arrow”) will star in NBC drama pilot “Suits L.A.”, from “Suits” creator Aaron Korsh. Amell will play a former federal prosecutor from New York who has reinvented himself in LA.

Doritos is using humor as a vehicle to drive a culture that sees people embrace bold nonconformity and rethink their personal biases. Head of Global Marketing for Doritos, Fernando Kahane, shares more about the groundbreaking campaign in Cynsiders.

Porsha Williams Guobadia is returning to Bravo’s “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” and has signed an overall scripted deal with NBCUniversal Entertainment. Williams Guobadia left “RHOA” in 2021 after nine seasons, but didn’t leave “Housewives” behind – she appeared on “The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip” in 2023. She’s also guested on shows including “Insecure,” “Sherman’s Showcase” and “Star.”

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

H&R Block jumps into the entertainment world with “Responsibility Island,” a short format scripted reality TV series premiering Friday, February 16 on The Roku Channel, YouTube and H&R Block’s website. The comedic satire is comprised of four short episodes focused on a group of young adults who think they are embarking on the latest dating show journey, only to find themselves in a responsibility boot camp.

Thriller series “Boat Story” premieres March 12 on Amazon Freevee. The series follows two strangers, played by Daisy Haggard (“Breeders”) and Paterson Joseph (“Wonka”), who stumble upon a shipwrecked boat full of cocaine.

COMING UP

“Pathological: The Lies of Joran Van Der Sloot” premieres February 27 on Peacock. The documentary delves into Joran van der Sloot’s lifelong pattern of violence and pathological lying through interviews and new insights, years after he brutally murdered American Natalee Holloway and Peruvian Stephany Flores.

Musical performances for The Anime Awards, taking place Saturday, March 2, will include Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto; Shing02 with Oma and Spin Master A-1; and Yoasobi. The ceremony will livestream on Crunchyroll channels on YouTube and Twitch beginning at 6p JST.

Laura Ingraham is presenting a town hall with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, February 20 at 7p on FOX News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”

TECH

LiveRamp announced enhanced capabilities that help clients optimize addressability, connectivity and measurement across Amazon Marketing Cloud and Amazon DSP. Powered by LiveRamp’s omnichannel identity framework, customers can leverage RampID™, LiveRamp’s privacy-centric identifier, to join first and third-party insights with Amazon Ads in Amazon Marketing Cloud for measurement and to activate brand-specific RampID-based audiences directly on RampID within Amazon DSP.

DoubleVerify announced the launch of new tiered brand suitability categories to address “Made For Advertising” measurement and protection in a more nuanced and brand-specific way. “DV’s AI-powered MFA brand suitability categories offer marketers a groundbreaking, nuanced approach to effectively tackle MFA challenges,” said Mark Zagorski, CEO of DoubleVerify. “Our MFA controls enable brands to boost campaign performance and optimize media investments, by carefully balancing brand protection and campaign scale based on their specific requirements.”

STREAMING

Paramount+ is now the streaming home to all seven “Mission: Impossible” films. The latest addition is 2023’s “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning.”

Pluto has launched “Murder She Wrote” and “Little House on the Prairie” channels. The full libraries of both long-running series will play in chronological order.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

The NBA All-Star Game, presented by Kia on Sunday, February 18 at 8p and simulcast across TNT, TBS and B/R Sports on Max, will feature Brian Anderson returning as the play-by-play voice, alongside Reggie Miller. Allie LaForce will provide sideline reporting throughout the telecast. Fans will also be able to tune into truTV and B/R Sports on Max for the “NBA All-Star Game ALTCAST presented by Jordan Brand,” hosted by Taylor Rooks alongside Draymond Green and Charles Barkley.

With eight points, Iowa’s Caitlin Clark will break the NCAA women’s basketball all-time scoring record this Thursday at 8p exclusively on Peacock, when the Hawkeyes host Michigan. Coverage begins at 7:30p with the “Big College Countdown” pregame show.

The National Hockey League announced the attractions and hockey interactives planned for the New Amsterdam Vodka® NHL PreGame™, the official fan festival of the regular-season outdoor games between the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, February 17 at 8p (ABC and ESPN+) and the New York Islanders and New York Rangers on Sunday, February 18 at 3p at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Attractions include the Hatty Trick Challenge from AstraZeneca, AWS Interactive Ice, a gaming experience from Jersey Mike’s, and more.

RB Leipzig, the German Bundesliga soccer club, announced a strategic collaboration with For Soccer, the soccer marketing, media, and experiences that will see For Soccer taking on the responsibility of managing and supporting RB Leipzig’s English language website, its internationally and US focused social media channels, as well as connecting RB Leipzig to soccer communities, clubs, fans, families, media partners and brands in North America.

GOING GLOBAL

Love Nature and Sky Nature announced the greenlight ofAirborne,” a series from Humble Bee Films that celebrates the challenges and ultimate freedom of animals that use the air to survive.

Yeti Television documentary “National Trust: My Historic Home” airs February 23 on UK’s Channel 4. The 60-minute film explores the stories of the ordinary people living in remarkable historic homes.

Cineflix Rights is worldwide distribution partner for new drama series “In Memoriam.” The French-language eight-part psychological thriller, about a family torn apart as they battle for their father’s inheritance, is being produced by Passez-Go and Bell Media in association with C3 Media for Bell Media’s Crave network.

UK-based distributor DCD Rights has sold 300 hours of programming across both scripted and unscripted genres to Australia and New Zealand broadcasters and streamers. Among the deals, Australia’s Nine Network has picked up the second season of “The Travelling Auctioneers,” Foxtel Group has acquired “Emergency: First Time Medics,” season seven of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” and season 13 of “Bridezillas.”

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RATINGS

Super Bowl viewership has been revised upward with Nielsen Fast Nationals and Adobe Analytics data, to an even more record-breaking 123.4 million average viewers on CBS, Paramount+, Nickelodeon, Univision, CBS Sports, and NFL digital properties, including NFL+. CBS alone accounted for 120 million viewers, the most ever for a single TV network.

The Kansas City Chiefs and CBS weren’t the only winners on Sunday. Against the game, INSP was #1 in cable among 35+, per Nielsen, with 456,00 people 35+ tuned in between 8pm and 8:30p. And among 50+, the net was also cable’s #1 from 8p-10p.

CBS’ “Tracker” drew 18.4 million viewers in its post-Super Bowl slot. That’s up 16% from last year’s post-game show, “Next Level Chef,” on Fox.

Basic Cable Top 10 for the week of February 5
P2+ AA (000)
Primetime
Fox News 2046
MSNBC 1326
HGTV 749
History 731
ESPN 670
TBS 645
INSP 626
TNT 596
Hallmark Channel 571
USA 569
Total Day
Fox News 1355
MSNBC 846
CNN 462
ESPN 455
HGTV 433
TBS 357
INSP 356
History 349
Hallmark Channel 342
Food Network 30
Source: Nielsen

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Fremantle has hired Jimmy Fox as EVP, Unscripted Development and Sales for the US. Fox makes the move from Religion of Sports, where he will continue to provide executive producing services on Main Event Media’s existing slate of projects for ROS.

Cottonwood Media has named Manon Ardisson as Head of Fiction. Ardisson has worked on a variety of fiction content, including “God’s Own Country.”

Victoria Principe has been promoted to Director of Content & Social from her former position as Associate Director of Content & Social at Republica Havas. Principe was one of nine employees at the agency to earn a promotion.

This Day in History
1931 – “Dracula,” starring Bela Lugosi, premiered.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On which procedural did Taylor Swift have a guest role? CSI, in 2009. Kudos to: Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Theresa Corigliano-checkyourlocallistings.com/LA; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Wendy Holmes/Denver; Ken DuBow-DuBow Media Distribution/Berlin; Art Salisch-WDR-TV/Louisville, KY; Corey Lambert-Paramount Global/NYC; Emma Nelson-Warner Bros. Discovery/NYC; Joel Dearing-Virtual News Center/Indianapolis; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL

Today’s Trivia Question
Who hosted MTV’s “You Wrote It, You Watch It” (1992-93)? (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.)

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Editorial Director
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SR. DIRECTOR, DISTRIBUTION COUNSEL
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Partner with distribution attorneys/distribution team to achieve maximum value and rights from strategic deal development through drafting. Negotiate legal distribution deal terms and rights for the linear networks, TVE, VOD, OTT, SVOD, FAST and digital across all platforms. Min. 10 years relevant television/cable network legal distribution exp. Full info HERE

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ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE

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Drive new revenue for our media around Los Angeles and beyond as well as building relationships with prospects and clients. Full info HERE

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OPPORTUNITY MEDIA/NY(REMOTE/HYBRID):
Seeking an energetic achiever with excellent written & organizational skills for role to assist in growing revenue for dynamic Direct Response Team: required: BA Degree, Min 2 yrs DR Experience. Bilingual (English/Spanish) Wide Orbit Exp a +. Full info HERE

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WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 14
ABC: The Conners, Not Dead Yet, Abbott Elementary, Celebrity Family Feud, Judge Steve Harvey
CBS: The Price Is Right at Night, Let’s Make a Deal Primetime, FBI True
CW: Wild Cards, Family Law
FOX: I Can See Your Voice, We Are Family
NBC: Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D.
PBS: Nature, NOVA, Secrets of the Dead
Telemundo: La Casa de los Famosos, Vuelve a Mi, Amore Imposible
Univision: Tu Vida Es Mi Vida, Mujer

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