 IN THE NEWS |
| CBS will air the MTV Video Music Awards for the first time this year. The three-hour broadcast on Sunday, September 7 will also run live on MTV and Paramount+, with a one-hour live pre-show spread across all Paramount networks. Last year’s show, which delivered Paramount’s biggest multi-network audience in four years (+25% year-over-year), aired across MTV, BET, BET Her, CMT, CC, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1.
Snapchat introduced two new tiers for its Agency Partner Program aimed at smaller independent agencies: The new entry-level “Agency Partner” badge, and a reimagined “Strategic Agency Partner” tier. Both levels come with support from Snap’s team, access to beta products, discounts in the form of coupons, strategic guidance and business opportunities.
Spotify unveiled the Spotify Ads Exchange, aimed at giving marketers more flexibility when buying ads. Advertisers using SAX will be able to place audio, video, and display ads across Spotify’s music library. Also introduced was Gen AI Ads, enabling advertisers to quickly produce scripts and voiceovers at no extra cost.
Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange Thursday morning to celebrate Newsmax’s debut as a public company. Ruddy was joined on the podium by Newsmax personalities including Rudy Giuliani, Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, and Dick Morris. The stock reached a high of $279.99 per share this week, later correcting to mid-double digits – still a win for investors who picked up the stock at $14 when trading began on Monday.
NBC is airing a tribute to Joan Rivers on Tuesday, May 13. The special was filmed during the New York Comedy Festival last year, and will feature comedians including Nikki Glaser, Bill Maher, Tracy Morgan, Aubrey Plaza and Sarah Silverman. |
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| MEDIA IMPACT AWARDS
New Awards Alert: The Cynopsis Media Impact Awards Have Arrived!
Part of the Cynopsis Media Summit, the all-new Media Impact Awards celebrate the trailblazers redefining media, advertising, and content distribution in the digital age.
With U.S. digital ad spending expected to top $300 billion in 2025, innovation has never been more critical. These awards recognize the technologies, strategies, and standout leaders pushing boundaries across ad tech, data utilization, brand safety, measurement, and more.
If you’re shaping the future—this is your moment.
Enter now to spotlight your success and gain recognition as a true industry impact-maker. |
| PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT |
| 20th Television struck a first look deal with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. The agreement to develop and executive produce scripted comedy, drama, adult animation and limited series for linear networks and streamers comes as Omaha is at work on 20th TV comedy “Chad Powers” for Hulu.
ABC has renewed “Grey’s Anatomy” for season 22; “9-1-1” for season nine; “The Rookie” for season eight; “Will Trent” for season four; and Tim Allen comedy “Shifting Gears” for a second run. With “Abbott Elementary,” High Potential” and upcoming “91-1: Nashville” already on the schedule, that just leaves “Doctor Odyssey’s” fate up in the air.
Awesomeness TV has landed the rights to Racing Hearts, the debut novel by Ann Adams, to develop as a streaming movie. Set in the world of competitive rowing the coming-of-age romance follows an Olympic hopeful who is sent home to Berkeley after a failed race to work with a new coach.
HBO Original series “Like Water for Chocolate” has begun filming its second season, which will continue to tell the story based on the novel by Laura Esquivel. In its first season, the series became the most-watched Latin American content on Max globally and was among the top three most-watched series on the platform during its premiere month. |
| NEW & RETURNING SHOWS |
| For trailers, head to Cynopsis Trailer Park.
“Yes, Chef!”, a new cooking competition that aims to reform bad kitchen attitudes, debuts Monday, April 28 at 10p. Chefs José Andrés and Martha Stewart serve as hosts and executive producers.
Season two of “Fubar,” centered on a CIA operative played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, returns to Netflix on Thursday, June 12. Carrie-Ann Moss (“The Matrix”) joins the cast as a former East German spy.
The revival of animated series “Phineas and Ferb” premieres Thursday, June 5 at 8p on Disney Channel and June 6 on Disney+. The show originally aired on Disney Channel and Disney XD from 2007-2015. |
 Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers” kicks off its sophomore run on Wednesday, May 21. The series stars Nicole Kidman as a mysterious guru. |
 High school sweethearts abandon their plans of living in a California tiny home when one of them inherits her late grandfather’s 500-year-old chateau outside of Paris, in the new HGTV series, “Castle Impossible.” The renovation starts Tuesday, April 29, at 9p.
UPtv will celebrate the Easter season from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday with programming that kicks off Sunday, April 13 with a marathon of family drama series “These Stones” beginning at 2:30p. |
Today’ Premieres
FX on Hulu: Dying for Sex
History: Secrets Declassified with David Duchovny at 10p
Peacock: Grand Slam Track
Netflix: Karma
OWN: The Never Ever Mets 8p
Saturday’s Premieres
Adult Swim: Lazarus at midnight
Hulu: YAIBA: Samurai Legend
TLC: Say Yes to the Dress at 8p
Travel: Jonathan Ross Haunted Homecoming at 10p
Sunday’s Premiere
Great American Family: When Hope Calls at 8p |
| CABLE AND BROADBAND JOBS
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| DISTRIBUTION |
 Wildlife and factual entertainment producer Earth Touch is partnering with Sling Freestream to bring FAST channel Earth Touch TV to the US streaming platform. The channel’s slate of natural history programming will soon be available on Sling Freestream. |
| SPORTS REPORT |
| News Corp. has completed the sale of Australia-based Foxtel Group, specialist in sports and entertainment, to sports streaming service DAZN. As part of the deal, News Corp received a 6% equity interest in DAZN, and Andrew Cramer, SVP and Deputy Financial Officer of Foxtel, joined the DAZN board.
ONE Championship returns to Prime Video tonight, April 4 with “ONE Fight Night 30: Kryklia vs. Knowles.” Live from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand, the event kicks off at 8p.
With Alex Ovechkin three goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record, NHL Network is set to air “NHL Now” live from Capital One Arena ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks at Washington Capitals today at 5p. The pre-game show will lead into NHL Network’s out-of-market telecast of the game. |
| TECH |
| WPP has acquired InfoSum. The data collaboration platform will join GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, to power the creation AI-enhanced marketing solutions for clients. “At WPP, we have been building the technology and data infrastructure that will give our clients a unique competitive advantage in the AI era,” said Mark Read, CEO of WPP. “Bringing InfoSum into WPP is a major step forward for our data capabilities and the results we can deliver for our clients. It allows clients to stay in complete control of their first-party data, while also giving them access to vastly greater quantities of high-quality, privacy-compliant data and pioneering technology that is not available anywhere else in the market today.”
Fuse Media has partnered with BrightLine to bring interactive CTV ads to advertisers seeking to engage young, culturally diverse audiences through innovative ad formats. “Traditional 30-second ads no longer cut it when engaging with diverse audiences who only watch streaming content,” said Rob Aksman, President, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of BrightLine. “Partnering with Fuse Media opens new doors, scales our interactive ad capabilities and offers advertisers more opportunities to engage with this sought-after audience through innovative, data-driven ad formats.”
IAS has expanded its partnership with Reddit to give advertisers access to increased measurement capabilities across the platform including Viewability and Invalid Traffic Measurement, as part of IAS’s Total Media Quality for Reddit. Advertisers can validate their content adjacency with trusted third-party analysis aligned to industry frameworks, and validate that they are engaging with real users and maximizing campaign spend.
Vizrt is teaming with Dubai-based blinx Media: to launch a TikTok Live livestream with advanced extended reality (XR) graphics. The livestream is the first instance of content being created in a virtual studio, with audiences utilizing TikTok’s gifting capabilities to transform the virtual set in real-time. |
| EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Nancy Dubuc, former CEO of A+E Networks, has been named Executive Chair of Togethxr. In the newly created position, Dubuc will hold a seat on the board and lead the company’s growth strategy.
Jerry DiCanio, Head of Production at Universal Television, is retiring in May. “Jerry is a legend! I have worked with him my entire career, and while I knew this day would come, it’s certainly bittersweet that it’s arrived,” said Erin Underhill, President, Universal Television. “Known for his candor, strong work ethic and famous four-quarter bets, Jerry’s been an invaluable partner to me and contributor to the success of hundreds of UTV productions over the last 31 years, so his retirement is very well earned.”
Dr. Phil’s MeritTV has appointed Ken Solomon as President and CEO. Solomon, who most recently served as President of Tennis Channel, has been a board member and advisor since the brand’s inception. |
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This Day in History
1975 – Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which five-season sitcom centered on a Staten (not Long!) Island couple with three children? “Grounded for Life” (2001-05). Kudos to: Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Group/NYC; Jordan Overington-Figure 8 Films/Carrboro, NC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA
Today’s Trivia Question
An actress in which 1970s drama, which was canceled after only nine episodes, was nominated for an Emmy Award? (Email your answer to trivia@cynopsis.com 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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