| Cynopsis will not publish Monday, May 26, in observance of Memorial Day. |
 IN THE NEWS |
The NFL dominates US sports viewership, according to a study from Involved Media, which found 79% of respondents follow the league. Next came college football (52%), MLB (49%) and the NBA (49%). The research also found:
· 90% of sports viewers use at least one SVOD.
· 61% of sports viewers use all three of the following: SVODs, AVODs and linear TV.
· Betting is most popular among those aged 18-34 (69%), followed by 35-49 (59%), 50-64 (34%) and 65+ (13%).
· Younger age groups (18-34 and 35-49) show a clear preference for streaming services, while older age groups (50-64 and 65+) prefer broadcast/cable and hybrid setups. |
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Impression quality, measured by real consumer engagement, dramatically outperforms traditional volume-based approaches in driving measurable business outcomes for quick-service restaurants, according to research from TV outcomes company EDO. Takeaways include:
· TV ad exposure drove an average 11.5% lift in QSR website traffic.
· A 1% boost in engagement outperformed a 1% increase in impressions by 6X in driving web traffic.
· TV also significantly amplified other digital channels, including +82% display, +62% social, +27% referral traffic.
“QSR brands are seeing strong consumer response to value meal deal ads during this period of budget tightening, where every dollar – both for consumers and advertisers – must work harder,” said Laura Grover, SVP, Head of Client Solutions at EDO. “As marketers navigate this uncertain landscape, impression quality becomes the key to driving smarter allocation decisions and ensuring stronger returns within a brand’s existing media footprint.” |
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| SPORTS MEDIA AWARDS
OWN THE ROOM WHERE SPORTS MEDIA MEETS MOMENTUM
At the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards, the power players aren’t just being honored—they’re making moves. From groundbreaking campaigns to game-changing partnerships, this event brings together the brands, networks, agencies, and platforms that are setting the pace in 2025.
Sponsorship gives you more than a logo—it gives you presence. Whether it’s a VIP dinner, a branded photo moment, or presenting a top category on stage, you’ll align your brand with the industry’s most influential voices in an environment built for conversation and connection.
Ready to create a moment that lasts beyond the night?
CONTACT US |
| PRODUCTION |
| Netflix handed a series order for an adaptation of The Secret of Secrets, the upcoming mystery thriller by Dan Brown, who writes and executive produces with showrunner Carlton Cuse (“Lost”). The show follows Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon, who’s also the subject of five previous Brown novels, three feature films and a Peacock series.
Josh Hartnett (“Oppenheimer”) will star in and executive produce Netflix’s untitled limited series from Jesse McKeown, about a fisherman in Newfoundland fighting to protect his way of life. McKeown will serve as showrunner and exec produce along with Jessica Rhoades through her company Pacesetter UK, Chris Hatcher, Hartnett, Jamie Childs, Louise Sutton, and Sharon Hall.
A study by the Writers Guild of America found that while there are fewer TV writing jobs available, writing staffs have continued to grow more diverse. In the 2023–24 season, over 40% of TV writers were Black, Indigenous, or People of Color, up from 32% three years earlier. This progress, of course, came before many studios began rolling back race- and ethnicity-based hiring goals under pressure from the Trump administration. |
 “Scrubs” alum Zach Braff has signed on for the “Scrubs” reboot in development at ABC. Braff would reprise his role as J.D. The original series launched on NBC in 2001, moving to ABC for seasons eight and nine.
All3Media International and Nutopia announced the international expansion of the docudrama series “Jesus: Crown of Thorns,” as well as two new seasons set to debut on FOX Nation in the US. In addition to the new seasons, All3Media International has secured distribution deals with Hearst Networks Africa for pan-territory rights for Africa and a multi-territory acquisition by RTL covering Germany, Austria, and German-speaking Lichtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Specialist documentary channel DOX TV has signed rights for various Balkan territories including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Kosovo and Slovenia. |
| NEW & RETURNING SERIES |
| Season two of Apple TV+ drama “The Buccaneers” premieres Wednesday, June 18, with one episode following weekly through August 6. Musical highlights during the season include works from Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Sabrina Carpenter, Gracie Abrams, Clairo, Sharon Van Etten, St. Vincent, Bleachers and The Last Dinner Party.
All 10 episodes of “Bosch” spinoff “Ballard” drop Wednesday, July 9, on Prime Video. The series stars Maggie Q as an LAPD detective in the cold case division. |
Today’ Premieres
HBO: Pee-Wee as Himself at 8p
IFC: Off Script with The Hollywood Reporter at 9p
Nat Geo: Missing Presumed Dead at 9p
Netflix: Forget You Not; Big Mouth
Prime Video: Clarkson’s Farm
Showtime: Couples Therapy at 9p
Saturday’s Premieres
Adult Swim: Rick and Morty at 11p
Netflix: Our Unwritten Soul
Sunday’s Premiere
TNT: The Librarians: The Next Chapter at 11:30p
Monday’s Premieres
Acorn TV: Boglands
FYI: Rachael Ray’s Meals in Minutes at 9p; Global Soul Kitchen at 10p
History: Kevin Costner’s The West at 9p
ID: Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie at 9p
Netflix: Cold Case: The Tylenol Murders; CoComelon
TLC: 90 Day: Hunt for Love at 8p; 90 Day: Hunt for Love: Between the Sheets at 10p |
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| SPORTS MEDIA AWARDS
JUST ANNOUNCED: HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS TAKE THE STAGE
This year’s Cynopsis Sports Media Awards is bringing serious energy—on and off the stage.
We’re thrilled to welcome Harlem Globetrotter athletes Speedy and Hot Shot as guest presenters, adding their signature charisma to an already star-powered lineup.
Beyond the awards, this is your chance to network with execs from brands, leagues, agencies, and platforms—all in a relaxed happy hour setting at City Winery NYC.
June 4 | 4–7 PM | City Winery, NYC
Make moves, make memories, make connections. REGISTER NOW |
| TECH |
| Vistar Media announced a global data partnership with Spotzi, aimed at enabling marketers to execute smarter, data-driven OOH campaigns at a global scale. With standardized audience data, brands can target and optimize campaigns across EMEA, US, CA, and APAC, free from data inconsistencies. “As brands expand internationally, they need audience strategies that scale with them – not a patchwork of regional data solutions,” said Amanda Flugstad-Clarke, Senior Director of Data Partnerships at Vistar Media. “Our partnership with Spotzi makes that possible. Advertisers can now reach audiences in multiple countries using standardized, high-quality data – all from one platform.”
Nexxen is bringing generative AI to its proprietary audience planning tool, Nexxen Discovery. With this advancement, nexAI enables clients to quickly turn complex consumer data into clear, actionable audience profiles and campaign planning. LG Ads is an early adopter. |
| COMING UP |
| Discovery’s annual Shark Week stunt returns for the 37th year on Sunday, July 20 at 8p. |
| SPORTS REPORT |
| NBCUniversal has made a play for the MLB package of games that ESPN opted out of, reports the Wall Street Journal. The games have been in limbo since ESPN exercised its option to skip the final three years of its $550 million-per-year contract after the 2025 season. NBCU offered “much less” than ESPN was paying, according to WSJ, for a deal that would give it Sunday night games to air on NBC and Peacock, but not the international, radio or highlight clips ESPN has.
“The Acceleration of Luke Clanton presented by Delta,” documenting the amateur golfer’s ascent to the pros, is set to premiere Sunday, June 1 at 2p on CBS. |
 The Harlem Globetrotters kicked off the countdown to their 100th anniversary by unveiling their Centennial brand logo. “We wanted to find the balance of past, present, and future in a fresh new look that was both unique and exciting, whilst paying homage to the many men and women players that have honored us as Globetrotters,” said Keith Dawkins, President, Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios. |
| RATINGS |
| Through the NBA conference semifinals, which included 22 games, the NBA playoffs’ audience rose 12% over last year on ESPN platforms (including ESPN and ABC), according to Nielsen. ESPN averaged 4.88 million viewers, ranking as the No. 2 most-watched NBA playoffs since 2011. |
| EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Jori Arancio has joined TikTok as Head of Global Consumer & B2B Communications. Arancio was most recently EVP, Communications at Warner Bros. Discovery.
Allen Media Group hired four former Warner Bros. Discovery ad sales executives to focus on servicing AMG’s 27 owned and operated ABC-NBC-CBS-FOX network affiliate broadcast television stations. Joining the company are Robert Latorre as Senior Vice President of National Ad Sales, Stephanie Jackson as SVP of West Coast Sales & Partnerships, Tina Messina as VP of Performance Marketing, and Larry Alecia as VP of Advertising Sales.
Plimsoll Productions has launched a digital division, Plimsoll Digital, and appointed longtime Plimsoll executive Ged Mansfield as Creative Director of Development and Digital to lead the unit.
Waymark has named industry veteran Michael Tuminello as its new Director of Product. Tuminello was most recently Head of Product, Ads at SuperAwesome. |
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This Day in History
1951 – China formally annexed Tibet as an autonomous region.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What show replaced the original version of “CBS This Morning” (1987-99)? “The Early Show.” Kudos to: Aaron Paquette-AccelerateSG/Fort Worth, TX; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Wendy Holmes/Denver; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Mark Selby-Melbar Entertainment Group/Toronto; David Show-WTHI-TV/Terre Haute, IN; David Larson-Dish/NYC; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA
Today’s Trivia Question
On which show were panelists asked to guess locations by looking at photos and listening to clues? (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.) |
SR. DIRECTOR OF SALES, KSTU & KUPX >>
THE E.W. SCRIPPS COMPANY/SALT LAKE CITY: Leverage our suite of advertising solutions to unlock growth opportunities for local and national businesses. Play a role in driving the station’s revenue goals as well as serving as the home station for Utah’s new NHL team. Collaborate with our production team to create campaigns that connect our clients with their customers in meaningful ways. Full info HERE
SALES PLANNER, GENERAL RATE >>
GAC MEDIA, LLC/NEW YORK, NY: The Sales Planner, General Rate is responsible for providing support to the Advertising Sales department by working with Account Executives to service clients on a daily basis. The job requires attention to detail, industry knowledge, as well as strong communication skills. Full info HERE
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER>>
ORIGIN/NY(HYBRID): Overseeing full time sales team of 2 remote sellers, an account director, a sales operations manager and sales strategist. Accelerating the adoption of award-winning suite of CTV ad formats. Ensuring we exceed our current targets and ultimately making sure we continue growing at the pace we are in an increasingly competitive market. Full Info HERE.
DIGITAL MEDIA BUYER >>
FURMAN ROTH ADVERTISING/NY(HYBRID): Plan, launch, and optimize digital marketing campaigns across various paid media channels (including Display, Google products, Paid Social, CTV, and Programmatic, etc.) while managing budgets effectively. Support the execution of media plans across platforms, overseeing targeting, budget allocation, and performance tracking to drive campaign success. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR; CTV BRAND PARTNERSHIPS – MID WEST/WEST COAST
FUTURE TODAY
REMOTE
Build, maintain and expand a pipeline of sales targets, contacts, and sales opportunities leveraging your relationships with a heavy focus on new business revenue. Build/nurture relationships with the investment, strategy, precision and digital agencies as well as clients. Also maintain an ongoing knowledge of the streaming media landscape. Full info HERE
DIRECTOR, AD MARKETING & SALES >>
THE SHADE ROOM/REMOTE: Develop and execute a revenue growth strategy to drive direct advertising, branded content, and sponsorship sales as well as lead the development of compelling advertising and branded content offerings tailored for TSR’s audience and cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key advertisers, media agencies, and brand partners. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DIRECT RESPONSE >>
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. Wide Orbit Exp a +. Full info HERE
PROFESSIONAL LECTURER OF COMMUNICATION/SPORTS BROADCASTING >>
MARIST UNIVERSITY/ POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: Teach studio and field broadcasting and new media courses in sports media and journalism as well as be able to teach a studio course on producing a newscast and help students live stream a podcast or produce short-form feature content suitable for social media streaming. Also demonstrate through their teaching, professional activity, and service. Full info HERE
SALES LEAD – AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS
UPWAVE
NEW YORK, NY
Build and manage relationships with our agency partners – mostly targeting media buyers and planners – and help them see the value of adding Upwave measurement to The Trade Desk campaigns. You will both leverage your existing network and open new doors to achieve aggressive but achievable sales targets. Full info HERE |
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