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| Tuesday September 30, 2025 |
 IN THE NEWS |
 Mike Cavanagh has been promoted from president of Comcast to co-CEO, alongside Brian Roberts, effective in January. “Since joining Comcast a decade ago, Mike has proven himself to be a trusted and collaborative leader,” said Roberts. “He is the ideal person to help lead Comcast as we manage the pivot we are making to drive growth across the company. Mike and I work seamlessly together, and I am thrilled to be partnering with him as co-CEO and with the rest of our talented management team, for years to come.”
Horizon Media Holdings and Havas have teamed for a joint venture that unites Horizon Global’s Horizon’s Blu platform and Havas’ Converged.AI platform to form a seamless, AI-native experience, BluConverged. “With an open ecosystem approach, Horizon Global fosters cooperation, prioritizes transparency and places power back in the client’s hands,” said Bill Koenigsberg, CEO and founder of Horizon Media Holdings. “As the first agency network built in the AI era, we’re leading with future-forward ways of working, collaborating and delivering outcomes for clients – and we’re doing it responsibly at global scale.” Horizon Global will focus on US-centric global client opportunities; outside of those opportunities, Horizon Media and Havas Media Network will continue to operate independently. |
 Comcast’s Xfinity has launched “Imagine That,” a brand platform that kicks off with a two-minute short film leveraging the IP of Comcast NBCUniversal with Dr. Frankenstein and Frankenstein, or “Frank,” offering a fresh take on the classic story. This time, man and monster step into a world powered by Xfinity, where it is WiFi, mobile, and entertainment that brings Frank humanity. “At Xfinity, we’re not just imagining the future, we’re building it. From self-healing WiFi to mobile, home security, and entertainment, we’re delivering powerful experiences that work together in ways that make life simpler, safer, and a lot more fun,” said Jon Gieselman, Chief Growth Officer, Connectivity and Platforms, Comcast.“ |
 Hulu has canceled “Mid-Century Modern” after one season. “Ten great episodes… Not enough,” lamented the comedy’s co-creator, Max Mutchnick, on Instagram. “But we loved making every single one of them. We’re gonna miss our very special show. Thanks to everyone who watched.”
Have you submitted your holiday listings yet? Cynopsis is gearing up for our annual Holiday Programming Guide – dropping November 3 and delivered straight to all Cynopsis subscribers. If your network has holiday programming airing from November 3 through January 1, please send your listing to janetdilauro@gmail.com and Lynn@cynopsis.com and no later than October 22 with the subject line: Holiday Guide. To be included, programs must be listed by date, title of program, and start times, in the following format: “Thursday, November 19: Network Name: My One Christmas Wish at 9a, Paper Angels at 11a, 12 Days of Giving at 1p”. Holiday-related programs only! A confirmation email will be sent following each submission (if you don’t receive a confirmation email, please resubmit). |
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CYNOPSIS SCREENSHIFT
The Future Is FAST. Don’t Get Left Behind.
FAST is no longer filler—it’s premium content, engaged audiences, and the hottest platform for ad innovation. On Oct. 14 in NYC, leaders from Xumo, Canela Media, UM Worldwide, and Scripps will reveal how FAST is reshaping streaming and where the next big opportunities are.
Secure your seat now—be part of the conversation defining streaming’s future.
REGISTER NOW |
| NEW & RETURNING SERIES |
Today’s Premieres
Hulu: Chad Powers
NBC: On Brand With Jimmy Fallon at 10p
Netflix: Nightmares of Nature |
| “Brian and Maggie,” a two-parter dramatically recounting the interview between politician-turned-journalist Brian Walden and Margaret Thatcher that was the beginning of the end of Thatcher’s premiership, debuts Sunday, October 5 at 8p on PBS (check local listings).
Also on the way to PBS: “Operation Space Station,” a two-parter focused on the people behind the scientific feats of building, operating and conducting research aboard the International Space Station (ISS) over the last three decades. The show starts Wednesday, November 5 at 9p. |
 History Channel’s “The UnBelievable with Dan Aykroyd” is back for a new season on Friday, November 7 at 9p. The series follows strange-but-true stories, like the one about a woman who survived a 30,000-foot fall by crash-landing into a nest of angry fire ants.
A new season of “The Graham Norton Show” premieres Thursday, October 2 on BBC America. New episodes of the long-running British talk show drop Thursdays. |
| GOING LOCAL |
Not only do Americans value access to local news, whether on traditional television or digital platforms, but it strongly influences how they research products, make buying decisions, and choose service providers. So says the 2025 Local Broadcast Study, from the Television Bureau of Advertising, which found:
· 95% of respondents think it is important to be able to receive local news information on their local TV station.
· The majority of respondents watch linear local TV news on a television (78%) or mobile device (60%) daily or a few times a week.
· 72% of respondents that have cable, satellite, or a streaming provider would likely seek out another provider if their current one stopped carrying their local TV news stations.
· Local broadcast news is important for providing information during severe weather and emergencies (95% for local broadcast news station and 94% for local broadcast station websites/apps) and during political elections (93% for local broadcast news station).
· Local broadcast TV news assets influence consumers to both consider (58%) and actually purchase (53%) a product. |
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| Locality has launched its Advanced Audience Engine, an AI-powered identity and activation solution that unifies advertiser, third-party, and proprietary Locality viewership data into one workflow. “Locality’s Audience Engine isn’t a product, it’s a strategic shift in our business, and in the broader advertising industry,” said Keith Kazerman, President of Streaming at Locality. “We have reengineered the foundation of local advertising to deliver performance, precision, and transparency, at scale, for advertisers.” |
CYNOPSIS TOP WOMEN IN MEDIA
Where Media’s Leading Women Take the Stage
The Top Women in Media Awards Gala returns Oct. 8 in NYC to salute the diverse talents shaping our industry—from executives and innovators to marketers and storytellers.
Secure your spot today.
GET TICKETS |
| PRODUCTION |
| Bill Murray is taking a road trip to tour Ireland’s golf courses in “Off Course” (w/t), a series for Paramount+ and the BBC. The six-part series from Stellify Media and Skydance Sports will also feature writer Tom Coyne, longtime golfing partner of the “Caddyshack” star. “I started out caddying, and golf was the best education I ever received,” said Murray. “Ireland feels like the right place to put all that to work. They’ve got this wonderful word there, ‘craic,’ which means fun, but it means a lot of other things. A lot of good things. And this show will be about us finding it.”
ABC has handed a series order to 20th Television crime procedural “RJ Decker” (w/t), starring Scott Speedman as an ex-con turned private investigator. The show is slated for the 2025-26 season.
Netflix greenlit YA drama “Poser,” from Lauren Iungerich (“Awkward”). The series centered on a toxic female friendship is part of Iungerich’s overall deal with Netflix.
Love Nature handed a green light to “Life on the Edge,” focused on North America’s northern coast, a region rapidly transforming under climate change. The three-part natural history series is produced by UK’s Passion Planet with Vancouver-based River Road Films in collaboration with PBS, ARTE France, and CBC. |
| DISTRIBUTION |
 Filmhub has picked up worldwide distribution rights to the micro-budget, creator-led comedy “Skit” through a partnership with Evan Shapiro’s production company ESHAP. The film premieres Friday, November 14, with a 30-day streaming run on Tubi, followed by a sales window on Filmhub. “The Creator Economy has opened the door for independent voices to find homes on the same platforms as traditional entertainment,” said Shapiro, the show’s executive producer. “The next stage of the entertainment industry’s revolution is the ‘Affinity Economy’ where success isn’t just about scale, it’s about depth. True power lies in creators connecting directly with communities, sparking emotion and passion and ‘Skit’ is a perfect case study in this shift.”
Big Media has struck licensing deals with The Science Channel for “Destruction Decoded,” “Fatal Engineering” and Modern Warfare 2.0.” “It’s great to establish these relationships with global partners through our proven ratings-winners,” said Danny Wilk, President, Big Media. “All of our science, history and investigative series do exceptionally well internationally, and these three series are amongst our most-popular shows at the moment.”
Children’s distribution and rights management company Hoho Rights (“Cloudbabies”) is launching an animated classics channel on YouTube featuring classic animated series produced by S4C in collaboration with broadcasters including the BBC and HBO. |
| COMING UP |
| NBC is calling it a TAY/Kover. Two days after sitting on the “Tonight Show” couch, Taylor Swift will chat with Seth Meyers as the solo guest on his late-night show. Swift’s album, The Life of a Showgirl, comes out October 3. |
 “The Naked Gun,” released in theaters on August 1, is now available to stream on Paramount+. The film is the latest in a franchise that began with TV’s “Police Squad!”.
HUNTR/X, the group behind Netflix’s animated hit “KPop Demon Hunters,” is slated to appear on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” on Tuesday, October 5. It will be the group’s first televised performance together.
Peso Pluma will receive the first Billboard Vanguard Award during the “2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards,” where he will also perform. The show will broadcast live on Telemundo on Thursday, October 23 at 8p. |
| SPORTS REPORT |
| DraftKings has entered into a multi-year advertising agreement with NBCUniversal to execute exclusive integrations and digital sponsorships across NBCUniversal sports properties. “Our presence throughout NBCUniversal’s sports ecosystem will not only engage fans in powerful new ways but also augment our industry-leading live betting capabilities,” said Stephanie Sherman, Chief Marketing Officer at DraftKings. Under the agreement, DraftKings will be featured across NBCUniversal’s portfolio of sports properties, spanning the NFL, PGA TOUR, Ryder Cup, Premier League, NCAA football and basketball, NBA, WNBA, and more.
A group of Democrats in the House and Senate are not fans of ESPN’s proposed equity sharing deals with the NFL and MLB. The politicians, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, wrote a letter to the heads of ESPN, Disney and the two leagues saying they were concerned that the new deals could hurt consumers by disadvantaging competitors, limiting choices, raising prices for viewers, and creating potential conflicts of interest. Sports fans “should not be forced to pay more or jump through more hoops to watch their favorite team,” said the letter. ESPN has announced a deal with the NFL, and said it was considering similar arrangements with other sports leagues.
Paramount+ is set to become the exclusive home of new, Saudi-backed Zuffa Boxing in the US, Canada and Latin America. “This partnership marks a bold new chapter – not just for us, but for the future of boxing,” said Cindy Holland, chair of Direct-to-Consumer for Paramount. “It’s a partnership that advances several of our core priorities: delivering premium sports to fans, providing audiences with year-round marquee live events, and creating long-term value through a differentiated, must-watch portfolio of content.” Zuffa Boxing was formed by TKO and entertainment conglomerate Sela.
CTV publisher TAIV is now IRIS-enabled, so advertisers can align campaigns with moments that matter – touchdowns, power plays, walk-offs, and more – in real time, across 10,000+ TAIV screens in 1,200+ bars and restaurants. Contextual and scene-level live sports targeting in CTV OOH is now available through Viant’s DSP in partnership with Place Exchange.
Netherlands-based Your Channels has partnered with Samsung TV Plus to launch the first Dutch 24/7 football channel, VI TV Voetbal International TV, and three decade specific music channels: Your 60s, Your 70s, and Your 80s. “Advertisers in the Netherlands need more CTV inventory, and nothing attracts more eyeballs than sports,” said Jefta Lentz, CEO of Your Channels. “Together with Samsung TV Plus, we are delivering what both the ad community and consumers want most.” |
| RATINGS |
| Three games into its fourth season, “TNF on Prime” has a season-to-date average of 15.83 million viewers, up +6% versus last year’s pace at this point, +20% ahead of last year’s full-season average, and the best start for any “TNF” season in a decade.
FanDuel Sports Network closed the MLB regular season with record-setting streaming and linear audience growth across its nine MLB partner teams. MLB coverage on FanDuel Sports Network averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 1.5 million daily viewers across linear, outer-market and streaming platforms, up 18% over the 2024 season.
Week two of Food Network’s “Halloween Baking Championship” delivered a 0.63 P25-54 / 1.00 W25-54 Live+3 rating, up 24% and 30% respectively from the prior week’s season opener. The show ranked as the #1 non-news/sports ad supported cable program of the night among P/W25-54. |
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This Day in History
1841 – Samuel Slocum patented the stapler.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
On Bob Hearts Abishola (2019-2024), what was the name of Bob’s compression sock company? MaxDot. Kudos to: Emily Calamita-Cinecal Productions/NYC; Andrew Goldman-Phanes Funding Group/NYC; Rob Fitzpatrick-NBCUniversal/NYC; Eric Dunefsky-Crossmedia/NYC; Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago; Wendy Holmes/Denver; Justin Pierce-JP Production Group/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA
Today’s Trivia Question
On which series was Sally Struthers’ character the daughter of Jessica Walters’ character? (Email stephanie.sloane7@gmail.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Limit of four answers per time zone.) |
NATIONAL SALES MANAGER>>
HEARST MEDIA PRODUCTION GROUP/CHARLOTTE, NC:
Oversee daily sales pipeline operations focused on national sponsorships, integrations, and branded content tied to unscripted programming. Manage and coach the Business Development team, drive outbound activity, shape proposals and pricing, and lead CRM strategy, reporting, and optimizations via Salesforce. Full info HERE
MANAGER, CONSUMER INSIGHTS & BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE >>
SESAME WORKSHOP/NEW YORK, NY:
Support the Research & Insights team in understanding the behaviors, motivations, and needs of children, educators, and caregivers—especially as they interact with TV shows, digital content and experiences. This role will help execute research initiatives that inform content strategy, digital product development, marketing, and audience engagement. Full info HERE
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER >>
NTD/WASHINGTON, DC:
Pitch story ideas and write scripts/segment outlines as well as research guests and interview topics. Book guests and coordinate interviews. Help with logistics and sometimes field production. Support shoots and ensure production runs smoothly. Review footage and work with editors to shape final episodes. Write headlines, teasers, and social posts. Full info HERE
INTEGRATED MEDIA PLANNER >>
VLADIMIR JONES/DENVER, CO:
Responsible for preparing and implementing client media plans of all types for existing and prospective clients. This includes audience identification, research, development, presentation and purchasing of media plans & buys as well as an expert at understanding emerging trends and best practices across the omni-channel media world. Full info HERE
DIRECTOR, HUMAN RESOURCES AND ADMINISTRATION >>
THE JIM HENSON COMPANY/HOLLYWOOD, CA: Responsible for all HR functions and oversight of administrative and management needs. This strategic role is charged with operating from a customer service driven viewpoint that prioritizes employee satisfaction as well as enforce legally compliant policies, increase efficiency by implementing administrative and record-keeping best practices. Full info HERE
SENIOR DESIGNER >>
REELZ CHANNEL/ALBUQUERQUE, NM: Responsible for the concept, design and execution of various motion graphics projects for on-air promo and sales presentations. Will be required to design and create graphics for social media, digital and print. Must be able to follow brand guidelines and expand and change the brand look when necessary. Full info HERE
EVP, COMMERCIAL & TECHNOLOGY TRANSACTIONS, LEGAL & BUSINESS AFFAIRS >>
A+E GLOBAL MEDIA/NY(HYBRID): Oversee the three major areas of commercial transactions (comprised of supporting the Distribution, Total Media Solutions and Global Content Sales divisions) and the adjacent areas supported by the attorney teams that principally support those divisions (including vendor management and privacy). Full info HERE
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
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 5 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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