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Wednesday November 15, 2023

Today’s Finale
PBS: A Spy in the Ocean, A Nature Miniseries at 8p

IN THE NEWS

FX’s “Welcome to Wrexham” scored a season three order. The hit docuseries follows the goings-on in Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, UK, as Rob McElhenney (“Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) and Ryan Reynolds (“Dead Pool”) work to return the town’s historic football club to glory.

NewsNation has signed Ross Coulthart as a special correspondent and investigative journalist. Coulthart’s first project, “Unsolved: The JFK Assassination,” will be a special timed to the 60th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy debuting on Sunday, November 19 at 9p.

To battle misleading content, YouTube is introducing updates that will inform viewers if what they see is synthetic. Creators will be required to disclose when they’ve created altered content that is realistic, including using AI tools. “This is especially important in cases where the content discusses sensitive topics, such as elections, ongoing conflicts and public health crises, or public officials,” said the company in a blog post. “Creators who consistently choose not to disclose this information may be subject to content removal, suspension from the YouTube Partner Program, or other penalties.”

Cord-stackers – viewers who watch across live TV and streaming video on demand – are nearly twice as likely to watch sports weekly than streaming only viewers (65% versus 33%). That’s according to a new study from DirecTV Advertising, which also found that among cord-stackers:
· 68% will pay attention to ads for brands/products they are considering buying, versus 55% for streaming VOD only viewers
· 50% are between the ages of 25-44
· 61% agree advertising is good for consumers
· 59% watch the NFL during regular season play

A former FOX News reporter is suing the network, claiming he was illegally discriminated and retaliated against for speaking out about challenging coverage of the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. In the suit, Jason Donner states he was inside the Capitol during the attack and when he heard FOX News reporting that the rioters were “peaceful,” he called the control room and said, “You’re gonna get us all killed.” Donner claims the network was focused on appeasing viewers who supported Donald Trump, and he was targeted after objecting to it.

GLAAD, the organization advocating for the gay, lesbian, transgender and queer population, will be honored with the 2023 Governors Award during the January 15 Emmy Awards telecast on Fox. The award recognizes an individual, company or organization that has made a “profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.”

TLC’s “1000-Lb Sisters” returns Tuesday, December 12 at 9p, followed by “sMothered” at 10p.

Historical drama “The Tall Tales of Jim Bridger” premieres Thursday, January 11 at 8p on INSP. “Jim Bridger’s extraordinary stories of adventure, whether real or embellished by Jim himself, offer viewers a unique opportunity to journey into untamed landscapes and witness unfathomable encounters on the American frontier,” said Doug Butts, EVP of Programming.

Revry and Latino Alternative Television (LATV) announced that season two of bilingual drag competition “Drag Latina” makes its debut on Sunday, November 26 on Revry, and Tuesday, November 28 on LATV.

COMING UP

Kevin James has a stand-up special, “Irregardless,” set for this winter on Prime Video. It’s the “King of Queens” star’s first stand-up special for Prime Video.

The “Kennedy Center Honors” celebration will be broadcast Wednesday, December 27 at 9p on CBS. Hosted by Gloria Estefan, the program’s honorees include Billy Crystal, Renee Fleming, Barry Gibb, Queen Latifah and Dionne Warwick. The event takes place December 3 in Washington, D.C.

The 14th annual holiday special, “CMA Country Christmas,” will be hosted by Amy Grant and Trisha Yearwood, with performances by Jordan Davis, Grant, Lady A, Ashley McBryde, Jon Pardi, Lindsey Stirling, The War And Treaty, Zach Williams, Lainey Wilson and Yearwood. The show airs Thursday, December 14 at 8p on ABC.

Want a little more country? Circle Network will air five Opry Live episodes in honor of Marine Toys for Tots, featuring country artists Ashley McBryde, Scotty McCreery, Reba McEntire, Jon Pardi, Lainey Wilson, and more. The episodes kick off November 18 at 9p and run until December 16.

Giselle Blondet (“La Mesa Caliente”) will serve on the selection committee for the 72nd Miss Universe event, airing on Telemundo Saturday, November 18.

Fox Nation’s Patriot Awards, celebrating everyday heroes, takes place Thursday, November 16 at 8p. The show will get a second airing on Fox News on November 23 at 8p.

POV goes inside MIT to reveal opportunities and obstacles four Black African students face as they experience American culture and its embedded racism in “Brief Tender Light.” The documentary makes its national broadcast premiere on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Monday, January 15 at 10p on PBS.

“Maxine’s Baby: The Tyler Perry Story,” telling the story of Tyler Perry and his harrowing road to the top the entertainment business, drops Friday, November 17 on Prime Video.

STREAMING

Peacock grabbed the US rights to seasons one and two of British sitcom “Hapless.” The series stars Tim Downie (“Outlander”) as a journalist for a Jewish newspaper.

Paramount+’s holiday collection this year is called “Tis the Season for Streaming.” Included are 20 carousels, livestreamed CBS events including the National Christmas Tree Lighting (Paramount+ with SHOWTIME) and “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” (Paramount+ with SHOWTIME), plus new streaming premieres including “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” on starting December 8, “Baby Shark’s Big Movie.”

TECH

Donald Trump’s Truth Social may be a megaphone, but it’s not a moneymaker yet. Financial details on the social platform, revealed in disclosure from Trump Media & Technology Group’s SPAC merger partner Digital World Acquisition Corp., indicate the platform has lost $60.5 million since launching last year. According to the filing, “TMTG’s independent registered public accounting firm has indicated that TMTG’s financial condition raises substantial doubt as to its ability to continue as a going concern.”

Viamedia announced the launch of its managed service, the Parrot Ad Decisioning Systems (Parrot ADS). The platform enables MVPDs to seamlessly insert regionally targeted ads on linear streams to match the local ads simultaneously running on traditional cable TV systems. “Parrot ADS presents an enormous opportunity for MVPDs to effortlessly package and execute their linear inventory with connected TV (CTV) inventory, all while better serving their local communities, businesses and advertisers,” said David Solomon, CEO at Viamedia.

Verance has introduced a watermarking system to digitally authenticate and track trusted news sources for video in advance of the 2024 elections. “Without universally trusted authenticity tools in this new era, the internet’s societal benefit as a means of accessing knowledge will precipitously decline,” said Verance DEO Nil Shah. “This presents a serious problem not only for large technology platforms such as Facebook and YouTube but also traditional news media that increasingly rely on the internet for sourcing and verification.”

datafuelX added two new products within its M3 Platform. DemoPlus expands reach beyond data-driven linear to encompass comprehensive demographic inventory, and DemoData Insights is a subscription service offering forecasting and analytics designed to integrate with sell-side platforms and align with SaaS tools such as MediaOcean and Wide Orbit.

FreeWheel has officially certified Transmit as a server-side ad insertion software provider. The company is the first to be certified in the picture-in-picture advertising sector (the capability to serve ads within a smaller screen while other programming or content is running simultaneously on a larger screen within the same platform, whether it be the big screen, on a desktop or mobile). “As the industry continues to evolve, it’s crucial for us to collaborate with partners like Transmit who are at the forefront of driving interoperability,” said Matt Clark, VP, Strategic Partnerships, FreeWheel. “This certification acknowledges our commitment toward efforts that improve the viewer experience and the value we may collectively bring to the entire advertising ecosystem.”

SPORTS ROUNDUP

The announce team for Telemundo’s coverage of Argentina and Brazil’s qualifying matches as part of the network’s “Rumbo al Mundial” series includes football Hall of Famer Andres Cantor, former Mexican National Team and Chivas player Manuel Sol, and Argentine soccer legend Maxi “La Fiera” Rodriguez. Argentina vs. Uruguay kicks off on Thursday, November 16 at 7p and Argentina vs. Brazil on Tuesday, November 21 at 7:30p on Telemundo and Universo.

Start your engines… the inaugural Formula 1 Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix has arrived. ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes will have live coverage of the Las Vegas Grand Prix beginning with “Grand Prix Sunday” at 11:30p on Saturday, November 18, with the race starting at 1a on Sunday, November 19. ESPN Deportes coverage in Spanish begins at midnight. The race telecast will air commercial-free, presented by Mercedes-Benz.

Pro League, the sports entertainment company producing bettable sports, named BrinxTV as its official Free-To-Play Platform. As part of the deal, BrinxTV joins PLN as an investor. BrinxTV will offer sports-betting-like questions and create bettable moments for viewers to earn Brinx Bux during its broadcast of PLN sports, including World Putting League, CarJitsu Championship, Pro Carrom Tour and more.

The first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament will stream on ESPN+ beginning Thursday, November 16. Thursday’s schedule is highlighted by 2022 national champion Syracuse taking on Boston University at 6p. Top-seed Marshall will kick off second round action on Sunday at 1p against the winner of Thursday’s San Diego vs. California Baptist match.

WSC Sports and University of Southern California Athletics struck a partnership to deliver technology innovations across USC Athletics’ platforms. “Our partnership with WSC Sports will propel our social media content into the future thanks to their cutting edge technology and efficiency in the space,” said Jordan Moore, Chief Creative Officer at USC Athletics. “We are immediately implementing their live cutting and AI-powered video software in all eligible sports across all our social media platforms and website.”

HBO filed a “Notice of Opposition” against the “Racemax” trademark, which was filed by All Sports Television Network founder Roger Neal Smith. HBO claims it has exclusive rights to the word “Max,” an assertion Roger Neal Smith says “totally ludicrous.” He adds, “Having filed numerous trademarks previously, I am aware that attorneys at the trademark office are very thorough in checking for marks that are conflicting with one another…. Our television series ‘Racemax’ has been running for three years. To date, we have aired the series more than 1,000 times without any notification that we were infringing on an HBO trademark.”

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In syndication, “Family Feud” drew a 4.88 HH rating the week of October 30, down 2% from prior week to drop behind #1 “Jeopardy!” (5.06 HH, up 2%).

Saturday’s Big Ten showdown between Michigan and Penn State earned 9.156 million viewers on FOX, the most-watched telecast of the day on any network. Through Week 11, “Big Noon Saturday” remains the most-watched window in college football across any network.

Basic Cable Ratings for the week of October November 6
P2+ AA (000)
Primetime
ESPN 2095
Fox News 1877
MSNBC 1353
Hallmark Channel 1125
HGTV 780
History 691
CNN 684
INSP 608
Food Network 595
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 580
Total Day
Fox News 1262
MSNBC 904
ESPN 823
Hallmark Channel 654
CNN 532
HGTV 434
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 352
Food Network 337
INSP 331
TBS 324
Source: Nielsen

EXECUTIVE MOVES

As Dentsu proceeds with a restructuring, the company announced that Takeshi Sano will become CEO, dentsu Japan, replacing Norihiro Kuretani, who is leaving the company at the end of the year. Yoshiki Ishihara has been named Global Chief Strategy Officer & Chief of Staff, replacing Soichi Takahashi. Newly-created jobs were assigned to Yuichi Toyoda, now Global Practice President – Business Transformation, Dentsu and Jeff Greenspoon, Global Practice President – Integrated Solutions, Dentsu. “The enhanced global management structure unveiled today to support our new One dentsu Operating Model will accelerate Dentsu’s growth as a people-centered transformation company,” said Hiroshi Igarashi, President & CEO, Dentsu.

America’s Public Television Stations elected former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, now a partner at Searchlight Capital Partners, to a three-year term as an at-large member of the APTS board of trustees. “America’s Public Television Stations are honored and delighted to welcome Ajit Pai to the APTS board,” said Patrick Butler, APTS President a and CEO. “Over the course of his four years leading the FCC, Chairman Pai saw clearly the value of public television stations’ public service missions of education, public safety and civic leadership.”

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who played Mindy’s boyfriend Martin in “The Kominsky Method” (2018-2021)? Paul Reiser. Kudos to: Benjamin Zander-NBC News NOW/NYC; John Ferlazzo/NYC; Larry Kahn-Datanautix/Orlando, FL; Erik Rankin-Locality/NYC; Maggie Takei-Moore Media/Paducah, KY; Jason Brist-Outdoor Sportsman Group/Chicago; Andy Ehlan-Grady Britton/Portland, OR; Ken DuBow-Access Entertainment/LA; Joy Aronson/LA; Lauren Watt-DirectToU/Citrus Heights, CA

Today’s Trivia Question
Who played Sister Bertrille’s sister on “The Flying Nun” (1967-70)? (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.)

Cynopsis Team