| A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM OMEDA |
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| Thursday December 11, 2025 |
 IN THE NEWS |
| YouTube TV will start offering over 10 cheaper, genre-specific packages early next year that give “more choice and flexibility to our subscribers,” the company said in a blog post. YouTube TV Plans will include a sports plan with a comprehensive selection of channels including ESPN Unlimited, along with packages focused on news, kids and family, and entertainment. The plans can be combined and include features like a Multiview option and unlimited DVR recording space. |
 CBS confirmed that Tony Dokoupil has landed the anchor spot on “CBS Evening News,” and will start Monday, January 5. “We live in a time in which many people have lost trust in the media. Tony Dokoupil is the person to win it back,” said Bari Weiss, CBS News’ editor-in-chief. “That’s because he believes in old school journalistic values: asking the hard questions, following the facts wherever they lead and holding power to account. Americans hungry for fairness will see that on display night after night.” Dokoupil joins from “CBS Morning,” where he has co-hosted since 2019. He succeeds John Dickerson and Maurice Dubos.
Paramount’s bid for Warner Bros. Discovery raises national security concerns due to the participation of Middle East investors, wrote Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA) and Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) in a letter to WBD CEO David Zaslav. “These investors, by virtue of their financial position or contractual rights, could obtain influence – direct or indirect – over business decisions that bear upon editorial independence, content moderation, distribution priorities, or the stewardship of Americans’ private data,” said the lawmakers. “Even absent overt control, such influence can present a national-security threat when foreign state-linked entities have strategic interests inconsistent with those of the United States.” Emirati and Qatari funds, as well as Affinity Partners, a private equity fund founded by Jared Kushner and backed by a $2 billion investment from the Saudi Public Investment Fund23, are investors in the Paramount deal. |
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| CONVERGENT TV WORLD AWARDS 2026
Celebrate Innovation Across Every Screen
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| NEW & RETURNING SERIES |
| “Donkey King” kicks off Saturday, January 3 on ABC stations as part of the Weekend Adventure educational/informational programming block (check local listings). The weekly docuseries from Hearst Production Group is set at Oscar’s Place Adoption Center & Sanctuary, a 75-acre nonprofit donkey rescue and sanctuary in California.
A ten-episode second season of Apple TV’s “Yo Gabba GabbaLand!” premieres Friday, January 30.
ID’s “The Cult Behind the Killer: The Andrea Yates Story,” exploring a sinister influence that contributed to a woman drowning her five children, premieres Tuesday, January 6 at 8p.
Culinary poker game “Wildcard Kitchen” returns to Food Network for season three on Tuesday, January 6 at 9p.
Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer,” based on the bestsellers by Michael Connolly, is back for season four on Thursday, February 5.
Season two of “Money Heist” spinoff “Berlin,” titled “Berlin and the Lady With an Ermine,” premieres Friday, May 15 on Netflix. The series was filmed in locations across Spain.
Discovery reality show “Moonshiners” is back for another run on Tuesday, January 6 at 8p.
Season 14 of Fox’s “The Masked Singer” debuts Wednesday, January 7 at 8p. Nick Cannon returns as host, with panelists Jenny McCarthy Wahlberg, Ken Jeong, Robin Thicke and Rita Ora.
“The Rise,” a five-part docuseries capturing the meteoric growth of women’s professional sports, launches on Peacock on Monday, December 15. |
Today’s Premieres
Netflix: Had I Not Seen the Sun; Man vs. Baby; Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft
Paramount+: Little Disasters |
| PRODUCTION |
| Netflix tells the story of the 2005 disappearance of teen Natalee Holloway through the eyes of her mother, Beth Holloway, in a docuseries from directors Danielle Sloane (“The Menendez Brothers”) and Matthew Galkin (“Murder in Big Horn”). The three-parter was produced by Story Syndicate.
Nat Geo has greenlit travel series “Best of the World With Antoni Porowski,” set to premiere in 2026. The four-parter starring “Queer Eye’s” Porowski is inspired by Nat Geographic’s annual Best of the World travel recommendations list. |
| TECH |
YouTube shared some updates to YouTube Shorts that it says will help brands maximize their holiday budgets. Improvements include:
· Introducing comments on eligible Shorts ads to give brands more ways to interact with audiences and match the experience of organic Shorts.
· Enabling Shorts Creators to link to a brand’s website for branded content.
· Launching Shorts ads for mobile web to extend support for short-form video ads.
Xfinity announced the launch of new national video plans with all-in pricing. Available to new and existing customers, all packages come with an X1 4K TV box and voice remote.
DoubleVerify announced the expansion of the DV Authentic Attention® product to TikTok – the first badged TikTok Marketing Partner offering for attention measurement that integrates direct impression-level signals to measure attention on the platform. Through its partnership with TikTok, DV now delivers granular, impression-level insights that uncover how ad exposure and audience engagement combine to influence attention and performance across ad sets, formats, creatives and objectives. |
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| CYNOPSIS HOLIDAY PROGRAMMING GUIDE
The Holiday Lineup, All in One Place
Keep up with every premiere and seasonal special through Jan. 1 with our always-updated schedule. Times in EST. Presented by UP Entertainment.
EXPLORE THE GUIDE |
| SPORTS REPORT |
| The Professional Softball League announced the formation of a new women’s professional softball league, as well as a television partnership with the All Women’s Sports Network (AWSN). The league’s inaugural season of play will begin the second week of June. “As the first official media partner of the Professional Softball League (PSL), AWSN is proud to feature PSL on major global platforms including Amazon Prime, Pluto TV, and DirecTV delivering live fastpitch softball action to millions of homes across over 60 countries worldwide on All Women’s Sports Network,” said AWSN CEO George Chung. “This unprecedented distribution creates a massive international audience that will accelerate the growth of the sport, elevate the visibility of women’s professional softball, and showcase the extraordinary talent of PSL athletes on a truly global stage.”
Ben Shelton, the 9th ranked men’s tennis player in the world, has set a deal with Wheelhouse that will see Shelton collaborate with the teams at Wheelhouse Sports and with Wheelhouse-backed content studio Portal A to develop and produce a slate of original and brand-funded digital projects.
Telemundo announced Tu Momento. Tu Jugada. (Telemundo’s Next Play), a nationwide sport impact and community initiative that champions the transformative power of sports. Supported by Comcast NBCUniversal, the initiative spans multiple sports and communities.
Monumental Sports Network and Sports Business Journal’s monthly program, “Sports Journal: Inside the Industry,” will be syndicated on FanDuel Sports Network starting December 15. Season two is underway. |
| COMING UP |
| Diana Ross is set to perform at “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest,” airing live Wednesday, December 31 from 8p-4a on ABC. With an additional hour and a half of programming, this year marks the longest “NYRE” telecast ever.
CBS will be ringing in the new year with Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Gretchen Wilson, and Dwight Yoakam, to name a few, during “New Year’s Live: Nashville’s Big Bash,” starting at 8p.
The 2025 Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism will take place on December 12 at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Honorees in attendance will include Rachel Maddow (“The Rachel Maddow Show”), Scott Pelley (“60 Minutes”), Peter Alexander (NBC News), Julio Vaqueiro (Noticias Telemundo), and more. The ceremony will also feature video messages from honorees Jon Stewart (“The Daily Show”) and John Dickerson (“CBS Evening News Plus”). Stewart’s award is the first in a new category, Comedic News and Commentary.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) provides 17 hours of programming on ESPN2 and ABC starting Sunday, December 14, with the AKC UpDog Invitational at 1p on ESPN2.
MeTV is launching “Aaron Spelling Sundays” starting January 4 at 2p, with episodes of “Charlie’s Angels,” “Hart to Hart,” “Fantasy Island” and “The Love Boat.”
“Ainsley McGregor Mysteries: A Case for the Watchmaker,” starring Candace Cameron Bure, starts streaming Thursday, January 1 on Great American Pure Flix. |
| RATINGS |
| ABC special “Dancing with the Holidays” on December 2 ranked as the #1 show of the night among Adults 18-49 (0.65 rating) and earned 5.2 million Total Viewers, according to Nielsen Live+Same Day Big Data Plus Panel Ratings. The special that followed at 9p, “CMA Country Christmas,” drew 3.9 million Total Viewers.
Indiana’s win in the Big Ten Championship scored 18.33 million viewers on Fox, making it the most-watched Big Ten Championship game on record. |
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This Day in History
1936 – Edward III announced he was abdicating the British throne to marry Wallis Simpson.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Why was Nikki (Kim Kardashian) thrown in jail on “Drop Dead Diva” (2009-14)? For stealing from Stacy. Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA
Today’s Trivia Question
Which two-season comedy spinoff series focused on the goings-on at a TV newsmagazine? (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. |
DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE MARKETING >>
ATHLETE TO ATHLETE/SANTA MONICA, CA: Lead the performance marketing team across Meta Ads and new paid digital channels (TikTok, YouTube, Google, etc.) as well as build and execute a roadmap for channel expansion and profitable scale. Develop and run structured testing frameworks. Partner with Creative Strategist on ad briefs, testing priorities, and creative feedback loops. Full info HERE
SENIOR MANAGER, TRAFFIC >>
INSP, LLC./CHARLOTTE, SC: Oversee the Traffic staff and manage and monitor the day-to-day operations. Responsible for the prompt and accurate execution of broadcast logs for three networks. The manager assumes a leadership role within our Network Operations and consistently looks to streamline processes and increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Traffic department. Full info HERE
MANAGER, DISTRIBUTION MARKETING >>
INSP, LLC./INDIAN LAND, SC: Develop and manage B2B and B2C campaigns in partnership with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), virtual MVPDs (vMVPDs), and streaming platforms to increase viewership, drive tune-in, and support carriage initiatives. Execute marketing strategies. Strong multi-tasking skills, and the ability to manage competing priorities. Full info HERE
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
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
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
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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