Thursday December 14, 2023

Today’s Finale
Fox: LEGO Masters at 9p

IN THE NEWS

Anthony Anderson (“black-ish”) will host the 75th Emmy Awards. “With our industry’s recent challenges behind us, we can get back to what we love – dressing up and honoring ourselves,” said Anderson. “When FOX asked me to host this historic telecast, I was over the moon that Taylor Swift was unavailable, and now I can’t wait to be part of the biggest night in television.” The show takes place Monday, January 15 at 8p.

The CW’s midseason schedule features movies on Sunday nights, starting January 7 with “The Wedding Planner.” Saturdays will include the net’s “I Am” series, debuting December 30 with “I Am Burt Reynolds.”

Each year during the holiday season, Lifetime identifies a deserving woman who is given the “Gift of a Lifetime.” This year, Lifetime partnered with Blue Star Families to give not just one woman, but 11 military spouses this year’s “Gift of a Lifetime.” Lifetime treated them to a day all about them, from a festive tea to designer gowns, to a celebration featuring the stars of Lifetime’s It’s a Wonderful Lifetime holiday movie slate. The initiative will be shared on-air and across Lifetime’s social and digital platforms as part of this year’s It’s a Wonderful Lifetime.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!

The Sports Media Awards are back! Taking place in April 2024 in NYC, the ceremony honoring the best in the sports media biz returns with brand-new categories to celebrate the expanding sports ecosystem. Stay tuned for more information, you won’t want to miss this!
In the meantime, enter your company or campaign into the running for an award!

ENTER HERE

Peacock has ordered limited drama series “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,” starring Kevin Hart, who also executive produces alongside Will Packer. Set in Atlanta, the series follows Muhammad Ali’s 1970 comeback fight and the criminal underground heist that followed.

ReachTV will co-produce and distribute “The Reel Ones with Amir Arison,” highlighting filmmakers and the subjects of their short film documentaries. The series is co-created by Executive Producer Jesse Scolaro and Amir Arison, who will also host the show.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

“America’s Most Wanted” returns to FOX on Monday, January 22 at 8p, with original host John Walsh onboard – this time with his son, child advocate Callahan Walsh, as co-host. The series ran on FOX from 1988 until 2011, when it was picked up by Lifetime and ran until 2013. FOX revived the show in 2021 with Elizabeth Vargas as host. ”It’s an incredible time for America’s Most Wanted to return to FOX, especially in partnership with my son Callahan, to continue my lifetime’s work,” said John Walsh. “I’m in constant awe over how instrumental our loyal viewers are in ensuring we get justice for victims and their loved ones, and today, they have entirely new tools at their disposal to help us fight back and quickly solve even more crimes.”

Apple TV+ true crime limited series “Manhunt” launches Friday, March 15. Based on the nonfiction book by the same name, the seven-parter follows the hunt for John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

HGTV’s “Rico to the Rescue” kicks off a new season on Wednesday, January 24 at 9p. In the premiere episode, Rico meets homeowners whose contractor took more than $100,000 to start their home renovation but never finished.

“Nature: Big Little Journeys” premieres Wednesday, January 10 at 8p on PBS (check local listings). The three-part mini-series follows the epic journeys tiny creatures take to find a home or mate.

AXS TV trivia series “Cash Cab Music” debuts Monday, January 8 at 10p. Host Adam Growe gives passengers a chance to win prizes by answering questions about music.

Adult animated comedy series “In the Know” premieres Thursday, January 25 on Peacock. “We love public radio. It’s engaging and comforting. But it also reflects aspects of ourselves that we’re embarrassed by,” wrote creators Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner. “Which is why we created a show about an NPR host who is, sadly, an only slightly exaggerated version of ourselves.”

“Grimsburg” joins FOX’s animation domination block on Sunday, February 18 at 9:30p. That’s after its premiere with a special episode on Sunday, January 7 following the FOX NFL doubleheader. The series stars and is executive produced by Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”).

CASTING NOTES

Kate del Castillo (“La Reina del Sur”) and Santiago Cabrera (“The Flight Attendant”) have joined season three of “The Cleaning Lady,” premiering Tuesday, March 5 at 8p on Fox.

Ken Jeong reunites with fellow “Community” alum Joel McHale as a guest on season two of FOX’s “Animal Control.” Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”) will also guest star, and Krystal Smith (“Krissychiula”) will recur as a guest star.

Alexander Siddig (“Shantaram”) will play a psychohistorian on season three of Apple TV+ drama “Foundation.”

“Everybody Loves Raymond” alum Brad Garrett has joined season two of ABC comedy “Not Dead Yet” as a series regular.

COMING UP

Connie Chung will present the Lifetime Achievement Honor to her husband, talk show host Maury Povich, on Saturday, December 16 at the Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards, kicking off at 12p. That ceremony will be followed at 8p by the 2nd Annual Children’s & Family Creative Arts Awards. The following day brings the 2nd Annual Children’s and Family Emmy Awards at 5p, hosted by Christopher Jackson (“Bull”) with a performance by the Harlem Globetrotters.

MeTV bids farewell to 2023 with The Lasts on the Last, an afternoon celebration of finale and final season episodes from classic TV shows including “The Andy Griffith Show,” “The Brady Bunch,” “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and more, starting Sunday, December 31 12p.

Meanwhile, FETV will Never Say Goodbye this New Year’s with finale episodes of FETV programs on Sunday, December 31, followed by the premiere episodes on Monday, January 1. Sister net FMC will be “Singin’ in the New Year” on New Year’s Day with a selection of classic musicals, including “Royal Wedding” (Fred Astaire), “Road to Bali” (Bob Hope, Bing Crosby), “Oliver!”, and more.

“The Creator” drops on Hulu on December 20. The humans-versus-AI sci-fi film had an 83-day theatrical window.

STREAMING

“The Night Agent” topped Netflix’s list of most-viewed titles in the first half of 2023, with 812 million hours viewed. In the streamer’s new bi-annual “What We Watched” report, season two of “Ginny & Georgia” came in second with 665 million hours viewed, followed by season one of “The Glory” (623 million), season one of “Wednesday” (508 million) and “Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” (503 million).

From January through October 2023, MediaRadar reports a nearly $1.07 billion in advertising investment on six top OTT platforms: Discovery+, Hulu, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Pluto TV. That’s down 8% year-over-year. “Streaming platforms are confronting steep hurdles around ballooning content expenses, password sharing dilution, and an uncertain economic climate. These factors are fueling downstream subscriber and advertising adversities across the industry,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar. “However, the streaming ad market also shows promise – these players alone account for over $1 billion in spend.”

RETAIL MEDIA

Sam’s Club Member Access Platform has launched full-funnel video advertising onsite, in-app and offsite. Noting research that shows 66% of consumers prefer watching a video to learn about an item, MAP is offering capabilities to enable a more engaging consumer journey. Advertisers can layer CTV ads, Sponsored Videos and Interactive Videos with first-party member data to unlock targeting to reach new-to-brand and lapsed members, drive awareness for new item launches and create a synergistic video experience.

TECH

ChatGPT creator Open AI and Axel Springer struck a multiyear licensing deal that calls for OpenAI to pay to use content from Axel Springer publications, including Politico and Business Insider in the US and Bild and Welt in Europe, to populate answers in ChatGPT and train its AI tools. Financial terms were not disclosed.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

The 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series™ regular-season outdoor game at MetLife Stadium will feature an opening concert by the Jonas Brothers before the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers face off on Saturday, February 17. Tickets to the event now include admission to both the 6:30p pregame concert in the stadium and 8p outdoor game.

Horizon Sports & Experiences and InsideOut Sports + Entertainment have signed Hard Rock, State Farm, Brighthouse Financial, and Franklin Sports as presenting sponsors of the Pickleball Slam 2. Brands will receive exposure and custom elements within the ESPN telecast and also benefit from on-site activation opportunities at the Pickleball Slam and the Amateur Slam.

Indoor dirt racing competition Gateway Dirt National puts the pedal to the metal in St. Louis today through December 16, with FloRacing as exclusive streaming partner. More than 140 late model and modified cars will hit the road.

Speaking of cars, the Utah Crimson Collective surprised the University of Utah’s women’s and men’s basketball and women’s gymnastics teams with an offer to the student-athletes for a lease for a 2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Limited Edition or a 2024 Ram 1500 Big Horn truck.

GOING GLOBAL

Poland’s Telewizja Polska announced production has been completed on its WWII historical thriller series, “The Bay of Spies.” The Polish-language series is due to TX on TVP in on January 7.

Cuarzo Producciones, part of Banijay Iberia, will produce “Celebrity School” alongside Mediaset España for Telecinco. Hosted by Christian Gálvez, the show sees four celebrities compete against groups of elementary, middle, and high school-aged contestants in a series of games inspired by school subjects.

Samsung Electronics America and Conan O’Brien have announced the expansion of the Conan O’Brien TV channel– featuring content from “Conan” – to Samsung TV Plus users in Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

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Basic Cable Top 10 for the week of December 4
P2+ AA (000)
Primetime
Fox News 1830
ESPN 1595
MSNBC 1211
Hallmark Channel 1157
TNT 816
History 701
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 687
HGTV 665
USA 627
INSP 579
Total Day
Fox News 1193
MSNBC 779
ESPN 666
Hallmark Channel 664
CNN 427
Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 414
HGTV 370
History 341
TBS 323
TNT 320
Source: Nielsen

EXECUTIVE MOVES

FOX News Media has promoted three senior executives on its digital leadership team. Jason Klarman has been named Chief Digital and Marketing Officer; Porter Berry has been promoted to President, FOX News Digital and Editor-In-Chief; and Lauren Petterson will assume Klarman’s former role as President of FOX Nation while also continuing as President of Talent Development and will relinquish her role as President of FOX Business Network. Additionally, Megan Albano has been named EVP of Morning Programming & Program Development and Gavin Hadden has been named SVP of FOX Nation.

IN MEMORIAM

Actor André Braugher died December 11 after a brief illness. He was 61. Braugher won acclaim for both dramatic roles, including Emmy-winning turns on “Homicide: Life on the Street” and “Thief,” as well as comedy “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.”

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What 1980s sitcom did its own take on “A Christmas Carol” in which the Ghost of Christmas Future showed the family living in their same house, but as hobos? “Family Ties” (1982-89). Kudos to: Rick Dascher-Carlos Murphy’s/Atlanta; Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago; Maggie Takei-Moore Media/Sherman Oaks, CA; Adam Leston-Weigel Broadcasting/Milwaukee; Andi Leston-Outoor Sportsman Group/Waukesha, WI; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which live-action 2006 Christmas special was a remake of a 1970s stop motion animated special? (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