Cynopsis

03.06.09

Good morning. It’s Friday, March 6, 2009, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

Tonight’s Premiere:
TLC: Say Yes to the Dress at 10p

Saturday’s Premieres:
Gospel Music Channel: Ha!: Standing Up for Clean Comedy at 8p
BBC America: Ashes to Ashes at 9p
VH1 Classic: That Metal Show at 11p

Sunday’s Premieres:
BET: Sunday Best at 9p
AMC: Breaking Bad at 10p
E!: Keeping Up with the Kardashians at 10p; Candy Girls at 1030p
Planet Green: Building the Future: The Search for Ultimate Energy at 10p

With the season eight premiere of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars around the corner on Monday at 8p, two celebrity contestants have bowed out in the eleventh hour due to injuries they sustained while training. Singer/songwriter Jewel and Access Hollywood host Nancy O’Dell both will appear during the season premiere but will not continue with the competition. The show will make additional casting announcements during Monday’s opening episode.

~ MORE GOOD STUFF ~

FOX is using American Idol as a launching pad for viewers to preview new series Glee as it follows the competition series on May 19 at 9p. The one-hour musical comedy series will make its official debut in the fall, though the date has not been scheduled. Glee, with a soundtrack of hit songs, follows an upbeat high school teacher, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) charged with transforming the school’s glee club. Glee is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

News broke on CNN’s The Situation Room yesterday as Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent, declared he was withdrawing his name for consideration as Surgeon General in President Obama’s administration. Gupta told anchor Wolf Blitzer he “wants to spend more time with his family.” Gupta and his wife are expecting a third child soon. In addition to his CNN duties, busy Gupta is chief of neurosurgery at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, he makes appearances on CBS News and pens a medical column for Time magazine.

HBO introduces viewers to The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency on March 29 at 8p. The seven-episode drama series is based on the novels by Alexander McCall Smith and features Jill Scott portraying heroine Precious Ramotswe, the wise owner of the only female-owned detective agency in Botswana. The series is a presentation of HBO Entertainment in association with The Weinstein Company and BBC. The late Anthony Minghella directed the two-hour pilot episode which aired on the BBC last year and is the inaugural episode for the HBO series. Additionally, the late Sydney Pollack served as executive producer for the pilot along with Richard Curtis, Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein. Richard Curtis now supervises production of the series and is executive producer along with Amy J. Moore, Bob Weinstein and Harvey Weinstein.

HGTV premieres three new and diverse series this spring, all focused on making the most of viewers’ home time:

• Good Buy, Bad Buy? – two housing experts from realtors, home inspectors, architects to designers will advise two different homebuyers on which house is actually the best buy. Starts April 5 at 1230p.
• Leader of the Pack – animal experts work with families to find the right dog for their home and lifestyle. Debuts April 26 at 8p.
• Man Land – weekly series features over-the-top manspace makeovers. Begins June 3 at 11p.

According to Nielsen, 570,000+ US homes became digital ready since the last status update was reported in mid-February. To date, though, 4.5 million US homes or 3.9% of all homes, continue to be completely unready for the analog-to-digital transition.

America’s Next Top Model Cycle 12 debuted with a two-hour episode on The CW Wednesday at 8p and delivered a second-place standing among the network’s target audience of W18-34 at 3.4/9 and tallied a 3.4/10 among females 12-34. The premiere episodes also ranked third among A18-34 with 2.1/6.

Also on Wednesday at 9p, SCI FI Channel concluded the first season of Ghost Hunters International by scaring up 1.3 million A18-49, 1.4 million A25-54 and 2.2 million total viewers. Ghost Hunters International is a spinoff of Ghost Hunters set to debut season five March 11 at 9p. Both series are produced in association with Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Films and Television.

Independent media services agency, Horizon Media was granted the media buying and planning for Modell’s Sporting Goods, a retailer with 140 stores.

MIP TV Program Call: If your company will be attending and showcasing programming at MIP TV 2009 in Cannes, France, at the end of next month, Cynopsis will send out a special MIP TV Shopping Guide edition the Wednesday before the conference. To have your programming included, please send only the following info for your top 5 shows: title, availability date, number of episodes, length, type (i.e., movie, series, special, etc.), genre, your terms (barter, cash, etc.) and names and contact info of those attending from your company. If your company is interested in being included in this free guide, please send the details to
by Friday, March 20, 2009.

~ DISTRIBUTION, CARRIAGE & CLEARANCE ~

 
Liberman Broadcasting, Inc. (LBI Media), a privately-held, minority-owned Spanish-language US company, acquired WASA, a television station serving the New York Metropolitan area on channel 25 from 4 Times Square. This purchase further broadens LBI Media’s O&O station group into the second largest Hispanic market in the US and takes the company’s television station count to seven for its launch of Estrella TV Network during the early part of third quarter 2009. LBI Media purchased WASA from Venture Technologies for $6 million. In addition to owning six other television stations in greater Los Angeles, Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, San Diego, Salt Lake City and Phoenix, LBI Media owns 22 radio stations as well as Empire Burbank Studios in Burbank and television production facilities in Houston and Dallas.

~ PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT ~

Comedy Central together with Paramount Vantage picked up the rights to the humorous book Ghosts/Aliens by Trey Hamburger, with intentions to develop it into a pilot and a feature film script. Scott Aversano and Carrie Beck of Aversano Films are producing both projects and Phil Johnston will pen the pilot script. Hamburger’s book, released in November, is about himself and his best pal Mike Stevens, a couple of regular guys, who come to the realization ghosts and aliens really do exist.

NBC tagged long-time sportscaster Al Michaels to host the network’s live weekend and weekday daytime coverage of the upcoming Vancouver Winter Olympics. Michaels will helm 50+ hours from Vancouver and this appointment marks his first Olympic broadcasting post in 22 years.

Heroes will be back next year, confirms NBC entertainment president Angela Bromstad, reports THR, disputing rampant reports and blog entries to the contrary. Bromstad said the action-drama series will get an 18-20 episode order for next season, just a couple of episodes short to the current third season order of 23 episodes.

TBS pulled the sketch comedy series Frank TV starring comedian Frank Caliendo, per B&C. This may be bad news for Caliendo, yet he signed a two-year deal with Fox NFL Sunday to continue his comedic portrayals of sports figures such as Charles Barkley to Terry Bradshaw during taped segments.

Seinfeld fans take note: stars Jerry Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards will all appear together this fall in several episodes of HBO’s comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm, starring Seinfeld creator Larry David. Makes you wonder … what took them so long?

Pilot News:

• Julianna Margulies lands the lead on CBS’ drama pilot The Good Wife which drops the contingency on the project, cites THR. From CBS Paramount and Scott Free Productions, The Good Wife is about a politician’s wife (Margulies) who goes back to work as a defense attorney.
• Also from THR: British actress Indira Varma takes on the lead role in ABC’s drama pilot Inside the Box. Varma plays Catherine a determined news producer who aggressively pursues stories for the nightly newscast though is passed over for a promotion. Viewers may remember Varma for her role as Niobe in the HBO/BBC drama series Rome.

Bravo renewed reality competition series Shear Genius for a third season and picked up Double Exposure (wt), a new docu-series. Double Exposure follows high-style photographers Markus Klinko and Indrani and stylist GK Reid as they photograph/style the top celebrity faces in the world. The series is produced by Juma Entertainment for Bravo.

Casting Call: Bravo announces open calls for stylists eager to compete in the third season of Shear Genius, produced by Reveille for Bravo. The first casting call happens in Los Angeles on March 15 followed by Austin  March 22; Nashville  March 22; Chicago  March 29; New York  March 29; and San Francisco  April 5. Full information on casting can be found at www.bravotv.com/casting .

~ ELSEWHERE IN CYNOPSIS ~

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Music videos have always been a loss leader for the music industry but perhaps YouTube can change all that. The world’s largest online video portal and the leading U.S. music label, Universal Music, are in talks to expand their current relationship that include the creation of a new premium music video site. “Vevo,” the working title of the site, would enlist content from other major music labels (including now absent Warner Music) and focus on a premium user experience to generate higher-CPM ad revenues. YouTube’s existing relationships with music labels have been rocky at best, as ad revenues only trickle in despite the huge popularity of the category.   Full edition: CYN DIGITAL.

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Laika, Inc. names Travis Knight as President and CEO.  Knight succeeds Dale Wahl (65) who is stepping down and will now serve as Vice-Chairman until his retirement in October 2009, and on a more temporary basis he will fill the role of EVP/Business Operations and CFO.  Knight has served on the Laika board and been head of Animation since 2007; he was also one of the lead animators on the studio’s stop-motion 3D animated feature Coraline.  Knight previously toiled for Vinton Studios, which was acquired by Philip H. Knight and renamed Laika.  The studio has also appointed Claire Jennings, producer of Coraline and Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit, to the new position of President/Entertainment.  Philip H. Knight (Travis’ Dad) is Laika’s owner and Chairman of the board.  The senior Knight is also Chairman and Co-Founder of Nike.  Full edition: CYN KIDS.

~ RATINGS ~

Wednesday – A18-49 Analysis:  FOX hit a high note Wednesday night with 5.7/15 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. FOX decisively won at 8p with American Idol at 7.8/22 while UNIV’s Cuidado con el Angel was next at 1.8/5 and NBC’s Knight Rider in third at 1.7/5. The CW’s season premiere of America’s Next Top Model tied for fourth place along with ABC’s Lost rerun at 1.6/4 each. ABC reversed its position during 9p going straight to the top with Lost at 4.9/12 followed by FOX’s Lie To Me at 3.7/9. It was CBS’ turn to win at 10p with a CSI: NY encore at 2.7/8 and the soon-to-be-finished ABC drama Life on Mars in second with 1.9/5.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Wednesday, March 4, 2009 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

FOX: 9.6/15      American Idol 13.1/21, Lie To Me 6.2/10

CBS: 5.7/9          Old Christine [r] 3.5/6, Gary Unmarried [r] 3.4/5, Criminal Minds [r] 6.5/10, CSI: NY [r] 7.1/12

ABC: 4.3/7           Lost [r] 3.0/5, Lost 6.3/10, Life on Mars 3.5/6

NBC: 3.4/6           Knight Rider 3.5/6, Life [r] 2.8/4, Law & Order [r] 3.9/7

CW: 2.6/4           America’s Next Top Model [p] 2.6/4

UNIV: 2.2/4         Cuidado con el Angel 2.3/4, Manana para Siempre 2.4/4, Don Francisco Presenta 1.9/3

MNT: 0.7/1          World’s Funniest Moments 0.9/1, Tony Rock Project 0.6/1, Tony Rock Project [r] 0.5/1

TELE: 0.7/1         Dona Barbara 0.6/1, El Rostro de Analia W 0.7/1, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 0.7/1, Cartel W 0.7/1

A18-49: FOX 5.7/15, ABC 2.8/8, CBS 2.2/6, CW 1.8/5, UNIV 1.8/5, NBC 1.5/4, TELE 0.6/2, MNT 0.4/1

~ EXECUTIVE MOVES ~

WE tv upped Jeff Meza to Director/Ad Sales Marketing. Previously, Jeff handled trade marketing for the network as manager and in his new capacity will oversee development and implementation of multi-platform national ad sales marketing and promotional programs. This agenda encompasses storyline integration, product placement and custom vignettes and interstitials. Jeff reports to Elain Waldman, VP/Trade Marketing, WE tv.

Ben Stein advanced to Executive Producer at New York-based animation and interactive studio World Leaders Entertainment. Ben will manage all commercial, interactive and new media production in addition to new business development and commercial/entertainment cross platform strategies. He reports to Charlie Miller, President.

BASE Productions recruited John Davis as VP/Production to supervise the company’s network productions for shows on Fox Sports Net, A&E, Spike TV, National Geographic and G4 among others. John is also responsible for increasing BASE Productions programming slate. He reports to Co-CEOs John Brenkus and Mickey Stern.

Geoffrey Darby joined The Weather Channel as EVP/Programming with responsibility of the network’s programming and production operations. In his new role, Geoffrey will report to the network’s CEO. Previously, Geoffrey consulted with TWC and was President/Production and Convergence/Interactive with Oxygen Media.

Karen Glass was appointed VP/Development at Sony Pictures Television (SPT) to supervise development and production of alternative series for network and cable and first-run syndication based at SPT’s New York facility. Karen will be involved in the upcoming Dr. Oz show and furthermore works as SPT’s development contact for Embassy Row on the productions of The Newlywed Game for GSN and Make My Day for TV Land. Karen reports to Holly Jacobs, EVP/Realty and Syndicated Programming.

Landmark Theatres upgraded its sales team and added two sales executives: Millicent Easley as Director/Sales, Western Region and Bob Shaw as Director/Sales, Eastern Region. Millicent and Bob report to Michael Sakin, SVP/Sales, Landmark Theatres.

Portland-based animation studio, LAIKA, Inc. (Coraline) promoted Travis Knight as President/CEO, succeeding Dale Wahl who served in this position since 2005. Travis is part of the LAIKA Board and was most recently Head/Animation and worked as a lead animator on Coraline. Furthermore, LAIKA named Claire Jennings, producer on Coraline, as President/Entertainment.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM HOROWITZ ASSOCIATES

The Multicultural Event of the Season
March 10 – Hilton New York

Market research firm Horowitz Associates hosts the
9th Annual Multicultural Media for Multicultural America Forum

This Research-and-Strategy driven event will focus on:
Cross-Platform Programming, Branding, & Advertising for
Multicultural Audiences.

Get the newest data on consumers & the market for broadband/mobile video! Register Now!

  .

Friday Fun Fact:  The Three Stooges appeared in more movies than any other comedy team in U.S. film history.

This day in History: 1981 – Walter Cronkite appeared on his last episode of “CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite.” He had been on the job 19 years.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:    Another TV gift of fatherly advice – this time given by one of Springfield’s own to his son:  “A fellow just hates to admit he’s wrong. It takes a little courage to do it, and swallowing of pride, but it’s one of the paths to wisdom.” What Springfield insurance man said this?  JIM ANDERSON to his son, BUD on FATHER KNOWS BEST  Kudos to:  Carol Porter-Jordan’s Furniture/Boston; Chris Powers-Octagon Sports Marketing Olympic & Action Sports Division/Portland, ME; Peter Null-Chatham/NJ; John Grafton-Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Atlanta;  Jim Hall-True Media/Columbia, MO; Kyle Krebs-KTXS/Abilene; Kathy Yarbrough-Touchpoints Marketing/New Orleans; Dan Whitford-RPM Advertising/Chicago; Kelley Kalbhenn (Powell)-Fox Reality Channel/LA; Cathy Korda-ABC Entertainment/Burbank; Larry Goldman-LMNO Productions/Encino; Adrienne Spitzer-Pantheon/LA; Don Enright-Ardmore Productions/Vancouver, B.C.

Today’s Trivia Question: Lt. Colonel Henry Blake had a large and cherished item shipped from the United States to his office in Korea. An item later used in a barter trade by Hawkeye and Trapper John for medicine.  What did Henry have delivered to his MASH office?   (Email
with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Award Season Advertising Alert!
Reach Voters and Industry Influencers …
Impact Their Awareness

Customizable Advertising Programs from Cynopsis Media,
Impactful Ad Campaigns, Events, Special Projects

Find out why over 60 Networks use Cynopsis Media to drive results.

For information on delivering your message directly to key industry members,
contact Chuck Bolkcom, President –
, 646-468-6180

Later — Cyn
03.06.09

Cynopsis Ad Sales:
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Mark Bohn- 203-583-1224 /

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JOB OPENING: PUBLICIST/SR PUBLICIST/MTV/NYC: 3+yrs exp. in TV PR including pitching/story placemnt, events, knwlg online press; Progrming focused; Strng writ/oral comm. skills, EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (3/12)

JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/FISHKILL NY: Seeks AE for local ad sales.1-3 yrs ad sales exp. pref cable tv, radio, e-media adv. Valid NY DL. See full posting and apply to www.cablevision.jobs req 8247BR (3/12)

JOB OPENING: MGR INT’L FINANCE/A&E Television Networks/NY: Acctg & fin reporting, budgeting, forecast, analysis. BS/Acctg; CPA + 3 yrs Pub Acctg. Media 7 entertainment exp in multinational. Apply: www.aetn.com/careers.html (3/10)

JOB OPENING: HR RECRUITER/Flashpoint Academy/CHI: Seek employ opps nationwide; film/TV prod, video game dvlpmnt, animation/special effects, recording arts & science, & dig. mktg ind. Creative field exp pref’d. Res:
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JOB OPENING: ONLINE MKTG MGR/MusicChoice/NY: Resp for mgmt of content/mktg assets on website. Create/execute online mktg plans. 5+ yrs online exp required. Prefer exp w/12-24 demo. 
(3/7)

JOB OPENING: DIR NAT ACCTS/LA/Lifetime: Dist products & services w/aff cable/sat/telco/max dist to ntwrk & ntwrk media. 5+ yrs sles/cbl & new media sales pref’d. http://www.mylifetime.com/about-us/apply-jobs (3/7)

JOB OPENING: ON AIR MEDIA COORD/LA/Lifetime: Asst developing/sched’g, media plans/prfcnt onair pro, etc/liaison btw groups/BA, BS, equiv. http://www.mylifetime.com/about-us/apply-jobs (3/7)

JOB OPENING:   PROD/DIR /Jupiter Entertainment /Knoxville: Conceptualize, prd/dir a hosted pilot. Strong point of view; exp working w/ talent in challenging envir. Deliver high qual prgrmng on cable budget. Reel/res:
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SUMMER INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY: BLOGGER /Picture Earth/NY:Writer(s) sought for EarthFromAboveUSA.com‘s blog, launching April. Relevant degree or experience required. For school credit and/or bylines.Apply:
(3/12)

SUMMER INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY: Discovery Channel is seeking a summer intern with an interest in PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT/PRODUCTION. School credit required/ unpaid. Email: 
(3/12)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED …  There is no charge for placing your Situation Wanted ad … for more information contact Trish Pihonak at

SITUATION WANTED: 5 PRIME TIME EMMYS/ DOC. PROD, DIR., WRITER in L.A. Credits: National Geo, PBS, Discovery, History CH, TLC and MSNBC. Contact email:
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SITUATION WANTED: MARKETING/PROMOTIONS/Boston: Marketing/promotions professional seeks television, web marketing, social networking focused position. Experienced in international markets. Creative + will travel.
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SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCTION MAKEUP ARTIST (NY) Over 20 years experience including keying top-rated network and cable tv shows, print, and film. Creative, competitive rates. Email:
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SITUATION WANTED: DIR, STANDARDS & PRACTICES: Over 20 yrs exp of editing TV shows & theatricals for acceptable airing. Available on a FT basis and can also contract out to work project by project. E-mail:
(3/12)

SITUATION WANTED: WRITER (LA, NY): Comedy writer with experience at MTV, SNL, VH1, Fox, The Onion. F/T, P/T, freelance. Contact
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SITUATION WANTED: MEDIA BUYER/LA Based: 14+ years exp, seeking full time permanent/freelance projects. Radio and tv experience. Experience includes entertainment, retail, auto, fast food, supermarket. Email:
(3/11)

SITUATION WANTED: TONY NOM. B’WAY PROD/THEATRE CONSULT/ACQUIS. & DEV./NYC: 30+ yrs exp. in theatre. Superb theatre/film/TV contacts seeks FT or Consulting Position w/Studio/Prod Co. looking for properties. Contact:
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SITUATION WANTED: EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Extensive creative directing experience in cross platform integrated marketing/advertising, television promotion, and digital production. Will travel. Fly Me!!
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SITUATION WANTED: SALES MANAGER/BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (Chicago): 24 yrs experience w/broadcast & cable seeks digital, OOH, emerging opportunities. Great communicator, solid relationships. Innovative & creative!
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SITUATION WANTED: BUSINESS CONTINUITY/CRISIS MANAGEMENT/NYC: 5yrs production exp, 2yrs BCP exp. Crisis management for ent. industry, masters degree educated. F/T, P/T, freelance. Contact:
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SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE PUBLICIST 27 years experience in entertainment, personality, business PR creating & delivering campaigns on a range of clients. Will travel. Contact:
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SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE or Full-time MEDIA BUYER w/ over 25 yrs of buying exp. is newly available. Seeking F/T or Freelance wk from your office or my home (New York based) Please contact me @
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT –  FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2009

ABC: Wife Swap, 20/20, 20/20
AZTECA: Lo Que Callamos Las Mujeres Edicion Especial, Extranormal de Impacto, Al Extremo
CBS: Ghost Whisperer, Flashpoint, Numb3rs
CW: America’s Next Top Model [r]
FOX: Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse
ION: Movie: Outlaw Josey Wales (630p); Movie: Larry McMurty’s Dead Man’s Walk
MNT: WWE Friday Night Smackdown
NBC: Howie Do It [r], Howie Do It, Friday Night Lights, Dateline
PBS: Washington Week, Now on PBS, Bill Moyers’ Journal, History Detectives
TELE: Dona Barbara, El Rostro de Analia, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso, El Cartel
UNIV: Cuidado con el Angel, Manana es para Siempre, La Rosa de Guadalupe

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