CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

11/12/04

Good morning. It’s Friday, November 12, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

ABC owned Wednesday night by a two share point lead over CBS among A18-49 according to final national numbers from Nielsen Media Research. ABC delivered a 5.2/13, CBS 4.2/11, NBC 3.8/10, Fox 3.6/9, UPN 2.1/5, WB 1.9/5.  At 8pm Lost was hardly lost on viewers with a 6.8/18 – its closest competitor was Fox’s That 70’s Show (3.4/9) and Quints (2.8/7) as well as UPN’s Top Model (2.5/7) and WB’s Smallville (2.6/7).  At 9p CBS pairing of sitcoms earned a 4.5/11, on par with NBC’s The West Wing, which as just a skosh ahead of Nanny 911 on Fox. CSI New York was the #1 show at 10pm with a 6.1/16, while Wife Swap had a 4.8/12 and Law & Order a 4.7/12.

CBS News broke in during primetime on Wednesday night at the tail end of CSI: NY to report the death of Yasser Arafat. The network is now apologizing for the interruption, saying the news of the gravely ill Palestinian leader could have waited for and offered to local stations for their late 11pm newscasts. CBS has scheduled a repeat of the CSI NY episode to air this evening at 10p.

At the CBS entertainment division, they’ve ordered a full season’s worth of episodes of Listen Up with Jason Alexander, and after just a couple of outings, the newly launched Center of the Universe with John Goodman and Jean Smart, has had two more eps ordered (total now of 15) as well as 6 more scripts.  Season to date, Listen Up has averaged a 3.3/9 A18-49 rating; and after their airings Center of the Universe has averaged a 3.9/9. Both shows are holding nearly all of their lead-in audience.

Casting / Development / Production

• Lifetime has ordered up a third season of its reality series Merge (Dalaklis McKeown Entertainment) where newlyweds decide what of their pre-nuptial possessions matter most; host Lisa Rinna.  And the network from women has also ordered up an additional 13 eps of Head 2 Toe (Pie Town Prods) with host Tanika Ray where two women decide what needs makeover-ing on each other.
• PAX has ordered a second season of its reality show Cold Turkey. The current season ends on December 7, and the new season kicks off in January. Cold Turkey takes ten unsuspecting smokers, puts them together in a house and put them through anti-smoking boot camp. Hosted by AJ Benza and exec produced by Stuart Krasnow.
• Comedy Central will move forward with a second season of the very first animated reality series Drawn Together (Matt Silverstein, Dave Jeser) – after season one has aired just three episodes.  The new season will kick off in late 2005 with 15 episodes and the reality necessity – a reunion show.
• Carsey Werner have signed a development deal with Brian Dannelly and  Michael Urban (comedy film Saved!), to develop a 30m project for next fall, according to Hollywood Reporter.  The pair would write and exec prod; and Dannelly would also direct.
• Blue Relief and HBO will pair up to develop two comedy projects for Diane Keaton.  Keaton will star in and exec produce, and at least one of the two projects will be made into a pilot.

You’ve heard tell there are two 9/11 miniseries in the works – one at NBC, the other at ABC.  The one at NBC has seen some movement.  Already on board is Graham Yost (Speed) to write the script and produce. Now NBC has signed Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Entertainment to exec produce.  NBC Universal will produce with 20th Television. NBC is planning an 8 hour event, focusing primarily to the events leading up to the attack. Both networks are basing their projects on the 9/11 Commission Report. 

Unrelated Sidebar note: the 9/11 Commission Report was written as a result of 1200+ interviews with people who survived the attacks as well as government officials and police/fire dept personnel.  It reads like a novel, but contains no adjectives to remain completely unbiased.  When Walter Cronkite was asked how he would change the way news is reported today, he said ‘remove the adjectives.’ 

There’s the Energizer Bunny, and then there’s Oprah.  King World has renewed the talk show diva through the 2010-2011 season in 80% of the country, including all Top 20 markets and nearly all Top 50 markets.

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of October 25-31, 2004 ranked by HH Rtg
Wheel of Fortune (King World)                 8.9 AA  
Jeopardy (King World)                         8.7 AA
Oprah (King World)                      7.6 AA / 7.7 GAA
Everybody Loves Raymond (King World)    6.6 AA / 8.2 GAA
Seinfeld (Sony)                         5.5 AA / 6.7 GAA
Friends (Warner Bros.)                  5.5 AA / 6.8 GAA
Dr. Phil (King World)                   5.2 AA / 5.3 GAA
Entertainment Tonight (Paramount)       4.8 AA / 4.9 GAA
Judge Judy (Paramount)          4.7 AA / 7.2 GAA
Regis & Kelly (BVT)                     3.4 AA
Source Nielsen Media Research

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of October 25-31, 2004 ranked by A18-49
Everybody Loves Raymond (King World)    3.8 AA / 4.7 GAA
Seinfeld (Sony)                         3.6 AA / 4.2 GAA
Friends (Warner Bros.)                  3.6 AA / 4.3 GAA
Oprah (King World)                      3.0 AA / 3.1 GAA
Jeopardy (King World)                         2.7 AA
Wheel of Fortune (King World)                 2.6 AA
Entertainment Tonight (Paramount)       2.2 AA / 2.2 GAA
Dr. Phil (King World)                   2.1 AA / 2.1 GAA
Will & Grace (Warner Bros.)             2.0 AA / 2.4 GAA
That 70’s Show (Carsey-Werner)  2.0 AA / 2.5 GAA
Source Nielsen Media Research

The New York Times reports there is a group of investment firms who are looking to jointly bid for all the assets of Adelphia Communications. Other investment firms have considered acquiring pieces of Adelphia; this new and as yet unformed contingency would be looking to pick up the whole ball of wax.  The Times says if the are successful, it would be the largest leveraged buyout since RJR Nabisco in 1989, requiring the firms to come up with an estimated $18 billion+.  Adelphia has 5.4 million cable subscribers.  Also in the mix are Time Warner and Comcast, united in an alliance to acquire Adelphia, and thus far the expected leader in the race.

While US television grapples with the definitions of indecency, Russian television is in the midst of a similar situation.  According to Kommersant, a Russian daily newspaper, the Duma (much like our Senate) on Wednesday voted into law an amendment to the “About Mass Media” law with new regulations prohibiting violence in “electronic media” after 7am and before 10pm. The vote passed despite both President’s Putin’s party, United Russia, and the Duma’s committee on information policy were against it. The law reads: During the period from 7am to 10pm it is prohibited to present and show on television, video, in documentaries, TV movies and feature films dead bodies, murder scenes, scenes of making any harm and damage to human body and health, rape and other s#xual actions.”  The law provides no guidelines or specifics as to the new regs nor as to the potential fines.

Top 5 Broadcast Spanish Language Primetime Programs for the week of November 1-7, 2004 **
UNIV    Rubi (M-F 8p)                                             23.5 NHTI HH Rtg
UNIV    Amor Real (M-F 9p)                                   19.8 NHTI HH Rtg
UNIV    Mujer de Madera (M-F Various times)       18.1 NHTI HH Rtg
UNIV    Cristina (Mon 10p)                                     17.2 NHTI HH Rtg
UNIV    Noche Elecciones (Tue 9p)                       16.1 NHTI HH Rtg
Source: Nielsen Media Research
Note: NHTI Ratings are based on 10.57 million Hispanic TV Homes
** Please note that Nielsen Media’s rating parameters are listed for some shows that air Monday-Friday to include the 5 day average instead of listing each individual weekday.

Top 10 Broadcast English Language Primetime Programs in Hispanic TV Homes for the week of November 1-7, 2004
ABC     Desperate Housewives (Sun 9p)                     8.4 NHTI HH Rtg
CBS     CSI (Thu 9p)                                                    7.6 NHTI HH Rtg
FOX     Simpsons (Sun 8p)                                          7.5 NHTI HH Rtg
UPN     WWE Smackdown! (Thu 8p)                           6.8 NHTI HH Rtg
ABC     Lost (Wed 8p)                                                  6.6 NHTI HH Rtg
ABC     Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (Sun 8p)    6.5 NHTI HH Rtg
CBS     Without a Trace (Thu 10p)                               6.0 NHTI HH Rtg
FOX     Malcolm in the Middle (Sun 730p)                   5.5 NHTI HH Rtg
ABC     NFL Monday Night Football (Mon 9p)             5.5 NHTI HH Rtg
FOX     Nanny 911 (Wed 9p)                                       5.1 NHTI HH Rtg
ABC     NFL Monday Showcase (Mon 907p)              4.7 NHTI HH Rtg
FOX     O.C. (Thu 8p)                                                  4.7 NHTI HH Rtg
Source Nielsen Media Research
Note NHTI Ratings are based on 10.57 million Hispanic TV Homes

African American television homes in the US represent 13,170,000 households. Here are the rankings for the week of November 1-7, 2004 – highest rated primetime network programs in African American TV homes according to Nielsen Media Research
UPN     Girlfriends (Mon 9p)                                   14.3 HH Rtg
UPN     America’s Next Top Model 3 (Wed 8p)      14.0 HH Rtg
CBS     Without a Trace (Thu 10p)                         13.3 HH Rtg
ABC     NFL Monday Night Football (Mon 907p)    12.9 HH Rtg
UPN     Second Time Around (Mon 930p)              12.9 HH Rtg
CBS     CSI (Thu 9p)                                               12.3 HH Rtg
UPN     One on One (Mon 8p)                                12.8 HH Rtg
ABC     Desperate Housewives (Sun 9p)                11.8 HH Rtg
UPN     Kevin Hill (Wed 9p)                                     11.8 HH Rtg
Source Nielsen Media Research

Note to Self:  Come January 4, Broadway will have a new Tevya – Harvey Fierstein replaces Alfred Molina in Fiddler on the Roof.  Fabulous. Put tickets on Christmas wish list.

Susan Lyne joined Martha Stewart Omnimedia last June as Director.  She has now been named President/CEO, picking up where Sharon Patrick will leave off. Susan’s directive is to rebuild the company and its brand, first while Martha still is a ward of the government, and later when Martha returns. Susan had spent years in the publishing business with both Premiere magazine and the Village Voice before turning to television. Patrick had taken over after Martha’s resignation following her conviction in federal court. Patrick informed the Board of Directors she preferred to step down from that role.

Starz Encore Group announced the upping of four folks in the programming dept – all of which are based at the Englewood headquarters:
Emilio (Che Che) Mata was promoted to SVP/On-Air Promotion from VP/Creative Services. Ray Milius has been upped to SVP/Programming Operations, overseeing the technical and operational aspects for all television systems and services. James Porter is now VP/Post Production and BOC (Broadcast Operations Center), and reports to Milius. He is responsible for the ongoing operation of traditional Starz business as well as the development of new media technologies. David Salinger has been named VP/On Demand Programming, reporting to Stephan Shelanski, SVP/Program Acquisitions, Scheduling and Planning. David will lead the development and execution of on-demand programming.

Wednesday, November 10, 2004. FINAL National Ratings for all Networks – program averages.  Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

ABC     8.6/13  Lost 11.2/17, The Bachelor 6.6/10, Wife Swap 7.8/13

CBS     8.1/13  60 Minutes 6.8/11, King of Queens 8.4/13, Center of the Universe 7.1/11, CSI NY 9.7/16

NBC     8.3/13  LAX 5.0/8, West Wing 9.7/15, Law & Order 10.1/16

FOX     4.6/7   That 70’s Show 4.4/7, Quintuplets 3.6/6, Nanny 911   5.3/8

UPN     3.0/5   Top Model 3.7/6, Kevin Hill 2.4/4

WB      2.5/4   Smallville 3.3/5, Jack & Bobby 1.8/3

A18-49  ABC 5.2/13, CBS 4.2/11, NBC 3.8/10, Fox 3.6/9, UPN 2.1/5, WB 1.9/5

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source: NTI Explorer, Premiere-to-date 9/20-11/07/04 & 9/22-11/09/03.  % US Rtg Gain. Primetime=broadcast prime, Comedy=CS typecode.

Friday Fun Fact:   In Iceland, Domino’s Pizza has a reindeer sausage pie on its menu. I’ve been assured none of those reindeer have familiar names.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1859:  Jules Leotard becomes the first man to perform a somersault in mid-air and the first to jump from one trapeze to another.  He also famously performed these death-defying acts in a skin-tight costume of his own design.  Although Leotard called his one-piece suit a maillot, the garment soon bore the name of its creator.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question in honor of Veteran’s Day:  How many stars were on the American Flag in 1954 when November 11 was officially declared Veteran’s Day? 48.  There were 48 stars on the American flag in 1954, one for each of the continental states. After Alaska joined the union in 1959, the flag had 49 stars. A year later, when Hawaii joined the union, the flag got its 50th star–and it has looked the same ever since.  Kudos to: Gloria Price-CBS News/NJ; Toni Racioppo-OMD/NY; Ed Fields/NYC; Alan Karpowitz-MediaPower/Portland ME; Jack Hodgson-OK State Univ/Stillwater; Andrea Moore-The Richards Group/Dallas; Kenny Mueller-NCC/Dallas; Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago; Miriam  Aardahl-OMD/LA; Jeff Schlesinger-NBC Universal Television Studios/Universal City; Aaron Lug-Court TV/LA; Alan Perris-PH Prods/LA.

A MESSAGE FROM CYNOPSIS

In January 2005, this daily edition will introduce brand new ad space as well as make available previously sold out space.  New space includes Top of Page above the title (only Thursdays available). And becoming avail in 2005 for the first time in more than 4 years is Space A, immediately following the daily Nielsen Media Research household ratings chart. 

If you’d like to see a Media Kit outlining the demographics of the Cynopsis sub base as well as 2005 rates, send me a note at

Today’s Trivia Question:  This one may show your age – if you were part of the Sing Along Gang or the Sing Along Kids, who were you singing along with?   (click
to respond to the trivia question and please be sure to include with your answer your name, company, city and time zone. Only the second four correct responses from each time zone will be listed in tomorrow’s kudo list.)

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Later — Cyn
11.12.04   5:26am

In 2005, Cynopsis will offer new ad space. Interested?

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Copyright Cynthia Turner 2004

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JOB OPENING:  EXEC PRODUCER/BET, NY. Resp for planning, dev & prod of pgming for Music dept. Oversee all aspects of prod incl format, content & graphic look, acq & places talent, coordinates activities of staff:
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JOB OPENING:  DIR FIN OPS, Cable TV Co, Stamford. Mge fin ops for Consumer Prods Div. Forecast/budget/inv control/manufacture/prod dist. BA/BS Acctg or Fin exp in acctg, fin & inv mgmt in manuf. or retail. Email
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JOB OPENING:  ICM is seeking is seeking an ASSISTANT TO A NEWS/BROADCASTING AGENT in its NYC office.  A bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years administrative experience are required.  Please email resume to
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JOB OPENING:  SALES PLANNER/GSN, NY~2+ yrs cable experience  Must have prior experience in planning client maintenance delivery & presentation skills Thorough knowledge of excel and powerpoint a must email resume to
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JOB OPENING:  PUBLICIST/OLN, Stamford, CT. Exceptional verbal and written skills,3 yrs PR exp req’d; cable or sports industry a +.See www.olntv.com for more info. Resume/salary:
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JOB OPENING:  GENERAL SALES MANAGER/Comcast Spotlight, Hartford DMA. 5 + yrs of media  sales mgmt exp. with proven ability to lead and motivate a 35+ member sales team to achieve & exceed sales goals. Apply at www.comcast.com (11/17)

JOB OPENING:  LOCAL SALES MANAGER/Comcast Spotlight, Middlebury, CT. 2+ yrs of media sales mgmt exp. with proven ability to lead and motivate a sales team to achieve & exceed sales goals. Apply at www.comcast.com (11/17)

JOB OPENING:  GREAT! MARKETING ASSISTANT in Atlanta. If you are passionate and enthusiastic about promotion, help our team create buzz and wow our TV and entertainment clients. Email
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JOB OPENING:  MTV Networks: MANAGER, MARKET DEVELOPMENT/NY. Manage sales efforts/renewals for Spike TV for all Canadian Affiliates. Develop distrib strategies to maximize Spike TV distrib in Canada.Apply: www.mtvncareers.com EOE  (11/16)

JOB OPENING:  SUPRV PRODUCER, ONAIR GRAPHICS, MTV/NYC. 5yrs exp. motion graphics/design, Strng leader, Strg exp in TV, prod & large budgets, Able Knowledge intellectual property law A+, EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com
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SITUATION WANTED: CREATIVE POSITION/ PRODUCTION:  MTV Asia Senior Producer (6 yrs) & film director of TV commercials, music videos, promos, drama.  Work experience in Asia/ UK/ US.

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SITUATION WANTED: Experienced EP/SENIOR PRODUCER with outstanding credentials & impeccable references seeking a senior creative position in BROADCAST OR CABLE NEWS. please email hawtreyandthedeafaids
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SITUATION WANTED: 4 yrs exp. FINAL CUT/AE EDITING, SHOOTING, ENCODING, PRODUCING for National TV, MSN, Nokia, etc.  Tired of being a one-man studio -Wanna’ be a team player!  Based in NYC. Willing to move! 
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SITUATION WANTED: SAVVY MARKETER with 15+ years exp. managing$20 million+ mktg. budgets for Fox, Spelling, Paramount, NBC and others.  Expert in mgt. effectiveness, budget efficiency, strategic positioning.  E-mail:
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SITUATION WANTED:  PRODUCTION PROFESSIONAL with 20 yrs experience in US Hispanic market seeks a network television or cable position – Creative Services/Producer in LA, but will consider relocating. Contact: Maria Botta;
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A MESSAGE FROM CYNOPSIS AD SALES

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  NOVEMBER 12, 2004:

ABC             8 Simple Rules, Complete Savages, Hope & Faith, Less than Perfect, 20/20
CBS             Joan of Arcadia, JAG, CSI: NY [r]
FOX             The Rebel Billionaire [r], Renovate My Family
NBC             Dateline, Third Watch, Medical Investigation
PAX             Talented Kids, MGM Movie: No Way Out
UPN             Star Trek, Top Model [r]
WB              What I Like About You, Grounded for Life, Reba, Blue Collar TV
TELE            Prisonera, Gitanas, Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer
UNIV            Rubi, Amor Real, Las Escuelita, La Casa de la Risa

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