Good morning. It’s Friday, November 19, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.
CBS usurped ABC’s traditional win on Wednesday night, thanks to part two of its miniseries Category 6: Day of Destruction, paired up with CSI New York. CBS averaged a 5.5/14 A18-49 for the night, ahead of ABC’s 4.9/13. Fox was third with a 3.5/9 by a tenth of a rating point over NBC’s 3.4/9. WB and UPN tied at 2.9/5, according to Nielsen Media Research final numbers. At 8pm Lost on ABC dominated, as usual, with a 6.8/18, well ahead of the first hour of the CBS Miniseries (4.1/11), though CBS was its closest competitor. Top Model on UPN continues to do well, particularly among the young women: W18-34 4.5/12, #2 to ABC for the hour. WB does well with Smallville particularly among younger men: M18-34 3.3/10, #3 behind ABC and Fox. At 9pm CBS jump started their night and pulled a 6.0/15, well ahead of #2 Fox’s Nanny 911 (3.9/10). NBC’s West Wing and The Bachelor on ABC tied with a 9 share. Jack adn Bobby on WB found its largest share of audience among the 12-17 set with a 2.1/7, #3 in the demo. At 10p CSI New York easily won the hour with a 6.3/17, in front of Law & Order’s 4.4/12 and ABC’s Wife Swap 4.3/11.
Sweeps to Date per Nielsen Media Research – 11/4-11/17/04: A18-49: CBS 4.8/12 (+14% vs. same period 2003); NBC 4.1/11 (-9%), ABC 4.0/11 (+11%), Fox 3.1/8 (flat), UPN 1.6/4 (+7%), WB 1.6/4 (-6%) Total Viewers: CBS 14.9 million (flat); NBC 10.9m (-5%), ABC 10.5m (+5%), Fox 7.1m (flat), WB 3.9m (-8%), UPN 3.89m (+6%)
Casting / Development / Production
ABC has ordered four new scripts for its Thursday night series, Life as we know it (Touchstone TV). The show began the season on Thursday nights at 9pm, probably one of the toughest hours of primetime television. It had subsequently been pulled from the schedule for hte November sweep, but is scheduled to return in December with fresh episodes. Additionally, according to Variety, the show will soon be seen on MTV, as of December 4.
NBC will hop on the scale at least one more time with its order of an additional season of The Biggest Loser (Reveille, 3 Ball Prods, 25/7 Prods). The current season will end in January, and the subsequent season will likely be on the air in time for the May sweep.
Joe Roth has signed a three year deal with Paramount Network Television/CBS to create comedies for the network. Roth will set up a new company on the Paramount lot, a company which in this deal has already been guaranteed a put pilot and a minimum of one 6-ep series, according to Variety. Roth’s Revolution Studios silver screen credits include My Cousin Vinnie, Anger Management, Home Along and Daddy Day Care, and the soon to be released Christmas with the Kranks.
If Spike TV has its way, it may soon be nicknamed the CSI network. Spike is having conversations with King World to pick up CSI New York at a reported license fee of $1.9 million per episode, so says Hollywood Reporter. Much like Spike’s current deal with the original CSI, it would begin by airing episodes weekly next fall, one week after their CBS network airing, and then move into full syndication mode (m-f strip series airings) in 2008. CSI Miami airs on A&E and had a similar rollout.
The Parents Television Council has set its sights on basic cable. PTC sent off its report to Congress in support of extending the FCC’s reach and regulations to indecency to basic cable. The PTC looked at several basic cable networks and came to this conclusion: “Cable television is rife with the most licentious, decadent and perverse content imaginable. Our report shows that obscene language and graphic sexual content are readily available on advertiser-supported basic cable,” said L. Brent Bozell, president of the PTC. The group supports the FCC’s recommendations to allow cable subscribers to cherry pick the networks they want to see in their own homes. Says the PTC, “It is unconscionable for the cable industry to force families to subsidize this kind of filth in order to access the wholesome, educational and family-friendly programming available on a handful of basic cable channels.”
Top 10 M-F Syndicated StripSeries for the week of November 1-7, 2004 ranked by HH Rtg Jeopardy (King World) 9.3 AA Wheel of Fortune (King World) 9.3 AA Oprah (King World) 7.9 AA / 8.0 GAA Everybody Loves Raymond (King World) 6.8 AA / 8.5 GAA Friends (Warner Bros.) 5.8 AA / 7.2 GAA Seinfeld (Sony) 5.5 AA / 6.7 GAA Entertainment Tonight (Paramount) 5.3 AA / 5.4 GAA Dr. Phil (King World) 5.0 AA / 5.1 GAA Judge Judy (Paramount) 4.9 AA / 7.3 GAA Regis & Kelly (BVT) 3.5 AA Source Nielsen Media Research
Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of November 1-7, 2004 ranked by A18-49 Everybody Loves Raymond (King World) 3.9 AA / 4.9 GAA Friends (Warner Bros.) 3.8 AA / 4.8 GAA Seinfeld (Sony) 3.6 AA / 4.3 GAA Oprah (King World) 3.1 AA / 3.2 GAA Jeopardy (King World) 2.8 AA Wheel of Fortune (King World) 2.8 AA Entertainment Tonight (Paramount) 2.5 AA / 2.5 GAA That 70’s Show (Carsey-Werner) 2.2 AA / 2.7 GAA Dr. Phil (King World) 2.0 AA / 2.0 GAA Will & Grace (Warner Bros.) 2.0 AA / 2.5 GAA Source Nielsen Media Research
Showtime will broadcast 3 new documentaries under its SHO EXPOSURE block delving into how we fight to maintain our basic freedoms when our rights are jeopardized. Same S#x America looks at how the past year’s same-s#x marriage issue has ignited such passionate political repercussions by chronicling the lives of gay and lesbian couples seeking to marry, the thoughts of religious leaders, politicians and the public. The film is directed by Henry Corra (Corra Films, Inc.), produced by Alex R. Johnson and exec produced by Robert F. Katz and Jerry Kupfer. The other 2 documentaries are After Innocence and Rikers High. After Innocence centers on five men who really were innocent but were committed to prison. The story follows the fight to have them acquitted. Jessica Sanders and Marc Simon wrote and produced the documentary with The American Film Foundation. Jessica also directed. The Rikers High documentary delves into the unique school within the infamous Rikers Island prison in New York. With 14,000 prisoners in its facilities, the high school qualifies as the largest in New York City. The doc is produced by Jean-Michel Dissard, Victor Buhler and Bonnie Strauss with Victor as the director.
Fox News Channel will make its way north to Canada with the recent approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) of the Canadian Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA) application. Fox itself is available in Canada but the network’s news channel has not yet made a permanent appearance until now. A little background info…CRTC actually rejected CCTA’s previous application from November 2003. The reason given was connected to the possibility of a joint venture between Fox News US and Canada’s Global Television to build a Fox News Canada channel with both Canadian and US news. This potential collaboration was nixed resulting in this application’s approval.
The NFL Network was also approved by the CRTC. The round-the-clock football lifestyle and entertainment channel will not air live football games (with the exception of several exhibition games).
Top 5 Broadcast Spanish Language Primetime Programs for the week of November 8-14, 2004 ** UNIV Amor Real (M-F 9p) 23.9 NHTI HH Rtg UNIV Rubi (M-F 8p) 23.8 NHTI HH Rtg UNIV Veremos Todo Niurka Bobby (Tue 10p) 21.2 NHTI HH Rtg UNIV Don Francisco Presenta (Wed 10p) 19.5 NHTI HH Rtg UNIV Premios TV y November 2004 (Sun 815p) 19.4 NHTI HH Rtg UNIV Cristina (Mon 10p) 19.4 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 8-14, 2004 CBS CSI (Thu 9p) 7.0 NHTI HH Rtg FOX Simpsons (Sun 8p) 6.8 NHTI HH Rtg CBS Sunday Movie (Sun 9p) 6.1 NHTI HH Rtg UPN WWE Smackdown! (Thu 8p) 6.1 NHTI HH Rtg FOX AMW: America Fights Back (Sat 9p) 5.9 NHTI HH Rtg CBS CSI: Miami (Mon 930p) 5.9 NHTI HH Rtg ABC George Lopez (Tue 830p) 5.8 NHTI HH Rtg ABC American Music Awards (Sun 8p) 5.4 NHTI HH Rtg FOX Nanny 911 (Wed 9p) 5.4 NHTI HH Rtg ABC NFL Monday Night Football (Mon 9p) 5.3 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 8-14, 2004 – highest rated primetime network programs in African American TV homes according to Nielsen Media Research UPN Girlfriends (Mon 9p) 16.6 HH Rtg ABC American Music Awards (Sun 8p) 15.7 HH Rtg UPN Half & Half (Mon 830p) 15.2 HH Rtg UPN Eve (Tue 830p) 14.5 HH Rtg ABC NFL Monday Night Football (Mon 907p) 14.1 HH Rtg UPN America’s Next Top Model 3 (Wed 8p) 13.8 HH Rtg UPN One on One (Mon 8p) 13.5 HH Rtg UPN All of Us (Tue 8p) 13.5 HH Rtg UPN Second Time Around (Mon 930p) 13.3 HH Rtg CBS CSI (Thu 9p) 12.9 HH Rtg Source Nielsen Media Research
Cynopsis Question for You: Barbara Walter’s 10 Most Fascinating People of 2004 is scheduled for December 8 at 9p on ABC. Here’s the question, who would be your #1 pick as THE most Fascinating Person of 2004? Your Answers: Your top five choices for THE most fascinating person of 2004 – which does not necessarily mean is someone you like or would love to have dinner with, but someone who for whatever reason draws your attention, in rank order: President George Bush, Theresa Heinz Kerry, John Kerry, Christopher Reeve, Michael Moore and Colin Powell. Honorable mentions go to Jon Stewart, Scott Peterson, Johnny Depp, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Carl Rove.
Nielsen Media Research and NBC Universal signed a 7-year deal wherein Nielsen will continue to supply its audience measurement services to all of the NBC Universal national and local television businesses. Those business include NBC network, NBC Enterprises / NBC Universal Domestic Television, Telemundo, cable nets Bravo, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, SCI FI Channel, the 13 NBC local station group, and the 11 Telemundo television stations. Additionally, NBC Universal has agreed to support Nielsen’s National People Meter Sample.
Note to self: Bikini Bottom. You, me, Patrick, Squidworth and SpongeBob. Skipping school. Milk Duds. Yeah, boy.
Monica Crowley, a writer/political analyst/talk show host, will join MSNBC as a contributor and analyst, before year’s end. She will be seen on air throughout daytime and primetime. Monica makes the jump to MSNBC from Fox News Channel, where she was a foreign affairs and political analyst since the channel’s launch in 1996.
WPP’s Bravo Group has named Gary Bassell as the new Chairman/CEO, picking up where Daisy Exposito will leave off. His appointment becomes official January 2005. For the past two years, Gary has been president of La Comunidad, a U.S. Hispanic ad agency. He will be based in NY and report to Ann Fudge, Chairman/CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands. Other multicultural agencies in the Bravo Group that will report to him include African-American agency UniWorld, Hispanic agency Mendoza Dillon and Mosaic.
Mel Karmazin has been named CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. Upon the news, shares of Sirius jumped by 20% in after hours trading. Howard Stern will be making his way over to Sirius from Viacom’s Infinity Radio, in January 2006, though there is some noise he may have his contract bought out early (of course that noise may all be coming from Stern). Stern was on David Letterman last night: Dave: In many ways, you pioneered terrestrial radio. Stern: And now I’m here to destroy it.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004.FINAL Ratings for all Networks – program averages.Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat
CBS 10.8/17 CBS Miniseries: Category 6: Day of Destruction (pt 2) 10.5/16, CSI New York 11.3/19
ABC 7.9/12 Lost 10.6/16, The Bachelor 5.9/9, Wife Swap 7.2/12
NBC 7.4/12 LAX 4.5/7, West Wing 8.2/12, Law & Order 9.4/16
FOX 4.7/7 That 70’s Show 4.2/7, Simple Life 2: The Road Trip 3.6/5, Nanny 911 5.6/8
UPN 2.9/4 Top Model 3.5/5, Kevin Hill 2.3/3
WB 2.5/4 Smallville 3.1/5, Jack & Bobby 2.0/3
A18-49 CBS 5.5/14, ABC 4.9/13, Fox 3.5/9, NBC 3.4/9, WB and UPN 2.9/5
A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION
OFF WB SERIES = SUCCESS ON CABLE
SMALLVILLE AND GILMORE GIRLS ARE GROWING ON ABC FAMILY!
vs. Debut Week: Smallville, +22% (1.1 vs. 0.9) Gilmore Girls, +44% (1.3 vs. 0.9)
EVERWOOD Available Fall ’06 Exclusively from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution
Source: NTI Explorer, % HH Cvg Rtg. Wk 11/8-11/14/04 vs. Wk 10/4-10/10/04. Smallville=M-F 7p, Gilmore=M-F 5p.
FRIDAY FUN FACT: During the 1940s, Revlon contributed directly to the war effort in the 1940s, by manufacturing first-aid kits and dye markers for the U.S. Navy.
The History Channel presents This Day in History: 1959: The Edsel, named for Henry Ford’s eldest son, is discontinued by Ford Motor Company. After a great deal of research and marketing, the new car’s styling and avant-garde engineering, which included a push-button transmission, never caught on with the driving public.
Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: “… He deals in danger, dices with death and always surrounded by a galaxy of gorgeous girls.” Who is he? SIMON TEMPLAR – THE SAINT. Kudos to: Ed Weiner-Media First Int’l/NY; Howard Konig-Cooper DDB/FL; Christina Ricucci Owen-Millenia 3 Communications, Inc./Atlanta; Kristen Biancuzzo-Blitz Media, Inc./MA; Daniel Thomson-Media First International/Minneapolis; Sam Lawson-UPN46/St. Louis; Christine McCandless-Entertainment Partners/CA; Daniela Onel-ALSA Design/CA; Coleen Raymann-Direct TV/CA; Deborah Speckman-DIC Entertainment/CA.
A MESSAGE FROM INHD
INHD presents the best looking music you’ll ever hear BON JOVI LIVE IN CONCERT Sunday, November 21 at 8pm EST EXCLUSIVELY on INHD2 Tune in Sunday night as INHD, in partnership with Samsung and Only Cable Can, kicks-off its larger-than life concert series, INHD Center Stage, presented in 1080i and Dolby 5.1. Go to www.inhd.com for more details.
Today’s Trivia Question: What was Principle Belding’s wife’s name? (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.)
Click through to the scene of the caper to view existing photos and captions. Then, click on the contest link to write and submit your own caption for the photo marked “Your Caption Here”.
All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free. Copyright Cynthia Turner 2004
CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIEDS
JOB OPENING: Morning NYC based National cable TV show looking for female tech savvy, cutting edge REPORTER with live on camera experience for weekly segment. Must be on top of hot industry trends. E-mail
(11/30)
JOB OPENING: BE THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR! Both professionals and amateurs can apply.The winner receives a six-episode show on Food Network that will premiere in September 2005. Go to www.foodnetwork.com for more info (11/25)
JOB OPENING: VP BRAND MKTG/SCI FI, NY. 10+ yrs Ent. &/or TV exp, BA Mktg. Innovative strategist to dev break-through promotions/stunts & partnerships building buzz. Apply: www.universalstudios.com/jobs, keyword search #387096.EOE (11/25)
JOB OPENING: VP PUBLICITY/SCI FI, NY. 10+ yrs Ent. &/or TV exp, consumer press & publicity. Strong industry contacts. Solid relationships. Flair for building buzz. Apply: www.universalstudios.com/jobs keyword search #387308. EOE (11/25)
JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC ASSISTANT/The Oxygen Network-NY. 2 positions/commercial copy assistants. Gabriel/Traffic exp pref, detail orientation and org. skills a must. Great benefits / vacation policies. E-mail: (11/25)
JOB OPENING: SALES ASSISTANT/World Wrestling Entertainment/NYC Assist w/advertising & other sales needs, e.g. coord. proposals, contracts, mailings, prospecting, client entertainment. 1+ yr Media/Ad Sales exp. www.wwe-careers.com (11/24)
JOB OPENING: CASTING, REALITY SHOW, NY-BASED. 2 Yrs Exp Casting On Reality/Talk Show. Self Starter w/ Great Phone Skills, Exp Cold Calling & Ability To Spot Good Characters. Able To Meet Deadlines. E-Mail:
(11/24)
JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXEC/Warner Bros. TV Dist. Inc./NY. Pgming sales or media research exp pref; extensive travel req; degree req. Exc comm & presentation skills. Email:
– “UCTC/25569BR” in subject line (11/24)
JOB OPENING: ADMIN ASST –L’Oreal USA, NY – Support SVP; Must have strong admin skills, ability to analyze numbers and College degree; French skills a plus.E-mail: , subj Admin Asst. (11/23)
JOB OPENING: EXEC ASSIST/NYC. 5+ yrs exp. Strong interpersonal and computer skills required. Children’s entertainment experience in television, licensing and/or branding preferred. Please E-mail resumes to: wrdlgl
(11/23)
JOB OPENING: Denver. Exp. long-format TV PRODUCER/WRITER willing to relocate to Denver to write & produce segments & episodes for nat’l cable networks. Exp w/ HGTV or Food Network a +. E-mail:
(11/23)
JOB OPENING: Comcast Spotlight/Chicago. INTERCONNECT TRAFFIC SUPERVISOR. Resp for all traffic, copy, reconciliation for 2M sub interconnect. Mgmt exp; 3+ yrs successful cable/bcst traffic exp. Email (11/23)
JOB OPENING: SR AD SALES RESEARCH ANALYST/AETN, NY.Provide research tools for sales to properly position nets in mktplce. Knwldge of Nielsen systems/ad sales process. 3-5 yrs Tv, cable or agency exp. Email (11/23)
JOB OPENING: CNBC, RESEARCH ANALYST: Ratings analysis, collaboration on strategic initiatives. 1-3 yrs exp pref in TV/Cable industry. Strong quantitative, analytical, communication & PC skills. NYC Area. Apply at www.nbcjobs.com (11/20)
JOB OPENING: AD SALES SR RESEARCH ANALYST, TBS/TNT-NY 3-5 yrs Nat’l exp; strong analysis/comm skills, able to interpret data; proficient in Nielsen systems; info www.turnerjobs.com #29520BR; resume- (11/20)
SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED —
SITUATION WANTED: Media Relations Pro with 15 year creative track recordwith branding media and legal organizations possessing extensive media contacts seeking challenging corporate position. Haznar
(11/24)
SITUATION WANTED: RESEARCH PRO–NYC, 14+ years with rep firms & syndication. Strong analytical, written, presentation and training skills. Detail oriented. MS Office, Nielsen software, MRI. E-mail:
(11/20)
SITUATION WANTED: REALITY WRITER/PRODUCER:POSITION SOUGHT: L.A./NY. Versatile and experienced in both scripted and non-scripted. Creative and collaborative. Please email: or call, (310) 435-5238 (11/20)
SITUATION WANTED:Studio-Experienced PROGRAMMING EXEC ACQ. & PROG. EXEC (Warner, Fox, PBS) shifted to the “real” world, but in need of chaos of The Biz. Connected to producers globally! Contact:
(11/20)
SITUATION WANTED: SALES/MKTG/BIZ DEV PRO w/12 years TV Synd exp + 4w/start-ups in New Media (Internet Video &mobile apps). Seeks opps in Affiliate sales, add sales, Mobile, VOD, PPV. Will relocate E-mail: chrisrovtar
(11/20)
SITUATION WANTED: EP/PRODUCER/DEV EXEC. Award Winning-Live Action Series/TV Movies, ww exp, bcst/cable Nets, seeks permanent/freelance assignments-gets it done well & on budget. Motivator. -References.
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(12/1)
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: NOVEMBER 19, 2004:
ABC Hope and Faith (OTO), Complete Savages, Hope and Faith, Less than Perfect, 20/20 CBS Joan of Arcadia, JAG, CSI Miami FOX House [r], Renovate My Family NBC Dateline, Third Watch, Medical Investigation PAX Talented Kids, MGM Movie: Running Scared UPN Star Trek, Top Model [r] WB What I Like About You, Grounded for Life, Reba, Blue Collar TV TELE Prisionera, Gitanas, Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer UNIV Rubi, Amor Real, La Escuelita, La Casa de la Risa
Thursday April 23, 2026 IN THE NEWS Consumers bounce hourly as “couch commerce” reshapes the path to purchase, says MiQ’s From Funnel to Flexibility report, which focuses on the ways people watch, browse, and buy. “Couches have become the new storefronts as consumers move from screen to screen, almost in the […]
A Cynopsis Message From ITN Wednesday April 22, 2026 IN THE NEWS Peacock’s ad-free Premium Plus tier is coming to Roku Premium Subscriptions through a new deal between NBCUniversal and Roku. The top-tier plan remains ad-free except for live sports and includes offline downloads and access to geo-targeted local TV stations. It’s […]
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM PREMION Tuesday April 21, 2026 IN THE NEWS Midterm spending for the 2026 cycle is on track to top $10 billion – just 8% shy of the 2024 presidential cycle ($11.2 billion) and 16% higher than the 2022 midterms ($8.9 billion), according to Kinetiq’s The […]
