Cynopsis

10/31/08

Good morning. It’s Friday, October 31, 2008, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

Saturday’s Premieres:
BBC America: Gladiators at 4p
MSG: The Transit Chapters at 530p
GAC: Introducing … at 1030p
In Syndication: Legend of the Seeker (check local listings)

Saturday’s Finale:
BBC America: Primeval at 9p

Sunday’s Premiere:
Showtime: Brotherhood at 8p

Sunday’s Finales:
FUEL TV:  Built to Shred at 8p
Lifetime: Army Wives at 10p
HBO: Little Britain USA at 1030p

Barack Obama’s paid political half-hour on Wednesday from 8-830p collectively drew in 33.5 million viewers. The special aired on seven networks: CBS, FOX, NBC, Univision, BET, MSNBC and TV One. NBC had the most total viewers at 9.78 million, followed by CBS at 8.6 million, FOX at 7.14 million, then MSNBC at 3.54 million, Univision at 3.47 million, with BET at 714,000 and TV One at 307,000. Also, the 30-minute special posted an overall HH rating of 21.7 in the top 56 local markets, according to MediaBuyerPlanner.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), sent a letter yesterday to the heads of seven networks, asking them to not name the new president-elect next Tuesday until all voting polls have closed at 10p ET for the benefit of West Coast voters, reports Variety. Dingell’s letter went to Jeff Zucker, President/CEO, NBC Universal; Leslie Moonves, President, CBS Corporation; Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair, Disney Media Networks and President, Disney-ABC Television Group; Peter Chernin, President, News Corp.; Jim Walton, President, CNN Worldwide; Roger Ailes, Chairman/CEO, Fox News; and Phil Griffin, President, MSNBC.

With nearly 260 episodes in the can, Fox has decided this will be the last season for King of the Hill.  There are 13 episodes still to go before the “finale.”  “Finale”? Why the quotes?  Because this show has had its finale before … only to be resurrected.  So it remains to be seen if it will stay cancelled this time.

Wednesday’s Game 5 of the World Series on FOX ended up being the final game with the Phillies winning the coveted trophy. The game averaged a 6.2 A18-49 rating and 19.8 million total viewers from 8:40-1010p, according to Variety. The World Series postgame show from 10-1030p drew in a 3.6 A18-49 rating and 10.5 million total viewers.

Super Tuesday Election Night Coverage: Telemundo begins its all-day election coverage next Tuesday at 7a ET with Levantate followed by Al Rojo Vivo con Maria Celeste at 5p and Noticiero Telemundo at 630p with hourly updates from 10a onwards.  In primetime, Telemundo offers nationwide coverage with Decision 2008 at 7p ET hosted by Pedro Sevcec and Maria Celeste Arraras who will be joined by a team of experienced journalists. The special will include analysis from political experts and correspondents reporting live from various locations including the headquarters of both presidential candidates. Telemundo will also offer election coverage via its website at www.telemundo.com featuring a national results map.

Note: We will provide a re-cap of election coverage on various networks in Tuesday’s edition.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CTAM

As a follow up, Time Warner Cable agreed to make cash payments to LIN TV under the new retransmission-consent agreement finalized Wednesday covering approximately 12 TV stations, writes Multichannel News. LIN TV would not disclose the exact amount of the transaction yet in previous conversations the broadcaster was seeking a 30-cent monthly license fee for its stations from TWC.

Retro Television Network (RTN) will launch on WTOV/Wheeling-Steubenville early next year owned by Cox Broadcasting. This is the eighth Cox station that carries RTN’s programming.

Bravo unveils five new shows for its development slate:

• Fashionality (wt) – weekly one-hour series about four New York trend makers who will debate and dish about everything fashion, glamour to red carpet outfits. Produced by Embassy Row and Superb Entertainment for Bravo.
• Celebrity Sew-Off (wt) – celebrities, with the help of a fashion design expert, will create by hand one-of-a-kind ensembles in this competition series to determine who has the flair to start their own fashion label. Lake Paradise Entertainment produces for the network.
• Double Exposure (wt) – a docu-series about art/fashion photographer Markus Klinko and his partner photographer/model Indrani as they traverse the world of high fashion and celebrity photo sessions. Produced by Juma Entertainment for Bravo.
• Polo (wt) – another docu-series about the lives of competitive polo players encompassing their beautiful wives and girlfriends. Granada USA produces for the network.
• The Dubai Project (wt) – viewers will get an inside look at this fast-growing Middle East city where even the beaches are man-made. The series follows some American and British ex-pats who live there, peeking into their lifestyles in this unique environment. Produced by World of Wonder for Bravo.

Courteney Cox and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence are working together on a new 30m comedy for ABC called Cougar Town. ABC has okayed a single-camera pilot produced by ABC Studios. Cox will executive produce with Lawrence and star as a 40-year old mom who is newly single and based on the title is presumably on the hunt for younger men. Lawrence is also writing the pilot along with Scrubs writer Kevin Biegel.

Hip-hop star/actor/writer Ice Cube has a one-hour untitled action comedy under development for NBC, per Variety. Cube will write the buddy cop comedy and executive produce with his production partner Matt Alvarez. Universal Media Studios and Cube’s Cube Vision production company are producing. So far Cube has not committed to star in the project although NBC executives are hoping he will make guest appearances in several episodes and maybe even create the music for the opening credits.

Manhattan-based production company, Galgos Entertainment bought the film and television rights to the novel Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison from St. Martin’s Press, cites THR. The plot is about a support group for shoe addicts where four female members become closely involved with each other’s lives. Mark Bozek and Russell Nuce, Galgos partners will produce while writer/actress Laurie Taylor-Williams will adapt the novel. 

NBC is developing another novel handing a script commitment to Pretty Little Mistakes by Heather McElhatton for a 60m drama, reports THR. Universal Media Studios will produce about a female protagonist whose story line is decided by readers at the end of each chapter. The book begins with the female character deciding on college or travel after graduating from high school leading to 150 potential endings. Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights) will executive produce and manage production with Bruce Marshall Romans and Kiersten Van Horne as writers. 

Emily Rose (ER and Brothers & Sisters) was cast in the pilot Operating Instructions (wt) for USA Network, thus lifting the cast contingency on the project. Produced by Conaco and Universal Cable Productions, the pilot centers on a female trauma surgeon (Rose) who comes home after serving in the military to be a surgeon at a military hospital.

Casting Call: Bravo also announced it approved the fashion design creative competition series The Fashion Show (wt) produced by 3 Ball Productions. The premise surrounds one winner selected by viewers who will have their designs sold by a retailer. Open casting calls for the series begins this weekend and interested applicants must attend one of the casting calls to meet with a fashion consultant in addition to brining three original designs, a portfolio, a copy of a government issued photo ID and a completed application form to be considered. The audition cities are Los Angeles on November 2; Miami on November 8; Chicago on November 13; and New York on November 16. Full details on the casting calls and to download the application form, visit www.BravoTV.com/casting .

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  After a painfully long courtship (4+ years) two of the biggest personal media brands are joining at the hip. Netflix signed an agreement with Tivo to enable Watch Instantly rental movies and shows to be viewed directly through broadband-connected versions of the DVR for no additional charge. Netflix, which charges as little as $9/month for its subscription services, now streams over 12,000 titles through its website. The integration is not the first larger screen solution for Netflix (Roku and LG both make devices Netflix video players), but it is the first to take advantage of a large installed user base; no digital media company has ever been able to convince consumers to buy a separate set-top box in order to enjoy its content. Given Tivo’s patently intuitive interface, it should also be the easiest way yet to get licensed content from your PC to your TV in a subscription model. Full edition: CYN DIGITAL.

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Dolphin Entertainment to receive financing for a slate of six tween and teen-targeted feature films in a new agreement with Continental Entertainment Capital (CEC), an affiliate of Citi.  The financing will cover production and prints and advertising costs for the six movies to be produced and sold internationally by Dolphin Entertainment, and released domestically by a studio partner.  The first feature film under the new financing pact is Soul Surfer  The Bethany Hamilton Story, which is based on the true story of the female successful teen surfer who lost her left arm in a shark attack (five years ago today) and went on to become a pro surfer and an inspirational speaker.  Dolphin Entertainment is best known as the producer of Nickelodeon’s series Zoey 101 and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, as well as the Roxy Hunter movies, Gym Teacher: The Movie and the upcoming TV movie musical, Spectacular! Full edition: CYN KIDS.

CYNOPSIS INTERNATIONAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  C4i sold over 35 hours of comedy, drama and documentary programming post-MIPCOM to Scandinavian broadcasters.  TV4 Sweden took The Inbetweeners (6×30-minutes, Bwark Productions), Peep Show (6×30-minutes, Objective Productions), the latest 16×60-minute series of Shameless from Company Pictures, 9/11 Faker (1×50-minutes, Films of Record), Ninety Naps a Day (1×60-minutes, Firefly) and The Worlds … and me (4×60-minutes, Firefly).  Viasat TV8 in Sweden signed up for White Teeth (4×50-minutes, Company Pictures) and Millionaire’s Mission (4×50-minutes, Silver River Productions).  Lastly, YLE Finland acquired season 2 of The Choir (5×60-minutes, Twenty Twenty Television) and Ochberg’s Orphans (1×42-minutes, Rainmaker Films). Full edition: CYN INTERNATIONAL.

Wednesday – A18-49 Analysis:  FOX led Wednesday night at 4.9/13 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. From 8-830p, NBC posted the best ratings for the Barack Obama Paid Political Special at 3.1/9; then at 830p, FOX and opening of Game 5 of the World Series won with a 4.9/14. FOX with what ended up being the final game of the World Series, secured a 6.6/17 through the 9p hour. During 10p, FOX concluded its World Series coverage topping out with a 3.6/9 ahead of the regular time period winner, CBS’ CSI: NY at 3.3/9.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD

FOX: 9.3/15       Barack Obama Paid Political Special 4.6/7, World Series Game 5 11.9/18, World Series Game 5 Postgame 6.4/10

CBS: 7.7/12        Barack Obama Paid Political Special 5.5/9, Old Christine 5.0/8, Criminal Minds 8.9/13, CSI: NY 8.9/15

NBC: 4.8/8          Barack Obama Paid Political Special 6.1/10, Deal or No Deal 5.2/8, Lipstick Jungle 3.5/6

ABC: 4.5/7          Pushing Daisies 4.1/6, Private Practice 5.3/8, Dirty Sexy Money 4.1/7

UNIV: 2.4/4         Barack Obama Paid Political Special 1.8/3, Cuidado con El Angel 2.5/4, Fuego en La Sangre 2.7/4, Don Francisco Presenta 1.9/3

CW: 1.9/3           America’s Next Top Model 2.6/4, Stylista 1.2/2

TELE: 0.7/1         Dona Barbara 0.6/1, El Rostro de Analia 0.6/1, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 1.0/2

MNT: 0.6/1          Tony Rock Project 0.7/1, Under One Roof [r] 0.6/1, Shaken Not Stirred 1 0.6/1

A18-49: FOX 4.9/13, CBS 3.0/8, ABC 2.4/6, NBC 2.3/6, UNIV 1.8/5, CW 1.4/4, TELE 0.5/1, MNT 0.4/1

Gordon H. Hastings will head the new ghhMANAGEMENT based in Greenwich, CT, a company specializing in non-profit organization structure and fundraising events as well as corporate and charitable event management among other activities. Gordon was previously president of The Broadcasters Foundation of America.

Discovery Communications, U.S. promoted Ian Parmiter as SVP/Integrated Advertising Sales Marketing. Ian is charged with overseeing advertising sales sponsorship, partnerships and the trade advertising/event marketing groups with the goal of increasing the division’s revenue.

Premiere Radio Networks hired Alison Horn as VP/Music Syndication, Sales, reporting to Carol Terakawa, EVP/Sales. Alison will head all music, entertainment and integrated sales programs and be the main contact between Premiere’s personalities and sales teams. Prior to this appointment, Alison was the Brand Solutions Manager at KTLA-TV.

Jason Pasch was added to the full-service advertising agency SmithGifford as New Media Designer. Jason will be involved with web, flash and blog design in addition to other online production, working closely with Matt Smith and partner Bruce Gifford.

Rob Lewis and Max Schindler are joining Todd Mason of Mason Productions to expand the existing business renaming it Broadcast Management Group, LLC (BMG). BMG will continue Mason Productions’ tradition of providing live event and production management services for network, corporate and government clients worldwide. Todd will be the company’s Chairman/CEO; Rob will serve as President/COO; and Max will be EVP with all three leading the company as principles.

Kevin Walsh was appointed VP/GM of KOVR-TV (CBS) and KMAX-TV (CW), the CBS-owned duopoly in Sacramento. Kevin replaces Bruno Cohen who moves on to be President/GM of WBBM/Chicago, also owned by CBS.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CABLE U

Friday Fun Fact:  Halloween’s origins date back to an ancient Celtic festival. It was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth on this night. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes.

This day in History:  Born on this day: Dan Rather (1931), Michael Landon (1936), John Candy (1950), Larry Mullen, Jr. [U2] (1961), Rob Schneider (1963)

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  SNL has done many ad parodies over the years. Phil Hartman did the voice-over which came with a warning “not to taunt” this object and the disclaimer “may suddenly accelerate to dangerous speeds”. What was this spoofed product?  HAPPY FUN BALL Kudos to: Cheryl Lightfoot-WT05/Toledo; Alan Asarch-Business Wire/NY; Nancy Nally-WKRC/Cincinnati; Karen Feigenbaum-Fuse/NY; John Clayton-RTN Retro Television Network/Little Rock, AR; Dan McDonald-Comcast Spotlight/Nashville; Stephen Benefield-Charter Media/Birmingham, AL; William Boesen-WFLD/WPWR/Chicago; Richard MacDonald-Playground Media Group/LA; Mitch Urdang-KLSX/LA; Emme Tyler/LA; Mark Simmons-Toyota/Torrance, CA; Jim Van Dusen-Astral Media Radio/Winnipeg

Today’s Trivia Question:  In the TV miniseries Rose Red scripted by Stephen King, King made a cameo appearance. What was his character? (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.)

Later — Cyn
10.31.08

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JOB OPENING: SERIES PRODUCER/Chorion/NYC: Experienced show runner with children’s animation experience needed for upcoming TV series. Send resume to
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JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXEC/Fuse/LA: Sell national on-air media. Incr exst’ing clnts, gen new biz. Prsnt new prgm’ing, brand pos, mktg opps. Excl. interpers’l/org skills/MS Excel & PP. Send Rez to:
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JOB OPENING: DIR MKT/RLTV/MD: Dev & execute affiliate mkt and media plans, set ROI and benchmarks, dev cross-plat partnerships and mkt alliances, 10+ yrs exper w/strong bus skills. Resume:
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JOB OPENING: SR. COUNSEL/HIT Entertainment/NYC: Mid-level atty to draft and negotiate contracts & lic agreements. Exp kids ent, lic and/or branded products. Res:
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JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE/Rainbow Advertising Sales Corp/ Bronx NY: 3 yrs min exp major market tv, radio sales exp at ad agency level. See full posting and apply to www.cablevision.jobs req id 6841BR (11/1)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT –  Friday, October 31, 2008

ABC: Wife Swap, Supernanny, 20/20
AZTECA: Especial Ventaneando Halloween [7p], Especial Lo Que La Gente Cuenta, La Liga Futbol Mexicano: U.A. de G. vs. America
CBS: Ghost Whisperer, NCIS, Num3brs
CW: Everybody Hates Chris, The Game, America’s Next Top Model
FOX: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Don’t Forget the Lyrics!
ION: Movie: The Canterville Ghost [7p], Movie: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
MNT: Friday Night Smackdown!
NBC: Deal or No Deal, Crusoe, Lipstick Jungle
PBS: Washington Week, Now on PBS, Bill Moyers’ Journal, A Ride Along the Lincoln Highway
TELE: Cine Especial: The Hills Have Eyes, Letra y Musica
UNIV: Cuidado con el Angel, Fuego en la Sangre, La Rosa de Guadalupe

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