CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

04/26/04

Good morning. It’s Monday, April 26, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

New in Casting / Production / Development:

• Fox‘s comedy pilot Sorry Charlie (Sony/Jersey)has added Wayne Knight (Neuman on Seinfeld) to the cast which also includes Valerie Bertinelli and Stephen Root.

Syndicated series Starting Over (NBC Enterprises) is starting over with a second season, having cleared 86% of the country for Year II.  In the big three markets, S.O. has been cleared by WNBC, KNBC and WPWR. For its second season, the show will move its house location from Chicago to LA.

According to the New York Post, American idol judge Simon Cowell is working on a new show called The X Factor – that is American Idol without an upper age limit.  The show is being produced for the UK and will be formatted slightly different than A.I.  In the new show, the final group of contestants will be broken into three groups, with each group being directed and coached by one of the three judges. The other two judges have not been named as yet.

Perhaps you remember the CBS miniseries about psychic James van Praagh (the same guy who had just one season of a syndicated series where he saw dead people).  The original miniseries, Living with the Dead starred Ted Dansen and delivered serious ratings.  Now CBS is returning with another van Praagh story based on one of his readings – this one is called The Dead Will Tell, a two hour made-for starring Anne Heche as a whom who begins to see dead people. The movie will be exec prod by Barbara Lieberman and James Van Praagh, for Barbara Lieberman Prods / Robert Greenwald Prods.

The Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) has joined forces with 6 major networks to promote the advantages of broadcast television.  ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, UPN, The WB and the Bureau hope the ad campaign starting this week in several major trade magazines (Ad Age, Brand Week, Ad Week) and the New York Times will show potential advertisers that their network shows’ broader reach and higher ratings can translate into more “bangs for their buck” as compared to cable shows.  TVB is the local tv broadcasters trade association.

DIY-Do It Yourself Network and Fine Living have announced additional carriage deals on more than 22 systems around the country, most notably in the western region.  DIY will add 2.5 million in first qtr bring the total carriage to 27 million plus.  Fine Living will add another 1 million, bringing it carriage to more than 21 million.  By the end of the current calendar year, DIY is expected to reach the 31 million home mark, while Fine Living, who just celebrated its 2yr anniversary last month, is expected to be in 30 million homes.

Weekend Box Office Estimates – April 23-25, 2004
Man on Fire (Fox)                       $23.0 million – opening weekend
13 Going on 30 (Sony)                   $22.0 million – opening weekend
Kill Bill 2 (Miramax)                   $10.4 million – 2 wk total $42.9m
The Punisher (Lions Gate)               $6.2 million – 2 wk total $23.9m
Home on the Range (Disney)                     $3.5 million – 4 wk total $42.5m
Johnson Family Vacation (Fox Spotlight)   $3.1 million – 3 wk total $25.1m
Scooby Doo 2 (Warner Bros.)                    $3.1 million – 5 wk total $76.5m
Hellboy (Sony)                                             $3.0 million – 4 wk total $54.7m
Ella Enchanted (Miramax)                          $2.7 million – 3 wk total $17.2m
Walking Tall (MGM)                                    $2.6 million – 4 wk total $40.5m
Source: Box Office Mojo

Qtopia Media, the marketing firm specializing in gay and lesbian market (www.QtopiaMedia.com), has just released the results of a research study into the listening, viewing and reading preferences of the G&L consumers. The survey conducted by Mariposa Group is based on on line surveys from 750 gay and lesbian adults 18+ in major gay metros in the US:
– 82% listen to radio regularly; top reaching radio formats among G&L listeners:  Top 40, Modern Rock, Dance/ Rhythmic, National Public Radio.
– 79% watch TV regularly; 76% watched gay-themed TV shows in the past 3 mos.
– 76% read a local gay newspaper in the past 3 months.
– 65% read a national gay magazine in the past 3 months.
– In the on-line arena, 73% visited gay information sites and 54% visited gay entertainment sites in the past 3 months.
– And in response to the question, “Do you believe the FCC has the right to censor and/or fine radio stations for the content of their broadcasts?” responses were mixed with 48% said ‘not under any circumstances;’ 23% said ‘yes for antigay or hate based content’; and 15% said ‘yes for sexually explicit content’ and 14% were unsure.

NBC and its Friends countdown to series finale, was the big leader on Thursday night with an overall 8.0/24 A18-49 rating according to Nielsen Media Research.  CBS chimes in at #2 with a 6.3/17.  Lagging way behind were all the other nets: FOX 1.8/5, ABC 1.7/5, UPN 1.5/4, WB 0.9/2.  At 8pm back to back Friends won the hour among A18-49 with a 9.5/27 over CBS’ Survivor 7.3/21.  However, in general men seemed to prefer CBS’ Survivor over Friends.  Among M18-49 CBS delivered a  6.5/21, just a hare’s breath behind NBC’s  6.9/22; and among M25-54 the reverse was true with CBS in front with a 7.9/22 over NBC’s 7.6/21. With the exception of Teens 12-17 which CBS won by a share, NBC took top honors among all other key demos.  At 9pm NBC still had the hour with a 7.7/20 over CBS’ 7.3/19, and again the different was in men which CBS won in both the M18-49 and M25-54 categories over NBC.  AT 10p NBC dominated with a 9.5/25 with ER, well ahead of CBS’ 4.4/12 for Without a Trace.

NBC led the night on Friday with an overall 3.3/11 A18-49 rating according to Nielsen Media Research, quickly followed by ABC 2.2/8, Fox 2.0/7, CBS 1.8/6, WB 1.0/4, UPN 0.8/3.  At 8pm NBC led with a 2.7/10, with ABC and Fox tied at #2 each posting a 7 share.  At 9pm NBC led again, and this time by a larger margin with a 3.6/12. The closest competition came from ABC and Fox again, each still holding with a 7 share.  At 10p NBC grabbed the lead again with a 3.5/11 over #2 ABC with a 3.0/9 for 20/20.

Another slow Saturday with Fox winning the evening with a moderate 2.7/10 A18-49 according to Nielsen Media Research. Fox won both the 8pm hour (2.3/9) and the 9p hour (3.1/10), while NBC takes the 10p hour with the final hour of Space Cowboys (2.3/8).

Prime Multimedia Inc.,has named Arastou Mahjoory as President and CEO. Arastou will also be on the board of directors.

Correction: We incorrectly mentioned that Paul Lee had retired as COO at BBC America in Friday’s Cynopsis edition.  He has resigned from the position to join ABC Family. 

Thursday, April 22, 2004. Fast Affiliate Household Ratings for all Networks. Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period data, not program data, and can change slightly once the finals come in, particularly for LIVE programming (i.e. Football). Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

NBC     12.3/20 Friends 14.1/24, Friends 12.8/21, Will & Grace 11.1/18, Scrubs 9.4/15, ER 13.1/21

CBS     11.6/19 Survivor: All Stars 11.9/20, CSI 13.2/21, Without a Trace 9.7/16

ABC     3.7/6   Extreme Makeover: Home Edition [r] 3.9/6, Kingdom Hospital 2.6/4, Primetime Thursday 4.6/8

FOX     3.2/5   Tru Calling 2.8/5, The Swan [r] 3.6/6

UPN     2.9/5   WWE Smackdown 2.9/5

WB      1.6/3   Steve Harvey’s Big Time [r] 1.8/3, Like Family 1.4/2, JKE 1.7/3, JKE 1.7/3

A18-49  NBC 8.9/24, CBS 6.3/17, FOX 1.8/5, ABC 1.7/5, UPN 1.5/4, WB 0.9/2

Friday, April 23, 2004. Fast Affiliate Household Ratings for all Networks. Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period data, not program data, and can change slightly once the finals come in, particularly for LIVE programming (i.e. Football). Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

NBC     7.6/14  Dateline NBC 8.0/15, Third Watch 6.9/12

CBS     5.1/9   Joan Of Arcadia 4.8/9, JAG 5.0/9, Without a Trace 5.4/10

ABC     4.6/8   George Lopez 3.8/7, The Big House 3.5/6, Hope & Faith 3.0/7, Married to the Kellys [season finale] 3.9/7, 20/20 6.4/12

FOX     3.1/6   Totally Outrageous Behavior 2.9/6, Totally Outrageous Behavior 2.9/5, The World’s Craziest Videos 3.1/6, The World’s Craziest Videos 3.5/6

WB      2.0/4   Reba [r]2.5/5, What I Like About You 2.0/4, Grounded for Life1.90/5, Run of the House 2.5/4

UPN     2.0/4   Movie: The Specialist  2.0/4

A18-49  NBC 3.3/11, ABC 2.2/8, Fox 2.0/7, CBS 1.8/6, WB 1.0/4, UPN 0.8/3

Saturday, April 24, 2004. Fast Affiliate Household Ratings for all Networks. Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period data, not program data, and can change slightly once the finals come in, particularly for LIVE programming (i.e. Football). Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

CBS     5.4/10  The Price is Right: Million Dollar Spectacular 5.1/10, 48 Hours 5.3/10, The District  5.8/11

FOX     4.5/9   Cops 3.7/8, Cops 4.4/9, America’s Most Wanted  4.8/9

NBC     4.2/8   NBC Movie: Space Cowboys  4.2/8

ABC     2.7/5   Saturday Night at the Movies: Almost Famous 2.7/5

A18-49  Fox 2.7/10, NBC and CBS 1.8/6, ABC 1.5/5

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source: NHI Explorer, 4/12/04-4/18/04.  Training ties Spartacus Pt1 & L&O:SVU.  Selena ties VH1 Divas.  Pelican ties Set It Off & Seinfeld.  HH Cvg Rtg.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1990 – In Australia, an area twice as large as the state of Texas is submerged underwater as a result of extensive flooding.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  What was the name of the street gang on the Newhart show set in Vermont?   VERMONT HOOLIGANS.  Kudos to:  Steve Woodward-UPN Atlanta; Roger Lyons-WBZ/Boston; Dave Kelly-A&E/Atlanta; Judy Shannon-WICU/Erie PA; Richard Touhy-Chicago; Pam Massey-GSD&M/Austin; Cary Miller-Verance/LA; Muhammed Eldereiny-RPA/Santa Monica; Susan Goldberg-Beverly Park Prods/LA; and Paula McLaren-Real Screen Magazine/Toronto.

A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT

Comcast Spotlight now has the ability to segment markets both geographically and demographically. Adtag and Adcopy enable advertisers to be more targeted than they could ever be with broadcast. Comcast Spotlight – Spot cable finally delivers. For more information click here.

Today’s Trivia Question:    The Iolani Palace was the stand in building for what TV Police Headquarters?  (click here 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.)

Later — Cyn

Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis
04/26/04  5:16am
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  MONDAY, APRIL 26, 2004

COURT TV:       The I-Zone, Forensic Files, The Investigators
ABC             ABC Monday Movie of the Week: The Sixth Sense
CBS             Yes Dear [r], Still Standing [r], Everybody Loves Raymond [r], Two and a Half Men [r], CSI: Miami [r]
FOX             Bernie Mac Show, Bernie Mac Show, The Swan
NBC             Fear Factor, Las Vegas, The Restaurant
PAX             AFV, AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             The Parkers, Eve [r], Girlfriends, Half & Half
WB              7th Heaven, Everwood
TELE            Prisonera, El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Cristina