A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION
Television Premiere OUT OF REACH Starring Steven Seagal #1 Movie on Spike & Top 5 ProgramGREEN STREET HOOLIGANS Starring ELIJAH WOOD (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) “Two thumbs up.” – Ebert & Roeper AVAILABLE FOR TELEVISION PREMIERE EXCLUSIVELY FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTIONSource: NHI, Galaxy Explorer, 2/6-2/12/06, Live+Same Day HH Cvg Rtg. Movies=Telecast, Series=Trackage. Out of Reach=Sun 8p
CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis
02/20/06
Good morning. It’s Monday, February 20, 2006, and this is your first early morning briefing.
The Arena Football League and OLN have agreed to make OLN the national cable television home for the AFL during its 20th Season. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. OLN will televise 11 regular-season games and one Wild Card playoff game during the 2006 season. It’s season kicked off yesterday when the Philadelphia Soul played host to the New York Dragons.
*MORE GOOD STUFF*The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart has been signed to host this year’s Academy Awards, joining the short list of hosts from the previous years of Johnny Carson, Bob Hope, Billy Crystal, and Steve Martin.
ABC’s Miracle Workers will debut on March 6 at 10p. From DreamWorks Television and Renegade 83 Ent, the show looks to make impossible dreams come true, with the Miracle Workers referring to the medical team of doctors overseeing each case.
The Tennis Channel will unveil Destination Tennis, an original series devoted to tennis travel and how to arrange memorable tennis vacations around the world. The series’ first episode will premiere Sunday, Feb. 19, at 730p. Australian entertainment journalist Mieke Buchan hosts.
BBC America will premiere High Spirits with Shirley Ghostman, a new series with spoof psychic Shirley Ghostman (the alter ego of comedian Marc Wootton) searching for the UK’s next psychic superstar, while supposedly conjuring up the spirits of dead celebrities for a live audience. The eight-episode show premieres Friday, March 17 at 9p.
Razor & Tie Media will extend its reach with a new direct response division in a venture with Ohio-based Ten United. The combo called DRTU, Direct Response @ Ten United, marries Razor & Tie’s media-buying expertise with Ten United’s client base and infrastructure.
Correction: It was confirmed that EVERWOOD returns to The WB on 3/27 not 3/20.
A Cynopsis question for you: This time of year, between the Super Bowl and the Olympics, there are a lot of new advertising campaigns on the air – some great, some not so great. The question is this: Of all the TV commercials you’ve seen in your entire life, which one is your favorite above all others? I’ll get you started. My favorite is an old Volkswagen ad. Black and white. Pre-dawn, blizzard conditions. One lone VW driving down the road. Announce: “Did you ever wonder how the snow plow driver gets to the snow plow?” as the VW pulls up to the snow plow garage. Simple, clever. You guys know TV better than anyone, so your choices will be interesting to see. Send your pick here with TV AD in the subject line. I’ll collect them and feed them back to you next week.
Weekend Box Office Estimates: February 17-19, 2006
Eight Below (Buena Vista) $19.8 million – opening weekend
Date Movie (Fox) $18.9 million – opening weekend
The Pink Panther (Sony) $16.5 million – 2 wk total $42.2m
Curious George (Universal) $11.2 million – 2 wk total $29.4m
Final Destination 3 (New Line) $10.1 million – 2 wk total $35.8m
Firewall (Warner Bros.) $9.0 million – 2 wk total $27.3m
Freedomland (Sony Revolution) $5.9 million – opening weekend
When a Stranger Calls (Screen Gems) $4.9 million – 3 wk total $41.2m
Big Momma’s House (Fox) $4.4 million – 4 wk total $61.3m
Nanny McPhee (Universal) $3.7 million – 4 wk total $37.8m
Source: Box Office Mojo * EXECUTIVE MOVES *Tracy van Straaten becomes VP/Trade Publicity as of March 27, 2006. Reporting to Suzanne Murphy, VP/Trade Marketing, Tracy will oversee all publicity efforts for Scholastic’s Trade Publishing Division.
* RATINGS *Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of Jan 30-Feb 5, 2006 ranked by HH Rtg
Wheel of Fortune (King World) 9.1 AA
Oprah (King World) 7.6 AA / 7.7 GAA
Jeopardy (King World) 7.4 AA
Everybody Loves Raymond (King World) 6.7 AA / 6.6 GAA
Seinfeld (Sony) 6.0 AA / 7.5 GAA
Dr. Phil (King World) 5.5 AA / 5.6 GAA
Entertainment Tonight (Paramount) 5.4 AA / 5.5 GAA
Friends (Warner Bros.) 5.3 AA / 6.8 GAA
Judge Judy (Paramount) 5.1 AA / 7.8 GAA
That ’70s Show (Carsey-Werner) 4.4 AA / 5.6 GAA
Source: Nielsen Media Research
Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of Jan 30-Feb 5, 2006 ranked by A18-49
Seinfeld (Sony) 3.9 AA / 4.8 GAA
Everybody Loves Raymond (King World) 3.7 AA / 4.7GAA
Friends (Warner Bros.) 3.7 AA / 4.7 GAA
That ’70s Show (Carsey-Werner) 3.1 AA / 3.9 GAA
Oprah (King World) 3.0 AA / 3.0 GAA
Wheel of Fortune (King World) 1.2 AA
Entertainment Tonight (Paramount) 2.2 AA / 2.3 GAA
Jeopardy (King World) 2.1 AA
King of Queens (Sony Pictures TV) 1.9 AA / 2.4 GAA
Dr. Phil (King World) 2.0 AA / 2.0 GAA
Source: Nielsen Media Research
Broadcast Daytime Ratings Rankings ? Women 18-49, Week of 2/6/06
General Hospital 2.2/13
Young and the Restless 2.1/14
All My Children 2.0/13
One Life to Live 2.0/12
Days of our Lives 1.9/12
Bold and the Beautiful 1.6/10
The View 1.5/11
Price is Right 2 1.4/10
Passions 1.4/9
As the World Turns 1.3/8
Guiding Light 1.2/7
Price is Right 1 1.2/9
Source: Nielsen’s Galaxy Explorer, NTI as dated
Thursday- A18-49 Analysis: NBC led on Thursday night with an overall 5.9/15 A18-49, according to fast affiliate ratings from Nielsen Media Research. CBS was #2 with a 5.7/14, followed by ABC 4.2/11, WB 2.4/6, Fox 2.2/5, Univ 1.9/5, UPN 1.2/3, and Tele 0.6/2. At 8p CBS won the challenge with Survivor with a 6.3/16, five share points higher than NBC’s 8-9p hour for the Olympics. At 9p NBC and CBS tied with a 6.3/15, and ABC fell behind with a 4.7/11. And at 10p NBC took first place with a 6.8/18.
Live + Same Day Ratings: Thursday, February 16, 2006 – time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research
NBC 11.7/18 Olympic Winter Games 11.7/18
CBS 10.5/16 Survivor Panama: Exile Island 9.9/15, CSI [r] 11.9/17, Without a Trace [r] 9.8/16
ABC 8.9/14 Dancing with the Stars 11.7/17, Grey’s Anatomy [r] 9.7/14, Primetime 5.4/9
FOX 3.4/5 Movie Special: Legally Blonde 3.4/5
WB 2.9/4 Smallville 3.4/5, Beauty & the Geek II 2.5/4
UNIV 2.2/3 Contra Viento y Marea 2.5/4, Alborada 2.5/4, Aqui y Ahora 1.7/3
UPN 1.8/3 Everybody Hates Chris 2.6/4, Love, Inc. 1.6/2, Eve 1.6/2, Cuts 1.4/2
TELE 0.8/1 El Cuerpo del Deseo 1.1/2, Corazon Partido 0.6/1, Decisiones-Casos Extraordinarios 0.6/1, Decisiones 0/6/1
A18-49: NBC 5.9/15, CBS 5.7/14, ABC 4.2/11, WB 2.4/6, Fox 2.25, Univ 1.9.5, UPN 1.2/3, Tele 0.6/2
Friday- A18-49 Analysis: NBC was in charge on Friday night with an overall 5.3/15 A18-49 rating, according to fast affiliate numbers from Nielsen Media Research. ABC was #2 with a 3.1/9, followed by CBS 2.6/8, Fox 1.9/6, Univ 1.7/5, UPN 1.6/5, WB 1.0/3 and Tele 0.5/2. At 8p NBC and ABC tied, each posting a 12 share for Dancing with the Stars results show and the Olympics. At 9p and again at 10p, NBC’s Olympics dominated the evening with a 5.8/17 at 9p and 5.9/17 at 10p, both hours a full 9 share ahead of the closest competitor.
Live + Same Day Ratings: Friday, February 17, 2006 – time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research
NBC 10.9/18 Olympic Winter Games 10.9/18
ABC 7.2/12 Dancing with the Stars Results Show 10.2/17, In Justice 5.8/9, 20/20 5.5/9
CBS 5.8/10 Ghost Whisperer [r] 5.2/9, Close to Home [r] 5.8/9, Numb3rs [r]6.5/11
FOX 3.1/5 Trading Spouses [r] 3.1/5
UPN 2.8/5 Friday Night Smackdown 2.8/5
UNIV 2.0/3 Contra Viento y Marea 2.1/4, Alborada 2.3/4, Camino a Premio Lo Nuestro 1.6/3
WB 1.7/3 What I Like About You 1.5/3, Living with Fran 1.5/2, Reba 2.3/4, Twins 1.6/3
TELE 0.7/1 El Cuerpo del Deseo 1.0/2, Coraz
