Source: NTI Galaxy Explorer, 2/17/05. Ratings. TP=Thu, 8-9pm. 

CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis

02/28/05

Good morning. It’s Monday, February 28, 2005, and this is your first early morning briefing.

And the Oscars went to:
Best Picture:  Million Dollar Baby
Best Director: Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby
Best Actor:  Jamie Foxx – Ray
Best Actress: Hilary Swank – Million Dollar Baby
Best Supporting Actor:  Morgan Freeman – Million Dollar Baby
Best Supporting Actress:  Cate Blanchette – The Aviator
Funniest Lines of the Evening:  Johnny Carson
Best Dressed Guy:  Chris Rock and Johnny Depp (doesn’t matter what he wears)
Best Dressed Woman:  Cate Blanchette and Drew Barrymore

CBS led the Thursday night duel with NBC, delivering an overall 8.2/20 A18-49 according to final numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  NBC tallied a 6.1/15.  Survivor at 8pm delivered a 7.9/20, beating NBC’s sitcoms, Joey (3.9/10) and Will & Grace (4.3/11).  CSI at 9p earned a 9.8/20, well ahead of The Apprentice (6.5/15).  ER, however, broke the primetime trend for CBS, and won the 10p hour with a 7.6/19, just two share points ahead of Without a Trace on CBS (7.0/17). ABC’s two hour UFO special (8-10p) earned a 3.3/8; while Fox’s Stars Without Makeup special at 9p drew a 3.1/7.

ABC won Friday night by the narrowest margin of a single share point, posting a 2.9/9 A18-49 for the night according to Fast Affiliate Ratings from Nielsen Media Research.  NBC was #2 with a 2.6/8, followed by a then of a rating point by CBS 2.5/8, and then Fox and WB 1.7/5, UPN 0.9/3. At 8p ABC was in front with America’s Funniest Videos 2-hr special earning a 2.8/9 at 8p and a 3.3/10 at 9p. NBC was #2 at 8p with an 8 share, while CBS and Fox tied at a 7 share. At 9p following in the tracks of AFV, NBC’s Third Watch delivered a 2.7/8, with CBS’ JAG pitching a 2.3/7.  WB earned a 1.9/6 for the 9p hour, two share points ahead of Fox’s Jonny Zero.  CBS’ freshman series Numb3rs won the 10p hour with a 3.1/9, while ABC and NBC tied at an 8 share.

As is the tradition on a Saturday night, a regular Saturday night, Fox won the among A18-49, this week posting an overall 3.3/10 according to fast affiliate numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  ABC was second for the night with a 3.2/10, followed by NBC 2.3/7 and CBS 1.5/5.  At 8p, Fox’s back to back Cops delivered a 3.3/10, followed closely by ABC’s first hour of the movie Forrest Gump (2.5/8).  At 9p Fox’s America’s most Wanted and ABC’s Forrest Gump were tied (run Forrest run!) each posting an 10 share.  At 10p, Forrest was all alone, earning a 3.9/12, with L&O:SVU on NBC #2 with a 2.9/9.

20th has made it official – March 18 will be the last broadcast of its syndicated strip series Good Day Live.  Season to date the show has averaged a 0.9 HH rtg, and a 0.5 W18-49 rating, despite recent cast changes.  A statement from 20th read in part: “… the program has displayed some growth in recent months with the change of hosts, the economics dictated the necessity to cease production.”

Tonight’s Premieres:
WB      Summerland at 9p
E!      The Michael Jackson Trial at 9p

Tonight’s Finale:
ABC     The Bachelorette: Finale at 8p

Casting / Development / Production:

• Fox has decided not to go forward with its drama pilot Revved (20th), set in the world of NASCAR racing, per Broadcasting & Cable.

Casting Updates:

• E! has bolstered up its cast of The Michael Jackson Trial re-enactments.  Joining Edward Moss as Jackson will be: Jack Donner as Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville; Rigg Kennedy as Jackson’s defense attorney Thomas Mesereau; Dan Sanders as Defence Attorney Robert Sanger; Charles Haigh as District Attorney Thomas Sneddon; and Bob Wood as Assistant District Attorney Ron Zonen.
• CBS‘ pilot project Love Monkey (Paramount TV Network/Sony Pictures TV) has cast Larenz Tate as one of the four primary friends. The story is about the four friends in various relationship stages – married, single, divorced – as seen thru the eyes of a music producer, played by Thomas Cavanagh.
• Elsewhere at CBS, the drama pilot project The Unit (20th) has added Dennis Haysbert and Michael Irby.  The Unit is about a special ops govt agency.
• Fox‘s comedy series (6 eps ordered) Stacked (20th) starring Pamela Anderson, has added Christopher Lloyd and Brian Scolaro to the lineup.  The show is about Anderson’s character, a woman who works in a bookstore and is trying to change her habit of attracting duds.  Lloyd will play a regular – a eccentric – customer.
• In its drama pilot Amy Coyne (20th), Fox has cast Tom Berenger to join Ashley Williams in the title role.  Amy Coyne is about young woman who inherits her father’s sports agency; Berenger becomes her mentor. Other cast additions include Kate Jennings Grant and Phillip Vaden.
• Fox has also added cast members to its drama pilot Ticket to Ride (Regency TV) with Luke Perry and Jason Gedrick, as two of the 20 winners of a winning lottery ticket.
• Fox’s Don’t Ask, (20th/Phase Two Prods) about a young teenager who’s father leaves his mother, for another man, has added Kristen Johnston to the cast.
• ABC‘s drama project Commander in Chief about the first female President of the United States, has signed Harry J. Lennix and Kyle Secor.  The title character has not yet been cast (and in fact the project is has a cast contingent restriction).  Lennix will play the outgoing POTUS’ Chief of Staff, and Secor will play the First Gentleman (is that what you call Ms. President’s spouse?).
• ABC sitcom pilot Joint Custody (20th) has added Nick D’Agosto and Will McCormack. The story is about a college student coming home to find things not exactly as he had left them.

TBS has picked up the off-net cable rights to According to Jim, distributed by Buena Vista Television. The show will join the comedy lineup on TBS in the fall of 2009.  The estimate price tag according to various reports is pegged between $250,000 and $300,000 per ep.

Weekend Box Office Estimates: February 25-27, 2005
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (Lions)      $22.7 million – opening weekend
Hitch (Sony)                               $21.0 million – 3 wk total $122.0m
Constantine (Warner Bros.)               $11.8 million – 2 wk total $50.7m
Cursed (Dimension)                        $9.6 million – opening weekend
Man of the House (Sony)          $9.0 million – opening weekend
Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)      $7.2 million – 11 total $64.7m
Because of Winn-Dixie (Fox)              $6.8 million – 2 wk total $22.2m
Are We There Yet? (Sony)                 $4.0 million – 6 wk total $76.4m
The Aviator (Miramax)                     $3.9 million – 11 wk total $93.8m
Son of the Mask (New Line)               $3.8 million – 2 wk total $13.9m
Source: Box Office Mojo

Jeffrey Boden has been named President/General Manager of WRQX-FM and WJZW-FM, in Washington, D.C., it was announced today by Mitch Dolan, President of the ABC Radio Station Group, to whom Mr. Boden will report.  Mr. Boden most recently served as Director of Sales at WRQX and WJZW.

Thursday, February 24, 2005. FINAL Ratings for all Networks – program averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     14.5/22  Survivor 12.3/19, CSI 17.2/25, Without a Trace 13.8/22

NBC     8.8/14   Joey 6.7/10, Will & Grace 6.7/10, The Apprentice 9.2/13, ER 10.6/17

ABC     6.7/10   Peter Jennings Reporting: UFOs – Seeing is Believing 7.7/11; Primetime Live 4.7/8

FOX     4.9/7    The O.C. 4.8/7, Fox Special: Stars Without Makeup 5.1/7

UPN     3.4/5    WWE Smackdown 3.4/5

WB      1.7/3    WB Movie: Ever After 1.7/3

A18-49  CBS 8.2/20, NBC 6.1/15, Fox 3.1/8, ABC 2.9/7, UPN 2.1/5, WB .9/2

Friday, February 25, 2005. Fast Affiliate Ratings for all Networks – time period averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     6.6/11   Joan of Arcadia 5.2/9, JAG 6.9/12, NUMB3RS 7.7/13

ABC     6.1/11   America’s Funniest Videos (2 hrs) 6.0/10, 20/20 6.4/11

NBC     5.9/10   Dateline  6.2/11, Third Watch 6.0/10, Medical Investigation 5.6/10

FOX     2.6/4    Bernie Mac3.0/5, Bernie Mac 3.1/5, Jonny Zero 2.1/4

WB      2.5/4    What I Like About You 2.0/4, Reba [r] 2.1/4, Reba 3.4/6, Blue Collar TV 2.4/4

UPN     1.3/2    Star Trek Enterprise 1.7/3, Road to Stardom [r] 0.9/2

A18-49  ABC 2.9/9, NBC 2.6/8, CBS 2.5/8, Fox and WB 1.7/5, UPN 0.9/3

Saturday, February 26, 2005. Fast Affiliate Ratings for all Networks – time period averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

FOX     5.2/9    Cops 4.8/9, Cops [r] 5.3/10, AMW  5.3/9

ABC     5.5/10   Movie: Forrest Gump 5.5/10

CBS     3.6/7    Wickedly Perfect 2.6/5, Cold Case [r] 3.7/6, 48 Hours 4.7/8

NBC     5.2/9    Law & Order [r] 5.2/9, L&O: CI 5.5/10, L&O: SVU 7.1/13

A18-49  Fox 3.3/10, ABC 3.2/10, NBC 2.3/7 CBS 1.5/5

A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT

Comcast Spotlight enables advertisers to geographically segment their markets through Adtag. Adtag lets you run the same commercial in the same market but with different tags. So you don’t just drive traffic, you direct it to specific locations within a DMA. And with Adtag, advertisers can be more targeted than they could ever be on broadcast. Comcast Spotlight – Spot cable finally delivers. For more information click here.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1997 – Smokers in the U.S. must prove that they are over 18 in order to buy cigarettes
 
Answer to Friday’s Movie Trivia Question: Last one of the week:  “Well, bite my butt and call me an apple!”  A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN.  Kudos to: Cristina Ricucci Owen-Millenia 3 Comm/Atlanta; Andy Berman-Doner Adv/Detroit; Tom Begley-Washington DC; Stephanie Gottlieb-Grey Worldwide/NY; Stacey Cutshaw-KPLR/St. Louis; Daniel Thomson-Media First Int’l/Minneapolis; Andrew Owens-XETV-XUPN/LA; Sara Strother-Turner Sports/LA; Andrea Archer-General Hospital/Hollywood; James Rowley-Mindless Ent/LA; and Tasha Lawrence-Global Television/Edmonton.

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Today’s Post-Oscar Trivia Question:  Only twice has one man won Best Actor Oscar two years in a row.  Tom Hanks won for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump.  Who was the other man to win back-to-back? (click here with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone with your answer. 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
02.28.05 

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: FEBRUARY 28, 2005:  February sweep 2/3/05 – 3/2/05

ABC              The Bachelorette: Finale (8-10p), The Bachelorette: After the Final Rose
CBS              Still Standing, Listen Up, Raymond, 2-1/2 Men, CSI: Miami
FOX              American Idol, 24
NBC              Fear Factor: Reality Stars (8-10p), Medium
PAX              AFV, AFV, Mary Higgins Clark Movie: All Around the Town
UPN              One on One, Cuts, Girlfriends, Half and Half
WB               7th Heaven, Summerland [p]
TELE             La Mujer en el Espejo, Gitanas, Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer
UNIV             Rubi, Amor Real, Cristina