Good morning. It’s Monday, July 26, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing. I’m baaaaaaaaack!
The 2004 Democratic Convention kicks off in Boston today, and according to some estimates, the number of registered media attending is in the five figure rang – whereas the number of visiting state delegates is approx 4,300. The convention will be covered on several platforms during the week – bcst TV (nightly at 10p as well as morning news programs and network evening news), cable TV news programs are all paying attention, as are the folks at Comedy Central (Daily Show) and MTVN (Rock the Vote), internet sites including the launch today of ABCNews.com’s new broadband channel ABC News Now and its wall to wall coverage, local news and the foreign press including Al Jazeera, and of course blogs.
Two regional cable news networks went dark last Friday – News 9 San Antonio and News 24 Houston. The two were the result of the combined efforts of Time Warner Cable and Belo Corp, which launched the commingled nets four years ago. As of last Friday, 190 found themselves unemployed. There is also a third regional net involved, News 14 Caroline located in Charlotte, which will continue for the time being, under the care and single ownership of Time Warner. The reason the two in Texas closed has nothing to do with trouble on the corporate level, but rather trouble with the viewership level – not enough viewers. Both Time Warner Cable and Belo own many successful regional news nets around the country.
Amish in the City, UPN‘s new reality series kicks off this Wednesday the 28th with a two hour premiere. The show, while not being made available to either Congressman Joe Pitts of Pennsylvania or Matt Uhl, General Manager of WLYH-Lancaster PA, in advance of the premiere, was made available to television critics. The big controversy in this show is the concern the network will treat the Amish kids disrespectfully. While the network does not treat them with any disrespect or disparage them in any way, the same cannot be said for six of the rudest city kids you’ve ever seen on reality television. Fortunately, whatever indignation you may have as a viewer toward the city kids as a result of their behavior and remarks, are expressed and dealt with remarkably well by the Amish kids. The Amish kids may be a bit out of their element, but they can certainly take care of themselves. Once the initial conflict abates, the show is extraordinarily similar to Real World, Big Brother, or any show with a group of people living together. Teases of future eps beyond the 2-hour premiere seem to indicate the differences between these two groups will, however, become an issue in the house once again. And I guess, that’s what makes television.
TRIO cable net will launch its first original improvisational comedy series this fall called Pilot Season and starring Sarah Silverman, David Cross, Andy Dick, Jon Benjamin and writer/director Sam Seder. The show is billed as a mockumentary – taking a humorous look at the angst, posturing and hysteria that is part and parcel of television’s pilot season. TRIO has ordered six eps and has scheduled it to kick off on September 6 at 9pm, with ep #2 at 930p. Also kicking off on the 6th is TRIO’s strip series Brilliant But Cancelled.
MTVN’s newest cable net LOGO, scheduled to launch in February 2005, announced its programming plans including several film and documentary acquisitions: The Birdcage, Gods and Monsters, Kissing Jessica Stein, My Own Private Idaho, Philadelphia, My Personal Best, Broken Hearts Club, among many others. Docs include Daddy & Papa and Ruth & Connie … Every Room in the House. Among the net’s original series plans are Family Outing based on Chastity Bono’s best selling book; The Margaret Cho series; Fantastic Voyage from producers Bunim-Murray which is a reality series which takes place during a 7-day gay cruise. Do I? follows a series of gay couples considering marriage. And the animated series Chelsea Boys based on the gay syndicated comic strip of the same name.
Here’s one that will have you calling your cable company toot sweet demanding it be added to your network lineup — The Advert Channel launches this fall in the UK – it’s 24/7 TV commercials, talk shows about commercials, the making of commercials, best of and classic commercials, and of course it will be ad supported with approx 9m of ads per hour. According to Broadcasting & Cable, the net launches on Sky Digital, with Chelsey Baker, head of BBC News, at the helm.
Spike TV has announced a new reality show called American Start-Up from LivePlanet. The show features 8 young business people, given $50,000 of seed money, to bring to fruition their American dream startup company. Each of the 10 eps will include a panel of successful business people who will evaluate a component of each of the start up companies. The company not quite measuring up will be eliminated each week. The goals is for each of these companies to woo new investment dollars to take the company to the next level. American Start-Up is expected to launch in mid-2005.
Thursday night was all about CBS with no one else even coming close in the A18-49 demo according to Nielsen Media Research. Big Brother pulled a 3.4/12 (closest competitor was Fox with an 8 share for the first hour of its Legally Blonde movie); CSI avg’d a 4.5/13 (again Fox was closest with a 9 share) and Without a Trace brought in a 3.9/12 for the 10p hour. For the night, CBS averaged a 3.9/12. The premiere ep of The Days repeated on ABC at 8pm (a far more sensible hour for this family dramedy than Sundays at 10p) and avg’d a 1.5/5.
Stuff you did during my summer vacation: Judy McGrath upped to Chairman/CEO of Viacom Cable division, while Mark Rosenthal, Co-Pres/COO of MTV Networks has announced he’s leaving. … John Litvack, VP/Current Pgm & Sched at the WB bails. … George Eads and Jorja Fox will both be back for next season’s CSI. … The GRID debuts on TNT with 4.3 million viewers and 1.5million A18-49 on Monday, July 19. … CBS announces Corbin Bernsen will join the cast of General Hospital beginning 9/3. … ABC will debut a new 7-part doc series called In the Jury Room starting 8/11. … CBS picks up new reality, non-fiction Mark Burnett series about rescuing kidnapped children called Recovery. … ABC’s The Days, the new show project produced in conjunction with Mindshare USA, debuted a week ago Sunday with a time period winning 3.1/8 A18-49 rating at 10pm, inching out NBC’s Crossing Jordan by a tenth of a rating point. … Tribune announces off-cable sitcom South Park has been cleared in 85% of the US including 48 of the top 50 mkts (top 5: WPIX/NY; KCAL/LA; WCIU/Chicago; WPSG/Phily; KBHK/San Fran) on a cash + 90s barter basis. Tribune is distributed under exclusive deal with Debmar Studios and Mercury Ent. … Fox’s debut of Trading Spouses last Tuesday drew a 3.4/11 A18-49 rating at 8pm, blowing past the competition, including most notably, ABC’s Extreme Makeover (original ep with triplets getting made over, scoring a 2.5/8). … Tom Green & Jerry Springer are developing a week in review program called Fairly Unbalanced (talent at Fox News didn’t see the humor when they talked about this new show). Show is being shopped by Lions Gate TV. … Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters is gearing up for a second season; and TLC’s home designer Genevieve Gorder (Trading Spaces) gets her own show next season – Town Haul!. … Showtime has ordered a second season of !Huff, kicking off its second season on November 7; and Showtime has announced a new comedy reality series called Fat Actress with Kirstie Alley pretty much playing herself. … HBO’s second outing of The 4400 a week ago last night drew 5.6 million viewers, putting it on top of the original series on basic cable for the week. … CBS and UPN announce their season premiere dates (see below). … Discovery’s Monster House gets into the Shark Week mode with Shark House tonight at 8p (Shark Week kicked off last night and airs nightly all this week) … Mike Cascio is named SVP/Production for National Geographic Channel (good get). … Dave Howe is named VP/GM of Sci Fi Channel reporting to Bonnie Hammer. … Entourage made its debut on HBO to an audience of 1.9 million viewers. Not fabulous, but apparently good enough for it to be on track for a pick-up for season #2. … You guys have been busy!
CBS Fall 2004 Premiere Dates: 9/16: Survivor Vanuatu at 8pm 9/20: Still Standing, Listen Up, Raymond, Two and a Half Men, CSI Miami 9/22: 60 Minutes, King of Queens, Center of the Universe, CSI NY 9/23: CSI, Without a Trace 9/24: Joan of Arcadia, JAG, dr. vegas 9/25: Amazing Race 6, Crimetime Saturday, 48 Hours Mystery 9/26: 60 Minutes, Clubhouse (preview), CBS Sunday Movie 9/28: NCIS, Clubhouse, Judging Amy 10/3: Cold Case
UPN Fall 2004 Premiere dates: 9/20: One on One, Half and Half, Girlfriends, Second Time Around 9/21: All of Us, Eve 9/22: America’s Next Top Model, Veronica Mars (preview) 9/23: WWE Smackdown 9/28: Veronica Mars 9/29: Kevin Hill 10/8: Star Trek Enterprise
Weekend Box Office Estimates: July 23-25, 2004 The Bourne Supremacy (Universal) $53.5 million – opening weekend I, Robot (Fox) $22.1 million – 2 wk total $95.4m Catwoman (Warner Bros.) $17.2 million – opening weekend Spider-Man 2 (Sony) $15.0 million – 4 wk total $328.5m The Cinderella Story (Warner Bros.) $8.0 million – 2 wk total $29.8m Anchorman: Ron Burgundy (DreamWorks) $7.1 million – 3 wk total $71.2m Fahrenheit 911 (Lions Gate) $5.0 million – 5 wk total $103.4m The Notebook (New Line) $4.5 million – 5 wk total $62.5m King Arthur (Buena Vista) $3.1 million – 3 2k total $45.2m Shrek 2 (DreamWorks) $2.4 million – 10 wk total $429.5m Source: Box Office Mojo
CSTV: College Sports Television has named Craig Janoff to the newly created position of Senior Director. He will be working with CSTV Executive Vice President Joel Feld and his production team. Karen Cartales has been named SVP/marketing, Michael Rosen has been named SVP/Production and News, and Emilie Deutsch has been named VP/Features Unit and Interstitials. In addition, Heather Thomas has been named Director/Affiliate Marketing.
Mark Antonitis has been named President/GM of KRON/San Francisco, a Young Broadcasting Inc. station. Mark replaces Dino Dinovitz who announced earlier his plans to retire at year’s end (enjoy Dino!), who will stick around until the end of the year to help with the transition. Mark hails from KELO/Sioux Falls where he served as Pres/GM since 1996.
Tom Barreca, SVP/WWE Enterprises, announced Georgi Rosenberg has been named as Director/Affiliate Sales, for WWE 24/7. Georgi will be working for Peter Clifford, VP/Affiliate Sales, to enlist cable operators and satellite services to distribute WWE 24/7, a subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service.
Si TV, the English-language Latino Network, has hired Rori Peters as VP/Affiliate Relations. Rori will be responsible for developing the affiliate relations department and increasing the network’s subscriber base. She will be working in tandem with Doug Orr and Tully Bragg of HotHouse Media who will continue to represent Sí TV.
Lisa Hackner is rejoining Telepictures Productions as SVP/Development, and Sheila Rosenbaum is joining the company as VP/Programming, Telepictures Productions. The announcement was made by Hilary Estey McLoughlin, EVP/GN, Telepictures Productions. Lisa will be responsible for overseeing all of Telepictures’ new program development for syndication and cable as well as working with David Auerbach (SVP/Programming) on network series development. Sheila will work with Hackner in development and the rest of the Telepictures programming team.
Thursday, July 22, 2004. National 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 7.7/14 Big Brother 5.8/11, CSI 8.7/15, Without a Trace 8.7/15
ABC 4.3/8 The Days [p-r] 3.1/6, The Staircase 4.9/8
WB 1.5/3 Reba 1.7/3, Reba 1.8/3, Studio 7 [premiere] 1.2/2
A18-49 CBS 3.9/12, Fox 2.7/9, NBC 2.1/7, ABC 2.0/6, UPN 1.8/6, WB 0.8/3
A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION
Theatrical Movies Work on Cable!
OCEAN’S ELEVEN
Starring George Clooney & Brad Pitt
TNT’s #1 Program for the Week With Adults 18-49 & 18-34!
Top 15 Cable Program for the Week with Adults 18-49 (out of 10,000+ telecasts), beating original episodes of Reno 911, Queer Eye, The Assistant, Strong Medicine and Missing!
Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution Your #1 Choice for Great Movies!
The History Channel presents This Day in History: 1847: The Republic of Liberia declares its independence, becoming the first democratic republic in African history. Formerly a colony of the American Colonization Society, founded in 1816 to return freed American slaves to Africa, Liberia modeled its constitution on that of the United States. For its part, the USA grudgingly accepted the colony’s independence. Formal diplomatic ties would be established in 1862.
A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT
Comcast Spotlight works with our cable network partners to develop unique promotions for advertisers that leverage cable’s powerful brands. Through network associations or tune-in sponsorships, advertisers get customized, branded promotions that build upon viewer affinity for their favorite cable networks. Comcast Spotlight – Spot cable finally delivers. For more information click here.
Today’s Trivia Question: He was the voice of three characters on Linus the Lionhearted from 1964-69; he was on the Dick Van Dyke Show, he was a regular on the Art Linkletter Show and Sid Caesar Invites You. More recently he was Mr. Angel on Good Heavens, and he will voice a character in the upcoming NBC series Father of the Pride. Who is he? (click hereto 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.)
A MESSAGE FROM HGTV
HGTV is a network that inspires viewers to dream, to act and to spend, and spend, and spend!
OUT OF 35 NETWORKS, HGTV VIEWERS*: are more inclined to buy products and services advertised (ranked #4) pay more attention to advertising (#4t) trust in the products advertised (#3t) are inspired by the network to buy new things (#5)
Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis 07/26/04 5:22am Subscriptions to Cynopsis: email
Archived Editions Check out any previous copy of Cynopsis, or search via keywords at www.Cynopsis.com Click here to subscribe toCynopsisKids! and put Kids! in the subject line. Click here to subscribe to Cynopsis Multi-Cultural Edition and put MCE in the subject line. Cynopsis Ad Sales 203-526-8978 Press Release Fax: 203-381-9318 All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free.
Copyright Cynthia Turner 2004
CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIEDS
JOB OPENING: COORD, AWARD & FEST ENTRIES/TALENT TRAVEL, PREMIUM CABLE NET/NY. 4+ yrs exp w/high volume & multi-deadlines. Cable/net/fest/ent pr/agency, studio bckgnd req. Resume/ref. must verify. Apply:
(7/31)
JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, MEDIA SALES. Growing, successful, NYC “out-of home” media co. seeks proven new busn & ad sales pro. Min 7-9 yrs expr in cable, print or tv a must. Exc comm & org skills a must. Reply: (7/31)
JOB OPENING: MANAGER, LOGO RESEARCH, New York.4-6 years exp in qualitative and quantitative market research. Exc. communication/presentation skills. Proven analytical skills. Qualified Candidates apply via www.mtvncareers.com (7/31)
JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (1 Yr Contract), Alliance Atlantis Comm. Int’d applicants will find more info at www.getacooljob.com, click on link for this job title. Only qualified applicants will be contacted. (7/31)
JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR OF PR/Harrisburg PA. Pavone is seeking a dept leader to shepherd national consumer accounts. Ideal would possess 5+ years experience, managing a department in an agency environment. Email (7/31)
JOB OPENING: ANALYST, RESEARCH-ABC Kids Networks Ad Sales, NY. 1+ yrs media research exp, w/agency, network or syndicator. Kids exp a + and/or Ad Sales exp a plus. Exc. comm. skills. Apply: ref.# CYNARNY (7/31)
JOB OPENING: ADMIN ASSISTANT/WIS, LA. Must be self-starter, excellent on phones & proficient on computer to support syndication sales dept; 2-3 yrs. prior industry exp. preferred. Email resume to:
(7/31)
JOB OPENING:CREATIVE SERVICES MANAGER/Comcast Spotlight, Union NJ. Work with sales force to create innovative advertising for clients. Shooting/Editing exp; knwldg of Avid. Resume:
. EOE/AA (7/31)
JOB OPENING: PROD MANAGER/LINE PROD/PROD COORDINATOR/PROD ACCOUNTANT/ for PBS KIDS show from Shadow Projects, Inc, must work local in Hamptons, Long Island, NY. Email resume/& cover to (7/31)
JOB OPENING: NATIONAL SALES MGR, WTWC/WTXL, Tallahassee. 3-5 yrs local/rep sales exp; skillful negotiator, Nielsen rtgs, selling specials/sports; use local to leverage nat’l. Apply: www.sbgi.net, select Employment, then Listings (7/31)
JOB OPENING: Sesame Workshop, NY seeks creative, energetic RESEARCH ANALYST w/ 1+ yr synd/local/nat’l sales/prog research exp, some admin duties. Resume/salary req to: Sesame Workshop Email: (7/31)
JOB OPENING: RESEARCH MGR ABC Family Channel-NY. Develop media resrch data/reports/analysis for Ad Sales/Sales Dev & Rev Planning. Proficient with variety of media research tools and computer savvy. (7/31)
JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC MANAGER/ FOX Networks Group, LA. 3-5 yrs Traffic mgmt exp w/ad supported cable net. Encoda Traffic System exp pref. Multi-tasker, problem solver, detail oriented. Strong comm skills. Apply: www.foxcareers.com (7/31)
JOB OPENING: SALES ASSISTANT/Outdoor Life Network, NY. Entry-level Ad Sales.Assist sales staff in all aspects of order process. 4-yr degree, strong computer/interpersonal skills req.Email resume/salary (7/29)
JOB OPENING: U.S. MARKETING MGR; L’Oreal USA; REDKEN;5+ yrs marketing exp; Lead development of business/brand strategies for new product introductions, promotions, communications; BA required. Res/sal req to: (7/29)
JOB OPENING: PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT MARKETING MGR; L’Oreal USA; REDKEN; 5+ yrs marketing exp; new prod dev and Brand Mgmt exp; Creative; BA required. Res/sal req to: (7/29)
JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC Coord/Paramount Ad Services/NY. Min 2 yrs traffic exp, strong time mgmt/multi-tasking skills. Review of scheduling data. Degree in adv or comm pref. Visit www.viacomcareers.com and create a profile to apply (7/29)
JOB OPENING: WRITER/PRODUCER/The WB Network. 3+ yrs exp copywriting/producing on-air promos, interstitials & ad campaigns; manage editing/VO/delivery. Send resume/reel to The WB, 411 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA 91505. Code:28490BR (8/3)
JOB OPENING: WRITER/PRODUCER & SENIOR TALKSHOW BOOKER/PRODUCER for new synd. reality show from 20th TV/ Banyan Prods, in Philly area. Email resume (MS word)/& cover letter to
(8/4)
JOB OPENING: DIR RESEARCH TV SYNDICATION/DIST/NY. Oversee NBC Universal‘s TV sales research office; research for ad sales, cable pgm/station sales. 6-10 yrs TV res./synd exp. Apply: www.universalstudios.com/jobs Req#957BR.EOE (7/27)
JOB OPENING: MGR/DEVELOPMENT EVALUATION, National Geographic Channel/DC. 3-5 yrs TV dev/prod req; writing/developing exp, reviewing proposals & budgets for non-fiction production. Creative/organized. Apply at www.foxcareers.com (7/27)
JOB OPENING: PUBLICIST/Food Network, NY. 2-4 years public relations experience. Strong written, verbal and organizational skills. Experience handling talent and creating publicity campaigns. Email
(7/27)
SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED —
SITUATION WANTED: Strategic MEDIA PLANNER/BUYER AND BRAND MARKETER – 10+ years agency and client experience seeks short/long-term project/consultant based work. Wash, DC based. Email:
(7/31)
SITUATION WANTED: Enthusiastic and hard working Florida State comm./magna cum laude/grad seeking ENTRY LEVEL POSITION in many areas. Very flexible. Prefers Chicago area.Contact Lisa 954.558.6678 or
(7/31)
SITUATION WANTED: Ad Sales Assist for 5 ½ years seeks job in NYC as MEDIA ASSIST. BIZ PLANNER/RESEARCH ANALYST. Number oriented, analytical, great with MS apps. Great writer, detail/deadline oriented, creative.
(7/29)
SITUATION WANTED: Recent Ithaca College Graduate seeks ENTRY LEVEL TELEVISION/FILM POSITION. Experience in Development/Production. Email
631.786.3376 (7/29)
SITUATION WANTED: U. of Hartford Grad seeks Creative ENTRY-LEVEL MARKETING OR ADVERTISING POSITION. SpikeTV Intern with impressive resume. Excellent communications and problem solving. NY/NJ Area. Contact Rob
(7/27)
SITUATION WANTED: Univ. of Michigan grad seeks ENTRY-LEVEL TV PRODUCTION POSITION in NYC. Experience as Script Intern@ Late Night w/ Conan O’Brien & Production/Talent Intern at VH1 Radio. Contact Ilan at 914.484.6259/
(7/27)
E-mail
for rates and specs for Job Openings. Your ad will be read by 71,650+ Cynopsis & Cynopsis Kids! readers every day. No wonder Cynopsis ads get results.
Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here —Email
for specs.
A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV
Court TV: The Investigation Channel’s THE SMOKING GUN is on the case…
File it under: “Claim old, claim old” Who recently claimed Sharon Stone owes them $19,382.20? Click here for answer
Check out TheSmokingGun.com for more exclusive dish on your favorite celebs…before it’s served up anywhere else!
WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: MONDAY, JULY 26, 2004:
COURT TV: The I-Zone, Forensic Files, The Investigators ABC My Wife & Kids, George Lopez, According to Jim, Hope & Faith, 2004 Democratic Convention CBS Raymond, Two and a Half Men, CSI Miami, 2004 Democratic Convention FOX Trading Spouses [r], The Casino NBC Fear Factor, For Love or Money, 2004 Democratic Convention PAX AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder UPN One on One, Half and Half, Girlfriends, Half and Half WB 7th Heaven [r], Summerland [r] TELE Prisonera,El Alma Herida, Protagonistas VIP UNIV Mariana de la Noche, Amarte es mi Pecado, Cristina
Friday July 26, 2024 Today’s Premieres Hulu: Playground Netflix: Pulang Araw, Elite, The Dragon Prince Saturday’s Premiere FYI: Andrew Zimmern’s Wild Game Kitchen at 10p Sunday’s Premiere PBS: Hotel Portofino at 8p Sunday’s Finale TNT: The Lazarus Project at 10p IN THE NEWS Kamala Harris has agreed to debate Donald Trump on September 10, the […]
Thursday July 25, 2024 Today’s Premieres Disney: Primos at 8p Great American Pure Flix: Shadrach Netflix: Tokyo Swindlers; The Decameron Prime Video: Troppo IN THE NEWS Amazon Prime Video and the NBA announced an 11-year media rights agreement, beginning with the 2025-26 NBA season. Prime Video will present exclusive global coverage of 66 regular-season NBA […]
Thursday, July 25, 2024 Good morning! It’s Thursday, and this is your monthly Gaming Brief. Around 62% of American adults play video games, according to Comscore’s 2024 State of Gaming report. The report, put together in collaboration with Anzu, also revealed that 49% of the U.S. gaming population is Millennials, more than both Gen X […]
Wednesday July 24, 2024 The “DPAA 2024 Omnichannel Decision-Makers Study,” conducted by Advertiser Perceptions and sponsored by Kochava, found that eight in 10 respondents will recommend digital-out-of-home to be part of their media plans over the next 12 months, with 96% of marketers and agencies planning to increase or maintain spending in the next 12 […]
ASSOCIATE, GLOBAL LICENSING & DISTRIBUTION HEARST MEDIA PRODUCTION GROUP CHARLOTTE, NC Coordinate and execute asset delivery to content distribution partners and assist with ideation and execution of marketing campaigns with channel partners as well as capture, analyze, and report viewership data. You will also follow and report on industry trends and create weekly programming schedules […]
