Source: NTI Galaxy Explorer, Premiere-to-date 9/20-3/02/05 & 9/22-3/07/04.  % US Rtg Gain.  Primetime=broadcast prime.  Sitcom=CS & EA typecode.  Fastest growing claim based on W18-34, W18-49 & A18-49.

CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis

03/14/05

Good morning. It’s Monday, March 14, 2005, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

It’s finally official – the Walt Disney Co. has named Robert Iger to succeed Michael Eisner as CEO.  Iger takes over as of September 30, 2005, which means Eisner has chosen to step down a full year earlier than originally intended.  He will, however, keep his seat on the Board until the 2006 Annual Meeting.

NBC Universal Television Distribution has pulled the plug on The Jane Pauley Show with production scheduled to wrap on Friday.  NBC offered this statement late Friday:  “Jane Pauley is one of the most experienced, trusted broadcasters in the nation and held with the highest regard within the NBC Universal family. We are very proud of the quality of work Jane, the producers and the entire team at ‘The Jane Pauley Show’ have put forward this season.”  The show will remain in syndication with repeat eps through the end of its contracted season.

Tonight’s Finale:
Univision:  El Gran Final de Rubi at 8p

MTV‘s newest reality show PoweR Girls, focused on NY PR exec to the stars Lizzie Grubman, debuted last Thursday night and delivered 1.2 million viewers, and a 1.2 demo rating among the teen 12-17 audience.

Everybody Hates Chris (Paramount Network TV / 3 Arts) stars Chris Rock in a biographical comedy about Rock’s life growing up in Brooklyn in the early 1980’s.  The pilot is narrated by Rock (a la Wonder Years).  Rock is the eldest of three kids living in a strict home and attending a predominantly white high school.

ABC:

• Westside  (Warner Bros. TV/Class IV Prods) set in a tony real estate office on the Westside of LA, has cast Peter Facinelli as the lead. Also joining the cast is Camille Guaty.  He joins Stark Sands, Judith Light, Ashley Scott and Charlotte Ross.
• The net’s untitled Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont comedy pilot about a group of 30-somethings living in Philadelphia (Touchstone TV) has cast Lucy Davis and Mark Umbers. Previously cast are Julie Bowen, Michael Landes and Alan Tudyk.
• Bobby Cannon (Touchstone TV/Mosaic Media) has added Kate Walsh and Kevin Michael Richardson to the lineup. In the starring role is Kevin Sorbo as an aging pro football player mentoring his young replacement.

CBS:

• The Unit (20th) has added Amy Acker in this drama pilot about the lives of the people and families in a Special Ops unit. Other cast members include Robert Patrick, who joins Scott Foley, Regina King, Dennis Haysbert, and Michael Irby.
• Untitled Jennifer Love Hewitt project (sometimes referred to as The Ghost Whisperer) loosely based on the life of psychic James Van Praag from John Gray and Touchstone TV, has cast David Conrad as Hewitt’s husband. Aisha Tyler is also in the cast.
• Everything I Know About Men (Touchstone TV) focused on a female advertising executive, has cast Brady Smith to co-star opposite Jenna Elfman.  This show is based on the BBC series According to Bex.

NBC:

• Untitled project set in an Italian deli in Boston’s North End from Dave Flebotte and Dick Wolf (NBC Universal TV/Wolf Films), has cast former Soprano star Vincent Pastore to star.
• Early Bird (NBC Universal TV / 3 Arts) has cast Timm Sharp as the writer who lost his big TV writing job, and in search of a quiet, laid back lifestyle, moves into a retirement village.

WB:

• Mermaid (Spelling TV), set in Miami about a mermaid trying to do what the Anderson fairy tale Little Mermaid did – live on land, has cast Geoff Stults and newcomer Nathalie Kelley in the two lead roles.

As of last Friday, Jay Leno was free to tell jokes about Michael Jackson again. The California Superior Court has lifted the gag order on joke telling, though Leno is still prohibited from talking about anything directly connected to his potential testimony.

A newly signed agreement between Tavis Smiley and Public Radio International will enable The Tavis Smiley Show to be distributed to the public radio corporation’s 727 affiliate stations across the US as of April 29 for Friday night broadcasts.  The format of this weekly 2-hour show will resemble that of his previous NPR show, which includes commentators such as Cornel West, Connie Rice, J.C. Watts, and Michael Eric Dyson. 

Weekend Box Office Estimates: March 11-13, 2005
Robots (Fox)                                              $36.5 million – opening weekend
The Pacifier (Buena Vista)                         $18.1 million – 2 wk total $54.4m
Be Cool (MGM)                                           $10.3 million – 2 wk total $38.4m
Hostage (Miramax)                                     $9.8 million – opening weekend
Hitch (Sony)                                                $8.7 million – 5 wk total $149.7m
Million Dollar Baby (Warner Bros.)             $5.1 million – 13 wk total $83.9m
Diary of a Mad Black Woman (Lions)        $5.0 million – 3 wk total $44.1m
Constantine (Warner Bros.)                       $3.7 million – 4 wk total $66.3m
Man of the House (Sony)                            $1.8 million – 3 wk total $16.6m
Cursed (Dimension)                                   $1.6 million – 3 wk total $17.7m
Source: Box Office Mojo

Finland will be the trial ground for a pilot program to link television and mobile set to run through June 20.  The Digita, Elisa, MTV, Nelonen, Nokia, Sonera and YLE joint venture will enable 500 Sonera and Elisa mobile phone users in the pilot to watch real-time television and listen to radio through Nokia’s 7710 Smartphone with the addition of a specific accessory.  The programs included in the pilot are Finland’s MTV, YLE and Nelonen as well as CNN, BBC World, Euronews, Eurosport, ViVa Plus and Fashion TV.

MTV Network‘s newest channel LOGO has tapped Lisa Sherman as SVP/GM.  Lisa makes the move from her ad agency post as SVP at Hill Holiday Connors Cosmopulos, where she worked on the business development side.  This will be Lisa’s first position as head of a television network. Her appointment is effective in April.

Todd Calvin has joined Walt Disney Television Animation as an Attorney in the Business and Legal Affairs Group. He was previously a development and production executive for feature film producers Larry Mark and John Baldecchi.

Nancy Carr has been named VP/Corporate Communications for both Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel, reporting to David Kenin, EVP/Programming.  Nancy will be based at Hallmark Channel’s LA headquarters where she will head the strategic development and implementation of all corporate communications activities including special events, media and governmental outreach, internal publications, audience services, diversity outreach and public affairs for both Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel.  

Phil Boyce has been named VP/Programming, ABC News/Talk Stations. The announcement was made by by Mitch Dolan, President, ABC Radio Station Group.  Phil will be involved with programming at all eight ABC-owned radio stations with news/talk formats. In addition, he maintains his day-to-day programming responsibilities at 77 WABC in New York and his supervisory responsibilities for ABC Radio Network’s syndicated “The Sean Hannity Show.” He continues to report to Tim McCarthy, GM of WABC, and now as well to Mr. Dolan on matters involving the other new/talk stations.

Making unscheduled departures from Gemstar-TV Guide International are Ian Aaron, President/TV Guide Television Group, has resigned.  Doug Macrae, President/TV Guide Consumer Electronics announced his retirement, and Gloria Dickey, EVP/Administration for Gemstar announced she will be leaving. 

Thursday – A18-49 Analysis:  CBS led with a resounding win on Thursday evening, posting an overall 8.7/23 A18-49 with wall to wall original programming, according to final numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  NBC was #2 with a 5.0/13, followed by Fox 2.5/6, UPN 1.8/5, ABC 1.6/4, WB .5/1.  At 8pm Survivor earned an 8.1/22, more than doubling its closest competitor – NBC earned a 3.7/10 for the 8p hour. At 9p CSI delivered a win over The Apprentice, 10.4/25 vs. 6.7/16.  At 10p Without a Trace on CBS beat NBC which aired an original episode of The Contender.  W.O.T. earned a 7.6/20, while Contender was #2 with a 4.7/12.  Primetime Live on ABC posted a 2.1/6.

FINAL HOUSEHOLD Ratings:  Thursday, March 10, 2005, for all Networks – program averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     15.2/24  Survivor 12.4/20, CSI 18.0/27, Without a Trace 15.0/25

NBC     7.0/11   Joey [r] 5.9/10, Will & Grace [r] 5.9/9, The Apprentice 9.2/14, The Contender 5.8/10

FOX     3.7/6    The O.C. 5.1/8, Point Pleasant 2.3/3

ABC     3.7/6    Extreme Makeover [r] 3.0/5, Extreme Makeover [r] 3.2/5, Primetime Live  5.0/8

UPN     3.2/5    WWE Smackdown 3.2/5

WB      .9/1      The Starlet [r] 1.0/2, The Starlet [r] .8/1

A18-49                CBS 8.7/23, NBC 5.0/13, Fox 2.5/6, UPN 1.8/5, ABC 1.6/4, WB .5/1

Friday – A18-49 Analysis:  NBC was in front on Friday night in the demo race, posting a 2.8/8 A18-49 according to fast affiliate ratings from Nielsen Media Research.  CBS was second on the night with a 2.7/8, followed by Fox 2.4/7, ABC 2.2/7, WB 1.0/3, UPN 0.7/2.  At 8p Fox’s double run of Bernie Mac was in front with a 2.7/9.  NBC’s Law & Order: SVU led the 9p hour with a 3.2/9, and CBS’ NUMB3RS won the 10p hour with a 3.5/10.

Fast Affiliate Ratings:  Friday, March 11, 2005, for all Networks – time period averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     7.0/12   NCIS 6.5/11, JAG 6.8/12, NUMB3RS 7.6/13

NBC     6.8/12   Dateline 5.7/10, L&O: SVU 7.3/12, L&O: Trial by Jury 7.4/13

ABC     4.7/8    8 Simple Rules 4.3/8, 8 Simple Rules 4.4/8, Hope & Faith 4.4/8, Less Than Perfect 3.6/6, 20/20 5.8/10

FOX     3.2/6    Bernie Mac 3.5/6, Bernie Mac 3.7/6, That 70’s Show 2.9/5, That 70’s Show 2.8/5

WB      1.8/3    What I Like About You [r] 1.4/3, What I Like About You [r] 1.5/3, Reba [r] 2.1/4, Blue Collar TV [r] 1.9/3

UPN     1.4/2    Star Trek Enterprise 1.2/2, America’s Next Top Model [r] 1.6/3

A18-49                NBC 2.8/8, CBS 2.7/8, Fox 2.4/7, ABC 2.2/7, WB 1.0/3, UPN 0.7/2

Saturday – A18-49 Analysis:   As usual Fox won the night in the demos on Saturday with a 3.1/10 A18-49 according to fast affiliate numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  NBC was second with a 2.1/7, followed by ABC 1.9/6 and CBS 1.5/5.  At 8p back to back Cops on Fox delivered a 3.1/10, well in front of its closest competition from ABC (1.7/6). At 9p America’s Most Wanted was again top dog with a 3.2/10; this time the closest competition came from NBC with a 2.2/7.  At 10p NBC’s Law & Order: SVU earned a 2.8/9, two share points ahead of the final hour of ABC’s Minority Report.

Fast Affiliate Ratings:  Saturday, March 12, 2005, for all Networks – time period averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research.  NBC       5.8/11   Law & Order: CI [r] 4.6/9, L&O: SVU [r] 5.7/10, L&O: SVU [r] 6.9/13

FOX     5.1/9    Cops 4.6/9, Cops [r] 5.4/10, AMW 5.2/9

CBS     3.9/7    Cold Case [r] 3.1/6, Without a Trace [r] 4.0/7, 48 Hours  4.8/9

ABC     3.3/6    Movie: Minority Report 3.3/6

A18-49                Fox 3.1/10, NBC 2.1/7, ABC 1.9/6, CBS 1.5/5

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT

Comcast Spotlight enables advertisers to demographically segment their markets through Adcopy. Adcopy lets you simultaneously run different commercials in the same market allowing you to talk to different people differently. And with Adcopy, 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:
1794 – Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, increasing the ability to manufacture large amounts of the crop in a much shorter time frame.  Whitney’s invention transformed the agriculture industry as one of the first major technological advances in crop production.
 
Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  What game show are you watching when they say “No whammies!”   PRESS YOUR LUCK.  Kudos to: Kyle Connor-WTWC/Tallahassee; Marta Davies-CM Media/Ft. Lauderdale; Samantha Avnet/NY; Jennifer Hayoun-Saatchi & Saatchi Adv/NY; Mike Fraser-BSU Comm; Brooke Horton-KDSM; Laura Treacy-NCC/Chicago; Fletcher Whitwell-Starcom Worldwide/Chicago; Stu Weiss-Studio City Television Mktg/LA; Lionel Max Pasamonte-LATV/LA; Aaron Paquette-OTX: Online Testing Exchange/Hollywood; Vanessa Greenstein-The Larry Elder Show/LA; LaRae Marisk-October Strategies/LA; Amy Sutton-Corus Ent/Toronto; Tasha Lawrence-Global TV/Toronto; Michelle Sanders-KYES/Anchorage.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Today’s TV Trivia Question:  Two different series – setting for both is a wine vineyard.  What are they?  (click here 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
03.14.05  5:23am

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  MARCH 14, 2005:

ABC              EM: HD How’d They Do That?, Extreme Makeover, Supernanny [r]
CBS              Still Standing [r], Listen Up [r], Raymond [r], 2-1/2 Men [r], CSI: Miami [r]
FOX              Nanny 911, 24
NBC              Fear Factor [r], Las Vegas, Medium
PAX              AFV, AFV, Mary Higgins Clark Movie
UPN              One on One [r], Cuts, Girlfriends [r], Half & Half [r]
WB               7th Heaven [r], Summerland
TELE             Rumbo al Mundial: Mexico v. Colombia, Anita no te rajes, La Mujer en el Espejo, Gitanas
UNIV             El Gran Final de Rubi [F], Christina