Good morning. It’s Monday, May 17, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.
NBC will announce its fall schedule this afternoon at their upfront presentation. Anticipated in that announcement are the following new series: Medical Investigation / Paramount, NBC, Landscape – a man unravels medical mysteries (fka Medical Mysteries) confirmed pickup Father of the Pride / DreamWorks – CGI Animation about the Siegfreid & Roy white lion family; confirmed pickup Hawaii / NBC Studios – drama about a team of detectives at the local Hawaiian police dept (fka Pearl City) Crazy for You / NBC Studios – comedy about a pair of mis-matched people Hub / Mark Gordon, NBC Studios – ensemble drama set in a major international airport Joey / Warner Bros. – Joey picks up where Friends left off, moving to LA Law & Order: Trial By Jury / Universal – from the jury’s perspective (midseason) Medium / Paramount, Grammnet, Picturemaker – Psychic balances her work with her family; confirmed pickup Men’s Room / NBC Studios – Men in their 20’s, 30’s and 40’s
Anticipated NBC Fall Schedule (this will be confirmed here tomorrow): Monday: – one new drama hour at 10p , but could be changed to 9p 8pm Fear Factor 9pm new drama, Hawaii 10pm – Las Vegas Tuesday: comedy night with the largest number of new series 8p Father of the Pride (animated series) 830p new comedy, Crazy for You 9p Scrubs 930p new comedy, Men’s Room 10p Law & Order SVU Wednesday: one new hour kicks off the night; 9p and 10p same as last year 8p New drama – Hub 9p West Wing 10p Law & Order Thursday: No surprises expected here – 8p Joey 830p Will & Grace 9p The Apprentice 10p ER Friday: one new hour at 8pm 8p New drama, Medical Mystery 9p Dateline 10p Third Watch Saturday: same as this season – repeats, movies Sunday: also same as this season: 7p Dateline 8p American Dreams 9p Law & Order CSI 10p Crossing Jordan
One final NBC note — NBC’s Crime & Punishment returns this summer, June 12 at 10pm.
The WB Upfront presentation is scheduled for tomorrow morning and all sorts of goings on are expected. For instance, Jack & Bobby and The Mountain, which you already knew about, are on the fall schedule, and also expect to see Commando Nanny (Mark Burnett Prods) as a go for next fall, as well as two other comedy shows — Blue Collar TV with Jeff Foxworthy, and improv comedy The Green Screen. Look for Steve Harvey’s Big Time to be expanded from 30m to an hour, and the addition of a new reality show called Studio 7. Also expect a return appearance from High School Reunion, but don’t not from The Help, JKE, All About the Andersons, Like Family and Run of the House to show up back on the schedule.
Eleventh hour negotiations end with a renewal for CBS and Everybody Loves Raymond, bring the show back for one more season. In its upcoming ninth season, rather than the usual complement of 22 eps, the show will only have 16 originals.
It would seem the more ‘culture’ a network airs, the less likely it is to make it long term. Take for instance the long ago net, CBS Cable – very cultural, won several Ace Awards in its time (early 1980’s), but just didn’t have the advertisers and the power viewers to sustain. That may be a simplistic view and certainly many factors led to its ultimate shuttering, but nonetheless it did disappear after just a couple of years. Next network potentially on the chopping block according to Broadcasting & Cable is NBC Universal’s newest network, Trio. The network that airs long ago cancelled, but beloved, shows; the network that airs music and plays, is in danger of disappearing, so says B&C and Randy Falco, President NBC Universal Networks President. It again comes down to viewers and advertisers, and the ultimate question if it makes financial sense. A decision is expected sooner than later – Trio’s deal with DirecTV expires at year’s end.
The Restaurant will be moved off the NBC primetime schedule for the remainder of the May Sweep, according to Daily Variety, slotting in repeats of L&O SVU and/or Crossing Jordan in the 10p Monday time period. The show will return to air all unseen eps post-Sweep, as well as be repeated on Bravo.
Tonight: Series Finale:Las Vegas at 9 pm on NBC Season Finale: 7th Heaven, part 2 of 2, at 8 pm on WB Series Premiere: The WB’s Superstar USA at 9 pm on WB
Paramount‘s new syndicated series for this fall, The Insider, which kicks off on September 13, has been cleared in all 100 of the top 100 markets.
Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios has announced a firm go for its syndicated series, The Writer’s Hot List. The 30m series, sold on a straight barter basis, interviews authors of the world’s best selling books. Featured authors in the first 22 eps include Jay Leno (author of If Roast Beef Could Fly), John Dean (Worse than Watergate: the Secret Presidency of George W. Bush), Tom Hayden (Street Wars: Gangs and the Future of Violence); Arianna Huffington (Fanatics and Fools: The Game Plan for Winning Back America), Larry King (Remember Me When I’m Gone…), Leonard Maltin (The 2005 Movie & Video Guide) and Alice Walter (Now is the Time to Open Your Heart).
Premiering tonight on Discovery Health Channel is Daily Rounds, a series of five minute news segments that introduce viewers to top studies, breaking headlines and trends in the world of health and medicine, with host Mary Alice Williams. The first one is scheduled to air at 7:55pm ET.
Weekend Box Office Estimates: May 14-16, 2004 Troy (Warner Bros.) $45.6 million – opening weekend Van Helsing (Universal) $20.3 million – 2 wk total $84.5m Mean Girls (Paramount) $10.1 million – 3 wk total $55.3m Breaking All the Rules (SGem) $5.3 million – opening weekend Man on Fire (Fox) $5.2 million – 4 wk total $64.3m 13 Going on 30 (Sony) $4.2 million – 4 wk total $48.6m New York Minute (Warner Bros.) $3.8 million – 2 wk total $10.7m Laws of Attraction (New Line) $2.1 million – 3 wk total $15.3m Kill Bill Vol. 2 (Miramax) $1.6 million – 5 wk total $60.8m Envy (DreamWorks) $1.0 million – 3 wk total $11.9m Source: Box Office Mojo
Now here’s an interesting take on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy…The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are starting a new vegetarian campaign entitled…Are you ready? … Veg Eye for the Fat Guy. It is geared towards generously proportioned celebrities such as Ruben Studdard, John Madden, Luciano Pavarotti and John Goodman. Each will be given a vegetarian starter kit and a PETA cookbook.
The Musicians Channel, to be known as M-Channel, a digital channel is set to launch on Sky TVs platform, Wednesday May 26, 2004. It’s mission is to promote participation in music through access and education, and ultimately creating opportunities; the channel is targeted to everyone who likes music both inexperienced and experienced musicians alike. The M-Channel content is broken down into several areas: -Phase #1: Program content will feature instruction and advice on guitar, bass, vocals, drums and percussion, keyboards and harmonica. These shows will feature a an array of top musicians, along with many well-known artists. -Phase #2: Features orchestral and classical music. -Phase #3: World Music Also on the M-Channel’s program development slate include ideas for M-Channel Urban, giving instruction & tips on DJ and MC techniques, as well as street dance workshops. Live band from all over the UK will be showcased, specifically unsigned bands and musicians in musical genres. M-Channel was co-founded by its CEO Jonathan MacDonald and Chairman, Andrew Bishop.
NBC was the big winner on Thursday night thanks to the finale of Frasier, grabbing an overall 9.0/24 for the night among A18-49 according to Nielsen Media Research. CBS was second with a 7.1/19, followed by ABC 2.8/7, Fox 2.2/6, UPN 1.5/4, WB 0.9/2. At 8pm CBS prevailed with the final final of Survivor (yeah Rupert) delivering a 7.2/21 and besting the Frasier retrospective (5.9/17). At 9p it was all about Frasier with a 9.9/25 for the finale hour, though CBS’ CSI gave NBC a run for its money with a 8.2/20. At 10p NBC’s ER takes the lion’s share with a 11.2/28, well ahead of Without a Trace on CBS 5.8/14, and ABC’s final hour of the NBA Playoffs game between the Laker and the Spurs (3.3/8).
NBC won the night on Friday night by a share point thanks largely to a strong finish from 10-11p by Dateline. Overall, NBC delivered a 2.6/9 A18-49 rating for the evening, ABC a 2.4/8, CBS 2.0/7, Fox 1.9/7, WB 1.3/5, UPN 0.9/3, according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC had the 8pm hour by a tenth of a rating point over CBS 2.1/8 vs. 2.0/8, while NBC and Fox tied at 1.8/7. On the WB, Reba’s finale episode delivered a 1.3/5. AT 9pm ABC took over with the two part finale of Hope & Faith earning a 2.9/10 for the hour, in front of NBC 2.5/9. CBS and Fox tied at 1.8/6. At 10p, the final hour of Dateline earned bragging rights for the hour with a 3.3/11, outpacing CBS’ Cold Case [r] 2.4/8 and 20/20 on ABC 2.1/7.
As is the norm, Fox won Saturday night with an overall 2.5/9 A18-49 according to Nielsen Media Research. ABC followed with a 2.1/7, as did NBC 2.0/7 and CBS 1.5/5. At 8pm Fox’s double billing of Cops earned a 2.3/9, three share points ahead of both ABC and NBC which tied at 1.6/6. At 9p America’s Most Wanted posted a 2.7/9, beating ABC for the hour by just a share point (2.3/8) and NBC by two points (2.0/7). At 10p ABC and NBC tied each delivering a 2.4/8 for the hour, ahead of CBS’ 1.9/6 for the final hour of its movie Swordfish.
MGM Studios has named Steven T. Shikiya as SVP/Mktg and Distribution, overseeing all finance, planning and operational support of the domestic theatrical marketing and distribution groups for MGM Studios and United Artists. He reports to Dan Taylor, CFO, as well as Erik Lomis, President/Distribution; and Peter Adee, President/Mktg.
Tribune owned KWGN/Denver has named Robert Venusti its new Director of Creative Services. Rob makes the move to Denver from Tribune’s Miami station, WBZL where he’d been for the past six years.
More info on the NBC / Universal front, this time focusing on NBC Enterprises, now called NBC Universal Television Distribution:
Frederick Huntsberry was named EVP for both domestic and international distribution and CFO for NBC Universal Television Group.
Barry Wallach, as you know, is now President, NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution and Belinda Menendez as President, NBC Universal International Television Distribution.
Dan Weiss, who was previously EVP/ Marketing for Universal Television Distribution, will oversee worldwide marketing for NBC Universal Television Distribution.
Jerry Petry, who was formerly EVP/NBC Enterprises, will oversee all worldwide business operations and sales strategy for NBC Universal Television Distribution.
Bill Vrbanic, who was formerly SVP/Global Television Distribution for Universal Television Distribution, will now oversee all worldwide distribution services for NBC Universal Television Distribution.
Jeff Dellin, who was formerly SVP/Research, Universal Television Distribution, will oversee all worldwide research for NBC Universal Television Distribution.
Andy Warren, who was formerly VP/Chief Financial Officer for CNBC, will now oversee all worldwide finance for NBC Universal Television Distribution
Andrea Melville, who was formerly EVP/Universal Television Distribution, will now oversee all worldwide distribution business affairs activities for NBC Universal Television Distribution.
Joe Schlosser, who was formerly VP/Communications, NBC Enterprises, will now oversee all worldwide communications for NBC Universal Television Distribution.
Pappas Telecasting Companies, a US privately held, commercial TV broadcast group, named Ted Stephens as VP/Director of Business Development. He will oversee sales development and training for the company’s station TV group. Ted will report to Howard H. Shrier, SEVP and COO of Pappas Telecasting Companies TV Station Group.
If you are continuing to receive multiple copies, this problem should be cleared up by Monday. Your patience is appreciated.
Thursday, May 13, 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 14.6/23 Frasier: Analyzing the Laughter 11.7/19, Frasier [series finale] 16.5/25, ER 15.8/25
CBS 12.5/20 : America’s Tribal Council 11.5/19, CSI 14.2/22, Without a Trace 11.7/19
ABC 4.8/8 2004 NBA Playoffs: L.A. Lakers vs. San Antonio Spurs 4.8/8
FOX 3.4/5 Special: Cops: Caught Red Handed – The 15 Greatest Takedowns 3.4/5
UPN 3.0/5 WWE Smackdown 3.0/5
WB 1.6/3 Movie: Crazy/Beautiful 1.6/3
A18-49 NBC 9.0/24, CBS 7.1/19, ABC 2.8/7, Fox 2.2/6, UPN 1.5/4, WB 0.9/2
Friday, May 14, 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 6.2/12 Joan of Arcadia 5.5/11, JAG 6.1/11, Cold Case [r] 6.9/13
NBC 5.3/10 Frasier [season finale – R] 4.0/8, Dateline 6.0/11
ABC 5.0/9 George Lopez 4.5/9, George Lopez [r] 4.5/9, Hope & Faith [Two Part Season Finale] 5.2/10, Hope & Faith [Two Part Season Finale] 5.4/10, 20/20 5.2/9
A18-49 NBC 2.6/9, ABC 2.4/8, CBS 2.0/7, Fox 1.9/7, WB 1.3/5, UPN 0.9/3
Saturday, May 15, 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
FOX 4.2/8 Cops 3.3/7, Cops 4.0/8, America’s Most Wanted 4.7/9
CBS 3.7/7 48 Hours 3.9/8, Movie: Swordfish 3.5/6
ABC 4.2/8 ABC Special Presentation: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 4.2/8
A18-49 Fox 2.5/9, ABC 2.1/7, NBC 2.0/7, CBS 1.5/5
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The History Channel presents This Day in History: 1978 – Charlie Chaplin’s body is recovered after it was stolen from his grave two weeks earlier in Corsier, Switzerland. It is later reburied in a theft-proof concrete tomb.
Answer to yesterday’s Trivia Question: In TV-ese, this term refers to the unceremonious deleting of regular or recurring program characters, without explanation or future mention. What is the term? Bobbed. This term was created as a result of a character on ER named Bogdanalivetsky Romansky (played by Malgoscha Gebel), nicknamed Bob, who disappeared from the cast minus explanation. With that said, many of the other suggested answers forwarded in, including 86’d, on hiatus, cancelled, Chucked (per Chuck Cunningham character) and Tiger (per a disappearing dog character), are all equally correct in my mind – so Kudos to all of you.
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: Can you name any of the staff at Blair General Hospital? (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.)
Later — Cyn
Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis 05/17/04 5:23am Subscriptions to Cynopsis: email
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: MONDAY, MAY 17, 2004
COURT TV:The Investigation Channel
SPOT CHECK: Highest rated A18-49 April in Court TV history + YOUR SPOT = Great ROInvestigation
SPOT QUIZ: Who from McCann has a twin brother that works at Mindshare? Click this spot to enter to win a Digital Camera Click here for source
COURT TV: The I-Zone, Forensic Files, The Investigators ABC Motown 45, Super Millionaire CBS Yes Dear, Still Standing, Raymond, Two and a Half Men, CSI: Miami FOX Special: American Idol: The Final Three 2004, The Swan NBC Fear Factor, Las Vegas[series finale], The Restaurant PAX On the Cover, AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder UPN Eve, Half & Half, Girlfriends, Half & Half WB 7th Heaven [Season Finale, Part 2 of 2], The WB’s Superstar USA [Series Premiere] TELE Prisonera,El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas UNIV Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Cristina
Sunday April 26, 2026 UPFRONTS Position Early. Win the Upfront. The most valuable Upfront conversations happen before presentations begin. The Cynopsis Upfront Package ensures your brand is seen, trusted, and remembered across the full cycle. Lead the conversation from the start. Discover the 2026 Upfront Package. REACH OUT TODAY FEATURED JOB […]
Thursday April 23, 2026 IN THE NEWS Consumers bounce hourly as “couch commerce” reshapes the path to purchase, says MiQ’s From Funnel to Flexibility report, which focuses on the ways people watch, browse, and buy. “Couches have become the new storefronts as consumers move from screen to screen, almost in the […]
A Cynopsis Message From ITN Wednesday April 22, 2026 IN THE NEWS Peacock’s ad-free Premium Plus tier is coming to Roku Premium Subscriptions through a new deal between NBCUniversal and Roku. The top-tier plan remains ad-free except for live sports and includes offline downloads and access to geo-targeted local TV stations. It’s […]
A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM PREMION Tuesday April 21, 2026 IN THE NEWS Midterm spending for the 2026 cycle is on track to top $10 billion – just 8% shy of the 2024 presidential cycle ($11.2 billion) and 16% higher than the 2022 midterms ($8.9 billion), according to Kinetiq’s The […]
