SEASON AFTER SEASON
ER DELIVERS

Top 10 Program for the Week (out of 142)
with A18-34, A18-49 & A25-54

ER
Available exclusively from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable DistributionSource: NTI, Explorer, 11/7-11/13/05, US Rtg.

CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis

11/21/05

Good morning.  It’s Monday, November 21, 2005, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

Tivo is making it easier and easier to watch television no matter where you are.  The new deal is you record your favorite episode of Lassie or the Rangers game or whatever on your Tivo, then you’ll be able to transfer that recording to your Apple iPod video player, or your Sony Playstation Portable and off you go.  The newest TivoToGo feature will be announced today.  TivoToGo was originally announced about a year ago so you could move stuff from your Tivo to your PC or laptop, but even that was limited to the software being used.  The new TivoToGo will come with an additional piece of software to aid in the conversion from Tivo to computer or iPod or PSP.  At the moment there are only three regular series you can download via Apple to your iPod Video – Desperate Housewives, Lost and the now defunct Night Stalker, each episode downloadable for $1.99.  Certainly ABC saw their deal with Apple as a cutting edge move, but the newest TivoToGo plan could derail plans that may be in the works with other networks or studios and Apple’s iTunes Music Store. After all, if you can record it on your Tivo and then move it to your iPod or PSP easily, why pay an additional $1.99 fee?

The Lost Video Diaries, the 2-minute short form originals currently being produced in Hawaii not for air on television, but air on your cellular phone.Last week Hollywood Reporter broke the story that the short episodes were being produced, and today we learn from ABC the deal has been done with Verizon. The deal includes 22 original episodes, each just 2 minutes long, will be produced by Buena Vista Entertainment and will be available exclusively from Verizon Wireless V Cast broadband service come January.

Season Finale:
WE: Kiss and Tell at 10p

* MORE GOOD STUFF *The music network fuse has extended its distribution agreement with Comcast that will increase the network’s reach in markets including Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Denver, Hartford, Miami, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Richmond, San Francisco and Seattle.  Under the agreement, Comcast also plans to launch fuse On Demand in markets where it’s not currently offered.

In other fuse news, the network has signed a deal with MobiTV, Inc., the mobile TV and digital radio service provider, which will see fuseMobile be initially offered by a national wireless carrier.  fuseMobile is offers fuse’s mobile programming content.  The US based fuse network recently announced its partnership with Marketgraph, Europe’s mobile-based interactive TV, allowing fuse viewers to text message with the channel via Marketgraph’s proprietary two-way interactive program.

Weekend Box Office Estimates: November 18-20, 2005
Harry Potter/Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros.) $101.4 million – opening weekend
Walk the Line (Fox)                       $22.4 million – opening weekend
Chicken Little (Buena Vista)             $14.8 million – 3 wk total $99.1m
Derailed (Weinstein)                      $6.5 million – 2 wk total $21.8m
Zathura (Sony)                             $5.1 million – 2 wk total $20.2m
Jarhead (Universal)                       $4.8 million – 3 wk total $54.3m
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (Paramount)      $4.4 million – 2 wk total $24.5m
Saw II (Lions Gate)                       $3.9 million – 4 wk total $79.8m
Legend of Zorro (Sony)                    $2.3 million – 4 wk total $42.8m
Pride & Prejudice (Focus)                $2.1 million – 2 wk total $5.9m
Source: Box Office Mojo

* NEW ORDERS / CASTING / DEVELOPMENT / PRODUCTION *ABC has ordered up a new project from writer/director Rod Lurie (creator of Commander-in-Chief) called Triumph, produced by Touchstone Television.  Triumph is about a teenager, 18, who is elected as the mayor of a small town, says Variety.  If you’re wondering, Lurie’s project has been around longer than the recently elected mayor of Linesville, Pennsylvania who is an 18 year old high school student.  

NBC has ordered up a script with penalty from Katalyst Prods and 20th called For Pete’s Sake, about five characters who all know each other, die for whatever reason, get in front of St. Peter who sends them back to learn the lessons they failed to learn the last time around, says Variety.  Each time all of the characters end up back together, with no memory of having known each other before, and each time they die again and go thru the same St. Peter revolving door, sent back to earth to try again.  Eric Gililland will write and exec produce along with Ashton Kutchner, Jason Goldberg and Karey Burke.

Greg Walker has signed a deal with Paramount Network TV that will move the writer/producer up to executive producer of Without A Trace, and will also serve as showrunner on the series for the next two years. Walker’s deal is for three years, and during the third year he will re-direct his attention to developing new projects for the studio.

CBS has ordered seven episodes of Game Show Marathon from FremantleMedia North America and Granada America.  Game Show Marathon is based on the UK hit show Ant & Dec’s Gameshow Marathon from Granada, and features celebrity contestants who are all competing in a series of classic game shows – one new game each week.  Per Variety, Granada America teams up here with FremantleMedia who has the library of classic game shows from Mark Goodson/Bill Todman including What’s My Line? and Match Game.  The idea is to eliminate one celebrity contestant each week, until there is ulimately just one game show champion. No host has been named yet.

NBC is looking at a comedy project called 50/50 from Broken Road Prods and Roundtable Ink with NBC Universal Television.  The project is about four recently divorced guys, all dealing with the divorce itself, the split of all the marital goods, joint custody of the kids, and post-divorce life including dating again.

A new project for ABC called Caroline’s about Caroline Hirsch who is the founder of Caroline’s Comedy Club in NYC.  The project is from Sony Pictures Television and Apostle’s Denis Leary and Jim Serpico.

Fox Reality Channel has ordered its first original series called Solitary where the players undergo a variety of personal punishments including solitary confinement and sleep deprivation, says Hollywood Reporter. The show is set to premiere in 1st qtr 2006.

* EXECUTIVE MOVES *Scholastic has appointed Peter M. Watts to SVP/Human Resources and Employee Services, effective December 5, 2005. Peter will be responsible for guiding Scholastic’s policies and programs that impact more than 10,000 employees in 16 countries. He will be a member of the company’s Management Executive Committee and will report to Chairman, President and CEO Richard Robinson.

Randi Kester joins Sundance Channel as Senior Director/Human Resources. She will report to  Rob Sussman, EVP and CFO/ Sundance Channel and will be based in New York.

Kathy Samuels has been named SVP/Programming for Paramount Domestic Television. She reports to Terry Wood, President/Creative Affairs and Development for King World and Paramount Domestic Television.. In this newly created position, Kathy will work closely with Terry Wood in overseeing the development and production of new programming.

* RATINGS*Nov Sweep: Day #15 – Thursday — A18-49 Analysis: As usual, Thursday night belongs decidedly to CBS who raked up a 7.7/20 A18-49 rating, according to final numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  NBC was #2 with a 5.1/13, and the other four were in the distant single digit share range.  At 8p CBS averaged a 6.4/17 for Survivor, NBC pulled a 10 share for the hour with back-to-back comedies. At 9p CSI dominated  with a 9.9/24, NBC halved that share average with a 12 for Apprentice. At 10p ER and Without a Trace tied, each posting an 18 share.

FINAL HOUSEHOLD RATINGS: Thursday, November 17, 2005, for all Networks – program averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     14.4/22  Survivor: Guatemala 11.2/17, CSI 17.8/27, Without a Trace 14.0/23

NBC     7.7/12   Joey 5.5/9, Will & Grace 6.1/9, The Apprentice 7.2/11,  ER  10.2/17

ABC     4.5/7    Alias 4.4/7, Primetime 3.9/6, Primetime 5.2/8

FOX     3.4/5    The OC 4.1/6, Reunion 2.6/4

WB      3.1/5    Smallville 3.5/5, Everwood  2.7/4

UPN     2.5/4    Everybody Hates Chris 3.6/6, Love Inc. 2.4/4, Eve 2.1/3, Cuts  1.9/3

A18-49            CBS 7.7/20, NBC 5.1/13, Fox 2.3/6, ABC 2.2/6, WB 2.0/5, UPN 1.5/4

Nov Sweep: Day #16 – Friday — A18-49 Analysis: CBS led the pack on Friday night, according to fast affiliate ratings from Nielsen, posting an overall 3.4/11 A18-49, just three share points ahead of ABC’s 2.5/8.  NBC was #3 with a 2.0/6, followed by UPN 1.7/5, Fox 1.4/4, WB 1.3/4. Among M18-49 UPN ranked #2 with a 2.3/8, tho tied in share with CBS’ 8-10p average of 3.3/8. In the adult 18-49 demo, CBS led every hour of primetime, while ABC was #2 all night long. Beginning at 8p Ghost Whisperer was in front with a 3.4/11. At 9p Close to Home’s  3.2/10 was a share point improvement over last week and will likely cinch CBS’ decision to keep it in the time period.  At 10p Numb3rs won the hour with a 3.5/11.

Fast Affiliate Ratings: Friday, November 18, 2005, for all Networks – time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     7.9/14   Ghost Whisperer 7.8/14, Close to Home 7.8/13, Numb3rs 8.1/14

NBC     5.0/9    Dateline NBC 4.6/8,  L & O: Criminal Intent 5.9/10

ABC     4.9/9    Supernanny 4.5/8, Hope & Faith 4.9/8, Hot Properties 4.0/7, 20/20 5.9/10

UPN     3.1/5    Friday Night Smackdown 3.1/5

FOX     2.4/4    The Bernie Mac Show 2.6/5, Malcolm in the Middle 2.2/4, Killer Instinct 2.4/4

WB      2.2/4    What I Like About You 1.9/3, What I Like About You [r] 2.1/4, Reba 2.6/4, Twins 2.1/3

A18-49            CBS 3.4/11, ABC 2.5/8, NBC 2.0/6, UPN 1.7/5, Fox 1.4/4, WB 1.3/4

Nov Sweep: Day #17 – Saturday — A18-49 Analysis:  On the same weekend the newest Harry Potter film came out in theatres, ABC won Saturday night with the second HP film, earning an overall 2.7/8 A18-49, according to fast numbers from Nielsen.  Fox was hard on its heels with a 2.5/8, followed by CBS and NBC tied at a 2.0/6.  At 8p Fox led the hour with a 2.5/8 with back to back Cops, closely followed by the first hour of Harry Potter earning a 2.2/7.  At 9p ABC’s HP continued with a 2.8/8, and Fox tied in share with America’s Most Wanted.  At 10p HP on ABC was on top with a 3.1/9.

Fast Affiliate Ratings: Saturday, November 19, 2005, for all Networks – time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     5.2/9    Without a Trace [r] 4.6/8, CSI: Miami [r] 5.6/10, 48 Hours Mystery 5.3/9

NBC     5.0/9    L & O: CI [2hrs]  4.5/8, L & O: SVU [r] 6.0/11

ABC     4.7/8    Movie: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets 4.7/8

FOX     4.0/7    Cops 3.8/7, Cops [r] 4.1/7, America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back 4.0/7

A18-49            ABC 2.7/8, Fox 2.5/8, CBS and NBC 2.0/6

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION DISTRIBUTION

MARTHA is Cooking in Atlanta
WXIA/N – 10:00-11:00am
2.9 HH Rating November-To-Date

• Up +45% vs. October ’05
• Up +45% vs. Year Ago Time Period
• Up +16% vs. Today Show 2 Lead-in

 Source: NSI WRAP Overnights, 11/3/05-11/16/05 vs. Oct ’05 and Nov ’04, Live HH rating, 1/4 hour lead-in.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1964-The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the world’s longest suspension bridge at the time, opened in New York City.  The bridge connects the New York boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island.  Named after Giovanni de Verrazano, who became the first European explorer to sail New York harbor when he cruised its waters in 1524, its towers are a stunning 693 feet high.

Answer to Friday’s Trivia Question:   The Ford Pinto, Cobra and Mustang were seen in many scenes in what 1970s series?   CHARLIE’S ANGELS
Kudos to:  Kim Field-Lifetime TV/NY; Jay Vincini-Pro Media Inc/Natick MA; Roger Bullock-Initiative Media/Atlanta; Jeff Smith-Eagle TV Sales/Detroit; Otto Bischoff-Mind Share/Dallas; Dan Whitford-RPA/Chicago; Brett Calvert-KSAT/San Antonio; Mitt Dawson-TX Digital Video/Houston; Janice Ogata-Newsflashpictures/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-Granada America/LA; Poppy Davis-Actor/LA; Jeff Suss-KCBS/LA; Sam Zoda-Granada America/LA; Michele Anderson-Freelance Writer/LA
 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Not into football?
Can’t tell a baster from a ladle?
Can’t watch “Miracle on 34 th Street” another time?
Thank goodness Court TV® feels your pain and offers up a Thanksgiving Day Marathon featuring movies and your favorite episodes of The Investigators ^SM and
Forensic Files ^®
Advertisers who want to learn more about our other marathons should check out www.courttvmediakit.com

Today’s Trivia Question, courtesy of John P. Turner, IV–OM/Stratford:  Here’s the movie description:  1999 film, company called Inotech, a guy whose life is in total turmoil, and a really frustrating copy machine. Oh, and a bright red stapler.  What film is it?  (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.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM BRAVO

 DELIVERING THE AUDIENCE DESIGNED FOR YOU.#1 BRAND RECALL Product Placements on Cable
#1 BRAND OPINION IMPROVEMENT Product Placements on Broadcast & Cable
#1 PROGRAM – VIEWER ATTENTIVENESS
#1 MOST AFFLUENT & EDUCATEDBRAVO. Watch What Happens.

Source: IAG; In Program Placement: 1/1/05-9/30/05; Show Attentiveness: 9/20/04-7/29/05. Nielsen MarketBreaks. 5/30-8/28/05 M-S 8-11p. A18-49 VPVH.

Later — Cyn
11.21.05 – 5:26a
Cynopsis Ad Sales – Barbara Shapiro – 203-583-1224 /

Classified Ad Sales – Trish Pihonak – 203.381-9096 /

If you’d rather listen than read, you can sign up for the Cynopsis: In Your Ear podcast available for download each morning by 630a at www.cynopsis.com or via iTunes 4.9 listed in the podcast directory under “News”  as well as under Yahoo Podcast http://podcasts.yahoo.com/.

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Copyright Cynthia Turner 2005

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JOB OPENING: AD SALES ASSISTANT-TV One, LLC, Chicago Office. We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced individual. Visit our web site for a detailed job description and application details. www.tvoneonline.com (11/24)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  Monday, November 21, 2005

ABC              Wife Swap,  ABC MNF: Minnesota Vikings v. Green Bay Packers
CBS              King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, 2-1/2 Men, Out of Practice, CSI: Miami 
FOX              Prison Break [r], Prison Break
NBC              Surface, Las Vegas, Medium
i                      Sue Thomas F. B. Eye, Doc
UPN              One on One, All of Us, Girlfriends, Half & Half
WB               7th Heaven, Related
TELE             El Cuerpo del Deseo, Los Plateados, Decisiones
UNIV             Contra Viento y Marea, La Esposa Virgen, Cristina