VERONICA MARS:
NANCY DREW FOR A NEW GENERATION

UP YEAR-TO-YEAR
+28% W18-34, +20% W18-49, +17% HH, +18% P2+

VERONICA MARS
Available exclusively from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution
WBDCD.com: Get with the programming  online.Source: NTI Explorer, US Rtg & P2+ 000,  Season Premiere To Date (9/19-10/30/05 vs. 9/20-10/31/04).

CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis

11/07/05

Good morning.  It’s Monday, November 7, 2005, and this is your first early morning briefing.  Welcome to the November Sweeps!

UPN has given a full season order to its Thursday night comedy series Love, Inc., airing at 830p immediately after Everybody Hates Chris.  Season to date, Love Inc. has averaged 3.6 million viewers, holding on average approx 60% of its lead-in audience.

And a quick programming note:  CBS’s Close to Home and Threshold will switch time periods, temporarily … or not, depending on how they do. That puts Close to Home on Fridays at 9p where it will benefit from the Ghost Whisperer lead-in, this Friday and next; and Threshold moves to Tuesdays at 10p, opposite L&O: SVU and Boston Legal, and following Amazing Race on November 22 and 29th. (Note: tomorrow Amazing Race will air a 2-hour episode, and on Nov 15 CBS has scheduled the Country Music Awards.)

* MORE GOOD STUFF *MSNBC is launching a new Saturday morning series after the first of the year with co-anchors Connie Chung and Maury Povich. The show is not yet titled, but will focus on the events of the previous week and how it was covered by the media.  The show is set to launch on January 7 at 10am, repeating on Sunday morning.

Oxygen is the latest to sign up with Verizon FiOS TV, which originally launched last month in Texas.  Oxygen was included in the expanded-basic tier at launch, and will also be part of the network as it launches in new markets.

The Pentagon is getting into the podcast business, providing military news for those in uniform.  The podcasts launch today. No word yet if this means mp3 players will be standard issue for American soldiers.

Also getting into the podcast business is Burger King with a video podcast – and yes, The Subservient Chicken is involved. Burger King is sponsoring a series of video shorts created by users – the first was available last Thursday and features a guy in a Halloween King costume going thru the McDonald’s drive thru and asking for a Whopper. The spots are available at Heavy.com, a broadband video download site.  For its part, Heavy.com has provided some of its users with the King mask, as well as a mask of the Subservient Chicken, to create future shorts.

Weekend Box Office Estimates: November 4-6, 2005
Chicken Little (Buena Vista)             $40.1 million – opening weekend
Jarhead (Universal)                       $28.7 million – opening weekend
Saw II (Lions Gate)                       $17.2 million – 2 wk total $60.5m
Legend of Zorro (Sony)                    $10.0 million – 2 wk total $20.3m
Prime (Universal)                         $5.3 million – 2 wk total $13.5m
Dreamer (DreamWorks)             $4.8 million – 3 wk total $23.8m
Good Night, and Good Luck. (Warner Indy) $3.1 million – 5 wk total $11.0m
The Weather Man (Paramount)              $2.9 million – 2 wk total $8.7m
Shopgirl (Buena Vista)                    $2.5 million – 3 wk total $3.5m
Flightplan (Buena Vista)                          $2.3 million – 7 wk total $84.4m
Source: Box Office Mojo

* NEW ORDERS / CASTING / DEVELOPMENT / PRODUCTION *WB has ordered a script for a new primetime soap called The Body Politic from Touchstone Television, and is set in the nation’s capital, according to Variety. The project is written by Bill Robinson and Jason Rothenberg, produced ands directed by Peter Horton.  Unlike other dramas set in Washington, in and around the political scene, this show will concentrate on a young woman arriving in Washington for the first time and her impressions of the less that politically correct side of town.

Comedian David Alan Grier as a talk show host?  Apparently, it’s a Twentieth Television possibility, according to Broadcasting & Cable.  There is no official announcement, tho B&C says they hear there is a firm commitment.

ABC is developing a new project called The Ex-Wives Club (Glassman Media), a sort of emotional support and makeover series for the newly divorced.  The unscripted project features ex-wives Marla Maples, Angie Everhart and Shar Jackson who swoop in to help divorced men and women deal with their lives. To date, a pilot has been shot and the network is now calling for the casting of five episodes.  If you’re meet the criteria for this show and are interested in their casting calls, check out this link: http://abc.go.com/site/casting.html – the next casting is in Orlando.

Add two more names to NBC‘s midseason drama series Conviction – Anson Mount and Julianne Nicholson. The Dick Wolf series focuses on the Assistant District Attorneys in the DA’s office in NYC.  These two cast additions will each play ADAs.

* EXECUTIVE MOVES *BET News is bringing in three new people into its programming.  Toure, previously a pop culture correspondent with CNN, will be a Host/Writer/Consulting Producer for BET News.  Selwyn Hinds was named as Interim Executive Producer for the daily BET News Briefs, some BET News Specials and BET’s new Sunday news magazine set to launch soon. He was formerly The Source‘s Editor-in-Chief.  Writer/filmmaker Nelson George was named as Consulting Producer on all BET News and Public Affairs programs.

Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) named Rob Feldman as Executive Director/Production.  He will be responsible for production development for local language adaptations of scripted formats, new format creations and picking out scripted format buys in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the rest of the CIS.  Rob was recently an SPTI consultant on European and Latin American productions.  He will report to Antony Root, SVP/European production.

Former President of Metromedia Albert P. Krivin passed away on October 20th at his home in Encino at the age of 97.   Considered a pioneer in the television industry, Krivin began at Metromedia as an ad executive.  Later he was named GM of KMBC/Kansas City, and then as VP/GM of KTTV/LA. Eventually, Krivin was named President of Metromedia TV Division, and then as President of the Metromedia TV group which by then included eight major market local TV stations, Metro TV Sales as well as a production company. For all the hundreds, or perhaps thousands, who at one time or another worked for Metromedia, Albert Krivin will be deeply missed.

 * RATINGS *Nov Sweep: Day #1 – Thursday — A18-49 Analysis:  CBS won the first night of the November sweep by a significant margin, earning a 7.5/19 A18-49, according to final numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  NBC was #2 with a 4.8/12, followed by ABC 2.9/8, Fox 2.3/6, WB 1.8/5, UPN 1.3/3.  Survivor was the clear winner at 8p with a 6.6/17, 9 share points ahead of its closest competitors – NBC’s Joey/Will & Grace and The O.C. on Fox.  At 9p CBS doubled its closest competitor with a 9.9/24 over NBC’s The Apprentice’ 5.0/12.  The 10p race for viewers ended with Without a Trace on CBS out-pacing NBC’s ER, 6.4/17 over 6.2/16.

FINAL HOUSEHOLD RATINGS: Thursday, November 3, 2005, for all Networks – program averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     14.0/22  Survivor: Guatemala 10.9/17, CSI 17.9/27, Without a Trace 13.3/22

NBC     7.5/12   Joey 5.2/8, Will & Grace 5.6/8, The Apprentice 7.3/11,  ER  9.8/16

ABC     5.5/9    Movie:  Pirates of the Caribbean 5.5/9

FOX     3.3/5    The OC 4.2/6, Reunion 2.4/4

WB      2.9/4    Smallville 3.3/5, Everwood  2.5/4

UPN     2.2/3    Everybody Hates Chris 3.3/5, Love Inc. 1.9/3, Eve 1.8/3, Cuts  1.7/2

A18-49            CBS 7.6/19, NBC 4.8/12, ABC 2.9/8, Fox 2.3/6, WB 1.8/5, UPN 1.3/3

Nov Sweep: Day #2 – Friday — A18-49 Analysis:  According to fast affiliate ratings from Nielsen for Friday night, CBS led with a 3.1/10 A18-49 over ABC and NBC tied at a 2.3/7, Fox 1.6/5, WB and UPN tied at a 1.2/4.  At 8p CBS’ Ghost Whisperer delivered the goods with a 3.5/11, over #2 Dateline on NBC with a 2.3/8. At 9p while the “hammock” theory isn’t working as well as perhaps CBS would like, Threshold still was in front with a 2.5/8, just a single share point ahead of both ABC and NBC, each posting a 7 share.  At 10p Numb3rs added up to a 3.2/10, another check in the win column for CBS, also just a single share point ahead of ABC’s 20/20.

Fast Affiliate Ratings: Friday, November 4, 2005, for all Networks – time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     6.8/12  Ghost Whisperer 8.1/14, Threshold 5.2/9, Numb3rs  7.2/13

NBC     5.7/10   Dateline NBC 5.8/10, Three Wishes 5.6/10, L & O: Criminal Intent 5.7/10

ABC     4.8/8    Supernanny 4.1/7, Hope & Faith 4.6/8, Hot Properties 4.0/7, 20/20  6.1/11

FOX     2.7/5    The Bernie Mac Show 2.5/5, Malcolm in the Middle 2.3/4, Killer Instinct 3.0/5

UPN     2.5/4    Friday Night Smackdown  2.5/4

WB      1.9/3    What I Like About You 1.7/3, What I Like About You [r] 1.5/3, Reba 2.4/4, Twins  2.0/3

A18-49            CBS 3.1/10, ABC and NBC 2.3/7, Fox 1.6/5, WB and UPN 1.2/4

Nov Sweep: Day #3 – Saturday — A18-49 Analysis:  ABC was in front on Saturday night with its 3-hour movie Catch Me If You Can drawing a 2.3/7 A18-49, according to fast affiliate ratings from Nielsen.  Fox and CBS each tied at a 6 share, followed by NBC with a 5 share. At 8p Fox was in front by a tenth of a rating point over CBS, with a 1.9/6 vs. 1.8/6.  At 9p CBS, ABC and Fox each earned a 7 share.  At 10p is where ABC pulled out in front, earning a 2.8/8 for the final hour of its movie, over NBC’s 2.2/7 for L&O and CBS’ 1.8/5 for 48 Hours.

Fast Affiliate Ratings: Saturday, November 5, 2005, for all Networks – time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     5.2/9   CSI: Miami [r] 5.0/9, CSI [r] 5.6/10, 48 Hours Mystery 4.9/9

ABC     4.7/8    Movie: Catch Me If You Can  4.7/8

NBC     4.2/7    Special: The Most Outrageous Live TV Moments 3.3/6, L&O: SVU [r] 3.8/7, L&O [r] 5.3/9

FOX     3.8/7    Cops 3.3/6, Cops [r] 3.6/6, America’s Most Wanted: America Fights Back 4.2/7

A18-49            ABC 2.3/7, Fox 2.1/6, CBS 2.0/6, NBC 1.7/5

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT

Your audience wants sports; Comcast Spotlight has sports. Fast sports. Slow sports. Team sports. Individual sports. The simple fact is, cable has more hours of sports programming than any other medium and Comcast Spotlight helps you access it all. Comcast Spotlight – No one puts sports together like we do. For more information click here.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1944-Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to his fourth term as United States President.  The only President to be elected four times, Roosevelt was seen as a guiding force through the New Deal and World War II.   By the time he was elected to his fourth term, Roosevelt was frail and severely affected by health complications.  His final inauguration speech was his shortest, a mere 559 words, as Roosevelt struggled to stay standing.  The nation was still unaware that their leader was confined to a wheelchair as the result of polio.

Answer to Friday’s Trivia Question: In the movie Armageddon, what song did Ben Affleck’s character sing to Liv Tyler’s character just before getting on the shuttle ready to take off?   LEAVING ON A JET PLANE       Kudos to:  Rorie Wach-New Line TV/NY; Trisha Thomas-Carat/NY; Nicole Shanahan-CNN Ad Sales/Atlanta; Michele Leporati-Pro Media Inc/Natick MA; Kate Finn-GRP Media/Chicago; April Collins/Briggs & Caldwell/Houston; Trent Orr-NCC/Chicago; Dana Halberg-Carmichael Lynch/Minneapolis; Heather Wysong-Tribune TV NW/Seattle; Adam Deverell-KTTV/KCOP/LA; Melissa Marshall-Schiefer Media/Santa Ana CA; Jennie Ottenbach-KIRO TV/Seattle; Eve Henderson-Global TV/Edmonton AB; Stacey Mayzel/Toronto Ont

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Ahh, the purr of a finely tuned race car!
Get your engine tuned up!
Court TV wants to send you to the 2006 Montreal Grand Prix
Answer the following question and you could be there!
Q: Which network partnered with Court TV for a new quarterly special, Under Investigation, about the most current mysteries in headline news?
Go to courttvmediakit.com/ui for a hint and enter to win!

Today’s Trivia Question: I’ll give you the description of the actor, you give me who his mother/actress is. He was a regular on LA Law, and now on a daytime soap as is the mom, who appears on another.  Who is she? (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
11.07.05 – 5:21a
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

Cyn opsis  CLASSIFIEDS —

JOB OPENING: EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR, AZN Television/NYC: Supp & asst SVP Programming & Production. Highly motivated & obsessed w/details. Min 1 yr admin exp req’d, BA preferred. Resume:
EOE  (11/11)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST / AMC / NY 2+ yrs media res. exp. Qual/Quan analysis of data for busy Ad Sales,Mktg, PR group.Exp w/Nielsen pref w/cable.
  (11/11)

JOB OPENING: DIR ENTER MKT/ComedyCentral: Strat mktng+ promo 4 CC branded dig. med + consmr prods -.com, brdband, wireless, DVD, Records – dig.media exp a MUST – EOE/M/F/D/AAP Apply www.mtvncareers.com or
(11/11)

JOB OPENING:TEMP DIR, BUS & PROG OPS/Sundance Channel/NY: Track projects/budgets & meet legal needs of depts. Strong knowledge of post prod sched & TV prod req’d. Min 5 yrs exp. Resumes to
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JOB OPENING: VP/SALES RESEARCH/A&E TV/NY: Guide/mng Sales Res. team to support AETN Sales initiatives.10 yrs media exp w/ 5yrs + TV res. & 3 yrs ad sales res. exp. Strong comm/presentation/mgmnt skills. Email:
(11/10)

JOB OPENING:  LINE PROD SPEC EV/MTV/NY– Execute prod, tech, staging for mtgs, press conf, shows, concerts, biz presentations, etc. In-depth knwldg corp, TV & MTVN tech/production standards. EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (11/10)

JOB OPENING:  MGR ONLINE PROMOS MKTG/NY: Dev proposals/materials online ad sales. Mng prod/integration customized promot’l prog’s. 3+ yrs agency or adv/mktg. exp; 1+ yrs online mktg/prod enviro. Apply www.mtvncareers.com EOE (11/10)

JOB OPENING: GREAT! MARKETING ASSISTANT/Atlanta. If you are passionate about promotion & event planning, help our team create buzz & wow our TV/entertainment clients. Degree in Journalism, PR or Marketing. Email
(11/9)

JOB OPENING: HIGH DEFINITION INTERSTITIAL/TRAFFIC COORDINATOR: iN DEMAND/NY. Schedule promo time; schedule ads; manage promo/ad process. Bachelors degree and 1 year cable industry exp. Required.
. EOE (11/9)

JOB OPENING:MKTG DIR-SOAPNET/DISNEY/BURBANK: Daring creative to oversee advtg, promos, brand mgmt, creative services; 8+yrs ent/agency exp; trade &/or fan-based mktg a +. Inspiring mgr w/orig ideas. Resume:
(11/9)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST/NBC UNIVERSAL TV DIST, NY – TV research exp in WRAP Overnights and Nielsen Systems a +. MS Office suite a must.  Apply: www.nbcjobs.com #441587  (11/9)

JOB OPENING: ASST BUS & LEGAL AFF /OXYGEN NYC. Support 2 lawyers and help w/contracts admin for corp, aff sales, tech etc. Exp in law firm or in-house. Ex org and teamwork. Great dept. BA. Apply
(11/9)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH STRATEGIST/TLC/Discovery Nets/Silver Spring MD: 3+ yrs mrktng research exp, project mgmt exp, strong analytical & presentation skills. Nielsen knwldg & media exp a +.  Apply at www.discovery.com . Job req#2883 (11/8)

JOB OPENING: INT’L CREATIVE DIR/E! Networks Int’l: Build & develop brand & strategy for On-Air Promos & related media. Int’l TV exp. req, UK exp. Pref’d. Submit resumes: www.eentertainment.com/careers. (11/8)

JOB OPENING: SR. RESEARCH ANALYST/Spike TV/ NY: Compile, distribute, analyze wkly/monthly TV ratings for Spike TV. Min 2 yrs TV res. exp; Knwldg of Nielsen systems; strong analytic/numeric skills. Apply via www.mtvncareers.com (11/8)

WINTER INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here.  They are posted for free, and students work for school credit only.  For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at
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WINTER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: LEGAL INTERN/ NY TV Production Company: Research, writing and contract drafting. Fall ’05 and Spring ’06 semester. Unpaid and school credit mandatory. 15-20 hrs/week. Email resume to
(11/9)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED —

SITUATION WANTED: Fortune 500 BRANDING/MARKETING/PR EXECUTIVE/ [NY] who lost 100 pounds [100 more to go] and launched www.mypetfat.com is looking to leverage his enormous viral marketing talent for just the right gig.
(11/11)

SITUATION WANTED: WRITER/PRODUCER : 10 years of cable, broadcast and syndication experience. News, sports, entertainment and docs. Will travel or relocate.
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: Monday, November 7, 2005

ABC              Wife Swap,  ABC MNF: Indianapolis Colts v. New England Patriots
CBS              King of Queens, How I Met Your Mother, 2-1/2 Men, Out of Practice, CSI: Miami 
FOX              Arrested Development (60m), Prison Break
NBC              Surface, Las Vegas, Medium
i                      Diagnosis Murder, 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