Welcome to “In Case You Missed It,” a quick roundup of the top stories of the previous week in each of our four daily editions. So if you skipped a newsletter, this is where you want to go to make sure you’re up on the latest news, Cynopsis-style, in the worlds of linear, digital, sports, and kids television. Enjoy!
Sports
The NFL announced an investigation into the league’s handling of the Ray Rice scandal, bringing in former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III to examine the organization’s process of handling evidence in the Rice case. The move comes after an AP report stated that a league executive received video of the confrontation five months before the evidence became public, despite claims to the contrary from Commissioner Roger Goodell.
The investigation will be overseen by New York Giants owner John Mara and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney. In a statement to the media, Mara and Rooney said, ”We have spoken with Mr. Mueller today, and he has informed us he is prepared to begin immediately. No timeline was established and we stressed that he should take as much time as necessary to complete a thorough investigation. We agreed that the scope of the investigation should be aimed at getting answers to specific questions, including what efforts were made by league staff to obtain the video of what took place inside the elevator and to determine whether, in fact, the video was ever delivered to someone at the league office, and if so, what happened to the video after it was delivered.”
Meanwhile, sponsors remain supportive of the league, with some taking a “wait and see” approach to the situation. Spokespersons for Anheuser-Busch and Pepsi, told USA Today Sports that they have no comment on the situation at this time and would advise if their position changes. Verizon Communications chairman and CEO Lowell McAdam said that the company has a “strong stance” against domestic violence, stating “I know Roger Goodell quite well, and he is a man of very high integrity and I will not believe that there is some conspiracy to cover this up,” McAdam said. “I’m at this point satisfied with the actions that they’ve taken,” according to the WSJ.
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Networks lined up this year’s MLB post-season plans with FOX Sports, ESPN and Turner Sports on deck with baseball’s finest. FOX Sports 1 is slated to showcase postseason MLB for the first time ever, programming up to eight of 10 National League Division Series games, beginning with the Game 1 doubleheader on Oct. 3 with other doubleheaders scheduled for Oct. 7 and 9 if necessary. The company will offer fans watching NLCS Game 1 choices in how they experience the game, with a traditional broadcast on FOX, while FOX Sports 1 offers fans a more analytics-driven game viewing experience under the banner of FOXSports.com’s new baseball blog, Just a Bit Outside, with an emphasis on statistics, saber metrics and graphics. Kevin Burkhardt hosts. Coverage of the 110th World Series begins Oct. 21.
On TBS, Turner Sports hits its eighth consecutive year of MLB postseason coverage with the 2014 MLB Wild Card presented by Budweiser featuring the AL on Sept. 30, before heading into the ALDS on Oct. 2 and the ALCS. The MLB Postseason on TBS will once again feature the trio of Ernie Johnson and analysts Ron Darling and Cal Ripken calling one of the ALDS series and the ALCS as well as the Wild Card Game.
For the first time, ESPN will exclusively carry the National League Wild Card Game presented by Budweiser on Oct. 1, featuring the Sunday Night Baseball team of Dan Shulman, John Kruk and Buster Olney. The NL Wild Card Game will also be available on ESPN Deportes and on ESPN International platforms in Latin America, the Pacific Rim, the Caribbean and cruise ships.
Flagship
James Corden got the Late Late Show gig. The British actor (Begin Again)/writer/host/producer’s name had been bandied about for months as a possible replacement for Craig Ferguson, who’s signing off in December, and CBS made it official on Monday. “James Corden is a rare entertainment force who combines irresistible charm, warmth and originality with a diverse range of creative instincts and performance talent,” said Nina Tassler, chairman, CBS Entertainment. “We’re very excited to introduce his considerable and very unique talents to our network television audience on a daily basis.”
The upcoming seventh season of Nurse Jackie will be its last. “It is with great sadness and pride that we and Showtime bid farewell to such an outstanding series like Nurse Jackie, its stellar cast led by the incomparable Edie Falco, brilliant producing team led by Clyde Phillips and Richie Jackson, and the entire Nurse Jackie family of craftspeople and artists that bring this show to rapt audiences year after year,” said Kevin Beggs, chairman, Lionsgate Television. “We consider ourselves lucky to have been part of the Nurse Jackie story and look forward to an unforgettable final season.” The hospital dramedy averaged 3.4 million weekly viewers across platforms last season.
Digital
Apple held a major product unveil event this week, showcasing two new versions of its smartphones with the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, the long-awaited smartwatch called theApple Watch, and the mobile payment system Apple Pay. The new iPhones tout a higher resolution display, better camera capabilities, and a glass that curves around the sides. The iPhone 6 Plus has the largest screen yet, at 5.5 inches. The Apple Watch marked the company’s first major new product since the iPad in 2010; the $349 device will feature a sensor device, apps, interface touch screen, two versions of wristbands and will work with the iPhone 5 as well as the new iPhones. “Apple Watch is the most personal device we’ve ever created,” CEO Tim Cook said at the event at Apple’s home base in Cupertino, California. “It will redefine what people expect from a watch.” The mobile payment system purports to solve the issue of privacy and payment information leaks: consumers can make purchases without sharing credit card, address and other personal information with merchants. To end the event, the band U2 (known for its early collaborations on Apple commercials) released an entirely new album – Songs of Innocence – for free on iTunes. All the new products will be available next year, but Apple will be taking orders over the holiday season.
With Sony’s announcement of a deal with Viacom and its expected web TV service, Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam shared more details of his company’s similar plan. McAdam hinted at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference that the streaming service would be available mid-2015, and will offer users “the Big Four for sure,” as well as digital media “that really goes after Millennials.” Although Verizon has not announced any content provider deals like Dish and Sony, he alluded, “There’s no doubt in my mind we can make it a win-win…over the last six months to a year, that dialogue has changed dramatically.” Additionally, he predicted an end to pay TV bundles in the near future: “No one wants to have 3000 channels on their wireless. Everyone understands it will go to a la carte. The question is, what does that transition look like?” 21st Century Fox COO Chase Carey chimed in that Fox has its eye on Internet pay TV services, too. “We’re engaged with a lot of players and excited about the opportunities,” said Carey at the same conference.
Kids
CynKids would like to extend a big thanks to all of our moderators, panelists and keynote speakers who made the inaugural Kids Business Summit a tremendous success last Monday. Some of the high points included our live teen panel (Snapchat is where it’s at, everyone) as well as Philippe Cousteau’s lunchtime keynote about how kids and education are our only hope to solve our environmental issues. And did you know that Disney interviews 100,000 kids every year about their products? That’s what Disney Media Sales & Marketing Research VP Marc Normand told us. And those are just three of the many other tasty and useful nuggets from the day. Special thanks, of course, go to all who came and spent the day with us.
Big Bird and friends are about to get a new boss. Jeff Dunn will step into the role of president/CEO of Sesame Workshop on Sept. 29. Formerly president/CEO of HiT Entertainment, Dunn succeeds Mel Ming, who announced his retirement earlier this year. Dunn currently serves as a 2014 Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow at Harvard University with a focus on media and education. He also recently served on the board of American Greetings and Sprout.
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