CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis

08/18/05

Good morning.  It’s Thursday August 18, 2005, and this is your first early morning briefing.

OLN has won the bid to carry NHL Hockey for the next three years – a bid which will cost them a reported $207 million. You’ll remember ESPN was kicking the hockey tires and had an option to match OLN’s bid.  A statement released by ESPN cited numerous reasons for its pass, most particularly poor ratings and last year’s lock-out which killed the entire season.  As many industry observers have noted, with this sports acquisition, OLN is likely to next go after post-Thanksgiving NFL evening games played on Thursdays or Saturdays for 2006.  OLN is currently in 64 million homes, and is owned by Comcast.

Tonight’s Premieres:
Bravo:  Celebrity Poker Showdown at 8p
Bravo: Hidden Howie: The Private Live of a Public Nuisance at 11p

In the days post-Dan Rather at CBS News, the question has been, What will the new CBS Evening News look like? Who will be the face of it? And will there be a format change?  Last January Les Moonves said he was looking to get beyond the single anchor format, but where will that take this news division?  So far, no where; though plenty of ideas are circulating.  According to the NY Times, tapings of a variety of formats have taken place in recent days, with a handful of different news readers on hand. Though before you read too much into that, Andrew Heyward, Pres/CBS News, says no casting has been determined and no formats have been finalized. An article in The New York Observer yesterday refers to a CBS News intern project which assigns the 100+ interns to the task of developing and presenting ways the news can reach out to a younger audience.  Their summer long project culminated in presentations to Heyward and other mucky mucks late last month.  Perhaps all an indication that something will be presented to viewers sooner than later. Or not.

MTV‘s premiere of My Super Sweet 16, that show about over-the-top Sweet 16 birthday parties, debuted its second season on Monday night at 1030p, delivering a solid 4.0 rating in the 12-34 demo, and averaged 3.5 million total viewers.  That’s up by 18% over last year’s season #1 debut in the demo, and the highest rated premiere of any show on MTV since the beginning of the calendar year.  Looking at its core demo – female teens, naturally – the show delivered a 10.7/35 rating, also up by 18% over last year’s premiere.

I was wondering – perhaps you were too.  What happened to The Law Firm after it was bounced off NBC?  It did go to Bravo, as they said it would, and is airing in the “coveted” 130-230a time period late on Sunday nights.  No wonder I couldn’t find it.

It’s official – Pierce Brosnan is an ex-007er.  So, now who?  Johnny Depp? Jude Law? Colin Farrell?

ABC and ESPN will carry all 64 games of soccer’s World Cup Tournament next June 9-July 9 in Germany.  All the games will also be presented in hi-def.  How the games will be split between ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 will be announced later.

Speaking of ESPN, Mark Shapiro, EVP/Programming and Production for the past dozen years, is leaving the net.  Shapiro has been named CEO of Red Zone, a private investment firm.  The Red Zone was founded by Daniel Snyder, who owns the Washington Redskins.  While that may be interesting enough, you may ask yourself, what can a guy who knows bunches about programming and production of sports, contribute to a private investment firm? Here’s the clue.  Snyder has an 11% stake in Six Flags Inc., which has 28 amusement parks in the US, Mexico and Canada. Six Flags was host to 33.5 million people last year, and brought in revenues of $1.04 billion.  Snyder’s goal is to gather enough shares in the company to gain control, and then create his own entertainment powerhouse with Six Flags as the flagship. Once he does that – enter Shapiro, whose mission will be to tie Six Flags in with sports and sports figures, as well as a variety of kid and family-centric areas such as animation, the toy industry and gaming. 

While A&E will launch their off-net series 24 on September 12, airing it in two daily 4-hour blocks (8a-12n and 2-6p), they will begin with a Labor Day weekend marathon of Season #4. Marathon is set for September 4 at 2-11pm and continuing on Monday, 9/5 at 8am. All 24 eps will be shown.  Then, as the show settles into its regular time period on the 12th, A&E will be begin back at the beginning with season #1.  FYI: Local stations picking up the weekend-only broadcast rights will start airing 24 in early October.

Touchstone Television has signed a one year talent holding deal with Natasha Henstridge.  Henstridge has been cast in a recurring role in ABC news drama series, Commander in Chief.

Casting Note:  Original Productions – you know these guys, Monster House, Deadliest Catch, Monster Garage  – is looking for inspirational speakers for a new series called Pulpit Masters. They’re looking for people with a positive spiritual message, who can present that message in a motivational and appealing style. Pulpit Masters is being produced for TLC (10 one-hour eps), in the search for “America’s next great inspirational speaker,” presented as a weekly elimination format.  All ages, all religious denominations – they want to hear what you have to say!  Prep your best 3 minutes and show up next Thursday, August 25th at 5p or Saturday the 27th at 11a at Original Prods, 308 West Verdugo Blvd, Burbank. More info: www.pulpitmasters.com or e-mail
.

Wendy Eagle has been promoted to SVP/Commercial Operations for Discovery Networks, U.S.  Wendy oversees all commercial and iMedia advertising operations for Discovery, including the domestic networks, Discovery.com and Discovery on Demand.  Joe Abruzzese, president, advertising sales, Discovery Networks, U.S., to whom Eagle reports, made the announcement.
 
Marissa Fleishman has been upped to Manager/Advertising and Marketing for AMC, reporting to Linda Schupack, SVP/Marketing.  Marissa will be responsible for promoting AMC off-channel, leading the production and execution of all consumer and trade advertising campaigns, as well as implementing and creating initiatives to expand the AMC brand and promote the network.

Shannon Peterson has been promoted to Director/Publicity and Nikki Lichterman has been promoted to Manager/Publicity and Talent Relations for GSN. They will both report to Cindy Ronzoni, VP/Publicity and Corporate Communications.  Shannon will continue to focus on promoting GSN original programming. Nikki spearheads GSN’s publicity efforts for the Poker Royale series and most of the casino-themed programming.
 
Karen Stewart has been named Executive Producer and Director/Stategic Business Development at FlickerLab. Also, Sally Syberg was named Senior Producer. Sally will be in charge of long form projects and children’s programming development.

Tuesday — A18-49 Analysis: CBS led the way on Tuesday night with an overall 2.9/8 A18-49 rating, according to Nielsen Media Research.  NBC was a close #2 with a 2.6/7 followed by ABC 2.1/6, Fox 2.0/6, WB 1.2/3, UPN 0.9/3. At 8p a repeat of NCIS on CBS eked out the win by a single share point, delivering a 2.4/7, over ABC, NBC and Fox, all pulling a 6 share. At 9p, the win again goes to CBS with Big Brother’s 3.5/9, this time two share points ahead of both ABC and NBC.  ABC aired sitcom reruns, NBC had the two-episode premiere of Tommy Lee Goes to College (2.5/7 and 3.0/8). At 10p NBC prevailed with a repeat of L&O: SVU earning a 3.2/9. Rock Star INXS was a close #2 with a 3.0/8.

Fast Affiliate Ratings: Tuesday, August 16,  2005, for all Networks – time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     5.6/9    NCIS [r] 6.8/12, Big Brother 5.9/9, Rock Star INXS 4.1/7

NBC     4.6/8    Meet Mister Mom 3.6/6, Tommy Lee Goes to College 3.7/6, Tommy Lee Goes to College 4.1/7, Law & Order: SVU [r] 6.4/11

ABC     3.9/7    According to Jim [r] 4.1/7, Rodney [r] 3.6/6, According to Jim [r] 4.3/7, Rodney [r] 4.3/7, Boston Legal 3.5/6

FOX     3.2/5    2005 Teen Choice Awards 3.2/5

WB      1.9/3    Gilmore Girls [r] 1.7/3, Gilmore Girls [r] 2.0/3

UPN     1.4/2    One on One [r] 1.3/2, Eve [r] 1.4/2, R U The Girl [r] 1.4/2

A18-49            CBS 2.9/8, NBC 2.6/7, ABC 2.1/6, Fox 2.0/6, WB 1.2/3, UPN 0.9/3

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1969-After three days of peace, mud, and rock and roll, the Woodstock music festival ends.  Roughly 400,000 people attended, with untold thousands, perhaps as many as a million, clogging the roads of upstate New York trying to get in.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  Where would you find “Champagne Lady”?   LAWRENCE WELK    Kudos to:   Paul Brewer-WFXG/TV; Elaine Yakos-LeBron/Baltimore MD; Toni Gilbert-Wendy’s International/Dublin OH; Mary Moonen-WFSB TV/Hartford CT; Peter Nicholls-KMIZ/Columbia MO; Keith Paxton-KDFI/Dallas; Jeff Arthur-MTV Networks/Chicago; Maria Roswall-WKBT; Adina Montgomery-Tribune Media Net/LA; Susan Goldberg-MTV Networks/LA; Dennis Aimino-KABC/LA; Barrie Citron-LCI/LA

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Today’s Trivia Question:   On the hit TV show The Odd Couple, Felix often talked about his ex-wife and their life. Where did Felix and his ex live before they split? (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
08.18.05  –  5:17am
Cynopsis Ad Sales – Barbara Shapiro – 203-583-1224 /

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Copyright Cynthia Turner 2005

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JOB OPENING: MTV Networks/ COORDINATOR, AFFILIATE AD SALES  Build & maintain infrastructure that allows MTVN filed reps to provide effective support of affiliates local ad sales business. Apply: www.mtvncareers.com EOE (8/25)

JOB OPENING: CLIENT MARKETING SOLUTIONS COORDINATOR Court TV, NY: For info go to: http://www.courttv.com/about/careers/ (8/25)

JOB OPENING: DIR, RESEARCH/ BBC AMERICA- NY: Deliver/analyze ratings info/goals, oversee mkt research to assess performance of mktg campaigns of BBCA. Passion for entertainment & res. 4-6 cable exp. Res:
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JOB OPENING: FREELANCE ONLINE PROJECT MNGR/Nick Online Promo Mrktng/NYC: Responsible for all phases of production. Organized & detail oriented. Exc mngmt & comm skills. 2yrs+ online proj mngr exp
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JOB OPENING: PROJECT MGR/NY: Media sftwre. Complex projects, pre-planning thru completion. BA/equiv, 5+ relevant PM exp, 5+ cable/broadcast, Sales Planning/Prgrmng/Traffic. Travel 40%. http://www.camsystems.com/project_manager.html (8/25)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST AD SALES/National CineMedia-NY. Media research & sales support. MRI, Scarborough, CMR, TV ratings, share, R&F analyses. Strong analytic & comp skills. Bach deg & 1-3 yrs exp.
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JOB OPENING: SR DIRECTOR, CHANNEL PRESENTATION GROUP, MTV/NYC. 5+yrs proj. mgmt exp, Strg interpersonal/org skills, Knwldge of MTV/TV depts. that have role in creating logs/onair components  EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (8/24)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, INTEGRATED MARKETING, LOGO/NYC. 7yrs exp in TV/Adv/Media Mrktg, Strng presentation & creative writing skills. Mgmt exp. Required. Strng knwldge TV/Sales, BA/BS req, EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (8/24)

JOB OPENING:  MGR, MEDIA BUYING-The Clorox Company, SF Bay area. 7-10 yrs nat’l TV buy exp; provide mgmt & expertise w/variety of proj for nat’l TV media buy. some radio, Hispanic and DR exp a +. Resume:
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JOB OPENING:  DIR, RETAIL CONSUMER PRODS/VIZ Media/SF: Min 8yrs retail dev. exp, multi media/entertain. exp, strong sales and present. skills, mgmt exp& estd. industry relationships a must. Email resume, NO ATTACHMENTS to
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JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC COORDINATOR. HALLMARK CHANNEL/NY. Execute agency traffic instructions & maintain commercial tape inventory for Hallmark Movie Channel.  See full posting and apply: www.hallmarkchannel.com (8/23)

JOB OPENING:  SR ANALYST, PROGRAMMING RESEARCH/TV Land & Nick@Nite: Collect/analyze/interpret ratings data for recurring reports/requests for channels & landscape. 2+ yrs TV res exp via cable/broadcast net. www.mtvncareers.com EOE (8/24)
 
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JOB OPENING: MUSIC MEDIA RESEARCH MGR /Analyze Y! Music Audience characteristics & positions them for use in ad sales. Understanding of online/offline media research Knwldg of syndicated databases  Resume to: carolyng
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JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, AD SALES RESEARCH/A&E TV:NY. Support Ad Sales initiatives. Min 5yrsresearchexperience with hands on knowledge of national research software and applications(Nielsen, MRI, etc). Email:
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JOB OPENING:  MRKTG/PROMOTIONS COORD/ABC FAMILY/BURBANK: Assist in dev/exec of adv & promo projects, includ. traffic of creative assets. 1-3 yrs mrktgexp, good writing skills & PC Skills. Deg req. Resume:
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JOB OPENING: DIR, LICENSING CONSUMER PRODS/VIZ Media/SF. Min 5yrs dom. lic. exp, team player, sales skills, budgeting/forecasting, mgmt exp & estd. industry relationships a must. Email resume (NO ATTACHMENTS) to
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JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR BUSINESS AFFAIRS/Current TV- SF, CA. 3+ yrs. exp. in negotiation/drafting for acquisition/ distribution of intellectual property rights. www.current.tv . Email
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JOB OPENING: RESEARCH ANALYST: Superstation WGN/NY. Pgrm trends, estimates, sales promotion, pgm maintenance.1+ years in Cable, Spot, or agency. Proficiency in Xcel & Ppt, ALL Nielsen software, & MRI. Resume to:
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JOB OPENING: LOCAL AD SALES MANAGER-TV One, LLC. We are actively seeking a highly motivated individual for this exciting new role. Visit our web site for a detailed job description and application details. www.tvoneonline.com (8/19)

JOB OPENING: SALES PLANNER-AETN, NY. Create plans, steward accts, designate ADUs& recaps, coord make goods & post analysis prep. 2yrs exp planng or buyer. Exc comm skills. Client service mindset. Res & Sal Req’d:
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JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR OF MEDIA MEASUREMENT/Ad Council: Monitoring & analysis of PSA campaigns. 5-7 yrs media planning, buying or res exp across all media. Strong Excel & database skills. Cvr letter, sal req & res:
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JOB OPENING: MGR, NATIONAL AD SALES MKTG/LIFETIME TV,NY. Seeking a creative, excellent writer with 2+ yrs at a cable network in an ad sales mktg or national promotions dept. Apply at http://www.lifetimetv.com/about/jobs.html (8/19)

JOB OPENING: GSN-NY/ DIRECTOR DISTRIBUTION:-Primary responsibility max. distribution of GSN & GSNi services, Oversee sales activities, Develop sales strategies, Neg carriage agreements Min 5yrs exp, BA/BS req
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JOB OPENING: MGR RESEARCH/DISNEY ABC/BURBANK: 4+ yrs of tv res exp via cable or broadcast ntwrk, syndicator or advert agency. Proficient in Nielsen software sys.  Exc written/comm skills. BA deg in field.
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JOB OPENING: ANALYST/ SR. ANALYST, RESEARCH/ Disney ABC/BURBANK: Ratings & analyses of ABC Family/SOAPnet, along w/competitors. Knwldg of TV ind, Nielsen ratings, media math. Det oriented, BA, 2 yrs exp in TV res
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JOB OPENING: JR RESEARCH ANALYST – Sony International TV/LA. Support & produce research for Intl Distrib, Prodctn, Ntwks. Strong PC skills, Familiar w/Nielsen sftwr a+ www.sonypicturesjobs.com (8/23)

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FALL INTERNSHIP – CREDITS ONLY: DEVELOPMENT DEPT/ Oxygen/NYC: Women’s cable network. Learn about developing scripted & reality programming. College Credit Only. If interested email resume & brief cover letter to: 
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FALL INTERNSHIP – CREDITS ONLY: Schiefer Media/Orange County: Earn College Credits working in various types of media: Cable, TV, Radio, Print, Web. Contact:
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FALL INTERNSHIP – CREDITS ONLY: PRODUCTION INTERNS/ATLAS MEDIA CORP/NY: Learn about commercial television production. Research, media logging, transcribing, tape dubbing, field prod,office admin. Resume & cov lett to
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FALL INTERNSHIP – CREDITS ONLY: MARKETING & PROMOTIONS INTERN/THE TUBE MUSIC NETWORK, FT. LAUDERDALE, FL: Assist w/ marketing & promotions dept- research, create proposals, assist w/ mailings, special projects. Resumes:
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FALL INTERNSHIP – CREDITS ONLY: GWHIZ (NYC), an ad agency specializing in youth & entertainment and a subsidiary of the Grey Global Group, is looking for ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT interns. Email resume to
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: Thursday, August 18, 2005

ABC              Movie:  The Tuxedo, Primetime Live
CBS              Big Brother, CSI [r], Without A Trace [r]
FOX              FOX: Sports Special NFL Preseason
NBC              Joey [r], Will & Grace [r],  Scrubs, Scrubs,  ER [r]
PAX              Doc,  Diagnosis Murder, Early Edition
UPN              WWE Smackdown
WB               Smallville [r], Everwood [r]
TELE             El Cuerpo del Deseo, Los Plateados, El Principe Azul
UNIV             Apuesta por un Amor, La Madrastra,  Aqui y Ahora