SOURCE:  Nielsen Media Research source data

Cynopsis

12/20/07

Good Morning.  It’s Thursday, December 20, 2007 and this is your first early morning briefing.

With the closing of Tribune Entertainment distribution unit, American Idol Rewind will now be distributed by Trifecta Entertainment.  Other news at Trifecta is the new involvement of Kerry McCluggage and Jeff Sagansky, who are joining the company as investors and partners.  Meanwhile, over at Tribune, news came yesterday of the imminent departure of Dennis FitzSimons, who at year’s end will step down as Chairman/CEO, following the closing of the $8.2 billion buyout sale to Sam Zell.

Tonight’s Finale:
NBC: Clash of the Choirs at 8p

Updates on January premieres:

• The 34th Annual People’s Choice Awards will air as originally scheduled on January 8th (in case you were thinking it may be cancelled, CBS says the show will go on).
• NBC’s The Celebrity Apprentice has moved back a week and will debut January 10 at 9p.
• USA Network’s Monk will begin season six January 11 at 9p and Psych opens its second season the same night at 10p.
• ABC’s special premiere of Cashmere Mafia which was scheduled for January 3 has moved to January 6 at 1001p, followed by its regular time period debut on January 9 at 10p.

VH1 Classic introduces Classic 60 Minutes starting January 6 at 8p which revisits past interviews on 60 Minutes with a variety of music legends including Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Ray Charles and more. Lara Logan, CBS News correspondent will host the 30m series which will also feature the archived interviews plus extra footage and updates on the artists.

USA Network has decided not to bring back The Dead Zone after six seasons, and The 4400 after 4 seasons. Both shows were on the renewal bubble for the past few months.

Sports and entertainment network, MSG renewed two original basketball programs scheduled to air new episodes yet this month. Aeropostale College Basketball Weekly, with twelve half-hour episodes will begin tonight at 630p, and Snapple High School Basketball Game of the Week Presented by Pontiac will start up December 30 at 9a and will feature 14 games from top high schools in the tri-state area. 

The Sportsman Channel recently launched on four MSOs: Charter Communications in Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, Reno and North Platte, NE; Comcast Communications in Michigan, Elkton, MD, Huntington, WV and Indianapolis; Time Warner National Division in Keene, NH, Richlands, VA and Ashland, KY; and Cox Communications Gulf Coast Florida in Pensacola, Destin, Freeport, Ft. Walton, Niceville and Crestview.

An eight episode order has been given by CMT for a new unscripted series called My Big Redneck Wedding, from Pink Sneakers Entertainment, reports THR. Each episode features a different “down-home” wedding, each with its own unique qualities.  The series is set to launch on January 11 at 930p, with Tom Arnold hosting.

Casting: FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance begins a search for dancers to appear on season four and auditions will occur in six cities starting mid-January. The first audition city is Dallas on January 17; followed by Charleston January 31; Washington, D.C. February 21; Los Angeles March 6; Milwaukee March 20; and Salt Lake City April 3. Venues at each city will be announced soon. Full eligibility requirements and information can be found at www.fox.com/dance .

Rita Marcocci named National Sales Manager for WNWY/FOX 5 and WWOR/My9 in New York, starting January 2. Rita comes to her new position from WPIX-TV where she was an AE and she previously was a National AE for Fox Television Stations from 2003-2006. WNWY and WWOR are owned and operated by Fox Television Stations.

Today in Cynopsis Kids

• DirecTV inks deal with Public Television
• Teletoon Retro bows on Cogeco Cable
• BabyFirstTV launches My Gym at Home

Today in Cynopsis International

• Edition delayed due to computer problems – hopefully will be sent out later on this morning

Today in Cynopsis Digital, listen to the audio version here or subscribe to the iTunes Cyn Digital podcast 

• Viacom forms content, advertising and gaming partnership with Microsoft
• MySpaceTV launches new destination for Hulu content
• Perez Hilton lauded by Forbes then banished from YouTube

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/3-12/9/07 ranked by HH Rtg
Wheel of Fortune (CTD)                                    7.9 AA
Jeopardy (CTD)                                               6.5 AA
Oprah Winfrey Show (CTD)                                5.5 AA / 5.6 GAA
Judge Judy (CTD)                                            5.2 AA / 8.1 GAA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD)                             5.0 AA / 5.2 GAA
Two and a Half Men (WB)                                 4.9 AA / 6.3 GAA  New
Dr. Phil Show (CTD)                                         4.8 AA / 4.9 GAA
Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD)                       4.5 AA / 5.8 GAA
Family Guy (2/T)                                             4.5 AA / 5.2 GAA – New
Seinfeld (SPT)                                                4.1 AA / 4.7 GAA
Source Nielsen Media Research – Live + SD Data

New M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/3-12/9/07  HH Rtg
George Lopez (WB)                                          2.7 AA / 3.8 GAA
TMZ (WB)                                                      2.0 AA / 2.1 GAA
Law & Order: CI (NBU)                                      1.5 AA / 1.6 GAA
Judge David Young (SPT)                                  0.9 AA / 1.4 GAA
Morning Show (2/T)                                         0.9 AA / 0.9 GAA
Steve Wilkos Show (NBU)                                  0.9 AA / 0.9 GAA
Crosswords (NBU)                                            0.8 AA / 1.0 GAA
Half & Half (CTD)                                             0.7 AA / 0.9 GAA
Reno 911 (MGY)                                              0.6 AA / 0.6 GAA
Temptation (2/T)                                             0.6 AA / 0.7 GAA
Degrassi: Next Generation (SPT)                         0.4 AA / 0.4 GAA
Jury Duty (TEE)                                               0.2 AA / 0.3 GAA
Source Nielsen Media Research – Live + SD Data

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/3-12/9/07 ranked by A18-49 Rtg
Family Guy (2/T)                                             3.2 AA / 3.6 GAA – New
Two and a Half Men (WB)                                 2.9 AA / 3.6 GAA  New
Seinfeld (SPT)                                                2.5 AA / 2.8 GAA
Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD)                       2.5 AA / 3.2 GAA
Friends (WB)                                                  2.1 AA / 2.5 GAA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD)                            1.9 AA / 2.0 GAA
King of Queens (SPT)                                      1.9 AA / 2.6 GAA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD)                                   1.8 AA
Oprah Winfrey Show (CTD)                               1.8 AA / 1.9 GAA
Dr. Phil Show (CTD)                                        1.7 AA / 1.7 GAA
Judge Judy (CTD)                                           1.7 AA / 2.6 GAA
Source Nielsen Media Research – Live + SD Data

New M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/3-12/9/07  A18-49 Rtg
George Lopez (WB)                                          1.4 AA / 1.9 GAA
TMZ (WB)                                                      1.1 AA / 1.2 GAA
Law & Order: CI (NBU)                                      0.7 AA / 0.7 GAA
Morning Show (2/T)                                         0.4 AA / 0.4 GAA
Steve Wilkos Show (NBU)                                  0.4 AA / 0.4 GAA
Reno 911 (MGY)                                              0.4 AA / 0.4 GAA
Judge David Young (SPT)                                  0.4 AA / 0.5 GAA
Half & Half (CTD)                                             0.4 AA / 0.5 GAA
Crosswords (NBU)                                            0.3 AA / 0.3 GAA
Temptation (2/T)                                             0.3 AA / 0.3 GAA
Degrassi: Next Generation (SPT)                         0.2 AA / 0.2 GAA
Jury Duty (TEE)                                               0.1 AA / 0.1 GAA
Source Nielsen Media Research – Live + SD Data

Tuesday – A18-49 Analysis:  NBC hit a high note Tuesday night at 3.9/11 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. At 8p, CBS’ NCIS led with 2.7/8. During the next two hours, the season finale of The Biggest Loser on NBC was the biggest winner: at 9p it posted a 4.6/12 and at 10p a 4.8/13.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Tuesday, December 18, 2007 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.
CBS: 6.7/11           NCIS [r] 8.2/14, The Unit 6.8/11, Cane 4.9/8

NBC: 6.5/11            Clash of the Choirs 5.1/8, The Biggest Loser 4 [f] 7.2/12

FOX: 5.1/8              Bones [r] 3.7/6, House [r] 6.4/10

ABC: 4.3/7                 Duel 4.4/7, According to Jim [r] 2.7/4, Boston Legal 5.0/8

UNIV: 1.8/3             Amar sin Limites 1.8/3, Pasion 2.0/3, Ver Para Creer 1.4/2

CW: 1.0/2               Crowned [r] 1.0/2, Reaper [r] 1.0/2

TELE: 0.6/1             Madre Luna 0.6/1, Victoria 0.7/1, Pecados Ajenos 0.5/1

MNT: 0.4/1             Christmas at the Cathedral [r] 0.4/1, Christmas Glory: Music in the Key of Love [r] 0.4/1

A18-49: NBC 3.9/11, FOX 2.7/7, CBS 2.4/7, ABC 2.1/6, UNIV 1.5/4, CW 0.6/2, TELE 0.4/1, MNT 0.2/0

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CABLEU

This day in History: 1998 – In Houston, TX, a 27-year-old woman gave birth to the only known living set of octuplets. Ouch.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: On the new comedy series Samantha Who?, starring Christina Applegate, she comes to find out she is the VP of a company. What is the name of the company? CHAPMAN & FUNK     Kudos to: Amy Martin-WLNE/Providence, RI; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing/NY; Danielle Lamoureux-Scripps Networks/Chicago; Jonny Umansky-Show Me Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question: What is the name of the pizza place frequented by the Romano family on Everybody Loves Raymond? ( 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
12.20.07

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JOB OPENING: WARDROBE STYLIST/NY: Create/maintain wardrobe for 2 hosts for wkly show & lrg TV ntwrk. 2 wks to purchase wardrobe & work on set 1 day and/or night a wk to dress hosts for shoot. res/rate to:
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JOB OPENING: PROP MASTER/NYC: 8 Saturdays, (every 6 weeks) to work with promos of products for TV show. Experience in commercials & ability to create steam, flames, etc… Purchase props.  Res/Rate to:
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JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE ONLINE SALES/ESPN/NYC: Need 3+ yrs online Ad sales exp.  Send resume to
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JOB OPENING: SR. RESEARCH ANALYST/HBO/NYC: BS/BA/3 yrs exp web traffic analy exp w/ Omniture & syndicated traffic sources (ComScore/Nielsen). Detailed/strong comm. skills/multi-tasking. E-mail:
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JOB OPENING: DIR OF SALES ADMIN/CBS TV DIST/NY: Mng ad sales admin w/ staff of 4 from order thru reconciliation. Finc’l background w/strong Excel, mngrl, & analytical skills pref’d  5+ yrs exp. Res/salary req:
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JOB OPENING: SR PUBLICIST/CourtTV/truTVNY: Pitch primetime series/generate creative media attention/press releases/events/support anchors. 3-5 yrs cable/network/entertainment PR exp. Apply:
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JOB OPENING:  WRITER/PRODUCER/G4TV/Los Angeles: To write & produce promos, campaigns, & interstitials. 5+yrs. exp. in On-Air Promo at broadcast or cable network. More information & to apply visit: www.cegjobs.com (1/3)

JOB OPENING:  SALES PLAN’R/BET, NY: Prepare Sales Plans, Mng mult Accts, 2 yrs exp in Cable Sales or buying a must. Detailed-oriented, org’d, multitasker, exc comm & math skills, BA req. Email resume:
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JOB OPENING:  INTERACTIVE, SALES PLANNER/NY: Work with the Interactive Ad Sales team for Scripps Networks. Must have Sales Planner or Interactive agency experience. Apply by going to our website, www.scrippsnetworks.com    (1/3)

JOB OPENING: SR PROMO PROD/Award winning 2C Media: Seeking high end prod for nat’l TV promo campaigns. Great writing a must, editorial a +! Send reel:
or 420 Lincoln Road, Ste 389 Miami Beach  FL 33139 (12/22)

JOB OPENING: RSRCH ANALYST/NBCU, NY: Analyze internal & 3rd party online data to support mktg & sales for NBC Oxygen properties. BA/BS, 2+ yrs exp in media, familiar w/ working data sources. www.nbcunicareers.com #784838 (12/22)

JOB OPENING:  MEDIA RESEARCH MANAGER @ RPA: 5+ yrs’ in media research. Will generate data analyses, critical media info, POVs; supervise Analyst. Nielsen, Arbitron, MRI, Scarborough, DDS, Galaxy req’d. Apply @ www.rpa.com . EOE (12/22)

JOB OPENING: RESEARCH PROJECT MANAGER TNT/TBS/COURT TV/NY: Support Ad Sales research projects/trending/positioning/reporting. 5+ yrs media research/advertising/television analysis. Apply:
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JOB OPENING: SERIES PROD/NYC: Oversee prod of a pre-schl animated series, inc. mngng day-to-day ops, guiding creative dir, & ensuring that project adheres to sched/bdgt. PRE-K ANIMATION EXP A MUST. Apply:
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JOB OPENING: SR SALES EXECS/US/UK/FR/Aus: Premiere distrib co. hiring Sr int’l sales execs to manage 5,000+ hrs of TV programming. Must have proven track record, client relationships, entrepreneurial spirit.
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JOB OPENING: SR. DRTV Buyer/Active Int’l in Pearl River, NY (15 miles from NYC): Min 5 yrs exp. in planning, negotiating and buying DRTV req’d. Resumes to:
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WINTER AND SPRING 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:  Fox College Sports, Un-paid internship, for college credit.  Assist with running day to day operations; college sports interest & knowledge.  E-mail 
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WINTER INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: MEDIA STRATEGY INTERN/National Geographic Channel/Wash DC: You won’t learn this in school! Seeking detail-oriented interns with great computer and organizational  skills. Email resume to
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SITUATION WANTED:  PROJ/OPS/TRAFFIC MGR/NYC: Prof. 5 yrs cable ntwk on-air promo/brand exp. Mng day-to-day ops of promo projs. Detailed, able to prioritize. Strong organiz skills. Meticulous. Temp or staff.
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT – Thursday, December 20, 2007

ABC: Duel, Grey’s Anatomy [r], Private Practice [r]
CBS: CSI [r], CSI [r], Without a Trace [r]
CW: Smallville [r], Supernatural [r]
FOX: Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?, Don’t Forget the Lyrics!
ION: Mama’s Family, Mama’s Family, Who’s the Boss?, Who’s the Boss?, 48 Hours on ION TV
MNT: My Thursday Night Movie: Big
NBC: Clash of the Choirs [f ], The Office [r] (10-11p)
PBS: This Old House Hour, Antiques Roadshow [r], Craft in America [r]
TELE: Madre Luna, Victoria, Pecados Ajenos
UNIV: Amar sin Limites, Pasion, Aqui y Ahora

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