CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cyn opsis

01/20/05

Good morning. It’s Thursday, January 20, 2005, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

33.6 million viewers tuned in on Tuesday night to see the premiere of American Idol.  That 33.5 million converted into a 14.0/33 A18-49 rating according to final ratings data from Nielsen Media Research.  In other key demos, Idol earned a 17.2/40 among W18-34 and a 16.7/36 A18-49. The highest rated program opposite Idol aired on CBS at 9pm – Amazing Race drew a 4.0/9 A18-49.  WB’s finale of High School Reunion drew a soft  0.9/2 A18-49, which picked up a bit among W18-24 with a 1.9/5.

Two premiere dates for UPN:  CUTS debuts on February 14 at 830p; and America’s Next Top Model returns to the schedule on March 2 at 8p.

Premiering Tonight:
NBC:  The Apprentice at 830p

Casting / Development / Production

• SciFi Channel has cast Richard Roundtree and Tate Donovan to star in Painkiller Jane (MGM/NBC Universal TV Studios).  Painkiller Jane, you’ll recall, is about a marine who after having been exposed to biochemicals, develops self-healing powers. Emmanuelle Vaugier stars as Jane.
• The Hunters is a new pilot drama ordered by Lifetime about an entire family of undercover operatives working for the government.
• NBC has given a cast contingent pilot order for a comedy project called I Love Faron Hitchman about a very young newlywed couple, perhaps too young, whose in-laws hate each other.
• UPN has ordered a drama project called The Lot, an ensemble drama about a group of twenty somethings all working the back lock at a major studio.
• Murder Book (20th) is a crime drama ordered by Fox that takes place in LA, and focuses primarily on a pair of homicide detectives, detecting.
• ABC continues in its current vein of “reality with reason” with a new reality program finishing up production on six eps called Brat Camp, per Variety.  Based on the UK series from producer Twenty Twenty, the show brings together nine trouble adolescents at a wilderness camp in Utah where they are challenged to reach outside their comfort zones, develop new character strengths and eventually turn their lives around.  To get a feel for this new series, check out four eps of the UK version Brat Camp on ABC Family, Monday nights.
• Dance Nation (Mandalay Mosaic Media / 19 Entertainment) is American Idol for dancers, currently in development with Dick Clark and Simon Fuller, probably with Fox.

Joan & Melissa‘s first foray at the Golden Globes on behalf of TV Guide Channel drew .83 HH coverage rating, up 117% vs. last year, as well as a .5 A18-49 rating, up 150% from last year; .55 among W18-49 (+166%).  Coverage began Sunday evening at 6pm and ran for two hours.  TV Guide’s Monday evening premiere of Golden Globes Fashion Wrap airing at 8p with Melissa and Joan earned a .94 coverage HH rtg for the network, up 114% vs. last year, with a total of 809,000 total viewers – representing the network’s largest viewership in its history.

The NFL Network has scheduled a special “show” on February 6 at 10ish.  It’s not often a network schedules a program at 10-ish, but this “show” doesn’t start until the Super Bowl ends on Fox, because the 30 minutes will be an instant replay of all the commercials that aired during the big game. No show – just commercials.

A numbers dip at UPN has the network looking closely, tho careful not to point fingers, at Nielsen Media Research methodology.  The shows exhibiting recent declines each have a large African American viewing audience – Girlfriends, Half & Half, All of Us, Second Time Around and Eve, and all air on Monday and Tuesday nights.  The one exception is One on One, moved to Monday nights this season and doing better than the time period average last year.  Collectively, the shows’ total viewership is down about 10% year to year.  According to CBS research head David Poltrack,  Nielsen’s composition of African American viewers has changed to include Spanish-speaking people of Caribbean island heritage.  Poltrack doesn’t say the composition is wrong – just different, in that their viewing habits are decidedly different from American born black viewers.  The other suggestion is that perhaps the sample is correct, and in the past has overstated the African American viewership.  UPN and CBS are looking into it, and no doubt will get back to us.

VH1‘s new scripted series sitcom The Partridge Family kicks off on January 22 at 8pm.  You’ll remember this show was cast via a reality show – In Search of the Partridge Family, a 7 ep series.  The new show begins where the original began – Keith trying to manage the family musical group and get its first gig, and Danny looking to hire an outside manager, Reuben Kincaid.

Attention Lacrosse fans – here’s your chance.  National Lacross League’s Champion’s Cup Final is coming to NBC on May14.  The all-star game airs on February 26.  Before you think NBC has done some kind of long term mega million dollar deal for Lacrosse games …. know that the league bought the network time to air the games and will also be selling the commercial time.  No rights for NBC.  The question is, will there be viewers for NLL?

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among Total Viewers for the week of January 10-16, 2005:
Primetime       (000)   Total Pgm Day   (000)
TNT              2519     NICK              2148
USA              2119     NAN*              1689
LIFETIME         2104    CARTOON  1390
NAN              1922     TNT               1382
CARTOON 1870     LIFETIME         1197
TBS              1699     USA               1027
SPIKE            1563     TBS               990
FOXNEWS 1556     FOXNEWS 853
A&E              1500     ESPN              726
ESPN             1331     ABC FAMILY      703
                          SPIKE             703
Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes
* = Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24 hour day. Primetime listing only includes those networks broadcasting more than 51% of the primetime hours (M-Su 8p-11p)

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among A18-49 for the week of January 10-16, 2005:
Primetime       (000)   Total Pgm Day   (000)
TNT              1131     TNT               741
TBS              1042     NAN*              738
USA              1033     TBS               605
LIFETIME         907     LIFETIME         577
SPIKE            836      USA               530
SCIFI            682      NICK              504
A&E              677      ESPN              400
FX               626      CARTOON 386
ABC FAMILY      568      SPIKE             375
DISCOVERY        563     FX                353
Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes.
* = Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24 hour day. Primetime listing only includes those networks broadcasting more than 51% of the primetime hours (M-Su 8p-11p)

Mercury Media has named Steve Nober its new President and COO.  Steve will oversee new business development strategies, human resources and day-to-day operations.  Steve joins Mercury Media from inQ, an Internet services and marketing company where he was the President and CEO for the past three years.

Terry Wood has been named President/Creative Affairs and Development for both King World Productions and Paramount Domestic Television.  The upping was announced by Leslie Moonves, Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, Viacom.  In her new position, Terry expands her responsibilities to develop programming.

Tuesday, January 18, 2005. Fast Affiliate Ratings for all Networks – time period averages.   Source: Nielsen Media Research.
[p] = Premiere; [r] = Repeat

FOX     18.2/27  American Idol [p] 18.2/27

CBS     8.0/12   NCIS 9.4/14, Amazing Race 6.6/10, Judging Amy 8.0/13

NBC     6.6/10   Biggest Loser Reunion Special 5.6/8, Scrubs 4.3/6, Committed 3.9/6, Law & Order: SVU 10.2/16

ABC     5.1/8    My Wife & Kids 4.3/6, George Lopez 3.9/6, According to Jim 5.8/8, Rodney 5.0/7, NYPD Blue 5.9/9

WB      1.7/2    Gilmore Girls 2.0/3, High School Reunion [F] 1.4/2

UPN     1.3/2    All of Us 1.4/2, Eve 1.2/2, Veronica Mars 1.2/2

A18-49  Fox 14.0/33, NBC 3.8/9, CBS 3.5/8, ABC 2.8/7, WB 1.0/2, UPN .7/2

A MESSAGE FROM AMC

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1973 – The U.S. Supreme Court, in Roe v. Wade, holds by a 6-3 vote that women’s right to privacy precludes any state from prohibiting abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy. 

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: Who’s rule is this:  A cardinal rule of politics: never sleep with a dead woman or a live man.”   J.R. EWING.  Kudos to:  Steve Ratner-WLVI/Boston; Marge Pistulka-Empower MediaMarketing/Coral Springs; Jeffrey Starr-Court TV/NY; Jeffrey Tuchman-Documania Films/NY; Andre Wiggins-ABC/Houston; Stan Justice-Litton Ent/Hermosa Beach; Dave Harding-Creative Differences/Studio City; Alan Berger-PHD/LA; Julia Sen-Boston University/LA; and internationally from Ron Margaretten-SmartMedia/Prague.

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Today’s Trivia Question:  He has asked all sorts of interesting questions, not the least of which:  Do bees be? Do bears bear? Do eggs get laid? Do ducks duck?  Who is responsible for these idiotic – or are they cerebrally enigmatic – questions? (click here with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone with your answer.  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 MESSAGE FROM NEW LINE TELEVISION

Later — Cyn
01.20.05 

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  JANUARY 20, 2005:

ABC              life as we know it, Extreme Makeover, Primetime Live
CBS              Wickedly Perfect, CSI, Without a Trace
FOX              The O.C., Point Pleasant
NBC              Joey, The Apprentice [p] (90m), ER
PAX              AFV, AFV, Diagnosis Murder, Diagnosis Murder
UPN              WWE Smackdown
WB               WB Movie:  Bring It On
TELE             La Mujer en el Espejo, Gitanas, Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer
UNIV             Rubi, Amor Real, Aqui y Ahora