Cynopsis

03.12.09

Good morning. It’s Thursday, March 12, 2009, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

Tonight’s Premieres:
History: Warriors at 10p
Travel Channel: Bridget’s Sexiest Beaches at 10p

Tonight’s Finale:
VH1: Celebrity Rehab Presents: Sober House at 10p

FOX picked up the new 13-episode medical/mystery drama Mental from Fox Television Studios. The 60m series, slated to premiere this summer, is produced in association with Fox International Channels (FIC) and was shot at Fox TeleColobia last year in Bogota, Colombia. The series stars Chris Vance (Prison Break) as Dr. Jack Gallagher, a young psychiatrist who becomes Director of Mental Health Services at a Los Angeles hospital and subsequently butts heads with his new conservative boss and former lover, hospital administrator, Nora Skoff played by Annabella Sciorra (The Sopranos). Following its debut in the US, Mental will air across 35 countries within FIC’s territories. Deborah Joy LeVine and Dan Levine are executive producers of the series.

BET’s second season premiere of its gospel competition series Sunday Best last Sunday at 9p, delivered a 1.3 coverage rating and attracted 1.7 million total viewers. In addition, the Sunday Best season opener was the #1 primetime original series on television among Black households.

Starting mid-April, Belo Corp. will enact several “cost-saving measures” to decrease the company’s expenses, reports TVNewsday. These measures include eliminating approximately 150 positions, suspending company 401(k) matching contributions for all employees and a 5% salary trim for those employees involved in Belo’s management compensation programs.

According to a study by Rider Research, the US pay-TV market is doing well as the number of pay-TV subscribers increased by 362,000 during fourth quarter 2008. The report bases its findings on data found in quarterly financial reports from phone, cable and satellite TV companies. The three companies that did the best were Verizon with 303,000 new subs, followed closely by DirecTV with 301,000 and AT&T with 264,000. Losses for fourth quarter were also reported from Comcast at -233,000 subs, Time Warner Cable at -197,000 and Dish Network at -102,000.

Sandi Robinson Spreckman, reality television producer and co-creator of syndicated reality court series Judge Judy, died March 4 at Cedars Sinai Hospital due to complications related to her five year battle with cancer. She was 56. Sandi is survived by her husband Scott and their daughter Brooke.

MIP TV Program Call: If your company will be attending and showcasing programming at MIP TV 2009 in Cannes, France, at the end of next month, Cynopsis will send out a special MIP TV Shopping Guide edition the Thursday before the conference. To have your programming included, please send only the following info for your top 5 shows: title, availability date, number of episodes, length, type (i.e., movie, series, special, etc.), genre, your terms (barter, cash, etc.) and names and contact info of those attending from your company. If your company is interested in being included in this free guide, please send the details to
by Friday, March 20, 2009.

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A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM GOSPEL MUSIC CHANNEL

Viewers will get a free preview of CBS College Sports Network starting this Friday through April 7, cites Multichannel News. The network, with 30 million subscribers currently, will be available during the preview to an additional 20 million subscribers. During the preview window, viewers can take in coverage of Men’s Division 1 college basketball tournament including two first-round out-of-market games and the tournament’s official highlights show, NCAA March Madness Highlights powered by Pontiac. Some of the affiliates participating in the preview are Dish Network, Charter and Comcast in Seattle and San Francisco as well as Time Warner Cable in New York City, Los Angeles and Texas.

 
NBC is rolling out a new reality competition series that embraces the family road trip, reports THR. Great American Road Trip, produced by BBC Worldwide, will focus on seven families as they drive cross-country to iconic tourist destinations like the Grand Canyon and at the same time watches as they compete in various elimination challenges. The eight-episode, one-hour series is slated to premiere this summer along with returning reality series America’s Got Talent among others.

MTV is getting into the funny business as the network announced it ordered one new series and added several new 30m scripted comedy pilots to its
lineup:

• DJ and the Fro – the network ordered this twenty-episode animated series about two office workers who exchange viral videos in the midst of office chaos.

Five new pilots include:

• Private High Musical – based on an online series and spoof of Disney’s High School Musical, created by Taryn Southern.
• Long Distance Relationship – pilot from writer/actor Dan Levy and based on a web series about high school sweethearts who end up at different colleges and continue their relationship via webcam.
• Popzilla – a sketch comedy pilot parodying celebrity news and gossip, written by Dave Thomas.
• Hard Times – about a well-endowed high school nerd who becomes popular after accidentally exposing himself at a basketball game. Seth Grahame-Smith wrote the pilot and David Katzenberg produces.
• Who’s Your Daddy? – from Les Firestein, is an animated comedy about multicultural kids adopted by a celebrity couple.

CBS ordered four new scripts of its Monday night comedy How I Met Your Mother, per TVWeek. The early order is for the 2009-2010 season, allowing producers time to plan the show’s fifth season. The announcement also gives fans of the show a hopeful reprieve as the series will most likely be back in the fall with a full order.

Pilot News:

• Former Jericho star, Skeet Ulrich was picked to head CBS‘ drama pilot Back, reports THR. Produced by CBS Paramount, Back is about a man (Ulrich) who returns home after being reported missing for eight years following 9/11.
• Ashley Jensen, seen recently on ABC’s Ugly Betty, was tapped for CBS‘ pilot Accidentally on Purpose, per THR. Jensen will play best friend to Jenna Elfman’s character, a movie critic who gets pregnant after a one-night stand with a younger man. The series is produced by CBS Paramount.

Lance Smith, well known as a CMT personality and host of CMT Top 20 Countdown, will host season two of Can You Duet on CMT. The weekly music competition series is produced by FremantleMedia North America.

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Google announced it will finally begin offering behavioral ad targeting, a move that has been expected ever since the company acquired DoubleClick for $3.1 billion nearly two years ago. A beta test of new “interest-based” ads launched yesterday on partner sites and on YouTube, associating categories of interest such as sports, gardening, cars, pets with users’ browsers, based on the types of sites they visit and the pages they view. The interest categories will then be cross-referenced to serve relevant text and display ads. The company is walking a tightrope here to try and avoid the fate of behavioral ad firms like NebuAd, which attracted the ire of privacy advocates and the FTC alike. (The FTC’s issued a report last month outlining self-regulatory principles for online advertisers.) Google is clearly trying to offer users a modicum of control; for instance, the Ad Preferences Manager allows users to check themselves to see how Google is categorizing their interests.   Full edition: CYN DIGITAL.

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  A sad result of the current volatile economic times has now hit Sesame Street as the 41-year old non-profit Sesame Workshop announced it will shed one-fifth of its 355 employees. The cuts equal 67 staffers across all divisions, according to a company spokesperson. The organization, behind the Sesame Street television program, toys and community projects, said it had counted on donations from many Wall Street companies, large corporations and private foundations which have cut back on their philanthropic investments. Two big supporters included Bear Stearns and Merrill Lynch. The Sesame Workshop issued this statement: “Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind Sesame Street, is not immune to the unprecedented challenges of today’s economic environment. After careful review, we have concluded that we will have to operate with fewer resources in order to achieve our strategic priorities. Therefore, we have reluctantly decided that we must reduce our workforce by approximately 20%. As difficult as this is, we remain optimistic about our future and are more committed than ever to our mission of helping children reach their highest potential here and around the globe.”   Full edition: CYN KIDS.

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 2/23-3/1/09 ranked by HH Rtg
Wheel of Fortune (CTD)                                   7.5 AA
Jeopardy (CTD)                                               6.2 AA
Oprah Winfrey Show (CTD)                              5.6 AA / 5.7 GAA
Two and a Half Men (WB)                                 5.1 AA / 6.7 GAA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD)                            4.6 AA / 4.7 GAA
Judge Judy (CTD)                                            4.5 AA / 6.9 GAA
Dr. Phil Show (CTD)                                         4.1 AA / 4.1 GAA
Family Guy (2/T)                                             4.1 AA / 4.8 GAA
Seinfeld (SPT)                                                 3.8 AA / 4.3 GAA
Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD)                     3.3 AA / 4.4 GAA
Source: NSS Galaxy Explorer, Live+SD

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 2/23-3/1/09 ranked by A18-49 Rtg
Family Guy (2/T)                                            3.0 AA / 3.4 GAA
Two and a Half Men (WB)                                2.6 AA / 3.4 GAA
Seinfeld (SPT)                                                2.5 AA / 2.8 GAA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD)                                  1.9 AA
Oprah Winfrey Show (CTD)                             1.9 AA / 1.9 GAA
Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD)                    1.9 AA / 2.5 GAA
Friends (WB)                                                  1.8 AA / 2.0 GAA
King of Queens (SPT)                                      1.8 AA / 2.1 GAA
Jeopardy (CTD)                                              1.7 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD)                           1.7 AA / 1.7 GAA
Source: NSS Galaxy Explorer, Live+SD

Tuesday – A18-49 Analysis: FOX won effortlessly Tuesday night at 9.5/25 A18-49 according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. FOX was in the limelight at 8p with American Idol winning at 8.8/24 and NBC’s Biggest Loser came in second at 3.5/10. FOX shot up to a 10.1/25 for the second full hour of American Idol with NBC’s Biggest Loser improving as well and staying in second place at 4.2/11. During the first two hours, MNT debuted new seasons of Street Patrol at 8p with a 0.5/1 and Jail at 9p with a 0.6/1. Then at 10p, FOX’s American Idol carried over into the first 15 minutes by delivering a 10.3/26 – the best ratings of the night for the competition show. Without FOX factored in, NBC’s Law & Order: SVU topped with 3.6/10 followed by a repeat of CBS’ Without a Trace at 2.1/6.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 (March Sweep Day 6) time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated.  Live+SD

FOX: 14.6/23        American Idol 14.6/23

CBS: 8.0/13             NCIS [r] 8.5/13, The Mentalist [r] 9.0/14, Without A Trace [r] 6.7/11

NBC: 6.2/10            The Biggest Loser 7 5.7/9, Law & Order: SVU 7.2/12

ABC: 3.0/5             Homeland Security USA 3.4/5, Scrubs [r] 1.9/3, Scrubs [r] 1.8/3, Primetime: What Would You Do? 3.6/6

UNIV: 2.2/4           Cuidado con el Angel 2.5/4, Manana para Siempre 2.4/4, Aqui y Ahora 1.7/3

CW: 1.0/2             Reaper 1.4/2, 90210 [r] 0.6/1

MNT: 0.9/1            Street Patrol [p] 0.8/1, Street Patrol 2 0.8/1, Jail [p] 0.9/1, Jail 2 0.9/1

TELE: 0.6/1           Dona Barbara 0.6/1, El Rostro de Analia 0.6/1, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 0.7/1, Cartel T 0.7/1

A18-49: FOX 9.5/25, NBC 3.7/10, CBS 2.6/7, UNIV 1.8/5, ABC 1.5/4, CW 0.6/2, TELE 0.6/2, MNT 0.5/1

Lisa-Renee Ramirez joined Entertainment Studios as EVP/Executive Producer of its 24-hour hi-def television network, PETS.TV. Lisa-Renee will manage all production for PETS.TV, one of the six new hi-def networks from Entertainment Studios launching on the Verizon FiOS TV network. For the last six years, Lisa-Renee was at KCBS-TV where she executive produced live red carpet and countdown shows for major events such as the Grammy Awards, Latin Grammy Awards and Emmy Awards which were syndicated to affiliate and O&Os nationwide.

Oxygen Media hired Jessica Nicola in the newly created position as Director/Corporate and Digital Communications, effective immediately. Jessica will create and supervise communications strategies pertaining to Oxygen’s programs and digital initiatives, reporting to Julie Rothman, VP/Communications. Before coming to Oxygen, Jessica was Manager/Communications at MTV in New York. Furthermore, Oxygen Media selected Bryan Hale to be VP/Original Programming and Development, effective immediately. Bryan will manage development for the network on both coasts and find new concepts and talent appealing to Oxygen’s audience. Most recently, Bryan was VP/Development, West Coast for True Entertainment in Los Angeles.

ION Media Networks, Inc. established an integrated distribution division to oversee the company’s relationships with multichannel operators, broadcast affiliates and industry policy heads. John Lawson, EVP, ION Media Networks will lead the Distribution Relations team in addition to representing ION on the boards of the National Association of Broadcasters and Maximum Service Television. Steve Friedman, President/Network Distribution is leaving the company to pursue personal business efforts, though he will be retained as senior advisor pertaining to strategic multichannel distribution issues.

This day in History: 1923 – Dr. Lee DeForest demonstrated phonofilm. It was his technique for putting sound on motion picture film.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: Pulp Fiction saw the return of The Batusi, the dance invented by Arthur Murray for the campy TV series BATMAN in the 1960s.  When Adam West as Batman first introduced The Batusi on the premiere episode, he was dancing with Molly – one of the Riddler’s “henchmen” … who was the actress?  JILL ST. JOHN  Kudos to: Gabriel Alfaya-XL Worldwide New York/New York; Lou Cardone-CBS Television Network/New York; Jeff Grimshaw-American Ingenuity TV/Washington, DC; Heather Weldin-Active Media Services/Pearl River; Brian Nyenhuis-SpotPlus-Dallas; Gary Bradley-liquidus/Chicago; John Novotny-Assignment Desk/Chicago; Rich Koz-WCIU/Chicago; Sheila Manning-Sheila Manning Casting/LA; Vic Lowrey-Vic Lowrey Productions/Santa Clarita; Philip Nielsen-Business Concepts/Manhattan Beach; Mark Showalter-P. S. Media, Inc.;Tri-Cities, WA; Jake Vander Linden-Carat/Guangzhou, China

Today’s Trivia Question:  Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones were also known as whom?   (Email
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
03.12.09

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT –  THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2009

ABC: Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice
AZTECA: Lo Que Callamos Las Mujeres Edicion Especial, Historias Engarzadas, Al Extremo
CBS: Survivor, CSI, Eleventh Hour
CW: Smallville, Supernatural
FOX: Bones, Hell’s Kitchen
ION: Movie: Tango & Cash
MNT: My Thursday Movie: Passenger 57
NBC: My Name is Earl [r], Kath & Kim, The Office, 30 Rock, ER
PBS: This Old House, Antiques Roadshow [r], Pledge Programming
TELE: Dona Barbara, El Rostro de Analia, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso, El Cartel
UNIV: Cuidado con el Angel, Manana es para Siempre, La Rosa de Guadalupe

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