CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

03/18/04

Good morning.  It’s Thursday, March 18, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

Vivendi Universal has filed suit against Barry Diller’s InterActive Corp, requesting the Court veto Diller’s rights to veto Vivendi decisions.  Pending for Vivendi is a $14 billion merger with NBC, a merger which won’t go through unless Diller’s veto power is nullified.  Diller’s deal says he will turn over his veto rights once Vivendi secures a letter of credit which effectively eliminates any financial risk to him.  Vivendi says it has filed such a letter, valued at $1.9 billion, but is still having problems wrestling those veto rights from Diller. Vivendi also contends Diller cannot block the merger whether or not Vivendi is successful in court. The merger is still on track to be completed by June 2004, at which time the new company will be called NBC Universal, of which Vivendi will own 20%.

Fox program changes effective this weekend: Fox’s Sunday night block will begin with back to back King of the Hill at 7p, followed by back to back Simpsons at 8pm.  The 9-10p block stays as is.  Left without a chair are Bernie Mac and Oliver Beene. Bernie Mac will get a new home on Monday’s at 8pm as lead-in to Cracking Up; Beene goes on hiatus.  Another schedule change – Forever Eden moves from Mondays at 9p to Tuesdays at 9pm, a move that was planned, but the timing has been rushed by two weeks.  Now airing on Mondays from 9-10p will be back to back That 70’s Show eps. Then on April 12 the new reality show The Swan kicks in for Mondays at 9p (The Swan makes its net premiere on Wednesday, April 27 following American Idol as an OTO airing).

New in Development/Casting/Production:

• WB‘s pilot The Mountain (Wonderland Sound & Vision/Warner Bros. TV) starring Oliver Hudson with Barbara Hershey and Anson Mount, has added Tara Thompson in the role of Shelly McBride.
• CBS‘ CSI: New York (Bruckheimer Films/Alliance Atlantis/CBS Prods) has signed Gary Sinise to star. Already cast are Vanessa Ferlito and Carmine Giovinazzo.  In an upcoming episode of CSI: Miami, the New York characters will be introduced.  The episode is scheduled to air in May.
• Elsewhere at CBS, in the net’s comedy project Center of the Universe (Tannenbaum/Warner Bros TV/CBS Prods) has added Ed Asner to the growing cast in the role of John Goodman’s father.  In the net’s untitled Aisha Taylor project (Is or Isn’t Entertainment/Warner Bros TV), Lucy Davis will co-star opposite Taylor in a comedy about a sophisticated NY-er makes the move from a high end edgy fashion house to the world of corporate America.  And in Numbers (Scott Free/Paramount) for CBS, Anna Deavere Smith joins the lineup which already includes Peter Macnichol and David Krumholtz, and centered on an MIT math whiz recruited by the FBI.   The network’s crime drama Wanted (25c Prods/Warner Bros. TV/CBS Prods) set in the fugitive dept at the LAPD, has added Jason Gedrick.
• ABC‘s comedy project The Furst Family (Granada/Touchstone) has a new member – French Stewart who joins Marissa Jaret Winokur.  In ABC’s drama project Gramercy Park (Tannenbaum Co/Warner Bros. TV), Camille Guaty is brought on as the Nanny, joining Paul Blackthorne, Elizabeth Mitchell.   Ann Dudek joins the cast of the untitled comedy project with Lewis Black (Paramount) from Victor Fresco. And in the untitled Joel Stein project (Acme Prods/Warner Bros. TV) starring Colin Hanks, Roger Rees steps in as the magazine’s editor.
• NBC‘s untitled Marsh McCall comedy project (Warner Bros TV) about a newly divorced college professor and his adult son adds Greg Pitts to the clan. The pilot stars Tom Conti and Mitch Rouse.  Tammy Lynn Michaels joins the ranks at the untitled comedy project from Deann Heline & Eileen Heisler (NBC Studios), also starring Josh Cooke and Jennifer Finnigan.
• Source: BaselineFT.com, Variety, Hollywood Reporter

If you attend NAB’s Indecency Summit on March 31st, let me know what happens, will you?  It seems the NAB has closed its doors to the press for this particular event   .  Participating in various panels that day are notable such as ABC Network Prez Alex Wallau, Fox Net Group Prez Tony Vinciquerra, an Michael Powell, FCC Chairman.  Many of those panels will be moderated by local station news anchors.  The NAB said in a statement it was closing the gathering to the press in hopes of encouraging an “open and candid dialogue.”   Seems to me, they’ve never been shy before ….

Bravo has ordered a new plastic surgery documentary series called Miami Slice (September Films) according to Variety.   Airing in six parts, this time from the prospective of the surgeon – their practices, their personal lives.

Tom Cosgrove has left ABC Family. According to reports, Cosgrove left his EVP position last week to pursue other interests.  Tom oversaw the network’s program acquisitions and scheduling among other things.

Beginning Sunday April 4 ESPN Desportes, which launched into a full 24/7 cable network this past January, airs the first of its roster of 70 Major League Baseball games.  Sunday’s season opener of Béisbol Dominical de ESPN Deportes will feature Pedro Martinez and the Boston Red Sox visiting Miguel Tejada and his new team, the Baltimore Orioles. Game starts at 8pm. And opening day action continues on Monday, April 5 with three games – beginning with Chicago v. Cincinnati at 2p, San Francisco v. Houston at 7p and Rangers vs. A’s at 1030p. The net’s full schedule includes Sunday night games, Wednesday double headers, a handful of holiday games, the Home Run Derby, the Futures Game and the Triple A All Star game.

South Dakota Television, LLC, a subsidiary of North Dakota Holdings, LLC, will acquire Raycom Media’s KSFY/Sioux Falls and its two satellite stations. KPRY/Pierre and KABY/Aberdeen, pending regulatory approval. Robert Gluck is President of South Dakota Television.

Outdoor Life Network has tapped into the distributing prowess of Gary Lico’s CABLEready to handle its vast library of programming on behalf of the international marketplace.  OLN has 595 hours of programming, 1092 episodes from 41 series and another 8 specials. Additionally, CABLEready will handle the distribution of all future programming from OLN, in addition to the two series already distributed by them, Mysterious Encounters (Bosch Media Group) and Samurai Sportsman (Hidden Treasures Prods).

British cleaning phenoms Kim Woodburn and Aggie Mackenzie are making their way into sloppy American homes/dorms/offices when they join forces with Lifetime Television in How Clean Is Your House, premiering this fall.  The so-called Dream Team of Clean sweep through the mess, leaving cleanliness in their wake, only to return several weeks later to see if the homeowner has kept the place clean.  Produced by FremantleMedia North America, the show is based on the popular British series of the same name. This show will be Lifetime’s fifth non-scripted series.

National Cable Communications (NCC), a leading spot cable rep firm, opened a Miami sales office in a move to expand its multi cultural efforts in the flourishing Hispanic marketplace.  Noeli Sanchez will head the Miami office as Director/Multi cultural Sales & Emerging Markets .  Kim Fabian will join Noeli in her newly promoted position as Regional Account Manager. 

MSNBC’s The Future is Now: Tech Summit 2004, a live sneak-peek at the latest high-tech advances in television, cars, cell phones, music, etc., returns this Sunday, March 21, 8p with co-hosts Lester Holt and Lisa Ling.  Guests will include Thom Felicia (Queer Eye), Mark Cuban, HDNet owner and NBA’s Dallas Mavericks’ owner; race car driver Mario Andretti and Joe Trippi, MSNBC election analyst.

Thanks to a two hour American Idol, Fox again won the night on Tuesday with a smashing 11.2/28 A18-49 rating according to Nielsen Media Research. Not only did they win the night, they had the biggest Tuesday night in the history of the network.  ABC was a very very distant #2 with a 3.1/8, followed by ABC 3.1/8, CBS 2.6/7, NBC 2.9/7, UPN 1.8/5, WB 1.1/3.  Idol easily won each half hour from 8-10p, maintaining a 28 or 29 share each half hour. Among the decidedly more female W18-49 Idol ranked a 13.9/31.  Elsewhere, CBS was #2 at 8-9p with Navy NCIS pulling a 3.1/8 with ABC close behind by a share point with 8 Simple Rules/I’m With Her.  At 9pm According to Jim/Less than Perfect was #2 with a 3.2/8.  UPN’s America’s Next Top Model in it second to last episode of the season scored a 2.6/6 A18-49 and a 5.0/12 W18-34, and a 3.3/9 W18-49, placing the show #2 behind Fox in both female demos. Meanwhile Century City which premiered on CBS at 9pm drew a less than stellar 2.2/5 A1849, though did better among A25-54 (3.1/7). At 10p NBC stepped up and earned a 4.0/11 for L&O: SVU [r], with NYPD Blue just a share point behind.

Casting Note:   Okay fess up – which of you has always dreamed of behind a Las Vegas Showgirl?  That’s okay, don’t tell me, but you may want to tell the folks who are casting for a new show, looking for both professional and aspiring dances to live the Las Vegas life and compete for a Showgirl contract in a lavish as only Las Vegas can do, production.  A group of participants will be brought to Vegas where they will live in primo style, and compete to fill that Showgirl dream.  Check here for more information and an application:  www.vegasdreamshow.com

Correction:  It is Starz Encore who will have the pay TV window of Dimension Pictures movie Bad Santa, now Showtime.

David Theodosopoulos has been upped to SVP/Business Affairs & Legal, for Paramount Domestic Television.  David was previously VP/Business Affairs & Legal.  He reports to Bruce Pottash, EVP/Business Affairs & Legal and is based in Hollywood.

September Films, a producer and distributor of reality programming and entertainment formats in the UK, has named Alan Winters as President/September Films USA.  Alan will report to David Green, Chairman and Founder of the London-based company and will be based in LA.

Robert Getz was named as Regional Account Manager/Multi cultural Sales & Emerging Markets for National Cable Communications (NCC).  He will be based in NCC’s Dallas office.

Tracey Marshak has been named Account Executive for PIC-TV.  She will report to Steve Berger, President/CEO of PIC-TV and will be based in New York.  Tracey will be responsible for promoting the use of PIC-TV services through agencies and advertisers in the eastern region. 

Renee Young has been named SVP at Rubenstein Public Relations, it was announced today by Richard Rubenstein. Their offices are based in New York.

Tuesday, March 16, 2004. Fast Affiliate Household Ratings for all Networks. Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period data, not program data, and can change slightly once the finals come in, particularly for LIVE programming (i.e. Football). Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

FOX     15.2/23 American Idol 15.2/23

CBS     7.6/12  Navy NCIS 8.5/13, Century City [p] 5.9/9, Judging Amy 8.2/14

ABC     5.5/9   8 Simple Rules 5.2/8, I’m with Her 4.2/6, According to Jim 5.3/8, Less than Perfect 4.9/7, NYPD Blue 6.6/11

NBC     5.4/9   Whoopi 4.7/7, Happy Family 4.0/6, Frasier 5.6/8, Scrubs 4.5/7, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit [r] 6.9/12

UPN     2.8/4   One on One [r] 1.7/3, All of Us [r] 2.1/3, America’s Next Top Model 3.7/6

WB      1.9/3   Gilmore Girls [r] 2.1/3, High School Reunion [r] 1.7/3

A18-49  FOX 11.2/28, ABC 3.1/8, CBS 2.6/7, NBC 2.9/7, UPN 1.8/5, WB 1.1/3

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source: NTI Explorer, 3/15/04 or as noted.  Sunday 8-9p.  US Rating.  Ranks based on HH.  

The History Channel presents This Day in History: 
1963 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Gideon v. Wainwright that the state is obligated to provide public defenders for defendants in felony cases who are too poor to afford a lawyer.

Answer to yesterday’s Trivia Question:  Jamie Rose played a red-haired Irish police officer working in Chicago, carrying .357 magnum a la Dirty Harry.  Also in this series was Danny Aiello as her boss; Nan Woods, Bruce Young and Ralph Foody.  The show was rated that season’s most violent program.  It was 1985.  What was the name of this show? DAVID GERBER’S LADY BLUE.  Kudos to:   Tom Calato-WKMG/Orlando; Scott Pesner-NMA Ent & Mktg/NY; Eli Bailin-Mediavest WW/NY; Bruce Shachat-NBC/NY; Michael Grueter-Empower MediaMarketing/Cincinnati; Jeff Roark-Clear Channel/Wichita; Les Stipp-GSD&M/Chicago; Stephen Venneman-WISC/Madison WI; Karen Miller-Reality Central/LA; Wendy Tateishi-PHD/LA; Rochelle Zoellers-Doner Adv/Newport Beach; Phyllis Ann Coblentz-Crisman Films/LA.

Today’s Trivia Question:  Naturally you’ve heard of the guest house by the sea, Fawlty Towers, owed by Basil and Sybil Fawlty..  The question is, what was the name of the sea?   (
to respond to the trivia question and please be sure to include with your answer your name, company, city and time zone. Only the second four correct responses from each time zone will be listed in tomorrow’s kudo list.)

Later — Cyn

Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis
03/18/04  5:33am
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2004

COURT TV:       The I-Zone, Forensic Files, Body of Evidence, The Investigators
ABC             Extreme Makeover: Home Edition [r], Extreme Makeover, Primetime Thursday
CBS             NCAA Basketball (OTO)
FOX             Tru Calling, Wonderfalls [r]
NBC             Friends, Will & Grace, The Apprentice: A Look Back, ER [r]
PAX             AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             WWE Smackdown
WB              Steve Harvey’s Big Time, Like Family, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, The Jamie Kennedy Experiment [r]
TELE            Prisonera, El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Aqui y Ahora

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