A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM VH1

*Source: NHI Explorer, 1Q05 vs. all other quarters,  P18-49 cvg. rating, M-Su 11a-3:30am

CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis

05/12/05

Good morning.  It’s Thursday, May 12, 2005. The Cynopsis server unexpectedly went down last night around midnight, and was long in regaining its sea legs. It’s only happened a couple of times in the past half dozen years, but its always memorable. Thanks for your patience.

Couple of changes with CNBC’s program schedule.  This Friday will be Dennis Miller’s last show, having voiced internally his desire to leave the program. The show has averaged approx 168,000 viewers since its launch in January 2004, though saw declines in the post-election months. Filling the 9p time period will be an additional airing of Mad Money with Jim Cramer at 9p ET/PT.  A new program will join the schedule at 7p in third quarter; no info on this show as yet.  Late Night with Conan O’Brien continues to be repurposed on CNBC at 7p until third qtr; and The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch remains at 10p.

As of June 6 CNN will also be seeing some scheduling changes, adding Your World Today, the CNN International newscast, at noon.  And scheduled to kick off in third qtr this year, Wolf Blitzer will anchor a three hour daily newscast beginning at 3p from Washington, with a focus on politics, business and international news.  Previously announced were the cancellations of Inside Politics and Crossfire.

Touchstone TV has locked up the creator/exec producer of its hit series Grey’s Anatomy for two more years. Shonda Rhimes will continue as showrunner for the series, while working on new projects for the studio.  Rhimes deal has an option for a third year.

David Arquette = Dirt Squirrel.  Not a disparaging remark – that is actually the name of the superhero he plays in a pilot of the same name, picked up by MTV.  Produced by Arquette and Courtney Cox’s Coquette Prods, the live action/animated series features Arquette as our neighborhood hero, fighting against bad guys – both animated and live action, and ridding the neighborhood of evil doers.  Assisting him in his unselfish tasks are his merry band of helper, known as the League of Super Nuts: skateboarder Merlin Ipswich and ‘rebel grrrl’ Jeannie Ipswich, played by Jeff Braine and Brittany Finamore. Cox will have a role in the pilot as one of the villains.

Showtime has cast Omar Gooding in the lead role of its new series Barbarshop set to debut in August.  The series picks up where the MGM film left off, with the same characters (Gooding plays Calvin, the role played by Ice Cube in the films) and new ones.  Cast members include Gbenga Akinnagbe, Anna Brown, John Wesley Chatham, Leslie Elliard, Barry Shabaka Henley, Toni Trucks and Dan White.

WB’s Summerland returns to the primetime schedule on Tuesday June 7 at 9p, with repeats airing on Mondays at 9p beginning June 13.

The BBC may be in for a bit of employee trouble with three member union’s voting in support of a strike against the UK network’s job cutting proposal.  Bectu, Amicus and the National Union of Journalists members overwhelmingly decided, as Bectu’s top BBC official, Luke Crawley, stated that “this is a clear signal to Mark Thompson that he is going too far, too fast, in his plans for changes. We’ve got an overwhelming mandate for strike action, proving that the dg is badly out of touch with his staff.”  The strike may begin as soon as May 20 (UK law requires unions to give 7 days notice of a strike).  Union reps are meeting this week to decide their strategy in this strike response to Mark Thompson’s recent and past announcements to pink slip thousands of employees (one fifth of its staff) and sell BBC Broadcast and BBC Resources in order to efficiently reorganize the network corporation in time for the BBC’s 2006 Charter Renewal (governs BBC’s funding and practices).  According to Variety, the BBC stated in an emailed declaration that the network desired to continue discussions with the unions. It further said that “given the scale of the changes that the BBC needs to make, and that the unions have not allowed us to talk to them in order to address their concerns, we are not surprised by the ballot result, but we are disappointed.”

The News-Press & Gazette Company is acquiring KIFI/Idaho Falls-Pocatello from the Brady family for the price of $12.5 million.  The ABC affiliate also comes with four translator station, two in Idaho and two in Jackson, Wyoming.  The addition of KIFI-TV brings the total station group for News-Press up to five, all in small to midsized markets – Palm Springs, Yuma, El Paso and Bend, Oregon.

Christina Norman has been appointed President/MTV: Music Television and Tom Calderone has been named General Manager/VH1.  The announcement was made by Van Toffler, President/MTV Networks Music, Film, Logo Group, to whom both will report.  Christina was previously President of VH1 where she has been credited with successfully helping lead the network to unprecedented ratings success, as well as re-energizing VH1’s on-air design and overall creative direction. Tom has served as EVP/Music Programming and Talent for MTV & MTV2 where he oversaw development and played an instrumental role in shepherding new programming to MTV2.

Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) Europe, Middle East & Africa, has announced that it has combined its Sales and Portfolio Development Group functions under Philippe Maigret, who has been promoted to the new role of SVP/Sales and Portfolio Dev Group, EMEA. Tom Toumazis, EVP/Managing Director EMEA, BVITV, made the announcement, and it’s effective immediately. Philippe was formerly BVITV’s VP, Portfolio Devt Group, which has responsibility for producer group liaison and content management. He will continue to report to Tom Toumazis

Sergio Mankita has been named National Sales Manager for Vivelo!, a joint venture of Clear Channel Entertainment and Grupo Televisa S.A.   Vivelo! is the premier US Hispanic marketing and entertainment company that specializes in the promotion and production of major national music tours, live entertainment, sports and festivals.  Sergio, based in Miami, will cover Texas and the West Coast as he explores sponsorship opportunities with brands and advertising agencies.

Wayne Becker joins The Golf Channel as VP/Programming & International, based in Orlando.  His duties at The Golf Channel will include overseeing the programming schedule, program acquisition and developing The Golf Channel’s international presence.

Trylon Communications, Inc., is expanding its management team and restructuring, bringing on three new executives.  Ronni M. Faust has joined the agency as SVP/Managing Director.  In her new role, she will be overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations, including quality control and professional development.  Blanche Frankel has been named VP/Strategy & Planning, and will lead Trylon’s business development initiatives.  In addition, Rebeca Schiller has been appointed VP/Client Services, and will be assisting in the supervision of media relations accounts.  The announcement was made today by Lloyd P. Trufelman, President/CEO, Trylon Communications, Inc.

Beth Olsen, Associate Director of Public Relations for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has joined Goodman Media International, Inc. as an Account Director, it was announced by Tom Goodman, President & CEO.  Beth brings nearly 10 years of PR and marketing experience in the areas of arts, entertainment, and education to her new position.  She will be based at Goodman Media’s New York office.  She begins her duties immediately.

Jaime Pollack has been named Assistant General Counsel for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.  Jaime will work on business affairs and be based out of UFC’s headquarters in Las Vegas. 

Tuesday – A18-49 Analysis- May Sweep Day #13:  The ratings race on Tuesday night was between CBS and Fox, with Fox winning the overall by posting an 8.8/23 A18-49 over CBS’ 5.6/14, according to final numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  The 8pm hour was completely dominated by American Idol with a 10.2/29, with NCIS a distant #2 in the hour with a 3.1/9.  At 9p House on Fox delivered its highest ratings in its history among A18-49 with a 7.5/18, well ahead of the first hour of CBS’ Amazing Race (6.1/14).  At 10p CBS’ final hour of Amazing Race beat the competition soundly (and with an original L&O: SVU, that’s no small potatoes) earning a 7.3/18 ahead of NBC’s 4.8/12.

FINAL HOUSEHOLD RATINGS:   Tuesday, May 10, 2005, for all Networks – program averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

FOX     13.0/20  American Idol 14.6/24, House 11.3/17

CBS     9.3/15   NCIS 8.8/14, Amazing Race [finale] 9.6/15

NBC     5.9/9    Most Outrageous Game Show Moments [r] 3.7/6, Scrubs 4.1/6, Will & Grace 3.9/6, Law & Order: SVU 10.1/16

ABC     4.5/7    My Wife & Kids 3.6/6, George Lopez 3.6/6, According to Jim 5.2/8, According to Jim 5.3/8, Blind Justice 4.6/7

WB      3.0/5    Gilmore Girls 3.5/6, One Tree Hill 2.5/4

UPN      1.9/3       All of Us 1.5/2, Eve 1.7/3, Veronica Mars 2.2/3

A18-49                Fox 8.8/23, CBS 5.6/14, NBC 3.0/8, ABC 2.4/6, WB 2.0/5, UPN 1.1/3

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1985 – Philadelphia Police evacuate local residents in preparation for a massive operation against MOVE, a radical group with a history of speaking out against police brutality. The following day, the police drop a bomb on the MOVE headquarters, killing six adults and five children and destroying an entire block of Philadelphia homes. In 1996, the former mayor and two former city officials are ordered to pay $1.5 million in damages.

Answer to Yesterday’s trivia question: Who am I?  I am an Armenian private eye who lives and works in West LA.  My secretary is Ms. Fair who is a single mom to a son.  I also have many skills such as flying airplanes and helicopters, sailing and karate. Who am I?   JOE MANNIX Kudos to:  Barry Brown-Time Warner Cable/NY; Fred O’Donnell-Alfred Haber Dist.Inc./Palisades Park NJ; Marge Pistulka-Empower Media Marketing/Coral Springs; Hank Bordowitz-Bordowitz Media Works/Suffern NY; Nick Frazer/Denver; John Kukla-Creative Services/Dallas; Ronnea Anderson-WB2/Greenwood Villiage CO; Kenny Mueller-Comcast Spotlight/Dallas; Art Davie-WOW Productions/LA;  Lina Jofery-Sony Pictures Tel Res./Culver City CA;Mellisa Anthony-20thTelevsion/Santa Monica; David Scott Jones-Marleigh Ent/LA

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Today’s trivia question:  I am a white bird named Fred.  I do like to speak occasionally.  What television show might you find me on?  (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.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM SUPERSTATION WGN

Later — Cyn
05.12.05 
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JOB OPENING:  ACCOUNT EXEC/Nielsen, New York. Sell Nielsen products to Local Stations/Agencies. Focus on the Greensboro and Richmond markets. 5+ years research/sales industry experience a must. www.NielsenMedia.com (200502551-JL)  (5/19)

JOB OPENING: SR RESEARCH ANALYST AD SALES/AETN-NY. Provide research tools for sales to properly position nets in mktplce. Knwldge of Nielsen systems/ad sales process. 3-5 yrs TV, cable or agency exp. Resume:
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JOB OPENING: PR MGR (5-7 yrs) & SR. AE (3-5 yrs)–NY. Pros w/ strong writ. skills to work on TV accts., placement track record and strong contacts w/ cons. & trade press a must. Admin. & Freelance also avail. Email
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JOB OPENING: ICM is seeking is seeking an ASSISTANT TO A NEWS/BROADCASTING AGENT in its NYC office. A bachelor’s degree and at least 3 years administrative experience are required. Please email resume to
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JOB OPENING:  INTERACTIVE AE-CNN/NY. Dev digital bus in NE region, working closely w. CNN TV Sales force. Strong contacts
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JOB OPENING:  RES ANALYST, FoxSportsNet/NY Ad Sales. Strong analytical skills/strategic: exc comm/pres. skills. Resp for LOCAL mkt qual/quant res; Expert: Prime Next, Navigator, Mkt Advisor & MS apps. Apply: www.foxcareers.com (5/18)

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JOB OPENING:  RESEARCH DIRECTOR, TV One. Ad Sales-NY Office. Must have 5-7 years experience. Please see our web site for a detailed job description and other exciting career opportunities. www.tvoneonline.com (5/18)

JOB OPENING:  SR. DIRECTOR, MKTG SOLUTIONS, AZN Television (Asian American Network) NY/LA. BA or equiv. Knowledge and experience in ad sales, mktg and bus dev. to lead sales dev/promos.  Resume:
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JOB OPENING: EXEC DIR, MKTG & CREATIVE, Int’l Networks, Denver. Lead IN’s strategic creative design and production efforts across all product lines. BA and on-air/print production experience required. Resume:
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JOB OPENING:  DIR-VOD , Int’l Networks, Denver. Manage, implement IN’s VOD strategy. Review, select multi-cultural pgms, schedule, measure usage. BA or equiv, 2+ yrs exp pgm acquisition and/or sched. Resume:
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JOB OPENING:  EXEC ASST-Authentic Ent./LA.  Entry level to assist in dev/prod. Org., creative, skilled w/graphics, editing, and writing a +.  More co. info: www.authentictv.com. Resumes:
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JOB OPENING: MTV Networks-MGR, MKT DEVELOPMENT. Mng sales efforts/renewals for Spike TV for all Canadian Affiliates. Dev distribution strategies to maximize Spike TV distribution in Canada. Apply: www.mtvncareers.com EOE

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JOB OPENING:  SR RESEARCH ANALYST, Turner Corp Strategic Research-ATL. 3+ yrs Nat’l TV exp; strong analytical skills, exc. Comp skills & prof in Nielsen systems req. Info www.turnerjobs.com #41938BR Resume
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JOB OPENING:  STATION MANAGER/GSM KFBB ABC5 Great Falls, MT. 2+yrs TV sales management, strong work ethic, proven leader. Oversee Sales, Ops, News, & Helena LP. Resume, cover letter, salary history to
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JOB OPENING:  MANAGER, AFFILIATE MARKETING, OLN- Stamford, CT – Develop/execute affiliate and LAS promos for anchor pgming. 5yrs affiliate mktg exp at cable network or system. See www.olntv.com Resume/salary:
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JOB OPENING: SENIOR AD SALES RESEARCH ANALYST/Discovery Nets-NY: Min 4 yrs research exp. & proficiency in Nielsen systems required. Strong communication/computer skills. Resume/salary req. to
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JOB OPENING:  SR. DIRECTOR NICK BRAND MKTG/NY. Dev/implement integrated mktg strategies/plans for Nick TV properties, initiatives, launches. 5+ yrs Consumer Mktg exp pref at network or kid ent co. Apply: www.mtvncareers.com EOE   (5/13)

JOB OPENING:  RESEARCH ANALYST/Comcast Spotlight-Atlanta. 2+ yrs sales/mktg research exp. Exc comm & computer skills. Knwldg of industry res tools/sftwr; able to teach res concepts, sftwr/apps. Apply Online: www.Comcast.com EOE  (5/13)

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SUMMER INTERNSHIP – SCHOOL CREDIT 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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SUMMER INTERNSHIP – SCHOOL CREDIT ONLY:  Exciting new ‘LIVE’ SYNDIE TV SHOW. Assist w/office, runs, pre-prod, & more.  Requirements: smart, detail-oriented, computer literate, reliable, dedicated students.  Email resume to
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SUMMER INTERNSHIP – SCHOOL CREDIT ONLY:  Authentic Entertainment has an INTERNSHIP opening assisting research, development, production, & post.  Skills with graphics, editing, writing a plus.  Send resumes to:
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: Thursday May 12,  2005

ABC              Thursday Movie: Big Fat Greek Wedding, Prime Time Live
CBS              Survivor, CSI, Without a Trace
FOX              The O.C., The Simple Life, The Simple Life
NBC              Joey (1hr), The Apprentice, ER
PAX              Young Blades, Diagnosis Murder
UPN              WWE Smackdown
WB               Blue Collar TV, Blue Collar TV [r], Blue Collar TV [r], Blue Collar TV [r]
TELE             Amarte Asi (7p), Los Plateados, La Ley del Decisiones
UNIV             Apuesta por un Amor, La Madrastra, Aqui y Ahora