CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

05/06/04

Good morning. It’s Thursday, May 6, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

SERIES FINALES:  Friends, tonight at 9p on NBC.  Anybody want to place a bet on rtg?  I’ll guess a 28 HH rtg.

MTV Networks had their group upfront-a-thon last night in NYC and while last year’s extravaganza was a huge affair, the nets this year didn’t disappoint.  In keeping with the MTV style of keeping viewers on edge and always providing the unexpected, the list of star appearances were largely the unexpected – Muhammed Ali, Paul Newman, former Mayor Rudy Guliani, Walter Cronkite, Alisha Keyes, Isiah Thomas, Dolly Parton, Berlin, Fleetwood Mac and Sugarland Express. Among the less unexpected (because they appear on one of the nets) were Candice Bergen, Blair Underwood, the boys from Southpark, Fred Willard, Jessica & Nick,  and opening standup from Jon Stewart.  An impressive list.  The programming announcements were largely not new, as they have been released bit by bit over the past few weeks.  What was new was the addition of MTVNcast, a vehicle by which buyers can buy across all five MTVN networks (MTV, VH1, Spike, Comedy, and NAN) in a roadblock of spots, in a variety of demos and time periods. New doc & special programming info did come out of Spike — Among their docs are Hardwood Dreams 2, produced by Fred Golding and Tollin/Robbins, revisits the same players as the original 1994, this time ten years after their high school dreams. The Precinct is a 6-part limited series that takes an up close and personal look in one of America’s ‘most notorious police precincts.’ Produced by James Stoltz.  And Testosterone Boys, a BBC production, examines the lives of amateur bodybuilders and what they do to maintain their rip-ed-ness.
 
TBS/TNT has picked up the first run rights for Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, and Ella Enchanted from Miramax Films.  Ella Enchanted and volume one of Kill Bill come to the Turner nets as of January 2006; Kill Bill vol 2 arrives the following June.  TNT and TBS’ rights to Kill Bill vols 1 & 2 are for years one, three and five; while Ella Enchanted is for years 1-3 of the first network window.  At this point, there has not been a broadcast partner named and no financials of the deal were disclosed.

Enough is enough.  Scripted foul language before 10pm is one thing – but when CBS affiliates are concerned about news coverage, and PBS considers editing out a nude lithograph from Antiques Roadshow, then it has all gone too far. Local stations should not have to fear losing their license because someone on a live network feed uttered an unscripted and unplanned ‘swear’ word. Radio stations should not have to remove classic rock and roll music from their playlists for fear of being fined.  Last week the 24/7 cable news networks were covering the action in Iraq by one intrepid photog racing after soldiers engaged in heavy battle.  During the confusion, a US soldier was hit with the compression of an explosion and uttered the F word.  When he comes home, will he be fined?  No, because he was on cable, but according to some holding public office, that’s just a matter of time. Yesterday the Association of Public Television Stations joined the networks in filing a petition with the FCC to reverse the decision to fine NBC on the Bono utterance at the Golden Globes, saying context must be considered, and isolated events have to be taken into account. The CBS affiliate filing read, “The order, if not corrected, will fundamentally alter the manner in which local broadcasters engage in newsgathering. It also will change the relationship between networks [and affiliates].” In NBC’s filing: “Self-censorship is the harsh result of the order; it is intolerable and contrary to the public interest; and it cannot be allowed to stand.” And the Assoc of Public Television Stations said, “This self-censorship by public television producers and broadcasters, who have a longstanding, demonstrated and consistent track record of offering quality, stimulating and education programming, has resulted in a loss to the public television system and the public we serve.”  At what point will we begin fining the viewers for inadvertently viewing an inadvertent utterance inadvertently aired?

Six new series will make their debuts on GSN this summer, beginning on June 14:  Extreme Dodgeball (Tues 10p, 6/15), Vegas Weddings Unveiled (Fri 10p, 6/18), Streets Smarts (M-F 11p, 6/14), and off-nets Dog Eat Dog (M-F 9p, 6/14), Average Joe (Wed 10p, 6/16)and Star Search (M-F 7p, 6/14).  GSN is currently available in 54 million homes via cable and satellite.

Diet Coca Cola has put two new faces to its brand – Kate Beckinsale who will be sporting a bikini, and Adrien Brody, who hopefully will not. Under the tag It’s a Diet Coke thing, the idea is for the ads to capture the effervescence of the soda.  The campaign was created by Interpublic’s FCB and kicks off next week utilizing TV, print, radio and the internet.

Have you ever seen the Olympic flame being carried and run past you in person?  If not, and it’s coming to a city near you – go see it.  Amazing how the enormity and history of the event is so easily captured in a single flame.  If you do see it, among those running the torch this Olympic summer will be Magic Johnson, Jennifer Aniston, Edwin Moses, Angelina Jolie, among many former Olympians.  The flame begins its journey in Greece at the Athen’s marble stadium, and in 78 days covers the globe from Australia to Brazil, to Cairo, to the US and Europe, all in all covering 46,800 miles, 27 countries and 33 cities with all together about 11,000 flame carriers. 

Remember last summer the WB’s Pepsi Play for a Billion sweepstakes? Well, it’s migrated over to ABC this spring/summer. Here’s how it works – you buy Pepsi.  You enter the sweepstake code on the inside of the cap at the sweepstakes website.  There are other ways to enter, but for time sake, let’s move on. A group of you gets chosen to participate in a game show hosted by Damon Wayans on September 12 (produced by Michael Davies of Who Wants to be a Millionaire) and the winner gets a billion bucks.  ABC calls it their biggest television promotion in the network’s history. 

I bet a girl wins Idol this time.

Attention Survivor fans – eBay will be auctioning off immunity idols, torches, tribal flags, voting urn and much other memorabilia from the All-Stars episode starting May 9, continuing through the end of the month.  New stuff will be added regularly for the first four days of the auction.  All proceeds go to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

NBC claimed Tuesday night as its own with a very strong 6.8/19 A18-49 rating for the night according to Nielsen Media Research.  NBC followed with a 4.2/12, ahead of ABC 3.1/8, CBS 2.3/6, WB 1.9/5, UPN 0.9/3.  Fox began with American Idol posting an 8.7/26 (11.3/31 among W18-49), leaving everyone else in the dust – Navy NCIS, Frasier repeats, 8 Simple Rules, Gilmore Girls and sitcoms on UPN.  At 9pm, Fox’s 24 held just 50% of its leadin stardust delivering a 4.9/13, tied in share with NBC’s Frasier/Scrubs combo.  ABC climbed to a 9 share with According to Jim and Less than Perfect. WB’s One Tree Hill won the teen category with a 3.9/13. At 10p with Fox prime safely tucked in bed for the night, NBC rose to the occasion with a 5.4/14 for Law & Order.  ABC’s NYPD Blue ranked #2 with a 3.6/10, followed by Judging Amy on CBS with a 2.9/8.

Jennifer Reichenbach has been named VP/New Media Distribution, Affiliate Sales & Marketing for Discovery Network.  This marks Jennifer’s return to Discovery after a five year absence spent with Turner Broadcasting as VP/National Accounts and Strategic Marketing.  Her responsibilities will include developing relationships with affiliates to support Discovery’s new media efforts with a specific focus on VOD and SVOD, interactive television and broadband product lines.
 
Also at Discovery, Sandi Castro has been named Account Director/Western Region, Affiliate Sales & Marketing, reporting to Bob Gold, VP/Western Region.  Sandi will lead sales and marketing for Discovery’s 13 domestic networks and secure the carriage of Discovery’s emerging networks.
 
John B. Poor, Jr. has joined the Television Bureau of Advertising as VP/Marketing.  John makes the move from Petry Media where he was EVP. 

John Redmann, former Exec Prod of the Wayne Brady Show, Rosie O’Donnell Show and Leeza, will now exec prod Buena Vista’s newest daytime property – The Tony Danza Show.

Ghen Maynard has been named EVP/Primetime Development at NBC, making the move fromhis post at CBS.  Ghen will oversee scripted development and report to Kevin Reilly, newly named President/NBC Entertainment.

Tuesday, May 4, 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     10.2/16 American Idol 13.1/22, 24 7.3/11

CBS     7.6/12  Navy NCIS 7.0/11, The Guardian [season finale] 7.0/11, Judging Amy 8.7/14

NBC     7.2/12  Frasier 4.1/7, Frasier 4.9/8, Frasier 9.0/14, Scrubs 7.3/11, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 9.0/15

ABC     5.5/9   8 Simple Rules 4.3/7, 8 Simple Rules [r] 4.3/7, According to Jim 5.3/8, Less Than Perfect 5.5/8, NYPD Blue 6.7/11

WB      3.0/5   Gilmore Girls 3.1/5, One Tree Hill 2.8/4

UPN     1.8/3   One on One 2.1/4, All of Us 1.9/3, Rock Me Baby 1.6/2, Girlfriends [r] 1.6/2

A18-49  FOX 6.8/19, NBC 4.2/12, ABC 3.1/8, CBS 2.3/6, WB 1.9/5, UPN 0.9/3

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source:  NTI explorer 9/22/03-5/2/04.  US HH Ratings.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1994 – Queen Elizabeth II of England and President François Mitterand of France formally open the Channel Tunnel­a.k.a. the “Chunnel”­with elaborate celebrations on both sides of the Channel.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  courtesy of Mike Lightner-PAX TV/LA: As we sadly face the final series of Friends, here is a Friends question — When Eddie moves in with Chandler, what animal did he contribute to the apartment? It wasn’t a duck, a ferret, a tarantula or a dead fish.  It was a A GOLDFISH … CRACKER.  Kudos to the entire free world of Friends fans — enjoy the finale tonight!

A MESSAGE FROM WE: WOMEN’S ENTERTAINMENT

Real life.  Real singles.

We’ve checked out the dating scenes from Manhattan to Vegas, and this year we’re taking our hip reality series Single In … to new cities for even more dating adventures. It’s real. It’s relevant. And it’s exactly where you want to be.

SINGLE IN THE HAMPTONS  |  MONDAYS AT 10 PM (ET)
For more information, visit www.sales.we.tv.

Today’s Trivia Question:  This TV western was set in Kentucky and focused on a well-off family who owned a tobacco farm in the post Civil War 1881.  What was the name of this short term western?   (click here 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
05/06/04  5:22am
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JOB OPENING:  TIME SALES ADMINISTRATOR/Lifetime TV NY. Primary resp. are scheduling, placement, trafficking of all time sales pgms. See www.lifetimetv.com/about/jobs for more info; email resume/cover ltr:
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JOB OPENING:  Successful NY based television music company seeks Director of Production.  Top-notch client relation skills, great with budgets, and an excellent manager of production staff.  Email resume to:
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JOB OPENING:  SENIOR ANALYST, SYN. RESEARCH, Buena Vista TV, LA. 2+ yrs. exp. Proficiency w/Nielsen Gal. Expl., Mkt. Brks, WRAP, Word, Excel & Powerpoint necessary.  Please send resumes to
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JOB OPENING:  BCST DESIGNER, Comedy Central/NY. Bcst/Motion Graphic Dsgnr & Animator. Strong design/typogrph skills/After Effects  Photo Shop/Illstr. Prior exp net/des house a+. Print/Flash/3D Bkgd need not apply. www.mtvncareers.com (5/12)

JOB OPENING:  SR DIR BIZ DEV, MTV/NY. Gaming/digital media/strategic planning exp req. Identify/analyze/dev new biz ops/strategies. 5+yrs in field. Must: PPt/Excel(fin. modeling) & pres. skills.MBA a +. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (5/12)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: THURSDAY, MAY 6, 2004

COURT TV:       The I-Zone, Forensic Files, Body of Evidence, The Investigators
ABC             Extreme Makeover: Friends Helping Friends, Primetime Thursday
CBS             Survivor: All Stars, CSI, Without a Trace
FOX             Special: Cops: Crimes Of Passion Special Edition  (OTO)
NBC             Special: The One with All the Other Ones-A Friends Retrospective, Friends [Series Finale], ER
PAX             AFV, AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             WWE Smackdown
WB              Steve Harvey’s  [r], Steve Harvey’s [r], Steve Harvey’s [r], Steve Harvey’s [r]
TELE            Prisonera, El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Aqui y Ahora