CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

10/07/04

Good morning. It’s Thursday, October 7, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

With sustaining coverage from 9-1030pm on Tuesday night for the Vice Presidential Debates, ratings for Tuesday night do not include the 90m time frame.  With that said, NBC led the pack on Tuesday night among A18-49 with an overall (excluding 9-1030p) 3.3/8 rating according to Nielsen Media Research.  Fox was a close #2 with a 3.2/9 from 8-11pm, followed by ABC 3.0/8, CBS 2.8/7, WB 2.5/6, UPN 1.2/3.  Fox’s baseball coverage picked up a bit with the men 18-49, averaging a 3.8/11 from 8-11p
At 8pm ABC was in front with a 3.3/10 for My Wife & Kids and a 3.6/10 for George Lopez. CBS was #2 with a 3.1/9 for NCIS, while NBC and the WB were tied at a 7 share. Among W18-34 for the hour, WB’s Gilmore Girls wiped up the field with a 5.1/15, well ahead of each of the other network’s single digit shares in the demo. 
WB’s 9pm program, One Tree Hill, averaged a 2.3/6 A18-49, picking up considerably among teens (4.6/15) and women (4.7/12 W18-34).

As far as total viewers for the VP Debate from 9-1030p, NBC had an average of 11.5 million viewers, ABC 10.3 million, and CBS 9.2 million.  On the cable side, Fox News led with 7.8 million viewers from 9-11pm, CNN 3.3 million and MSNBC 1.5 million.  Interestingly, it was only MSNBC that had more viewers for the VP debate than the Presidential debate last September 30 (1.34 million).   The total number of viewers tuning in to the debate on Tuesday night was 43.6 million.  The only VP debate in the last 15 years to deliver more viewers was the three way candidate debate in 1992 with Gore, Quayle and Stockdale drawing 51.2 million.

Tonight’s Premieres:
ABC:  Life as We Know It at 9pm
WB:  Drew Carey’s Green Screen at 9p

Casting / Development / Production:

• Actor and former Senator from Tennessee, Fred Thompson, will get two shots at Law & Order, adding the new Dick Wolf series L&O: Trial by Jury to his resume beginning with its premiere midseason.  Thompson plays DA Arthur Branch on the original Law & Order.
• Newlyweds Nick & Jessica’s Nick Lahey has signed a development deal with Fox/Brad Grey Television.  According to Hollywood Reporter, the plan is to produce a 30m or 60m series starring Lahey for next season.  He currently has a deal with ABC/Touchstone for a pilot shot for the current season that was not picked up, though the option on it does not expire until the end of the calendar year. 
• Cynthia Watros joins the cast of CBS‘ comedy project Washington Street (Warner Bros. TV/CBS Prods), in the lead role.  The show is set in an apartment building, whose tenants bond together to become a family of sorts, overseen by Watros’ character.

NBC has Donald, ABC has Mark Cuban, and now CBS has Tommy Hilfiger.  The Cut features Hilfiger deciding which designer in a field of 16, deserves to have his or her own collection under the Hilfiger label. Attention designers – casting call this Saturday at the Hilfiger SoHo store in NYC (11a-4p).

WTLV/Jacksonville will move The Jane Pauley Show (NBC Universal) from its current 4pm slot as the station’s news lead-in, back to 3pm, and away from Oprah and Ellen.  Sliding into the 4pm time period will be back to back eps of Divorce Court (20th).  Divorce Court also moves up on Charlotte station WAXN, replacing Fear Factor (NBC Universal) with back to back eps at 5pm.  Fear Factor will go to 11pm.

Howard Stern is basically mad as hell and isn’t going to take it anymore.  He’s packing up his show and taking it to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006. To do that, Sirius is will to pay out $500 million over a five year period, to Stern and his staff as well as production costs. “I am radio’s biggest star and I have decided that satellite radio offers me more potential than terrestrial radio.” It also offers him more room to say and do as he sees fit, the opposite of what Infinity and Clear Channel now require to meet FCC rules and regulations.  Satellite radio, at least for the time being, it outside the reach of the FCC.

Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!, currently in their 22nd and 21st seasons respectively, have been renewed in approx 50% of the country for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons.  Renewing stations include key ABC O&O’s, as well as stations from the Viacom Stations Group, Hearst-Argyle, Belo, Cox Broadcasting, LIN and Post-Newsweek.   More specifically, it has been renewed in these markets:  New York (WABC), Los Angeles (KABC), Chicago (WLS), Philadelphia (WPVI), San Francisco (KGO), Boston (WSBK), Dallas/Ft. Worth (KTVT), Detroit (WDIV), Houston (KHOU), Minneapolis (WCCO), Miami (WPLG), Orlando (WFTV), Pittsburgh (WPXI), Hartford (WTNH), Charlotte (WSOC), Raleigh/Durham (WTVD), San Antonio (KENS), West Palm Beach (WPBF), Norfolk (WVEC), Oklahoma City (KOCO), Providence (WPRI), Louisville (WLKY), Austin, TX (KXAN), Fresno/Visalia (KFSN), Dayton (WHIO), Portland (WMTW), Omaha (KETV), Champaign (WAND), Burlington/Plattsburg (WPTZ), Jackson, MS (WAPT), Ft. Wayne (WANE), Springfield, MA (WWLP), Monterey/Salinas (KSBW), Wheeling (WTOV) and Lafayette, IN (WLFI).  Wheel and Jeopardy and distributed by King World and produced by Sony Pictures Television.

Casting Call:  Okay all you news anchor wannabes with no experience so how will you ever get your big break – here’s your big break.  20th Television’s Good Day Live is looking for a “true New Yorker” to join the show as a guest correspondent, providing reports from NYC. Experience is not necessary. Just be over 18 and live in the New York area to submit your NY Minute tape. Check out the website for more information: www.gooddaylive.com
 
Deborah Barak has been upped to EVP/Business Affairs at CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group. The promotion was announced by Nancy Tellem, President/CBS Paramount Network Television Entertainment Group, to whom she will report.  Deborah will oversee business affairs for both CBS Entertainment and Paramount Network Television, under the direction of division presidents Nina Tassler and David Stapf, respectively. She will supervise all business matters, including the negotiation of talent, producer deals, license fees and other agreements on behalf of both divisions.

Dan Merrifield has been promoted to Sales Manager for Turner Entertainment Sales, it was announced by Linda Yaccarino, EVP/GM, Turner Entertainment Sales.  In his new position, Dan is responsible for one of the New York teams overseeing ad sales for the top-ranked TNT and TBS networks. He is based in New York and reports to Richard Chamberlain, SVP/NSM for TNT and TBS.

Pappas Telecasting Companies has upped Peter C. Pappas to EVP/Legal and Governmental Affairs. In that position, Peter will be responsible for overseeing all federal government and federal agency regulatory affairs of the company, including the supervision of all filings before the FCC and other federal agencies. In addition, he is primarily responsible for the negotiation of DBS and cable carriage agreements and station affiliation agreements with national television networks. Peter continues to report to Harry J. Pappas, Chairman and CEO.

A handful of expected changes at MTVN as announced by Judy McGrath, Chairman/CEO.  Van Toffler has been named MTV Networks Group President, with oversight of MTV, MTV2, VH1, CMT, Logo and MTV Films. Larry Divney has come out of retirement to be McGrath’s COO/Ad Sales of MTVN, stepping in where Bob Bakish left off when he was moved to EVP/Viacom Ops.  And new to the fold, Denmark West as EVP/Strategy and Business Development for MTVN; West hails from Microsoft.

Tuesday, October 5, 2004. Fast National Household Ratings for all Networks – these numbers do not include the 9-1030p time frame as sustained coverage (without commercials) is not rated by Nielsen. 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

CBS     7.2/11  NCIS 8.9/14, Vice Presidential Debate, Analysis at 1030p  5.9/8

FOX     5.9/9   Baseball Division Playoffs – Game #1  5.9/9  (8-11p avg; the game ended at 11:14p)

ABC     5.9/9   My Wife & Kids 5.9/10, George Lopez 6.0/9, Vice Presidential Debate, Analysis at 1030p 5.2/8

NBC     5.8/9   Last Comic Standing 4.1/7, Vice Presidential Debate, Analysis at 1030p 6.2/10

WB      3.8/6   Gilmore Girls 4.0/6, One Tree Hill 3.6/5

UPN     2.0/3   All of Us 1.9/3, Eve 2.3/4, Veronica Mars [r] 2.0/3  (many UPN affiliates picked up the VP Debate news feed and preempted UPN 9pm programming)

A18-49  NBC 3.3/8, Fox 3.1/8, ABC 3.0/8, CBS 2.8/7, WB 2.5/6, UPN 1.2/3

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source: NTI Explorer, Premiere-to-date, 09/22/03-10/6/03 & 09/20/04-10/4/04.  US Rtg.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1528:  Papal envoy Lorenzo Cardinal Campeggio arrives in London to conduct hearings on the dissolution of King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon.  The controversy between Henry VIII and the Holy See over the dissolution of this marriage would lead to the separation of England from the Catholic Church and the establishment of the English monarch as supreme head of the Anglican faith.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  What television character lived by this credo:  “If he’s got  a price on his head, I’ve got an empty pocket.”  Oldie but a goodie — think way back for this one.  JOSH RANDALL (Steve McQueen) on WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE.  Kudos to: Bobby Rivers-Food Network/NY; Dave Ware-WKMG/Orlando; Jennifer Moskowitz-HBO/NY; Peter Hamilton-Rubenstein Assoc/NY; Walter Hammock-Showcase Cable Ad Sales/Houston; Sam Lawson-UPN46/St. Louis; Lynnette Rahm-KBCI/Boise; Linda Rocek-SpotPlus/Dallas; Joel Metzger-Debacle Prods/LA; Lance Hanish-LBC Adv/Santa Monica; Helen Samuelsen-Tollin Robbins Prods/LA; Richard Ross-Creative Differences/LA; and Angelique Benoit-Global TV/Toronto.
 
Today’s Trivia Question:  On Night Court, what was Bull’s real first name?  (click
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.)

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Later — Cyn

Cynthia Turner’s Cynopsis
10/07/04

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JOB OPENING:  CLIENT SERVICE ASSOCIATE/Nielsen, NY. Service cable networks in the area of Nielsen national products. 3+ yrs research industry exp. Sales exp a must. National Cable exp a +. www.NielsenMedia.com (200402278-JL)  (10/12)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2004:

ABC             Extreme Makeover, Life as We Know It [p], Primetime Live
CBS             Survivor, CSI, Without a Trace
FOX             Baseball Division Playoffs: Game #2
NBC             Joey, Will & Grace, The Apprentice, ER
PAX             Cold Turkey, Diagnosis Murder, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             WWE Smackdown
WB              Blue Collar, Drew Carey’s Green Screen [p], One Tree Hill
TELE            Prisonera, Gitanas, Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer
UNIV            Rubi, Amarte es mi Pecado, Aqui y Ahora