Cynopsis

09/25/08

Good morning. It’s Thursday, September 25, 2008, and this is your first early morning briefing.  
 
Tonight’s Premieres:
ABC: Ugly Betty at 8p; Grey’s Anatomy at 9p
CBS: Survivor: Gabon–Earth’s Last Eden at 8p
NBC: My Name Is Earl at 8p; The Office at 9p; ER at 10p DIY Network: Project Xtreme at 930p

Tonight’s Finale:
BBC America: Dragons’ Den at 9p

Lifetime Television made a multi-year licensing deal with Twentieth Television for the exclusive basic cable rights to air How I Met Your Mother. The 30m sitcom will be stripped on Lifetime starting fall 2010.

TNT zooms forward with a new microseries called RPM from Mandalay Television developed for the Lincoln automotive brand MKS. With 20 two-minute episodes, the crime-thriller stars Jonathan Schaech, Lori Heuring and Brian White. Episodes begin October 21 at 8p airing through October 29 within primetime episodes of Law & Order. Additionally, the storyline will extend in all five commercial breaks during Law & Order.

MGM Studios Inc. made a carriage agreement for MGM HD with MSO Bright House Networks that has 2.4 million subscribers. Bright House premiered MGM HD to its customers in Tampa Bay, Orlando, Indianapolis, Bakersfield, Birmingham and Detroit.

Connection III Entertainment Corp. made a deal on behalf of its weekly nationally syndicated show Made in Hollywood, currently in its fourth season, with MovieTickets.com for the online ticketing service to be a sponsor. MovieTickets.com will have branded segments integrated into each episode and cross-promotions will happen between both entities’ websites.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CRISTINA’S COURT

Writer Liz Tigelaar (ABC’s Brothers & Sisters) sold two projects to two different networks, reports Variety. For The CW, Tigelaar’s 60m put pilot Light Years is described as a family dramedy about a 16-year old girl who finds her birth parents, reuniting them all. ABC Studios will produce and Tigelaar will write as well as executive produce along with Gary Fleder who will also direct. ABC picked up Tigelaar’s collaboration with Berlanti Television called Mystic Confidential.com. This is a drama about a small town blog and how if affects the people who live there. ABC Studios will also produce with Tigelaar penning and executive producing along with Morgan Wandell, Greg Berlanti and Laurence Mark. 

Casting Call: LX.TV, NBC Local Media and exclusive sponsor Absolut Vodka announce a new online reality series, On the Rocks: The Search for America’s Top Bartender which will air on LX.TV starting November 8. Starting this Monday local casting will begin in New York. The winner of the competition will receive $100,000 and the title as “America’s Top Bartender.”   Go to Facebook page Absolute Top Bartender to find out more about the casting calls or view the YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=XreBBJPyQoI. Interested applicants can also send an email to
or call 646-935-4185 for more information.

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Yahoo introduced a significant upgrade to its online advertising apparatus yesterday, developed with the Yahoo Newspaper Consortium. The new “APT” platform taps data Yahoo collects including users’ locations, demographic info and surfing habits to allow advertisers to better target their campaigns. The company hopes the platform will give both Yahoo and its newspaper publishing clients a much-needed boost in the display ad business, which has been hit hard by the economic slowdown and is losing ground to rival formats. Consortium members including E.W. Scripps Co., McClatchy Co., Hearst Corp., Media General Inc. and A.H. Belo Corp. have already been testing the platform in recent weeks.  Full edition: CYN DIGITAL.

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  YTV (Canada) picks up Heroic Film Company’s new tween-targeted live-action comedy, How to be Indie.  Slated to begin production this fall, How to be Indie will debut on YTV in fall 2009.  Created by writer Vera Santamaria (Little Mosque on the Prairie, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Instant Star etc.) and Heroic executive producers John May and Suzanne Bolch, How to be Indie revolves around Indie, a 13-year-old girl who must juggle her immigrant family’s South Asian traditions and her Canadian lifestyle, not to mention being a teen.  Decode Enterprises will handle international distribution for the series. Full edition: CYN KIDS.

CYNOPSIS INTERNATIONAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  DIRECTV and STAR signed a multi-year U.S. agreement for continued carriage of STAR India PLUS, STAR I ONE, STAR India NEWS and VIJAY.  DIRECTV’s HindiDirect and HindiDirect II programming packages are part of the WorldDirect programming platform. Full edition: CYN INTERNATIONAL.

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 9/8-9/14/08 ranked by HH Rtg
Wheel of Fortune (CTD)                                   6.6 AA
Jeopardy (CTD)                                               5.5 AA
Oprah Winfrey Show (CTD)                               5.0 AA / 5.1 GAA
Two and a Half Men (WB)                                 4.6 AA / 6.0 GAA
Judge Judy (CTD)                                            4.3 AA / 6.6 GAA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD)                            4.0 AA / 4.1 GAA
Family Guy (2/T)                                             3.8 AA / 4.4 GAA
Seinfeld (SPT)                                                 3.4 AA / 3.9 GAA
Dr. Phil Show (CTD)                                         3.2 AA / 3.2 GAA
Inside Edition (CTD)                                         2.9 AA / 2.9 GAA
Source: NSS Galaxy Explorer, Live+SD

NEW M-F Syndicated Strip Series ratings for HH (9/8-9/14/08):
Deal or No Deal (NBU)                                     1.6 AA / 1.9 GAA
Doctors (CTD)                                                 1.3 AA / 1.3 GAA
*More new syndicated shows should be included next week.
Source: NSS Galaxy Explorer, Live+SD

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 9/8-9/14/08 ranked by A18-49 Rtg
Family Guy (2/T)                                            2.5 AA / 2.8 GAA
Two and a Half Men (WB)                                2.5 AA / 3.3 GAA
Seinfeld (SPT)                                                2.1 AA / 2.4 GAA
Oprah Winfrey Show (CTD)                             1.7 AA / 1.7 GAA
Friends (WB)                                                 1.7 AA / 2.0 GAA
King of Queens (SPT)                                     1.7 AA / 2.2 GAA
Everybody Loves Raymond (CTD)                    1.6 AA / 1.8 GAA
Wheel of Fortune (CTD)                                  1.5 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CTD)                          1.4 AA / 1.4 GAA
Judge Judy (CTD)                                          1.4 AA / 2.0 GAA
Source: NSS Galaxy Explorer, Live+SD

NEW M-F Syndicated Strip Series ratings for A18-49 (9/8-9/14/08):
Deal or No Deal (NBU)                                     0.6 AA / 0.8 GAA
Doctors (CTD)                                                 0.5 AA / 0.5 GAA
*More new syndicated shows should be included next week.
Source: NSS Galaxy Explorer, Live+SD

Tuesday – A18-49 Analysis: Despite new premieres happening elsewhere, FOX edged out the competition Tuesday night with 4.6/12 A18-49 according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. FOX’s House dominated during 8p with 5.1/14, while the season opener of CBS’ NCIS was next at 3.6/10 followed by NBC’s The Biggest Loser at 2.7/7 and the series premiere of ABC’s Opportunity Knocks at 1.8/5. At 9p, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars won with 4.5/11 while FOX’s Fringe was second at 4.1/10 and CBS’ new series The Mentalist ranked third with 3.5/9. ABC’s Dancing with the Stars continued to cha-cha in first place during 10p at 4.9/13; coming next was the season premiere of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU at 3.8/10 and CBS’ season opener of Without a Trace at 2.8/7.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

CBS: 9.5/15           NCIS [p] 11.3/18, The Mentalist [p] 9.9/15, Without a Trace [p] 7.4/12

ABC: 9.2/14            Opportunity Knocks [p] 4.1/6, Dancing with the Stars 11.7/18

FOX: 6.7/10            House 7.5/12, Fringe 5.8/9

NBC: 5.3/8             The Biggest Loser 4.7/7, Law & Order: SVU [p] 6.4/10

UNIV: 2.1/3            Cuidado con El Angel 2.1/3, Fuego en la Sangre 2.4/4, Aqui y Ahora 1.8/3

CW: 1.7/3              90210 2.1/3, Privileged 1.2/2

MNT: 1.0/1            Street Patrol 1.0/2, Street Patrol 2 [r] 0.8/1, Jail 1.1/2, Jail 2 1.1/2

TELE: 0.8/1            El Juramento 0.5/1, Dona Barbara 0.8/1, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 1.1/2

A18-49: FOX 4.6/12, ABC 3.8/10, CBS 3.3/9, NBC 3.3/9, UNIV 1.6/4, CW 1.2/3, TELE 0.6/2, MNT 0.5/1

Fox National Cable Networks rehired Rich Battista as President in charge of the company’s national programming areas which encompass FX, National Geographic Channel, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Reality Channel, FUEL TV, SPEED, Fox Soccer Channel, Fox College Sports, Fox Sports en Espanol, the Big Ten Network and Fox Cable Ad Sales. In his new position, Rich will report to Tony Vinciquerra, Chairman/CEO, Fox Networks Group. Most recently, Rich worked for Gemstar-TV Guide International as CEO.

Tribune Company named Marty Wilke as VP/GM of WGN-TV in Chicago, effective now. Marty has been the interim GM since late July and the station’s Director/Sales since 2002. Additionally, WGN-TV promoted Errol Gerber as Director/Sales starting immediately. Errol has been with the station since December 2002 and has served as LSM.

TLC signs on Rita Mullin as VP/Development where she will work with Brent Zacky to supervise the direction of new and original content for the network. Based at Discovery Communications headquarters in Silver Spring, MD, Rita will report to Nancy Daniels, SVP/Production and Development, TLC.

Patrick Loftus starts immediately in his new position as VP/GSM for WTXF, the Fox affiliate in Philadelphia. WTXF is part of the Fox Television Stations.

Alex Hills was appointed as Director/Network Distribution and Service for Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movie Channel. Alex will be involved with the affiliate sales team in New York to grow distribution and revenues for both networks and their hi-def sister networks throughout an eight-state area. Based out of Hallmark’s New York office, Alex will report to Laura Lee, VP/Network Distribution and Service.

Bravo Media recruited Aimee Viles as VP/New Media to oversee the network’s New Media division which includes all wireless, interactive TV, gaming and other emerging media efforts. Aimee will report to Lisa Hsia, SVP/Digital and New Media Strategy, Bravo Media. Prior to joining Bravo Media, Aimee was the Director/Creative Services at Ensequence, a provider of online TV products and services.

Ryan Ford will be the new Director/Creative Strategy at Cashmere Agency, coming from The Source where he was Executive Editor.

WISC/Madison will add sportscaster Jay Wilson starting October 6 as Sports Director and nightly Sportscaster for its News 3 at 6, News 3 at 10 in addition to News 3 at 9 on My Madison TV. Jay was most recently working as a play-by-play announcer and reporter for the Big Ten Network. Jay returns to Madison where he held a 20-year position as Sports Director with ABC affiliate WKOW and was dubbed the “Dean of Madison Sportscasters.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM FUSE

This day in History:  Born on this day: Barbara Walters (1931), Michael Douglas (1944), Cheryl Tiegs (1947), Christopher Reeves (1952), Heather Locklear (1961), Catherine Zeta-Jones (1969)

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question, Sponsored By Fuse. Ignite Your Brand.: At this summer’s Bonnaroo Festival, which hip hop artist nearly incited a riot by keeping his audience waiting for almost 2 hours?  Kanye West  Kudos to:  Bob Yanofsky-HRP/ Washington DC; Shara Levine-Fox Cable Networks/NY; Nicole Molea-Targeted 10s/NY; Robert S. Evans-Newport Television/East Syracuse, NY; Jay Goslee-WTVF/Nashville; Kelly Tecklenburg-Charter Media/St. Louis; Suzanne Robertson/Huntsville, AL; Cameron Ross-Group M Matrix/Chicago; Jennifer Love Bruce-Cox Communications/ San Diego; Andrea Compton- General Hospital: ABC Daytime/Hollywood; Christina Garcia-Fox Broadcasting Company/LA; Betsey Brohman-NBC Universal/Universal City, CA

Today’s Trivia Question:  As of the show’s the third season, who sang the theme song to the TV show Eight Is Enough? (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
09.25.08

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JOB OPENING: CARTOON NETWORK / [adult swim] SALES PLANNER/CHI: Create sales proposals, presentations, special projects, organize research/competitive info for AEs/Mgmt.2Yrs Exp-agency exp. a plus. Apply:
EOE (10/2)

JOB OPENING: COORD AFFILIATE MKTG/Fuse/NY: Asst w/ all comm btwn content/distrib & mktg teams 1-2 yrs exp in affiliate sales or cable tv mktg w/ tv prgram Exp w/ proj mgmt & coor Rez to
. “CAM” in sub (10/2)

JOB OPENING: VP AD SALES OPERATIONS/NYC: Mng daily operational activities. Control activities of advrtsng traffic dept; dvlps systems for inventory identification, tracking & billing. 8+ yrs brdcst traffic exp. www.tvoneonline.com (10/1)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR PRICING AND PLANNING/NYC: Work with sales ops team to maximize revenue, monitor inventory & scheduling of ordered deals. 5 yrs exp cable ad sales. www.tvoneonline.com (10/1)

JOB OPENING: SALES COORD/Univision/NY: Highly motivated. Mng tasks/srvcng agencies/clients daily basis. Det. oriented/comm/PC & math skills. 1-2 Yrs Media Exp, Deal Maker exp a +, Spanish a +. EOE. Res:
(10/1)

JOB OPENING: RSRCH DIR/NAT GEO/NY: Mng daily aspects of Ad Sales Rsrch (tracks/trends & analysis) for channel. Formulate innovative concepts w/ regards to sales objectives/goals.6-8 yrs exp media ind rsrch pref’d; www.foxcareers.com (10/1)

JOB OPENING: SR MGR PROGR PUBLICITY/A&E TV/NY: Dev History PR strategies on print/electronic & internet props. Mng Public Affairs & Mktg prtnships & talent. BA & 5+ yrs TV publ cable/b’cast/news. Apply: www.aetn.com/careers.html (10/1)

JOB OPENING: AE/Fuse/NY: Sell dig media & multi-platform. Incr exst’ing clnts, gen new biz rev. Prsnt new prgmng, brand pos, mktg opps. Excl. interpers’l/org skills/MS Excel & PP. Send Rez to:
“AENY” in sub (9/30)

JOB OPENING: ACCT SERVICE REP/The CW Network/Chicago: 2+ yrs nat’l media exp a +. Provide support for Dir of Mid West Sales; Maint. accts, mng commercial inv. Exc verbal, orgnzt’l & time mngmnt skills
(9/30)

JOB OPENING: VP, RESEARCH/TLC/SS: Lead all Research efforts/functions as primary point of contact for Network to anticipate/ fulfill needs for consumer-based and marketplace information. Apply: www.discovery.com , Req#8319 (9/30)

JOB OPENING: VP, SCHED/TLC/SS: Oversee sched for prgrms; optimize ratings by leveraging prgrmng inv & premieres. Incl ad sales, prod, mktg., dev., etc. Mng ntwrk relationship w/ ad sales to optimize rev.  www.discovery.com Req#8245 (9/30)

JOB OPENING: PUBLICISTS/Telepictures Prods/LA, NY: Unit pubs for syndicated tv shows and websites. Pitch/secure stories/content. Write/distrib releases. Work w/exec/staff. 5-8yrs exp Res:
(9/30)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR PROGRAM RESEARCH/MTV/NY: 5+ yrs Nat’l TV Research/ratings. Strong leadership sk; detail-oriented, proactive; analytical sk. Expert w/Nielsen, MRI, etc. EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (9/30)

JOB OPENING:  EXEC ASST/AMC/NY: Provide direct admin/office support to busy mktg SVP. Proactive, highly organized professional needed w/3+ yrs relevant exp nec.MS Office + Ntwrk/TV exp pref. res: www.cablevision.jobs ref# 7068BR(9/27)

JOB OPENING: PRODUCTION ACCOUNTANT/Little Airplane Productions/NYC: Oversee all aspects of finance and payroll on several broadcast productions. Must have knowledge of Vista software:
(9/26)

JOB OPENING: EDITORIAL DIR/Bravo Digital/NBCU/NY: Lead execution of editorial aspects of BravoTV.com, develop content concepts, supervise writing & editing of copy. BA & 5 yrs editorial exp. www.nbcjobs.com , job# 847495 (9/26)

JOB OPENING: VP/DIRECTOR FP& A/MTVN/Harmonix: Responsible for the FP&A, reporting and analysis for MTV’s Harmonix division. Apply: www.mtvncareers.com EOE (9/26)

JOB OPENING: Busy NYC reality TV prod co seeks SR DEVEL EXEC to create/devel new shows. Reports to owners of company. 4+ yrs devel experience–ideally reality/unscripted–& proven track record. Send resumes to
(9/26)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, PROJECT MNGMNT: Project Dir is needed for creative services dept. of Versus TV ntwrk in Philadelphia, PA. 5 yrs’ exp. and Bachelor’s degree req. Apply online: www.ecentralmetrics.com/url/?u=250554487-261 EOE (9/26)

JOB OPENING: CNS SALES PLANNER/ NY: Will create sales proposals & generate plan’g costs for TV ntwrks. 2 yrs exp. Agency Plan’g or Cable/Brdcst Ad Sales/Sales Support req. Apply: www.ecentralmetrics.com/url/?u=634054621-261 EOE (9/26)

SUMMER/FALL INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free , and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at
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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:PUBLIC RELATIONS/MKTG.INTERN/LA: Opportunity to work with entertainment, fashion and gourmet clients.Writing, pitching, etc. Resume to
and specify intern in subject (10/2)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: TV PROD. INTERN/PICTURE THIS, NY: Emmy Winning Production Co. Duties: Rrsch, logging, assist post, phones, runs. Exp w/ Word & Excel. Min 2-3 days/week. Local Trvl Stipend avail.
(10/1)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: PR Intern: Provides PR outreach & client strategic insights. Supports internal functions, incl. editorial placement, mktg, & admin. Focus on ethnic markets. Semester-long, unpaid.
(10/1)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: INTERNS: Bright & passionate. Neal Stevens/Stevens & Assoc., prod 5 features films in past 6 yrs. Learn ropes from A-Z. Script coverage, dvlpmnt, possible assoc of credit for movies & much more.Email:
(9/30)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:PROG. PLANNING & SCHED./Oxygen/NYC: seeks students w/ great clerical & time mgmt skills to provide admin./project support to dept. Must be familiar with Excel. Resume/Cover/Avail. to:
(9/30)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: High Noon Entertainment/LA: Major TV prod. co. seeks enthusiastic students w/ passion for reality TV development. Semester-long, unpaid, for credit internship. Send resume to
(9/30)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  PROGRAM PLANNING/Bravo/Burbank: seeks smart, enthusiastic students w/ passion for entertainment TV. Familiarity w/Excel a must. Resume/cover letter w/availability to:
(9/27)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: TV RESEARCH INTERN /LA/MGM TV: Work in Research dept. Opp to learn about domestic & Int’l TV distrib. Strong Comm skills, comfort with Microsoft Office tools req. Approx 12 hrs/wk. Res/cover to:
  (9/27)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: AD SALES INTERN /Oxygen/NBCU:Assists ad sales dept w/researching prospective clients&sending out client materials.Great opportunity! Semester-long, unpaid, must receive credit.post
(9/26)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED … Interested in posting your Video Resume? Contact
for more information ….

SITUATION WANTED: MEDIA DIR w/ 10+ years in DR seeks new opp. Successful account mgr w/ proven record for client loyalty. Creative-minded. Tough. Seeks strong, innovative co. to grow clients. Green a plus. Email
(10/2)

SITUATION WANTED: Award Winning NY based Writer/Producer/Editor seeks work in promos, sales tapes, sizzles, short form etc. Own Avid with 13+ years network exp. Email:
– www.bardsleyproductions.tv (10/1)

SITUATION WANTED: REALITY CHALLENGE PRODUCER – Network & cable experience — Physical & emotional challenges  A variety of formats. Very creative, with the experience to get the job done right.
(9/30)

SITUATION WANTED:  EXEC. IN CHARGE OF PROD: Premium Cable & Ntwrk exp, Mult Emmy’s, Exec Prod, Exec in Charge, Coord Prod, Line Prod, Prod/Dir seeking sports, ent, event prod opportunities, LA/NY. E-mail:
  (9/27)

SITUATION WANTED: EXECUTIVE/ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT for 30 plus years. Worked in production for Exec. Producers, Writers, Directors and high level executives. Excellent skills … email
(9/26)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT –  Thursday, September 25, 2008

ABC: Ugly Betty [p ], Grey’s Anatomy [p ]
AZTECA: Camino a La Fama, Historias Engarzadas, Pasiones Prohibidas
CBS: Survivor: Gabon – Earth’s Last Eden [p ], CSI [r]
CW: Smallville, Supernatural
FOX: Kitchen Nightmares, Kitchen Nightmares
ION: Movie: Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, The Drew Carey Show
MNT: My Thursday Night Movie: Walking Tall
NBC: My Name is Earl [p ], My Name is Earl, The Office [p ], ER [p ]
PBS: This Old House Hour [r], American Masters
TELE: El Juramento, Dona Barbara, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso
UNIV: Cuidado con el Angel, Fuego en la Sangre, La Rosa de Guadalupe

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