CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

06/01/04

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, June 1, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

According to a statement issued on Friday by the Media Ratings Council, the council has chosen to withhold accreditation of Nielsen Media Research’s new Local People Meter system until such time as “Nielsen addresses certain matters of non-compliance with the MRC’s Minimum Standards for Media Ratings Research cited in the audit and certain other performance issues of the New York LPM.” Accreditation will be reconsidered once Nielsen presents to the council its action plans to “cure the non-compliance and performance issues”.  The MRC went on to say it is “fully supportive of people-meter measurement technologies, which are considered superior to the current day meter-diary approach”. The MRC also said the Nielsen measurement service, both meter-diary and the upcoming LPM service, has been “negatively impacted by certain public campaigns and activities focused on the representation of Nielsen’s measurements.”  The MRC went on to say, “The Television Committee strongly urges that these activities where linked in any way to media organizations, be immediately ceased.”  The MRC’s Television Committee attendees consists of research representatives of nearly 50 Nielsen-client organizations including broadcasters, cablecasters, ad agencies, advertisers and media-industry trade organizations.  At this writing, Nielsen’s LPMs are still scheduled to launch in NYC on Thursday, June 3.

Premiere:  WB:  Summerland at 8pm

More improv-ing coming to Bravo with the ordering of 6 eps of Hidden Howie (working title) starring Howie Mandel.  The show puts Howie in an improv position to interact with a group of actors/comedians in various hidden camera sketches. Other cast members include Estelle Harris as Howie’s grandmother, and Julie Warner as his wife. If this idea sounds oddly familiar, it should.  NBC took a good hard look at the project last year, tho ultimately passed.  Still on the NBC/Bravo radar after a re-shooting of the pilot, Bravo picked up on it for later on this year or early next.

For only the second time in history, a cable network beat a broadcast network in the May sweep.  TNT slid ahead of UPN during the Nielsen Media Research May sweep (4/29-5/26) in primetime.  The only other time this happened was when TNT beat WB in May 1997, tho it should be noted at the time WB was an newly emerging network.  In this May 2004 case, among the three key adult demos, TNT surged ahead of UPN in total demo viewers.  Looking first at standard broadcast primetime parameters (M-Sa 8-11p/Su 7-11p):
A18-34: TNT 777,000 vs. UPN 744,000
A18-49: TNT 1,637,000 vs. UPN 1,501,000
A25-54: TNT 1,661,000 vs. UPN 1,420,000
And then comparing in head to head ‘common time‘: (Mon-Fri 8-10p) where UPN did beat TNT in the youngest of the three adult demos:
A18-34: UPN 748,000 vs. TNT 702,000
A18-49: TNT 1,521,000 vs. UPN 1,509,000
A25-54: TNT 1,591,000 vs. UPN 1,423,000
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research

Remember MST 3000?  Where three ‘guys’ sat in a dark movie theatre and made fun of sci-fi movies?  ESPN Classic is getting into the same game with its new original series Cheap Seats, according to Variety.  This time there are a pair of twin comics, Randy and Jason Sklar, who are sitting on nice leather chairs in a tape library, making fun of classic sports footage.

As expected, Miramax has acquired the full rights to Michael Moore’s controversial Fahrenheit/911 from Disney.  The film won the coveted Palme d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival last week, the highest award presented.  The terms of the acquisition also outline that Disney cannot profit from the distribution of the film, and in fact all profits from that distribution earmarked for Miramax or Disney, will go to charity. Disney chose not to distribute the film as according to Michael Eisner, they did not want a film ‘in the middle of the political process.’  Miramax has paid Disney an estimated $6 million which cover all film expenses thus far, and will additionally be responsible for the costs of marketing and distribution.

Holiday Weekend 3-day Box Office Estimates: May 28-31, 2004
Shrek 2 (DreamWorks)            $92.2 million – 2 wk total $256.9m
Day After Tomorrow (Fox)        $86.0 million – opening weekend
Troy (Warner Bros.)             $15.0 million – 3 wk total $109.6m
Raising Helen (Buena Vista)     $14.0 million – opening weekend
Soul Plane (MGM)                $7.0 million – opening weekend
Mean Girls (Paramount)  $6.3 million – 5 wk total $73.6m
Van Helsing (Universal)                 $6.2 million – 4 wk total $110.2m
Man on Fire (Fox)               $2.4 million – 6 wk total $73.3m
13 Going on 30 (Sony)           $1.4 million – 6 wk total $54.5m
Super Size Me (IDP)             $1.3 million – 4 wk total $4.8m
Source: Box Office Mojo

TV Games Network (TVG), the network dedicated to horseracing and wagering, will air live coverage of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday June 5.  Additionally, the network has scheduled various special reports including June 2 at 11am live coverage of the post position draw as well as live racing and Belmont commentary on June 4 from 1230p-630p. Coverage on Saturday, June 5, begins at 1130am and ends with a recap at 7pm.

Ken Bauder was named President/General Manager of ABC affiliate WMTW.  The station will serve the Portland/Auburn, Maine area.  Ken will assume his responsibilities upon the final stage of purchase by Hearst-Argyle Television from WMTW Broadcast Group LLC (expected by July 1, 2004). Ken is currently the President and General Manager of ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG, serving the Ft. Smith/Fayetteville, Arkansas market. 

Jim Prestwood was named to succeed Ken Bauder as President/Manager at Hearst-Argyle Television’s ABC affiliate KHBS/KHOG.  He had been the station’s General Sales Manager.  He too will assume his new position when the changeover occurs.

Paul Villadolid has joined CMT as VP/Programming and Development. The announcement was made Friday by Brian Philips, SVP/General Manager, CMT. Villadolid is responsible for the overall planning, development and production of original series and specials for the network.

Craig Plestis has been upped to SVP/Alternative Programs and Development at NBC, reporting to Jeff Gaspin, Pres/NBC Universal Cable Entertainment & Cross-Platform Strategy.  Craig had been VP in the dept since May 2003, and has been with NBC since 1997, originally as a freelance writer/producer.

Correction:  In Friday’s edition, the demo ratings for the season finale of UPN’s Enterprise were incorrectly listed – they should have been 1.6/5 among A18-49, and a 2.3/7 among M18-49.

Thursday, May 27, 2004. Fast Affiliate Household Ratings for all Networks. Fast affiliate numbers which reflect time period data (i.e., when NBC’s lineup is ‘supersized’), 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     7.8/14  Joan of Arcadia 4.8/9, CSI  9.9/17, Without a Trace 8.6/15

ABC     5.6/10  Movie: Coyote Ugly 5.2/9, Primetime Thursday6.6/11

NBC     4.6/8   Friends [r] (8-9p) 4.9/9, Will & Grace (9-930p) 4.7/8, Scrubs (930-10p) 3.8/6, ER 4.6/8

FOX     3.6/6   Movie: America’s Sweethearts  3.6/6

UPN     2.8/5   WWE Smackdown 2.8/5

WB      1.0/2   Pepsi Smash [Season Premiere] 0.9/2, Jamie Kennedy Experiment [r] 1.0/2, Steve Harvey’s Big Time [r] 1.3/2

A18-49  CBS 3.4/10, ABC 3.2/10, NBC 2.7/8, Fox 1.9/6, UPN 1.2/4, WB 0.7/2

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1985 – In England, violence breaks out when police try to block a convoy of hippies on their way to Stonehenge. More than 300 are arrested.

Answer to Friday’s Trivia Question:  Who did Corporal Rusty own?  RIN TIN TIN. Kudos to:  Arthur Carmichael-HGTV/Knoxville; Cathy Rossi-Yoh Company/Albany; Fred Silverman-Silverman Prods/Miami; Marc Goldstein-Mindshare/NY; Mike Gross-WAND/Champaign-Springfield-Decatur; David Pascua-KMSP/Minneapolis; Jerry Wise-KTVT/Dallas; Patti Clements-KXRM/Colorado Springs; Dean Kraemer-Strant Comm/LA; Susan Nessanbaum Goldberg-SoapNET/LA; Valerie Lawrence-Time Warner-Chatsworth CA; Richard London-Viacom Station Sales/LA; Caroline Godin-Ellis Ent/Toronto.

A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT:

Comcast Spotlight works with our cable network partners to develop unique promotions for advertisers that leverage cable’s powerful brands. Through network associations or tune-in sponsorships, advertisers get customized, branded promotions that build upon viewer affinity for their favorite cable networks. Comcast Spotlight – Spot cable finally delivers. For more information click here.

Today’s Trivia Question:  The color of bag carrying a Barrister’s wig and robes to court was significant as it was awarded by the Queen’s Counsel to lawyer’s who had performed exceptionally well as a junior barrister. What color was Rumpole’s bag?   (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
06/01/04  4:52am
Subscriptions to Cynopsis: email

Archived Editions Check out any previous copy of Cynopsis, or search via keywords at www.Cynopsis.com
Click here to subscribe to Cynopsis Kids! and put Kids! in the subject line.
Click here to subscribe to Cynopsis Multi-Cultural Edition and put MCE in the subject line.
Cynopsis Ad Sales 203-526-8978
Press Release Fax: 203-381-9318
All outgoing e-mails are scanned and sent out virus free.

Copyright Cynthia Turner 2004

CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIEDS

JOB OPENING:  RESEARCH DIRECTOR, PGMING, HGTV/Knoxville. 8 yrs cable net, primary/secondary res. exp, strong analytical skills/strategic thinker, exc pres/writing. Exp: N-Power, Nielsen tools. Email:
  (6/15)

JOB OPENING:  AD SALES SR RESEARCH ANALYST/MGR, TBS/TNT-NY 3-5 yrs Nat’l exp; strong analysis/comm skills, able to interpret data; proficient in Nielsen systems; info www.turnerjobs.com #24281BR; resume
   (6/8)

JOB OPENING: TEMP DIR, BUS MGMT FOR ON-AIR PROMOS, ORIG PROG/PROD & NM DEPTS./Sundance Channel. Track projs/budgets, handle legal issues; Knwldg of post prod sked; TV prod req. Min 5 yrs exp. Email
   (6/5)

JOB OPENING:  NAT’L ACCT MANAGER, Affiliate Sales-Oxygen/NY: Incr. distrib. & sell-in Nat’l /local mkting campaigns. Comm. & org. skills with mkting, sales and event planning exp. Min. 80% travel. Fax resume to (212) 651-2093  (6/4)

JOB OPENING:  SR. PROJECT MGR/CNN Ad Sales Research NY.5+ yrs media research exp (bcst, cable, or agency) req. Working knwldg of media math, strong analytical skills, mktplc knwldge, leadership.Apply: www.turnerjobs.com, #25742    (6/4)

JOB OPENING:  SP/PRODUCERS/AP’s/CASTING/SCOUTS. For new syndicated reality show from 20^th Television/Banyan Productions. Must be willing to work in Philly area. Email your resume (MS word) & cover letter to
  (6/3)

JOB OPENING:  MTV Networks: DIRECTOR/AFF. MKTG. Develop/oversee channel/CMT strategies supporting network to cable/satellite communities. Deg. Req + min of 5-7 yrs relevant exp in Mktg/ Sales. MBA a +. Apply: www.mtvncareers.com
 (6/3)

JOB OPENING:  SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST, MTVN Int’l/NY. 2-3 yrs media/mkt research exp; Nielsen software or equiv. a plus; create presentations, reports, analysis. Int’l exp strongly pref.EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply: www.mtvncareers.com
 (6/3)

JOB OPENING:  2 SALES ASSISTANTS-TWI, NY. One in Syndication Sales Dept, one in Sales and Marketing Dept.  Interested candidates should send their resume, cover letter and salary requirements to
  (6/3)

JOB OPENING:  NBC NY, AD SALES RESEARCH MANAGER: Interpret and highlight MSNBC daypart/program performance. 3+ years TV research experience with strong oral/written skills required. Apply online at www.gecareers.com, Job #360666   (6/3)

JOB OPENING:  ACCOUNT EXEC/Warner Bros. TV Dist. Inc./NY. Pgming sales or media research exp pref; extensive travel req’d; degree req’d. Exc comm & presentation skills. Email resume to:
    (6/2)

JOB OPENING:  SUPERVISING PRODUCER (Job 1394), Discovery Health Channel, Silver Spring, MD. 5-6 yrs on-air promotions exp. as writer/producer, live-action production exp. Apply online at http://corporate.discovery.com (6/2)

JOB OPENING:  ANALYST, AD SALES RESEARCH/ABC Family Channel, NY. Supports nat’l ad sales team. Exp w/media res. tools incl: Galaxy, PNS, NPower, Market Breaks, Monitor Plus, etc. Power user MS Office. Resumes
  (6/2)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED —

SITUATION WANTED:  ADV. SERVICES TECHNOLOGIST/STRATEGIST: Exp. Producer/Manager available to assist you in navigating or marketing the brave new world of TV: VOD, iTV, HDTV, Long Form Ads/Sponsorships. Contact
   (6/8)

SITUATION WANTED: PRODUCTION COMPANY  NYC – Fully Insured production company looking for funded TV and narrative projects to produce from start to finish. Contact
or call 646-638-0659    (6/8)

SITUATION WANTED:  BILINGUAL ONLINE PRODUCTION COORDINATOR/ON-AIR PRODUCER – 5 yr exp. at CNN,TNT & Cartoon Network, 4+ yrs marketing and promotions. Excellent project mgmt. skills. Contact:
, 404 934-3075    (6/8)

SITUATION WANTED:  MID-SENIOR LEVEL SALES AND MARKETING MGMT position/NY.  21+ yrs exp. in Cable and Syn sales. Exc management skills and ability to lead team, will relocate. 
    (6/4)

SITUATION WANTED:  DIRECTOR-3 time Emmy Award-Winner seeking new project to dive into. Extensive experience with children’s (especially puppets), talk & specials. Reel/resume upon request. 
  (6/3)

E-mail
for rates and specs for Job Openings. Your ad will be read by 71,650+ Cynopsis & Cynopsis Kids! readers every day. No wonder Cynopsis ads get results.

Are you looking for a job? Post your Situation Wanted Ad here — Email
for specs.

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 2004

COURT TV:       The I-Zone, Forensic Files
ABC             8 Simple Rules [r], I’m with Her [r], According to Jim [r], Less than Perfect [r], Primetime Special Edition
CBS             Navy NCIS, The Guardian, Judging Amy
FOX             Special: Summer Music Mania 2004
NBC             Fear Factor: Miss USA, NBC Special: Miss Universe Pageant
PAX             AFV, AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             One on One [r], All of Us [r], One on One [r], Rock Me Baby [r]
WB              Summerland [season premiere]
TELE            Prisonera, El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Al Filo de la ley

A MESSAGE FROM AIM TELL-A-VISION

Coverage AND Content is King! More Full-power TV Coverage than Univision!

“Urban Latino TV” / “Sonidos” / “American Latino” / “Latin Eyes”