CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

03/09/04

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, March 9, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

Following up on yesterday’s story re: CBS O&O stations, Viacom networks and Echostar, it is being reported this morning the two were not able to come to terms by 12AM PT and Echostar has followed through on its plan to remove the O&O stations as well as the Viacom networks from its service.  The ‘black out’ will effect 16 CBS station markets, affecting approx 1.6 million  DISH households.  In a prepared statement, Echostar Chairman Charles Ergen said: “DISH Network will always have a place for CBS and we’re willing to pay for retransmission rights, but Viacom is holding the public airwaves hostage, trying to extract concessions and higher rates on programming unrelated to CBS.”  Viacom’s statement: “We are dismayed and disappointed by EchoStar/DISH Network’s decision to pull the plug on our channels. We tried for months to reach an accommodation that would allow them to continue carrying CBS, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy Central, MTV, BET and many of our other channels, but EchoStar/DISH Network refused to entertain a reasonable proposal or to negotiate in earnest. … Fortunately, consumers have a choice.  Current EchoStar/DISH Network subscribers who would like to continue receiving BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, and all our other channels can easily switch to one of these reputable operators. We urge them to do so.”

As expected, Martha Stewart’s syndicated show has been pulled from the Viacom owned CBS and UPN stations.  No word from the show’s distributor, King World thus far. The Food Network is continuing to air From Martha’s Kitchen as it “evaluate[s] the new circumstances and allow due process to take its course.”

Premiering Tonight:  Fox – 9pm Cracking Up

Sí TV has begun shooting its new unscripted drama series, Urban Jungle which is schedule to air in April.  The show takes a group of nine suburban people, and drops them into the middle of the Barrio.  They’ll sell oranges on the street for money; and they’ll be bussing to the large homes in Beverly Hills, not as guests, but as domestic help.  SiTV is carried on the DISH network.

New in Development/Production/Casting:

• As CBS continues to chat with Gary Sinise about CSI: NY (Bruckheimer Films/Alliance Atlantis/CBS Prods), Vanessa Ferlito has been cast in the female lead.  And in the drama pilot The Clubhouse (Spelling/Icon), Jeremy Sumpter and John Ortiz join the growing cast which includes Marc Donato, Dean Cain, Mare Winningham, and Christopher Lloyd. And at the comedy project Saint Louis (Mohawk Prods/Warner Bros. TV) which stars Louie C.K., Evan Handler, Cynthia Watros  and Dawn Maxey have been added to the cast.
• WB‘s comedy pilot, previous known as Command Nanny and now under the title Miles to Go (Mark Burnett Prods/Warner Bros. TV), has cast newbie Philip Winchester.  The show is a semi-autobiographical of Burnett’s early days here in the US when he was essentially a nanny in a Beverly Hills home following his British commando days.  The net’s drama project Jack & Bobby (Shoe Money/Berlanti-Liddell Prod/Warner Bros. TV) which stars Logan Lerman and Matthew Long as the two sons (one of whom will become President) of Christine Lahti, has added Jessica Pare, Courtney Benedict and Edwin Hodge to the project. And in Prodigy (Silver Pictures/Warner Bros. TV), Kate Mara has been added, whereas Marley Shelton who was previous cast is in talks re: another WB project, says Variety.
• NBC‘s comedy project My 11:30 (nuance Prods/NBC Studios) starring Jeff Goldblum, has added Kathryn Hahn and Brian Stokes Mitchell to the cast.  There has also been some buzz around the potential of Lisa Kudrow helping out her buddy Paul Reiser, exec prod, in some capacity with this project, which may turn into a screen appearance.
• ABC‘s comedy project We Are Family (Touchstone) had cast Tom Everett Scott and Nicole Sullivan as husband and wife.  And joining the cast of the as yet untitled Shonda Rhimes drama project (Touchstone) is Chandra Wilson. And two more casting notes from the Untitled Jessica Simpsons project (Ted Harbert/Touchstone), Aimee Garcia and Alli Hillis have been added.
• Fox‘s Johnny Zero (John Wells Prods/Warner Bros. TV)., a drama project, has added Brennan Hesser in the female lead. The project stars Franky G and GQ.

First know this – the police have officially determined the syndicated daytime talk show had nothing to do with what happened in this Oklahoma home yesterday.  A couple were watching the Montel Williams Show, which was airing an episode about domestic violence.  During the course of show, the couple got into a fight, he drew a gun a fired into the headboard of the bed. As she attempted to reach for the phone to call for help, the woman managed to get the gun, fired into her husband’s arm, which then passed through and into his chest, causing his death.  The police and the District Attorney’s office have determined the death was accidental and thus far no charges have been brought again the wife.  “The TV show gave them a reason to fight, but in a situation of domestic violence, they really don’t need an excuse,” said Lt. Pat Knowles, a police detective for Mayes County.

NBC led the night on Sunday with a 3.9/10 A18-49 according to Nielsen Media Research, ahead of Fox and ABC tied at 3.3/9, as well as CBS 2.4/6 and WB 1.3/3.  At 7p ABC was ahead of a ten of a rating point with a 2.7/8, Fox followed with a 2.6/8, and then NBC with a 2.4/8.  Fox was up at 8p with a 4.3/11 for a combination of The Simpsons and Bernie Mac, ahead of ABC by just a share which tallied a 3.9/10 for Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Cold Case on CBS posted a 3.7/9, ahead of NBC’s American Dreams 3.0/8. At 9p NBC’s Law & Order: CI was well in front with a 5.1/12, four share point ahead of ABC’s Alias. NBC also led the 10p hour with the return of Crossing Jordan to the primetime schedule, posting a promising 4.9/13.

Correction:  Yesterday’s item regarding a Nashville station airing an unedited (or not edited enough) movie on Sunday incorrectly identified the station.  It should have read WZTV.

Actor Paul Winfield, 62, died on Sunday of a heart attack.  Winfield starred in numerous movies and television programs, among them the 1972 movie Sounder.  He was also played opposite Diahann Carroll as the boyfriend on TV’s Julia in 1968.  Other memorable television appearances included Roots: The Next Generation, the miniseries King, and he won an Emmy for a guest appearance on Picket Fences. 

The body of actor/author Spalding Gray, 62,  was found on Sunday; he was identified via dental records.  He was found in the East River off Brooklyn.  He was last seen in mid-January, and one of the last sightings of him was on the Staten Island Ferry. Gray made his Broadway debut as the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in 1988. He also performed his monologues Monster in a Box, Gray’s Anatomy and It’s a Slippery Slope at New York’s Lincoln Center Theatre.  Every now and again you’ll see a performance of one of Gray’s monologues on PBS as he sits at a table with what appear to be the annals of time before him and tells in a most fascinating manner, various tales from his life. 

MGM Worldwide Television Group has upped Carolyn Stalins to SVP/International Television Distribution.  She will oversee French and UK markets for MGM’s features and TV series and NBC Studios’ TV series, as well as MGM/UA, Orion, Polygram and NBC catalogs.  Carolyn will continue to report to Gilberte DeTurenne, SVP and Managing Director in Europe.

Court TV has named Jennifer Buzzelli as Sr. Director/International Distribution and Co-Production in New York.  Jennifer’s responsibilities include international distribution relationships. She will work with Mark Fichandler, VP/Documentary Development & International Co-Production, to develop co-production projects with foreign broadcasters.

Carolyn Everson was named Director of Advertising Sales for mtvU by MTV Networks in New York.  MtvU is MTV’s new 24-hour college network.  Carolyn will coordinate and oversee all advertising sales activities and report directly to Peter Griffin, SVP/MTV Advertising Sales.

Discovery Networks upped Kristin Brown to VP/Talent Relations, Strategy and Development.  Bryan Hughes will replace Kristin as the new VP/Communications for Discovery Networks.  Both Kristin and Bryan will report to Annie Howell, SVP/Communications.

Turner Network Sales has named John Harran Director/New Business Development. The announcement was made by Dennis Quinn, EVP/Business Development, TNS.  John is responsible for developing and executing all non-linear platform distribution for the Turner properties, including broadband, Video on Demand (VOD), interactive television, wireless technology and Wi-Fi.  He’ll be based in Atlanta and reports directly to Bill Stratton, VP/New Business Development, TNS. 

Mitch Miller has been appointed VP/On Demand Product Management for the TV Guide Television Group, a newly-created position.  Mitch is based in Tulsa and reports to Todd Walker, SVP/GM/TV Guide Interactive.  The TV Guide Television Group consists of TV Guide-branded businesses in cable and satellite including TV Guide Channel, TV Guide Interactive, TV Guide On Demand and TV Guide International. 

Gemstar-TV Guide International, Inc. named Sheldon Rabinowitz as SVP/Finance and Business Development for the TV Guide Television Group.  Sheldon is based in LA and reports to Ian Aaron, TV Guide Television Group’s president.

Sunday, March 7, 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

CBS     7.9/13  60 Minutes 8.3/14, Cold Case 10.3/16, Movie: The Survivor Club 6.4/10

NBC     7.5/12  Dateline 6.4/11, American Dreams 5.6/9, Law & Order: CI 9.6/15, Crossing Jordan 8.5/14

ABC     5.6/9   AFV 5.3/9, Extreme Makeover Home Edition 6.0/9, Alias 4.7/7, The Practice 6.4/11

FOX     4.4/7   King of the Hill 3.5/6, Oliver Beene 3.7/6, The Simpsons [r] 6.0/10, Bernie Mac 5.0/8, Malcolm [r] 4.7/7, Arrested Development [r] 3.9/6

WB      1.9/3   Smallville [r] 1.7/3, Charmed [r] 2.2/3, Charmed [r] 1.9/3

A18-49  NBC 3.9/10, ABC 3.3/9, Fox 3.3/9, CBS 2.4/6, WB 1.3/3

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

The History Channel presents This Day in History: 
1997 – The rapper Notorious B.I.G. (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls, real name Chris Wallace) is shot to death in Los Angeles.

Answer to yesterday’s Trivia Question:  If you combine the sounds from a hyena’s howl, a dog’s growl, a violin G-string and a camel’s bleat, what will you get? TARZAN’S YELL. Kudos to:  Jillian Schroeder-Mindshare/NY; Rich Leonarz-Sony Electronics/NJ; Adam Forbes-ITN Networks/NY; Bruce Heim-Horizon Media/NY; Jack Hodgson-Oklahoma State University; Karen Cain-Lowe Worldwide/Dallas; Julie Schlatter-KSHB/Kansas City; Shari Erwin-KLRT/Little Rock; Alice Candiotti-DreamWorks SKG/Burbank; Gene Levelle-Modern Ent/LA; Tim Davidson-Turner Sports/LA; Mitch Altman-Nash Ent/LA; Kimberly Thomson-Global Television/Toronto; Alex McWilliams-William F. Cooke Television Programs/Toronto.

Today’s Trivia Question:  Where will you find Damon Stern’s House?   (
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
03/08/04   5:04am
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 2004

COURT TV:       Special: Safety Challenge, Forensic Files, Forensic Files, Special: Adults Only
ABC             8 Simple Rules [r], I’m with Her [r], According to Jim, Less than Perfect, NYPD Blue
CBS             Navy NCIS [r], The Guardian, Judging Amy  [r]
FOX             American Idol, Cracking Up [p]
NBC             Friends [r], Scrubs [r], Scrubs [r], Law & Order: Special Victims Unit [r]
PAX             AFV,  Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             One on One [r], All of Us [r], America’s Next Top Model
WB              Gilmore Girls [r]
TELE            Amor Descardo, El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Casos de la Vida Real: Edicion Especial