Cynopsis

11/11/08

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, November 11, 2008, and this is your first early morning briefing.  

Tonight’s Premieres:
History: The Universe at 9p; Extreme Trains at 10p
BET: Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is at 10p
Discovery Channel: Extreme Loggers at 10p
Discovery Health: Deliver Me at 10p
Lifetime: Blush: The Search for the Next Great Make-Up Artist at 10p
SCI FI Channel: Cha$e at 10p

Tonight’s Finales:
ABC Family: Lincoln Heights at 9p
Spike TV: MANswers at 11p

Lifetime Television, rocking out with Rita Rocks, handed the original comedy a full season order. Seven additional episodes will take the first season up to 20 total. Rita Rocks, starring Nicole Sullivan airs Tuesdays at 830p.

Discovery Channel showcases new episodes of Man vs. Wild beginning late January with adventurer Bear Grylls at the helm. Eight new hi-def episodes will follow Bear to challenging locations such as Transylvania, Turkey, Belize, the Yukon Peninsula, Dominican Republic and the Bandlands of Oregon. These new episodes, produced by Diverse Productions, continues season three which began last August.

A sign of the times, BBDO Detroit cut 145 staffers, representing 22.1% of its workforce. The layoffs were based on the drastic sales decline from BBDO’s largest client, Chrysler, per MediaPlannerBuyer. As reported in the New York Times, Chrysler decreased its ad spending this year by around 30% as auto sales have plummeted.

Hallmark Channel kicks off its holiday branded marketing campaign, “Home for the Holidays” this week in 4,000 Hallmark Gold Crown Stores and its holiday microsite found at its consumer site www.hallmarkchannel.com . Later on November 22, the network’s consumer website will be entirely holiday-themed and on-air spots will begin running on national radio and TV through December 27. In addition, Hallmark Channel will have national print advertising, TV spots running in Walmart stores nationwide and a local ad sales cross-channel promotion. The cross-platform effort supports holiday programming including four original movies airing Saturday nights at 9p: Moonlight & Mistletoe on November 29; The Christmas Choir on December 6; The Most Wonderful Time of the Year on December 13; and Our First Christmas on December 20.

History unveiled its new series Shadow Force last Friday at 10p, delivering 585,000 A18-49 viewers, 616,000 A25-54 viewers and 1.1 million total viewers.

Housekeeping Note:  The U.S. Unemployment Rate was just announced this morning (11/7/08) at 6.5%, up from 6.1% the previous month, and the highest number in 14 years.  In an effort to help those who may find themselves out of work during these difficult economic times, Cynopsis is offering free Situation Wanted ads to all looking for work, for both new and returning clients, for the foreseeable future.  To place an ad or for more information, email
.  And lastly, to make sure even more people are seeing our classifieds, we are posting the full list of classifieds on our www.cynopsis.com homepage, updated daily.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM FUSE

Spike TV and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME) are continuing their partnership as FME will assist with financing and marketing for three of the network’s original series worldwide. FME will also receive international distribution rights to Jesse James is a Dead Man, Deadliest Warrior and Surviving Disaster (wt). Each series will premiere on Spike in 2009. 

Qubo Channel, the bilingual television network for children from ION Media Networks, Inc. will launch on digital television, data and voice services company, RCN Corporation in New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

MGM HD obtained carriage via the AT&T U-verse TV system. U-verse TV customers can receive MGM HD as part of the HD Premium package, a new tier that can be added for $5/month to an existing HD service subscription.

Keith Olbermann, host of Countdown on MSNBC will remain as a fixture on the network for four more years until 2012. Olbermann also is a co-host on NBC’s Football Night in America.

FOX announced it approved nine additional episodes of The Cleveland Show, the animated Family Guy spin-off premiering fall 2009. Furthermore, Arianna Huffington will lend her voice to a recurring character, joining the cast of series regulars.

Michael Rapaport signed a development agreement with CBS to develop, produce and headline a 60m project for the network, according to THR. The yet-to-be-named dramedy is based on an idea Rapaport has been working on for a few years about the lives of social workers in New York City. Denis Leary and Jim Serpico’s Apostle Pictures, Sony Television and CBS Paramount Television will produce and Bryan Goluboff will write the project.

Viewers may have the chance to visit Camelot as a modern retelling of the Arthurian legend is being developed by Showtime and the BBC, writes Variety. The Tudors’ Michael Hirst and Morgan O’Sullivan will executive produce with Douglas Rae and Hirst will write the scripts for the one-hour series and if approved Ecosse Films and Octagon Filmes will produce.

Outdoor Channel is getting into the funny business as the network will premiere its first original scripted comedy series next year. The 30m Jimmy Big Time will star Jimmy “Big Time” Miller as he shows off outdoor activities in a mockumentary style involving spoof and “serious” expertise.

SOAPnet will introduce three new series debuting next year:

• Greg Behrendt’s Wake-Up Call – reality series featuring Greg Behrendt as he works with one couple’s incompatible issues each week, using practical and humorous relationship expertise. With six one-hour episodes produced by Avalon Television, the series premieres January 8 at 11p.
• Being Erica – scripted drama about 32-year old Erica Strange who can’t figure out why her life is stalling. She then meets roguish therapist Dr. Tom who helps her go back in time to re-live a regrettable scene in her life which gives her new perspective on her present life. 13 one-hour episodes are produced by Temple Street Productions in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation; the series will open spring 2009.
• Southern Belles (wt) – docu-soap series following five single contemporary Southern female friends in their 20s and 30s as they maneuver through their careers and romance. Production is currently happening Louisville on the ten one-hour episodes from Endemol USA in association with ABC Media Productions.

TV Land approved a new original non-scripted series, Make My Day from executive producer Michael Davies and Sony Pictures Television, reports Variety. During six one-hour episodes, the hidden camera series watches as people are surprised with situations set up by friends and family. Based on a British format produced by Monkey Kingdom that aired in the UK on Channel 4 in 2001-03, Make My Day is also produced by Davies’ Embassy Row company and Money Kingdom. TV Land will add this series to its 2009 primetime schedule.

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:   MGM entered into a deal with YouTube to stream full-length TV shows and films from its catalog in exchange for ad revenue generated from the content. The first of several planned channels is Impact, featuring action films that Comcast has been rotating on its VOD service including Bulletproof Monk, Ronin and The Magnificent Seven, along with vintage shows such as American Gladiators. Part of the appeal for MGM is to provide a repository users can upload copyrighted clips to, which the studio can, for once, benefit from financially. Full edition: CYN DIGITAL.

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Ocean Spray will debut its first animated TV special, Cranberry Christmas, on December 8 (7:30p) on ABC Family, as part of the network’s 25 Days of Christmas programming stunt.  Featuring two new original songs by singer/songwriter Barry Manilow and collaborator Bruce Sussman, the special is based on the 1976 kid’s book of the same title, written/illustrated by Wende and Harry Devlin.  The recipe for oatmeal cranberry white chocolate chunk cookies, made by in the special by the protagonist Maggie and her grandmother, can be found at http://www.oceanspray.com. Full edition: CYN KIDS.

CYNOPSIS INTERNATIONAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  If thou doth long for the times of olde, but set in a current setting, wait no longer.  The BBC is teaming up with the U.S.’s Showtime on a modern 60-minute tale of Camelot (conveniently titled Camelot).  The two companies are co-financiers of the series, which will be produced by Ecosse Films and Octagon Filmes if it gets the final nod.  Full edition: CYN INTERNATIONAL.

Friday – A18-49 Analysis:  CBS maintained a substantial lead Friday night at 2.6/8 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. CBS controlled primetime starting with Ghost Whisperer at 8p and a 2.8/9; CBS’ encore of NCIS posted a 2.4/7 during 9p; then the evening ended at 10p with Numb3rs topping out at 2.7/8.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Friday, November 7, 2008  (November Sweep Day 9) time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

CBS: 7.0/12       Ghost Whisperer 6.8/12, NCIS [r] 7.1/12, Numb3rs 7.1/13

ABC: 4.1/7          Wife Swap 3.1/5, SuperNanny 3.7/6, 20/20 5.6/10

FOX: 3.7/6           Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? 4.1/7, Don’t Forget the Lyrics! 3.3/6

NBC: 2.8/5          Deal or No Deal 3.6/6, Crusoe 2.5/4, Lipstick Jungle 2.3/4

MNT: 2.1/4         WWE Friday Night Smackdown 2.1/4

UNIV: 2.0/4         Cuidado con el Angel 2.1/4, Fuego en la Sangre 2.4/4, La Rosa de Guadalupe 1.6/3

CW: 1.0/2           Everybody Hates Chris 1.1/2, The Game 1.1/2, America’s Next Top Model [r] 1.0/2

TELE: 0.5/1         Dona Barbara 0.5/1, El Rostro de Analia 0.6/1, Letra y Musica 0.3/0

A18-49: CBS 2.6/8, ABC 1.9/6, FOX 1.6/5, UNIV 1.6/5, MNT 1.2/4, NBC 1.1/3, CW 0.7/2, TELE 0.3/1

Rainbow Media elevated Charlie Collier to President/AMC up from EVP/GM of the network. Charlie continues to report to Ed Carroll, President/National Entertainment Services, Rainbow Media.  As it should be, Charlie, as it should be.

Maleka Burnette joins Discovery Communications in new role as Director/Public Affairs, Domestic Distribution. Maleka will work with national and regional MSO partners to strengthen community-based programs on behalf of Discovery’s roster of networks in the areas of public relations, educational and community outreach. Reporting to Jennifer Dangar, SVP/Domestic Distribution, Maleka will be based at the company’s headquarters in Silver Spring, MD.

Jeffrey Meier was tapped as SVP/Scheduling, Acquisitions and Strategy for OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network starting immediately. Previously, Jeffrey worked for TV One as Head/Programming. At OWN, Jeffrey will supervise all strategic scheduling, acquisitions and program planning for the network. Jeffrey will also negotiate acquisition agreements, be involved on original programming and head content for alternate program platforms. 

Susan D. Whiting advanced to Vice Chairperson with The Nielsen Company. Susan, who has been with Nielsen since 1978, will join Chairman/CEO David Calhoun in the newly established office of the CEO to offer oversight and direction to the company’s services and operations. Susan will work closely with the company’s clients and key stakeholders worldwide.

Digital entertainment studio, Worldwide Biggies, Inc. hired Steve Tucker as Chief Revenue Officer to supervise the company’s product revenue and business development programs. In addition, Worldwide Biggies announced two new Board members: Edwin Schlossberg of ESI Design and Shawn Gold of SocialApproach.

This day in History:   1940 – The Jeep made its debut.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  Which two characters on M*A*S*H had wives named Louise?  FRANK BURNS & TRAPPER JOHN Kudos to: Katie Gorman-ESPN/NY; Enrico Bolognino-NBC East Coast Agency/NY; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing/NY; Michael Braff-Discovery Communications, LLC/NY; Bob Sieber/Birmingham, AL; Scott Wallace-Showtime Networks, Inc./Overland Park, KS; David Scott Jones-Marleigh Entertainment/LA; Dale Warshaw-KMSB/KTTU/Tucson; Paul Blutter-General American Group, Inc./Northridge, CA

Today’s Trivia Question:  On the series M*A*S*H, what was the name of Max Klinger’s favorite baseball team?  (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.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM HALLMARK CHANNEL

Later — Cyn
11.11.08

Cynopsis Ad Sales:
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Classifieds – Trish Pihonak- 203-926-9878 /

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Cyn opsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here    .

JOB OPENING: ACCT MGR, DIST. & FLD SALES/NY: Head region/division of 10 Distributors to Id. local rev., mkting and dist. opps. Exp. in Cable Sales, Mkting, & Acct Mgmt, 40-60% travel Rez: http://www.mylifetime.com/about-us/jobs (11/18)

JOB OPENING: AE/qubo/NY: Sell Nat’l on-air/line media. Gen new biz. Prsnt brand pos, mktg opportunities. Nat’l ad sales exp. required. Excl. interpersonal/org skills/MS Excel & PP. Apply:
(11/15)

JOB OPENING: SR RESEARCH ANALYST/DISCOVERY/MD: Resp for Brand Res, Ad & Media Effect./ROI, track metrics & success indicators for prog & initiatives. 2 yrs res exp. Client or supply mkt exp a must. Apply: www.discovery.com Req#8551 (11/15)

JOB OPENING: SUPERVISING PRODUCER/TLC/MD:Resp for writing/producing promos and mktg. projects for network;. 6+yrs. exp; proven writing/prod. skills, Avid Media Composure Exp. Apply: www.discovery.com Req#8553 (11/15)

JOB OPENING: SR. MGR-HARDLINES/Cookie Jar Ent/Burbank Min. 3-5 yrs Dom. License exp in Consumer Products industry with developed relationships. http://www.thecookiejarcompany.com (Careers). Send Res/CL:
(11/13)

JOB OPENING: PUBLICIST/Telepictures Prods/LA: Unit pub for synd TV show. News bkgd & exp on assign desk pref’d. Pitch/secure stories/content. Write/distrib releases.Fast paced enviro. 5-8yrs exp Res:
(11/13)

JOB OPENING: MKTG & SALES ASSOCIATE/IME-IESE Business School/NY: Min 3yrs exp in marketing education programs. Media/Entertainment background. Internet Marketing, lead generation, hands-on recruitment/sales.
jobC10 (11/13)

JOB OPENING: MGR CORP COMM/Rainbow/NY: Work across all Rainbow brands.Asst creating strat/write releases/pitch stories. 3+yrs media relat’s. Impeccable writing skills.strong media rltnshps, cbl exp a + www.cablevision.jobs ref#7483BR (11/12)

JOB OPENING: DIR CORP COMM/Rainbow/NY:Mng daily trade/business PR,work closely with Sr mgmt to dvlp/execute strat. 6-8 yrs PR exp, cable a +. Exc writing skills a must. Strong media relationships a +. www.cablevision.jobs ref#7486BR (11/12)

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL PRODUCER/CNN’s American Morning/NY: 5 yrs min major mkt tv news production exp, 1 yr min exp with web/interactive content, strong writer, leader. See full posting & apply to www.turner.jobs req# 108698BR (11/12)

JOB OPENING: CONTENT DESK EDITOR/WNBC: Conceive/execute news coverage, make front line editorial decisions on a story-by-story basis. Dvlp/monitor journalistic & editorial elements of news gathering. www.nbcunicareers.com #856232 (11/12)

JOB OPENING: SR DESK CONTENT DESK EDITOR/WNBC: Execute editorial vision of Content Desk across platforms;mng who will generate content from Content Desk Editors, Reporters, Field Crews to Content Prods.  www.nbcunicareers.com #853930 (11/12)

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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WINTER/SPRING INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY: ENTERTAINMENT/COMM INTERN/Cynopsis Media/Shelton CT: Asst various depts as needed in advrtsng sales, mktg, & rsrch. Highly orgnzd & reliable Sophomores/Jrs/Srs; Excellent MS Word/Excel skills. Contact:
(11/15)

WINTER/SPRING INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY: NewFest, NYC’s premier LGBT film organization, seeks interns to help with the 2009 Film Festival. Please email your resume to
(11/15)

WINTER/SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: RESEARCH ANALYST/Trendrr (NYC): Analyze & produce reports work w/Mktg.
Exp: Rsrch/data anlyst/stats/social media. Res:
(11/14)

WINTER/SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: RoCart, Inc./LA:Seeks RESEARCH INTERN for new NICK JR. live-action preschool show; position to start in JANUARY ’09. Submit cover letters/resumes to
(11/12)

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

SITUATION WANTED: EXP’D MEDIA RESEARCHER available. Credits incl both advertising sales and ad agency buying rsrch. Work with both primary and secondary resources. Work individually or manage a staff. Please e-mail:
(11/18)

SITUATION WANTED: PASSIONATE & CREATIVE MKT RESEARCHER (Temp or permanent) w/12 yrs exp. seeks to share skills & knwldg w/ companies to grow in challenging consumer landscape. Recently was VP w/ Top 20 rsrch co.
(11/18)

SITUATION WANTED: PROD/WRITER   Creative & versatile w/over 16 yrs exp. Wanted: Sprvsng, Series, Show prod. or writer role. Credits incl: synd., Discovery, TLC, Style, Hallmark, WE, A&E. Many genres. NY-based.
(11/18)

SITUATION WANTED: CASTING DIRECTOR/PRODUCER – Freelce or P/T real people& actors! Lots of exp! Reality FUSE-Redemption Song, Discv-CashCab, TLC etc Commercials-Iphone, NY Lottery,V8, Maxwell House etc-NYC/NJ
resume (11/18)

SITUATION WANTED: Ambitious, energetic COMM./MARKETING professional w/experience in music & film seeks opp. w/ agency/network/prod. company. Skills: Graphics, Web Dev, Event Prod., Sales & Sponsorship. Email:
(11/18)

SITUATION WANTED: EXPERIENCED PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT, MARKETING & LICENSING MANAGER with 8+ years seeks position in LA. Worked at Disney with Fisher-Price, Hasbro, MegaBloks on Pooh, Princess, more. Contact
(11/18)

SITUATION WANTED: TV PRODUCER w/ exp in prod/, writing, rsrchng, booking,new media & licensing/contracts. Past credits incl synd talk, educational, new media and Discovery prgrmng. Seeks FT in NY area. Contact:
(11/18)

SITUATION WANTED: Creative children’s TV producer/director w/ 18+ yrs hands-on exp. seeks web/TV projects/agent/team to join. Credits: PBS Kids (Buster, Fetch!, Zoom), History, CBS, BBC. Screen reel & CV @ http://www.alangrazioso.com (11/13)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT –  Tuesday, November 11, 2008

ABC: Dancing with the Stars (Recap), Dancing with the Stars, Eli Stone
AZTECA: Camino a la Fama, Los 25 Mas, Al Extremo
CBS: NCIS, The Mentalist, Without a Trace
CW: 90210, Privileged
FOX: House, Fringe
ION: Boston Legal, NCIS, Boston Legal
MNT: Heroes at Home
NBC: The Biggest Loser, Law & Order: SVU
PBS: Nova, Frontline, Get Ready for Digital TV [r]
TELE: Dona Barbara, El Rostro de Analia, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso
UNIV: Cuidado con El Angel, Fuego en la Sangre, Aqui y Ahora

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