CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

04/21/04

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, April 21, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

There are a whole lot more Presidents in the world.  At least in ABC’s world.  Okay, now try and keep up with me — Stephen McPherson has been named President/ABC Primetime Entertainment; Rich Ross is named President/Disney Channel Worldwide;  Paul Lee named President/ABC Family; Mark Pedowitz is named President/Touchstone Television and EVP/ABC Entertainment Television Group.  And helping to make room for all of these Presidents are Susan Lyne, President/ABC Entertainment Television, and Lloyd Braun, Chairman/ABC Entertainment Television Group, both of whom have left the company. And if that’s not enough, heading up the group are Anne Sweeney and George Bodenheimer, who have been named co-chairs of Disney’s Media Networks unit.  The announcement was made yesterday by Robert Iger, President/COO.  Sweeney is adding the ABC Television Network to her roster, which includes ABC Entertainment, ABC Daytime, ABC News and Touchstone Television. George Bodenheimer will remain head of ESPN, Inc. and ABC Sports, and both will continue to report to Iger. And the last two pieces of the puzzle – Alex Wallau was named President/ABC Network Operations and Administration overseeing News, BO&E, ad sales, affiliate relations and the integration of ABC Sports with the Network; and Brian Frons who will remain President/ABC Daytime.  Phew.  That’s a lot of Presidents.

New in Casting / Development / Production:

• WB‘s pilot drama Rocky Point (Warner Bros.) has added Billy Campbell to the cast list as the estranged father and rocky focal point of the show.
• VH1 has ordered a pilot for 3-Blondes, based on the UK series where three women, playing different characters each time, interact with the unaware on the street.  The three blondes for the VH1 version are Kyra Groves, Frances Callier and Angela V. Shelton.
• ABC has added Don Rickles to the cast of its drama pilot The Catch (Bad Robot/Touchstone) about two bounty hunters. Rickles will be their boss.  The Catch is slated for a midseason arrival.
• USA has signed actor Adam Goldberg to star in its drama series Frankenstein (Flame TV/Warner Bros.), a latter day version where the good doctor and his good monster live in Seattle.  Goldberg plays an investigator looking into the whole Frankenstein thing.  Parker Posey has also been cast, but still up in the air on the roles of the doctor and the monster. USA has ordered a 2-hour pilot and four scripts.

The FCC defines ‘indecency’ thusly:  “In context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.”   The operating words here are contemporary community standards.  So then why would  First Amendment attorney Robert Corn-Revere at a panel discussion yesterday at the NAB conference suggest the miniseries Roots may be over the line if aired today?  Therein lies the rub.  If Roots was okay for contemporary community standards in the 1970’s, certainly it should be today.  If various rock and roll songs played for the past 20 years were okay for the past 20 years, you’d think they’d be okay to air today, and yet DJs are removing some songs from the classic playlist such as Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side and The Who’s Who Are You?. FCC Commissioner Powell suggests broadcasters should be ‘careful what they wish for’ in asking for a specific definition of the term ‘indecency’.  As long as we’re rethinking the ‘appropriateness’ of airing a miniseries such as Roots, don’t you think we should really begin defining something?  The question of whether airing Saving Private Ryan and Schindler’s List  would be appropriate according to contemporary community standards, and the answer from Jon Cody, legal advisor to Commissioner Powell was ‘we don’t know.’   Well, that clears things up nicely.

NBC got the go ahead from the Federal Trade Commission for its $14 billion acquisition of Vivendi Universal Entertainment, without restriction.  The deal is expected to be finalized next month.  The new company name will be NBC Universal.

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among Total Viewers for the week of Apr 12-18, 2004
Primetime        (000)     Total Day            (000)
TNT             2462    NICK*           2080
NICK*           2404    NAN**           1431
HISTORY 2095    TNT             1288
USA             2084    CARTOON 1171
NAN**           2001    USA             971
CARTOON 1756    LIFETIME        944
FOXNEWS 1669    FOXNEWS 916
LIFETIME        1464    TBS             832
TBS             1374    HISTORY 748
MTV             1344    ESPN            745
Source  Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes
*Nickelodeon: M-Th 6:30a-9p; Fri 6:30a-10p; Sat 6a-10p; Sun 6a-9p
**Nick at Nite (NAN): S-Th 9p-6a; Fri-Sat 10p-6a

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among A18-49 for the week of Apr 12-18, 2004
Primetime        (000)     Total Day           (000)
TNT             1114    NAN**           678
USA             864     TNT             648
MTV             784     ESPN            488
HISTORY 759     TBS             481
TBS             728     LIFETIME        478
DISCOVERY       675     USA             470
COMEDY  671     NICK*           459
TLC             646     MTV             358
LIFETIME        616     COMEDY  351
ESPN            612     FX              334
Source  Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes.
*Nickelodeon: M-Th 6:30a-9p; Fri 6:30a-10p; Sat 6a-10p; Sun 6a-9p
**Nick at Nite (NAN): S-Th 9p-6a; Fri-Sat 10p-6a

News Viewer Index for the week of April 12-18, 2004 in Total Viewers
Total Day Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers  1.868 (000) Total Viewers. (+1% vs. previous week). Of the cable news viewership, Fox News had 49% of the viewing, CNN 27%, MSNBC 14%; and Headline News 10%.
Primetime Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers  3.085 (0000) Total Viewers (+12% vs. previous week). Of the primetime cable news viewership, Fox News had 54%, CNN 28%, MSNBC 12% and Headline News 6%.
Source Nielsen Media Research

By now you’ve marked your calendar – December 1.  Brokaw’s last day at the NBC News anchor desk.  Brian Williams, who has a surprisingly dry sense of humor, steps in.  Brokaw has been anchor/managing editor since 1993 and will likely continue his connection with the network by producing several documentaries.

Intermedia Advertising Group’s Top Ten Most Effective New Ads for new campaigns airing the weeks of
March 29-April 11, 2004. The list is ranked by viewer’s ability to recall the new ads and their associated products and brands.  The Recall Score is the percentage of TV viewers who within 24 hours are able to remember the brand of the ad they saw during normal TV viewing.  The scores are then indexed against the mean score for all ads during the time period to create the Recall Index; 100 is Average. For example, with a Recall Index of 213, the top-ranked Tide spot was recalled more than twice the average new ad during the period.   Source Intermedia Advertising Group Inc.’s 2004 Ad Performance Data Series (www.iagr.net)
– 213   TIDE:  StainBrush–wife explains how to pretreat stains w/ different products
– 196   THETRUTH.COM:  People shave their heads in street, woman in mirror talks about cancer diagnosis
– 194   SPRINT:  PCS Picture Mail–woman discovers little man stealing socks from dryer
– 190   NESTLE:  Toll House Candy Bars–mom holds press conference, snack size available
– 186    FOOTLOCKER:  Reebok Classic Leather–man walks, dances, rides bike, women follow him back to store
– 184   UBISOFT:  Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow–children recite the Pledge of Allegiance
– 171   PIER ONE:  Couple on leather couch talks to Thom Filicia of Queer Eye
– 170   QUILTED NORTHERN:  New–cartoon quilters on commercial set, close-ups
– 170    GOLD BOND: First Aid Quick Spray–father treats girl’s elbow
– 162   PIER ONE: Thom Filicia of Queer Eye takes blonde woman into store

CBS takes Monday night with an overall 5.1/14 A18-49 according to Nielsen Media Research, followed in short order by NBC 4.5/12, FOX 3.9/11, WB 2.0/5, ABC 1.9/5, UPN 1.0/3.  At 8pm NBC’s Fear Factor was out in front with a 5.1/15, with CBS and Fox tied at #2 each posting a 10 share.  WB’s 7th Heaven came in third with a 2.0/6 (2.9/8 among W18-49), ahead of ABC and UPN. At 9pm CBS and NBC tied in share, though CBS was ahead by a tenth of a rating point with a 5.0/12.  Fox’s The Swan was third with a 4.3/11 (and a high of 5.7/15 among W18-34, winning the demo). At 10p, it was all about CBS’ CSI Miami which delivered a strong 7.2/19, well ahead of Rocco DeSpirito’s The Restaurant (3.5/9) and the final hour of ABC’s movie, What Lies Beneath (2.0/5).

Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution named Gus Lucas as EVP.  Gus has served as SVP since 2000.  He will be based in Burbank.  Gus will be the “second in command” to Eric Frankel, the company’s President, overseeing WBDCD’s sales and marketing.

Kevin Beggs has put pen to contract again in a multi-year agreement as he continues to serve as President/Programming and Production for Lions Gate Television.  He will report to Jon Feltheimer, the company’s CEO.  Lion’s Gate recently bought Artisan Entertainment.   Kevin will oversee the production and development expansion of Lion’s Gate’s series, tv movies and miniseries.  He previously served as EVP/Domestic Television and was upped to President in 2002.

GSN, the Network for Games, has upped Scott Perlmutter to VP/Distribution, a newly created position.  Scott previous position was VP/Affiliate Sales, Western Region.  He will report to Rich Cronin, GSN President, and work closely with Michael Kohn, GSN General Counsel, until the company decides on a new Affiliate Sales head.   Scott will be responsible for network sales activities with nationwide satellite and cable operators.

NBC has upped Sumithra (Sumi) Barry to Director/Program Research, NBC Entertainment.  She will report to Melva Goffney Benoit, SVP/Program Research, NBC Entertainment, and will be responsible for managing all primary research for primetime series, on-air-promotion, longform programming and specials. 

Shannon Hebert was named VP/Integrated Marketing at National Geographic Television & Film.  Shannon will oversee all marketing and sponsorship sales activities within the company.  She will report to Will Weil, SVP/Marketing and Business Development.

Adam Rockmore was upped to SVP/Marketing and Interactive Commerce at Shop At Home Network, Scripps Networks.  Adam served as VP/Marketing at Scripp’s Food Network.  He is now responsible for the selling strategy and execution of the Shop At Home Network’s website as well as developing Scripp’s licensing possibilities.

Univision Radio named J.D. Gonzalez as VP and Station Manager.  J.D. will oversee daily and business operations for 8 Texas radio stations.  He will report to Mark Masepohl, SVP and Regional Manager for Univision Radio Texas and will be based in Houston.

Josh Feldman was upped to Sales Manager for Adult Swim at Cartoon Network Sales and Marketing.  Josh will be in charge of advertising sales for the Adult Swim programming block.  He will be based in New York and report to John O’Hara, SVP/Sales and Marketing for Cartoon Network.

Debbie Carpenter was named VP/General Manager of WFLD and WPWR, Fox O&O Chicago stations.  Debbie will be based in Chicago.  She was previously SVP of Fox Station Sales in New York.

Monday, April 19, 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     10.1/16 Yes, Dear 6.4/11, Still Standing 6.9/11, Everybody Loves Raymond 10.4/16, Two and a Half Men 9.7/14, CSI: Miami 13.7/22

NBC     6.2/10  Fear Factor 7.0/11, Las Vegas 7.0/11, The Restaurant [p] 4.6/7

FOX     6.1/10  American Idol: Uncut, Uncensored & Untalented 5.7/9, The Swan 6.5/10

ABC     4.5/7   ABC Monday Movie of the Week: What Lies Beneath 4.5/7

WB      3.6/6   7th Heaven 3.7/6, Everwood 3.5/5

UPN     1.8/3   The Parkers [r] 1.8/3, Eve [r] 1.9/3, Girlfriends [r] 1.8/3, Half & Half [r] 1.7/3

A18-49  CBS 5.1/14, NBC 4.5/12, FOX 3.9/11, WB 2.0/5, ABC 1.9/5, UPN 1.0/3

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source: NTI Explorer, 4/17/04 or as noted.  TP: Sat 8-10pm.  Program rank based on W18-49 & W25-54.  Program rank ties Cops 2 w/W18-49 & The District w/W25-54.  Movie rank ties Along Came A Spider.  US Ratings.

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1989 – Chinese students begin pro-democracy protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Protests continued in the weeks that followed, with the students joined by workers, intellectuals, and civil servants. In June, the Chinese army launched a fierce crackdown against the protesters; an unknown number of people are arrested and executed.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  This TV Spy created a fashion trend in the 1960’s.  In a field of spies (both good and bad) who all wore shirts and ties, this guy, the subject of many a young girl’s crush (present company included), always wore a turtleneck and jacket (spy gun and personal communication device optional). Who was this guy?  ILLIYA KURYAKIN, Man from U.N.C.L.E.  Kudos to the majority of the free world.  Of course, if we were to define correct answers by spelling, nearly nobody would’ve gotten this one.  Who comes up with a name like this?  And a special kudos to all you females who all still have a crush on David McCallum and probably watch him now as Ducky on Navy NCIS.

A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT

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Today’s Trivia Question:  January 18 was a permanent date on the chalkboard in this sitcom’s kitchen.  It was there to remind one of the writers of his father’s birthday.  Which sitcom was this on?    (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
04/21/04  5:24am
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2004

COURT TV:       I, Detective, Forensic Files, Psychic Detectives, The Investigators
ABC             My Wife and Kids, My Wife and Kids [r], The Bachelor, Extreme Makeover
CBS             60 Minutes II, The King of Queens, Yes, Dear, 48 Hours
FOX             That 70’s Show, O.C.
NBC             NBC Special: The Most Outrageous Moments on “Live” TV, The West Wing, Law & Order
PAX             AFV, AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             Enterprise, I’m Still Alive
WB              Smallville, Angel
TELE            Prisonera, El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Don Francisco Presenta

A MESSAGE FROM GREAT BLUE PRODUCTIONS

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