Good morning. It’s Wednesday, December 15, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.
Tonight’s Premiere: WB: Big Man on Campus 9pm
Casting / Development / Production
Prison Break (20th) on Fox has added another member to the cast – Stacy Keach will play the role of Warden Pope.
Lifetime has ordered 13 eps of a new reality show tentatively called Ms. Mogul, set to debut in 2nd qtr 2005. The concept is 15 women armed with business plans competing to win a cool million as start up money for their new ventures, per Hollywood Reporter. Additionally, the net has ordered a pilot of a project called Almost Family wherein couples meet and spend a week with their prospective inlaws, produced by Gay Rosenthal. Also in development is a project called The Big Kahuna, set on the island of Hawaii, and focused on what is apparently a highly competitive business – wedding planners.
NBC has ordered a pilot – cast contingent – of a project called Lies and the Wives We Tell Them To (NBC Universal TV). The comedy focuses on four couples, all best friends, and the lies they tell each other and themselves to keep them happy and married.
Currently in development for television is a series based on the film franchise, Hellraiser, per Variety. Set as a 60m weekly series, the project comes from Panacea Ent, Blueprint Ent and Park Avenue Ent, with exec prods Larry Kuppin and Eric Gardner.
As Survivor ends its 9th competition, it prepares for the 10th round, set to launch in February, and has already booked the next two seasons, effectively extending the Survivor franchise through the end of the 2005-06 season.
The Bachelorette returns to the ABC schedule on Monday, January 10 with a 2-hour premiere beginning at 9pm. In addition to the new night, the show will be based in a new city – New York City.
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has its first station for its new talk show for Fall 2005 – The Tyra Banks Show on KGW/Portland for a 10am time period next season according to the distributor. That time period is currently home to the Tony Danza Show (Buena Vista Television).
Oxygen has licensed a package of 21 theatrical films from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution including the premieres of Ocean’s Twelve and the second installment of Miss Congeniality: 2: Armed & Fabulous. The first of the film windows begins in February 2005. Additional titles in the package include Murder by Numbers, Two Weeks Notice, Alex & Emma, Raising Helen, Catwoman, New York Minute, Cinderella Story, What a Girl Wants, Taking Lives, Love Don’t Cost A Thing, Million Dollar Baby, Phantom of the Opera, Rumor Has It, A Lot Like Love and Must Love Dogs, as well as four films from Warner Bros. Pictures’ 2005 and 2006 release slates.
CBS led the charge on Monday night with an overall 5.5/14 A18-49 rating in the final analysis of Nielsen Media Research data. ABC was #2 thanks to the football game (which on its own pulled in a 5.1/15 A18-49), followed by Fox 3.4/8, NBC 3.0/8, UPN 1.3/3 and WB 1.2/3. At 8pm Fear Factor led, despite it being a repeat episode, with a 3.8/10, just a moment ahead of Fox’s Trading Spouses (3.5/9). The CBS comedies were third in the time period wtih a 3.2/9 and 3.4/9, respectively. At 9p a repeat of Raymond (5.3/13) and and original of 2-1/2 Men (5.8/14) were in front, with Fox’s The Swan #2 posting a 3.4/8. CSI Miami dominated the 10p hour with a healthy 7.5/19, ahead of a repeat of Las Vegas on NBC (2.1/6).
The brand new privately owned, 24/7 ad supported English-language US South Asian American network American Desi, was officially announced this week with the full launch scheduled for January 2005. The net will be available on the DISH Network (EchoStar Communications Corporation) to more than 10 million homes. American Desi’s programming will encompass a range of genres including newscasts, kids programming, talk shows, sports news and magazine shows, comedy, movies, interview programming and American Pro Cricket matches. It will be based from New York and New Jersey production studios with current alliances with corporations such as Associated Press Television (APTV) News, Sports News Television (SNTV) and American Pro Cricket. Here’s a sampling of their programming lineup:
G’Morning: An a.m. show centering on information of use and interest to the US Desi audience
Points of View: Desi women voicing their different opinions on a variety of topics
It’s My Life: Teenagers discussing their own lives, issues and interests
Bollywood Fix: Current and classic Bollywood movies
Live Wire; Pulse; The Voice: Guests join host Sree Sreenivasan to discuss topics covering the social, economic and political aspects important to the Desi viewer
PrimeTime: A show covering everything from celeb interviews, debates and more
Pro Cricket: US Pro Cricket action
Sports World: A weekly show with updates on sports such as cricket, baseball, basketball and more in the US sports arena
Late Night Comedy: Late night raw comedy
FYI: “Desi” is South Asian terminology meaning “from the homeland.” Per the network’s release, there are currently in the US over 3.4 million Desi family members, many of them in the upper income bracket, with over 20% of Desis of Indian descent having achieved millionaire status. Originally from India, Pakistan and other culturally similar South Asian backgrounds, this group is distinguished as one of the fastest-growing population segments in the U.S., estimated to exceed 6 million by 2010. For more info, check out: http://www.americandesi.tv/
MTV is launching 3 new US channels with each customized for specific ethnic populations. The Indian-oriented MTV Desi will be the first channel to debut with MTV China and MTV Korea to follow in 2005. Each channel will feature music and shows that will appeal to their respective target audiences from MTV’s international channels. Some shows will be adapted with local live events, VJs and music relevant or familiar to US ethnic viewers. More channels are in the works. MTV upped Nusrat Durrani to GM/SVP of MTV World. He will be responsible for the new channels. He was previously VP of e-commerce for MTV, VH1, CMT and Comedy Central.
Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among Total Viewers for the week of December 6-12, 2004: Primetime (000) Total Pgm Day (000) ESPN 2980 NICK 2109 TNT 1640 NAN* 1620 LIFETIME 2145 TNT 1342 USA 2102 LIFETIME 1198 ABC FAMILY 2056 CARTOON 1160 NAN 1813 ESPN 1089 CARTOON 1812 TBS 1066 TBS 1751 USA 974 FOXNEWS 1664 ABC FAMILY 954 SPIKE TV 1473 FOX NEWS 906 Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data. All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes * = Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24 hour day. Primetime listing only includes those networks broadcasting more than 51% of the primetime hours (M-Su 8p-11p)
Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among A18-49 for the week of December 6-12, 2004: Primetime (000) Total Pgm Day (000) ESPN 1544 NAN* 760 TNT 1296 TNT 743 TBS 1087 TBS 660 USA 863 ESPN 637 LIFETIME 838 LIFETIME 557 ABC FAMILY 791 NICK 555 SPIKE 764 USA 455 COMEDY 668 COMEDY 370 MTV 607 SPIKE 362 FX 571 ABC FAMILY 361 Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data. All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes. * = Network broadcasts less than 51% of minutes in a 24 hour day. Primetime listing only includes those networks broadcasting more than 51% of the primetime hours (M-Su 8p-11p)
Cynopsis Question for You: Do you think the infomercials a station/network carry (be it a teeth whitener, a religious program, or a college girls on vacation video) are a reflection on the station itself? And if so, does your station/network take that into account when clearing infomercials for air? Your Answers: Infomercials DO reflect on the station: 57% Unattributed Comments:
“If you only turn on the station once in a while and you get an infomercial, how can you not help but have a sense of the station’s policy?”
“Yes, it is a relection on the station, and we do take the nature of the product into consideration when we clear them”
“We don’t allow PI or DR in News shows, and we don’t take “get-rich-quick”, “900 numbers” or psychics … or anything that smacks of over-promise or cheating”
Infomercials DO NOT reflect on the station: 43% Unattributed Comments:
“They are an established part of the business that consumers (that would be viewers…) obviously love”
“I don’t consider infomercial choices a reflection of the station per se, more just acceptance of the “highest bidder”, so to speak, for the time slot”
“These are paid programs just like the commercials are paid for by the advertiser. They should in no way be a reflection on the station itself.”
“Infomercials are imperative to a nets bottom line, as ad inventory needs to be filled”
“I don’t think viewers make the connection between the station and the product. I still believe that viewers watch programs- not stations.”
And from a distributor: “Regardless of each stations individual or group position, infomercials have no public service or entertainment value, just a steady source of revenues to the station at the viewers expense and a determent to those inspiring producers who cant get their shows (regardless of how good they are) on the air because of it.”
CORRECTION: Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has sold the weekend broadcast window two off-net drama series – Without a Trace and Cold Case, to the Viacom station group. Weekend runs of WOT will premiere in Fall 2006 (yesterday’s item incorrectly read “2005”); Cold Case the following fall, 2007. Both series are produced by Jerry Bruckheimer Television, together with CBS Prods and Warner Bros. Television. The weekday runs for both series will air concurrently with the bcst syndication on TNT in 2006 and ’07, respectively.
Court TV has named Rachelle Savoia as Manager/Business & Trade Publicity. The announcement was made by Carole Shander, VP/Public Relations. Rachelle will be working with business and trade media, spearheading publicity initiatives for the network’s Affiliate Relations, Advertising Sales and Marketing departments. She will also work closely with local cable operators developing stories relative to Court TV in-market co-sponsored initiatives, and will work within the industry to heighten Court TV’s involvement with specific issues and activities. Rachelle makes the move to Court TV from Goodman Media.
The new 24-hour English-language South Asian-oriented network, American Desi, named several key execs.
Vimal Verma was named as Chairman/CEO. He was previously with American Express in several positions as the head of Verma & Associates (American Express Advisors unit), a managing principal/member of Amex’s Gold Team
Rickey Gaffney was named as SVP/Programming. She was previously with ABC in such positions as Senior Broadcast Producer for Good Morning America and other production supervisory positions for several ABC News Special Projects. Now that’s a great hire.
Kenneth F. Gelb was named as SVP/Sales. He was most recently with Paxson Communications as Regional VP for the Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC markets.
Ray Heacox was called upon to be a Senior Advisor. He is currently the Program Director of Drexel University’s Paul F. Harron Television Management Graduate Program and a media/technology business consultant.
Howard Homonoff was also named as a Senior Advisor. He is currently President of Homonoff Media Group LLC.
Monday, December 13, 2004.FINAL Ratings for all Networks – program averages.Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat
CBS 10.4/16 Still Standing 6.8/11, Listen Up 6.9/11, Raymond [r]10.5/16, 2-1/2 Men 10.5/16, CSI Miami 13.7/22
ABC 7.6/12 Life of Luxury 3.5/6, Monday Night Football 9.5/16 (Game ended at 12:23am
FOX 5.1/8 Trading Spouses 5.2/8, The Swan 4.9/7
NBC 4.7/7 Fear Factor [r] 5.4/8, Las Vegas [r] 5.1/8, Las Vegas [r] 3.7/6
UPN 2.3/4 One on One 2.0/3, Half & Half [r] 2.0/3, Girlfriends 2.4/4, Second Time Around [r] 2.0/3
WB 2.1/3 7th Heaven [r] 2.7/4, Everwood [r] 1.9/3
A18-49 CBS 5.5/14, ABC 4.0/11, Fox 3.4/8, NBC 3.0/8, UPN 1.3/3, WB 1.2/3
A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION
MOVIES MAKE BASIC BETTER!
OCEAN’S TWELVE MAKES WAVES AT THE BOX OFFICE
#1 Movie in its First Weekend (December 10-12)
$39.1 million
Available Exclusively From Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution
The History Channel presents This Day in History: 1973: Tennessee outlasts Temple, 11-6, to win the lowest-scoring game in NCAA basketball history.
Answer Yesterday’s Trivia Question: “The sky is blue, the grass is green, get off your butts and join the Marines.” What Laugh-In guest said that line? Was it Elvis Presley, John Wayne, or Kirk Douglas? JOHN WAYNE. Kudos to: Tim McCarthy-WFTX/Ft. Myers; Ezra Levy-Kramer Spellman LP/Boston; Joel Zaremby-ConfirMedia/NY; Peter Bakalian-Rankin Bass Prods/NY; Dan Thomson-Media First Int’l/Minneapolis; Cary Minor-Showcase Cable Sales/Houston; Jackie Blumer-Charter Adv/St. Louis; Valerie Reid-MMT/Chicago; Judi Schultz-Woodson & Neuroth/Beaverton; Lou Fazio-GSN/Santa Monica; Lynn Gutstadt-Premier Retail Networks/San Francisco; Patrick Reynolds-WBDTD/Burbank; Linda Jofrey-Sony Pictures Television Research/Culver City.
A MESSAGE FROM AMC
MOVIE LOVERS TAKE AMC TO NEW HEIGHTS
AMC in November:
– Top 10 Network in HH Rating and Delivery in Primetime
– Strongest A18-49 Delivery Ever in Primetime
– Exceptional Double-Digit A25-54 Delivery Growth in Primetime
Today’s Trivia Question: Who said: “May a crazed lizard unravel your underwear”? (click here with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone with your answer. 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 MESSAGE FROM COURT TV
It’s no mystery why Court TV viewers like to watch – we give them what they ask for.
Fans’ Favorite Forensic Files. Ten episodes. One night.
Dec. 17. 7PM til midnight.
Four solid witnesses. A perfect alibi. Until a little girl mentions a telephone conversation she overheard…
Only on Court TV. The Investigation Channel.
Later — Cyn 12.15.04 5:26am
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CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIEDS
JOB OPENING: KUVN 23/ KSTR 49 RESEARCH ANALYST. Compile & analyze Nielsen ratings data & syndicated market research info. Min 2 yrs research/ marketing/sales exp. Bilingual (Engl/ Span) is pref. KUVNHRDept
. EOE. (12/22)
JOB OPENING: SR. RESEARCH ASSOC./PBS-DC area. Oversee nat’l Nielsen orders and database. Attn to detail. Grad degree/Research methods, stats pref. D-base mgt. 1-3 yr exper. Excel, Access, SPSS. Info/apply at www.pbs.org/jobs. EOE (12/21)
JOB OPENING: DIR, ON DEMAND CONTENT & DEV-MTV/NYC. 4-6yrs exp in television, Strng working knowledge of TV production/scheduling, Experience w/new media platforms esp VOD EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (12/18)
JOB OPENING: SUPERVISING PRODUCER, mtvU/NYC. 7yrs TV prod exp, Exp in managing freelance/staff, Exp with casting/shooting/scripting/editing Strng organizer, multi-tasker & fast paced EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (12/18)
JOB OPENING: MGR, INTEGRATED MRKTG, MTV/NYC. 4+yrs exp in TV/Ad/Mrktg Agency with onair/online/off channel branding, Strg written/oral skills, multi-tasking a heavy/fast paced workload, EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (12/18)
JOB OPENING: MANAGER, SALES SYSTEMS SUPPORT-MTV/NY. Support/train Ad Sales. Write specs for system enhancements. Partner w/IS on testing/implementation. 3 yrs+ exp TV adv and JDS or Gabriel a +. www.mtvncareers.com EOE/M/F/D/AAP (12/18)
JOB OPENING: ANALYST, MTV/NY-Analyst Ad Sales Planning; Produce standard reports, ad hoc analyses, maintain data integrity in multiple systems. Strong Excel, Detail oriented, good comm skills. www.mtvncareers.com EOE/M/F/D/AAP (12/18)
JOB OPENING: GENERAL SALES MANAGER/FOX SPORTS NET NEW ENGLAND, Burlington, MA. 10+ years exp leading network ad sales team, setting strategy, developing budget and business plans. Email executivena@aol.com (12/18)
JOB OPENING: AFFILIATE RELATIONS, WESTERN REGION/XY.tv/LA or Denver. VP or Director. Dist/mrkt all svcs inc. linear vid, VOD and broadband initiatives. 5+ yrs exp cable/ent. MBA pref. 75% travel req. Email
(12/17)
JOB OPENING: CUSTOMER SERVICE REP-Verance Corp/NY. Min 3-5 yrs customer service environment. Familiarity w/media buying, ad agency scheduling systems, trafficking systems & applications E-mail w/o attachments:
(12/17)
JOB OPENING: ACCOUNT EXEC-A&E, NY. Exp tv ad sales pro w/proven track record, extensive agency/client relationships. Solid presentation/comm skills. 4 yrs broadcast/cable direct sales exp req’d. Resume:
(12/16)
JOB OPENING: CASTING DIRECTOR, BANYAN PRODUCTIONS for new reality show. Extensive knowledge of real-people casting req. Start immediately. Send resume to (12/16)
JOB OPENING: SALES RESEARCH ANALYST, The Golf Channel/ORLANDO. Story-teller w/ 3+ yrs audience/ad sales rsch exp. Nielsen, MRI, etc. Golf/Sports media bckgrnd helpful, not required. EOE. M/F/D/V Fax: 407.363.7976. No calls pls (12/16)
JOB OPENING: CLIENT SERVICES DIR/Beck Media & Mktg, LA. PR talent for nat’l TV and ent. tech accts. Exp incl synd/sports or interactive ent. pref; exc writing skills. Resume/cvr ltr:
, subj: Beck Media-LA (12/16)
JOB OPENING: NBC Universal/BRAVO, PRESS MGR/NY. Publicist level. 3 yrs publicist exp pref in Ent./TV industry. Strong verbal/writing skills, multi-tasker.Strategic thinker, ability to generate buzz a must. Apply: www.nbcjobs.com (12/16)
SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED —
SITUATION WANTED: MBA Candidate with specialization in Media Management is seeking full-time job opportunity. 7+ years experience in technology consulting – looking to transition into TVBroadcast in NYC. E-Mail: (12/23)
SITUATION WANTED: Experienced SCREENWRITER/ PROMO WRITER seeking script rewriting assignment. Experience at Universal/NBC and reality TV. I can make any script a red hot rocket destined for box office glory. Email:
(12/23)
SITUATION WANTED: BIZ DEV, STRATEGY, PLANNING & OPS EXEC, MBA + 20yrs exp, Cable/Program Distribution (VOD), Interactive Media & Consumer Electronics, seeks consulting/interim/FT assignment. NYC based. Travel OK
(12/23)
SITUATION WANTED: Female mktg. guru and sales person seeks freelance gig for NATPE. Will work from LA and help in LV. References and proven track record. Email me at
or cel (954) 270-1725 (12/23)
SITUATION WANTED: 15 yr+ LA Coordinating Producer relocated to DC Metro area. Available for work ASAP in DC Metro, LA or elsewhere – casting,talent relations, publicity, clearances and S&P. Email
(12/23)
SITUATION WANTED: FREELANCE AWARDS COORDINATOR: 6 yrs exp. managing awards entries for major cable nets. Highly familiar w/ all major awards comps: Emmys, Peabodys, Promax, etc. Will process entries & materials.
(12/18)
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: DECEMBER 15, 2004:
ABC Lost, Lost, Wife Swap CBS 60 Minutes, King of Queens, Center of the Universe, CSI: NY FOX That 70’s Show, Quintuplets, Nanny 911 NBC NBC Special: The Seinfeld Story [r], The West Wing, Law & Order PAX Doc, Sue Thomas F.B.Eye, Early Edition UPN Top Model, Kenny Hill WB Smallville [r], Big Man on Campus [p] TELE La Mujer en el Espejo, Gitanas, Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer UNIV Rubi, Amor Real, Don Francisco Presenta
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