CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

03/31/04

Good morning.  It’s Wednesday, March 31, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

HBO has ordered up a second season of Deadwood with 12 more eps scheduled to begin production mid-summer.  Look for Season #2 to kick off in first quarter 2005.

The big four networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox, will all be working with the Ad Council to develop commercials promoting the V-Chip, the thingamajig inside your TV which gives you the ability to block programming from being viewed.  Of course at our house, we call it the Off Button, but that makes no never mind.  According to the Ad Council about 80% of the TV set owners out there are unaware their set has this capability and the idea is to bring it into focus.

You’ll recall NBC owns 32% of net-let PAX, and last fall a clause in its agreement with PAX to have PAX buy out NBC’s stake (a stake which today is valued at $557 million).  NBC set the due date as November 13, 2004.  Pax had a problem with that claim in 4th qtr, and has a similar problem with it today.  According to Broadcasting & Cable, Bud Paxson, Chairman/CEO, has said he does not have to redeem NBC’s stake in his company for two reasons – he doesn’t have the money and the “agreements” speak for themselves.  Essentially Paxson is reading the agreement differently than NBC.  Paxson reads it that should NBC decide they no longer want their 32%, they can off-load it to another party, but he doesn’t believe he should have to foot the bill. Paxson owes a lot of money – as of December 31, 2003, it owned $925.6 million, and had just $100 million cash on hand.  Paxson underwent a debt refinancing in January, and he says, “Yes, we have an obligation to NBC, but not an obligation to sell assets, or pay money we don’t have. They are junior to our indebtedness.” 

The catch phrase for this new show won’t be You’re Fired, but rather You’re Overruled.  According to Variety, Fox and Rocket Science Labs are teaming up to develop a reality/game called The Partner, where 10 newly bar examined lawyers will attempt to earn the title of Partner in a major law firm.  The group will be split into two teams – Ivy Leaguers and Not-So-Ivy Leaguers and in each episode they’ll be put through their paces in mock trials based on real cases, and decided by real people in the jury box.  While still in the early stage of development, the show is looking for a late summer launch. 

New in Development, Casting, Production:

• CBS‘s untitled comedy project from Rob Long and  Dan Staley (Paramount) starring Ricki Lake, is in final chats with Kirstie Alley to play Lake’s mother.
• NBC‘s Marsh McCall project (Warner Bros.) which has a growing cast and still no title, has added Shelley Long.  The cast includes Tom Conti (the father) and Mitch Rouse (the son).  Dad is a college professor and newly divorced; son is a college student at the same school.  The cast also included Beverly D’Angelo, but she has left the project. In the net’s comedy project D.O.T.S. (Pariah/NBC Studios) about life as a meter maid, Steve Hytner will play the meter maid team’s Lieutenant.
• ABC‘s comedy project The Savages (Icon Prods/ Universal), has cast Keith Carradine as the father of five boys. ABC comedy project Earthquake (Tollin-Robbins/Touchstone) has added Holly Robinson-Peete to the cast.
• Fox has added to its primetime soap meets Twin Peaks project Point Pleasant (Original/20th) with Sam Page as the lifeguard who attempts to save the life of the unknown girl who he spots floating in the water.
• UPN‘s sitcom with Dane Cooke, no title yet, from Sony has cast Pat Finn, in the role of Cooke’s brother.

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among Total Viewers for the month of March 2004:
Primetime        (000)     Total Day            (000)
TNT             2415    NICK            1859
USA             2332    TNT             1290
NICK            2215    CARTOON 1132
TBS             2035    TBS             1051
LIFETIME        1600    LIFETIME        985
CARTOON 1592    USA             971
FOXNEWS 1488    FOXNEWS 885
SCIFI           1314    ESPN            671
DISCOVERY       1286    HISTORY 628
ESPN            1181    A&E             620
Source  Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among A18-49 for the month of March 2004:
Primetime        (000)     Total Day           (000)
TNT             1150    TNT             671
TBS             1129    TBS             636
USA             974     NICK            538
DISCOVERY       730     LIFETIME        465
TLC             678     USA             442
COMEDY  635     ESPN            384
LIFETIME        631     TLC             356
SPIKE           629     FX              341
MTV             623     DISCOVERY       340
SCIFI           618     COMEDY  322
Source  Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 108,400,000 homes.

News Viewer Index for the week of March 22-28, 2004 in Total Viewers
Total Day Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers  1.836 (000) Total Viewers. (-2% vs. previous week). Of the cable news viewership, Fox News had 50% of the viewing, CNN 26%, MSNBC 14%; and Headline News 10%.
Primetime Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers  2.805 (0000) Total Viewers (-5% vs. previous week). Of the primetime cable news viewership, Fox News had 55%, CNN 28%, MSNBC 10% and Headline News 7%.
Source Nielsen Media Research

News Viewer Index for the month of March 2004 in Total Viewers
Total Day Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers  1.782 (000) Total Viewers. (-61% vs. March 2003). Of the cable news viewership, Fox News had 50% of the viewing, CNN 27%, MSNBC 13%; and Headline News 10%.
Primetime Total Fox News/CNN/MSNBC/Headline Cable News Viewers  2.826 (0000) Total Viewers (-61% vs. March 2003). Of the primetime cable news viewership, Fox News had 53%, CNN 29%, MSNBC 11% and Headline News 7%.
Source Nielsen Media Research

You may be surprised to know just how many cable networks are making noise about having the best March ever in their history, and/or their best First Quarter ever in their history.  Tens of hundreds of them!  Herewith are those Top Ten cable networks that say the largest gains year to year in First Quarter 2004 in primetime among A18-49:  Bravo +117%, SoapNet +83%, Fuse +63%, ABC Family +58%, Discovery +45%, Outdoor Life Network +43% and National Geographic Channel +43%, WE: Women’s Entertainment +36%, Discovery Health +31% and AMC +30%. 

Same idea, but in total day – Top Ten Cable Networks gaining the most ground 2003 vs. 2004 First Quarter among A18-49 in Total Day:  Bravo +102%, ABC Family +89%, Fuse +57%, Outdoor Life Network +52%, Hallmark +46%, SoapNet +36%, Discovery Health +34%, Discovery Channel +28%, History +25% and Lifetime Movie Network +23%.

Clear Channel Radio has hired Reverend Jesse Jackson.  Beginning on Sunday, Jackson’s show Keep Hope Alive with the Reverand Jesse Jackson, will air from 8-9am from Clear Channel’s Chicago radio station WGCI (1390AM) and will be aired on five other Clear Channel stations as well including WWPR (105.1 FM) in NYC.

It’s been a long week, and it’s only Wednesday.  Already this week, we’ve lost Peter Ustinov, and late Monday night around midnight, and at approx midnight Monday evening, we also lost the elegant and eloquent Alistair Cooke.  Cooke was 95. Not a big believer in retirement, Cooke worked up until three weeks ago when doctors urged him to stop.  Ustinov died at the age of 82 in Geneva from heart failure on Sunday.

CBS and NBC tied for the win on Monday night according to A18-49 ratings from Nielsen Media Research.  For the night, the two nets earned a 5.2/14, Fox was #3 with a 2.4/6, followed by ABC 1.9/5, UPN 1.5/4, WB 1.0/3,.  At 8pm NBC delivered a 5.7/16 for Fear Factor, followed by CBS which earned 3.4/10 for its pair of sitcoms. UPN and WB tied for the first hour of primetime, each posting a 1.4/4.  At 9pm CBS and NBC were in a dead heat, 5.1/13 each. Fox’s pair of That 70’s Show was third with a 2.6/7.  At 10p CBS’ CSI Miami took the lead with a 7.1/19, with NBC close behind posting a 4.7/12.  ABC’s 9-11p movie found just a 1.9/5, which did little to help out the special airing of 20/20 at 10p (1.6/4).

Extra note on the Nielsen Media Research regarding Local People Meters in New York.  While Nielsen acknowledges four years ago Hispanics were underrepresented, that was a result of flawed Census Bureau data, and when that data was adjusted, so was the Nielsen sample, as well as any other groups who base various information off Census Bureau data.

Starz Encore Group announced the promotion of four senior executives.  Sheryl Anderson was upped to SVP/Human Resources and Administration.  John Beyler was named EVP/Technology Operations.  Bill Myers will be EVP/CFO.  Tom Southwick was upped to SVP/Corporate Communications.   Sheryl, John and Bill report to the company’s president, Mark Bauman.  Tom reports to Robert Clasen, President/Sales and Marketing.

Hallmark Channel announced several appointments.  Adam Farkas was upped to VP/Information Technology.  Adam will report to Mark Thompson, SVP/Finance and Information Technology for Hallmark Channel and Crown Media Holdings, Inc. and will be based in LA.  Patricia Folgar was named Art Director for Hallmark Channel.  Patricia will be based out of LA and will report to David Snapp, SVP/Design Group for Hallmark Channel.  Kristen Roberts was named VP/Pricing and Planning for Advertising Sales.  She will report to Bill Abbott, EVP/National Advertising Sales for Hallmark Channel.

TV One, the new entertainment and lifestyle network for African American adults, has announced three appointments.  Lisabeth Hayes has been named Regional VP/Ad Sales, overseeing the network’s Midwest and West Coast sales offices.  She is based in Chicago.   Cliff Brown was named Regional VP/Ad Sales, overseeing the East Coast sales offices.  Cliff is based in New York.  Angie O’Keefe has been named AE/New York region.

Correction:  CNBC’s John McEnroe primetime talk show, titled just McEnroe, will premiere on July 7 at 10p (not July 17 as was listed here yesterday).

Monday, March 29, 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     9.7/15  Yes Dear [r] 6.2/10, Still Standing [r] 7.0/11, Raymond [r] 10.0/15, Two and a Half Men [r] 9.8/15, CSI: Miami 12.7/21

NBC     7.4/12  Fear Factor [r] 8.2/13, Las Vegas [r] 7.6/12, Average Joe: Adam Returns 6.4/12

ABC     4.1/7   Movie: The Haunting 4.2/7, 20/20 4.1/7

FOX     3.4/5   Bernie Mac Show 3.9/6, Cracking Up 2.7/4, That 70s Show [r] 3.4/5, That 70s Show [r] 3.8/6

UPN     2.6/4   Half & Half 2.1/3, Eve 2.7/4, Girlfriends 2.8/4, Half & Half 2.7/4

WB      2.0/3   7th Heaven [r] 2.4/4, Everwood [r] 1.6/2

A18-49  CBS 5.2/14, NBC 5.2/14, FOX 2.5/7, ABC 1.9/5, UPN 1.5/4, WB 1.0/3

Source: NTI Explorer, 3/24/04 or as noted. TP: Wed 9-10pm.  STD (9/22/03-3/28/04) new drama rank based on 18-34 demos.  US Rating.

The History Channel presents This Day in History: 
1959 – The Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, completes a fifteen-day journey over the Himalayan mountains into India, fleeing violence and repression in Chinese-controlled Tibetan capital of Lhasa. In 1989 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his long non-violent struggle for a free Tibet.

Answer to yesterday’s Trivia Question:  This was an NBC primetime soap with a name synonymous with a perfume (at least in the show it was).  What was it?  Bare Essence  Kudos to:  Joe Rice-WJBK/Detroit; Steve Woodward-WUPA/Atlanta; Julius Picardi-USGA-US Open Championship/NY; Caryn Gray-LCI Detroit; Pam Massey-GSD&M/Austin; Pat Baughman-NCC/Dallas; Kim Hurwitz-DirecTV/El Segundo; Karen Oberhofer-IMP/Seattle; Lisa Tatum-Ellman Ent/LA; Dennis Aimino-KCBS/LA;

A MESSAGE FROM COMCAST SPOTLIGHT

Comcast Spotlight makes spot cable as easy to buy as broadcast. With 55 markets already interconnected, and more on the way, buying individual or multiple markets is a breeze. It’s as easy as one phone call, one tape and one invoice. Comcast Spotlight – Spot cable finally delivers. For more information click here.

Today’s Trivia Question:  Kit – the tricked out Black Pontiac Trans Am, what did the license plate read on the car?   (
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
03/31/04  4:29am
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  Wednesday, March 31, 2004

COURT TV:       I, Detective, Forensic Files, Psychic Detectives, Dominick Dunne
ABC             My Wife and Kids, My Wife and Kids [r], Extreme Makeover [r], Kingdom Hospital
CBS             60 Minutes II, The King of Queens [r], The Stones, 48 Hours
FOX             That 70s Show, American Idol, The O.C.
NBC             The Apprentice [r], West Wing, Law & Order
PAX             AFV, AFV, Early Edition, Diagnosis Murder
UPN             Enterprise [r], Enterprise [r]
WB              Smallville [r], Smallville
TELE            Prisonera, El Alma Herida, Mujeres Apasionadas
UNIV            Mariana de la Noche, Bajo la Misma Piel, Don Francisco Presenta