Cynopsis

05/21/08

Good morning.  It’s Wednesday, May 21, 2008, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

While the 2007-08 television season officially ends tonight, Fox is looking like the season winner among A18-49, according to Nielsen ratings:  Fox 4.2/11; ABC and CBS 3.0/8; NBC 2.8/8; Univision 1.5/4; CW 1.1/3; MNT 0.4.  The broadcast networks are expected to finish down from last year in this key demo by about 10% among English language networks, while the cable networks as a whole will finish up approx 9% and ahead of the five broadcast networks.

And looking ahead to next season, click here for the Fall 2008 Broadcast Schedule in Excel format or available in PDF.

Tonight’s Premieres:
BBC America: MI-5 at 9p
Comedy Central: Mind of Mencia at 1030p

Tonight’s Finales:
FOX: American Idol at 8p
CBS: Criminal Minds at 9p; CSI: NY at 10p
ABC: Boston Legal at 10p
NBC: Law & Order at 10p

Sundance Channel will debut season two of the British eco-reality series It’s Not Easy Being Green as part of its weekly environmental programming block The Green starting July 29 at 9p. Throughout eight half-hour episodes, green experts travel across the U.K. showing people how to become eco-friendly.

Outdoor Channel is teaming with Boy Scouts of America and Boys’ Life Magazine to develop a youth-targeted series Scouting for Adventure Presented by Boys’ Life. Shot on location at the National Adventure Bases of Philmont Scout Ranch and The Florida Sea Base and other Scout camps across the country, the six-part series will witness scouts as they participate in outdoor challenges and offer safety tips for viewers. The series will launch in third quarter 2008.

TV One opens a new season of Baisden After Dark with the “Bad Boy of Radio” Michael Baisden on June 21 at 11p. On his talk/variety show, Michael leads hot-button discussions with celebrities and guests from a variety of entertainment disciplines. Other features include comedy and musical performances plus regular performances from the show’s R&B band led by Morris Day.

Broadcast Evening News Ratings Wrap-Up: The final results for the week of May 12, 2008:
NBC: 8.16 million total viewers and 2.1/9 A25-54
ABC: 7.92 million total viewers and 2.0/8 A25-54
CBS: 5.67 million total viewers and 1.4/6 A25-54

Retirement Living TV (RLTV) announced two new distribution agreements. The first is with Atlantic Broadband that launches RLTV on Aiken, SC’s digital lineup next month. The second with Lawrence, KS-based Sunflower Broadband which will bring RLTV to Midwest cable consumers for the first time and add more than 26,000 new subscribers for the network.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM GSN

Mark Burnett Productions made an agreement with online animation content site Liquid Generation to produce three series for television. Two of the titles are Witness Protection and Rapper in Chief with the third still undetermined.

USA Network has ordered two pilots which will begin production this summer:

• White Collar from Fox TV Studios is about a con man who teams with an FBI agent to catch criminals.
• Royal Pains features a young doctor who ends up living in the Hamptons and becomes an on-call doctor to the very rich.

ABC began the casting process for a second season of the competition reality series Here Come the Newlyweds from Warner Horizon Television and The Jay & Tony Show. After casting is complete, production is expected to begin this summer and the series will be added to ABC’s schedule sometime in the upcoming season perhaps in November.

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY: CBS content will find its way on the Hulu portal after all, sort of. The venture announced a wave of new distribution partners including TVGuide, Break.com, Zap2it, BuddyTV, Flixter, myYearbook and the CBS/CNET-owned TV.com.  Nielsen Online’s April video streaming numbers made Hulu #1 among TV station sites where users watched 63.2 million videos and spent an average of 129.3 minutes per month. The fact that it got to #1 isn’t surprising – having the advantage of two network suppliers instead of one is quite an advantage – but the speed it got there is impressive, as April was its first full month in operation to the public. Full edition: CYN DIGITAL. (Or to listen to the Cynopsis Digital Podcast click here or subscribe to it at iTunes here .)

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  IAC Consumer Applications & Portals, Inc., which owns the teen-targeted Zwinky virtual world, acquires the Israel-based StarNet Interactive, parent company/producer of GirlSense.com, another teen girl aimed virtual community.  The terms of the deal were not disclosed.  IAC’s other teen-targeted virtual properties include SmileyCentral and Webfetti.  Full edition: CYN KIDS.

CYNOPSIS INTERNATIONAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:   Sony Pictures Television International and Videoload, Deutsche Telekom’s VOD and EST service, inked an EST agreement to offer current and library Sony Pictures titles on www.videoload.de . Full edition: CYN INTERNATIONAL. 

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among A18-49 for the week of: 5/12-5/18/08
Primetime       (000)           Total Pgm Day         (000)
TNT                1669          TNT                        718
USA                1107          NAN*                     639
ESPN              1012          NICK                      579
TBSC                915          ADSM*                   532
SCIF                 841          TBSC                      526
DISC                659          USA                        518
MTV                  615          ESPN                      499
NAN                  590          LIF                         421
AEN                  556          DISC                       387
FX                     555          SCIF                       362
Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 112,800,000 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 Total Viewers for the week of: 5/12-5/18/08      
Primetime      (000)         Total Pgm Day               (000)
TNT               3070         NICK                           2156
USA               2398         NAN*                          1422
ESPN             2063         TNT                             1385
NAN               1662         USA                            1124
SCIF              1632         ADSM*                          939
TBSC             1605         TOON                            923
FOXN             1481         LIF                                920
LIF                1392         TBSC                             888
AEN               1147         FOXN                             861
TOON            1144         ESPN                              856
Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 112,800,000 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 10 Cable Programs among A18-49 (000) for the week of: 5/12-5/18/08
TNT     Cavaliers/Celtics                                       3294
TNT     Jazz/Lakers                                              3266
MTV     The Hills                                                  3070
TNT     Celtics/Cavaliers                                       2792
ESPN   Lakers/Jazz                                              2786
TNT     Spurs/Hornets                                          2760
ESPN   Celtics/Cavaliers                                       2747
USA     WWE Entertainment 10p                           2402
ESPN   Hornets/Spurs                                          2326
SCIF    Indiana Jones & Last Crusade                    2073
Source Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 112,800,000 homes

Top 10 Broadcast Programs among A18-49 rating/share and (000) for the week of 5/12-5/18/08
FOX    American Idol  Wednesday                     9.2/22     12,080
FOX    American Idol  Tuesday                         9.0/25     11,760
ABC    Desperate Housewives                           6.2/16       8,090
ABC    Grey’s Anatomy  THU 9p                        6.1/15       8,020
FOX    House  MON 9p                                    5.9/14       7,670
FOX    Hell’s Kitchen                                       5.1/13       6,740
CBS    Two and a Half Men                               5.1/12       6,690
ABC    Lost                                                    4.9/13        6,390
CBS    CSI                                                     4.9/12        6,380
ABC    Dancing with the Stars Results                 4.2/11       5,550
Source Nielsen Media Research, Galaxy Explorer, Live + SD Data

Monday – A18-49 Analysis:  FOX stayed on top Monday night with 4.6/12 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. Jazzing up the 8p hour, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars won with 4.4/13. During 9p, FOX’s finale of House was #1 at 5.8/14, beating out the rest including the season premiere of The Bachelorette on ABC which delivered a 2.8/7. At 10p, the season finale of CSI: Miami did best at 4.5/12.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Monday, May 19, 2008  (May Sweep Day 26) time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

FOX: 8.2/13          Bones [f] 6.4/10, House [f] 10.0/15

ABC: 8.1/13          Dancing with the Stars 12.4/20, The Bachelorette [p] 5.7/9

CBS: 7.8/12          The Big Bang Theory [f] 4.6/8, How I Met Your Mother [f] 4.9/8, Two and a Half Men [f] 9.0/14, Rules of Engagement [f] 7.6/11, CSI: Miami [f] 10.4/17

NBC: 3.3/5           American Gladiators 2.4/4, Dateline NBC 4.1/6

CW: 2.1/3            Gossip Girl [f] 2.1/3, One Tree Hill [f] 2.1/3

UNIV: 2.1/3          Al Diablo con los Guapos 2.4/4, Fuego en la Sangre 2.3/4, Cristina 1.6/3

TELE: 0.7/1          La Traicion 0.5/1, Victoria 0.9/1, Pecados Ajenos 0.7/1

MNT: 0.5/1           Celebrity Expose 0.6/1, Paradise Hotel 2 [f] 0.5/1

A18-49: FOX 4.6/12, CBS 4.0/11, ABC 3.5/9, NBC 1.8/5, UNIV 1.8/5, CW 1.5/4, TELE 0.5/1, MNT 0.3/1

Atlas Media Corp. tapped Anita Shah from Lion TV as VP/Development starting immediately. Based at company headquarters in New York, Anita will report directly to Kaki Kirby, EVP/Business Development and Special Projects.

Matt Cherniss returns to Fox Broadcasting as EVP/Programming where he will report to Kevin Reilly, President/Entertainment. Matt will take over drama and comedy development, a position that has been vacant since Craig Erwich left the network in 2007. Previously, Matt was a development executive with FX and FOX. Meanwhile, as a result of internal organizational changes at FOX, several executives were laid off yesterday including Monique Nash and Xenia Lok, who were both Current Programming Managers, and Yvette Urbina, Drama Development Director.

NBC Universal upgraded Shari Post to VP/Primetime Ad Sales and hired Dave Barrington for the position of VP/Daytime and Latenight Sales. Both executives begin immediately and report to Jim Hoffman, SVP/Network Entertainment Sales. Shari will manage daily sales activities for NBC’s primetime programming in addition to leading sales efforts for the network’s “Green is Universal” initiative. Dave will assume Shari’s former responsibilities, managing the Daytime and Latenight sales for NBCU.

Craig Felenstein joined Discovery Communications as SVP/Investor Relations coming from News Corporation. Based in New York City, Craig will supervise Discovery’s worldwide investor relations program. He will be the company’s main contact within the financial community and will be advisor to executive management on investor relations strategies.

Warner Bros. Television Group appointed Peter Wright as SVP/GSM, Digital Media Sales. In his new position, Peter will lead domestic advertiser sales for the broadband and wireless areas among other duties. He will report to Michael Teicher, SVP/Media sales, WBTVG.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CABLEU

This day in History: 1819 – Bicycles were first seen in the U.S. in New York City. They were originally known as “swift walkers.”

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  On what ’50s TV series could you find the main characters fighting super-villains Mr. Proteus and Prince Baccarratti in order to keep peace in the solar system?  SPACE PATROL    Kudos to:  Bob Von Kohorn-INVISION Inc./NY; Nanette Anderson-Discovery Mobile/Silver Spring, MD; Bator Kovacs/NY; Brandon Clark-Horizon Media/NY; Bob Sieber-Sieber Media Research/Birmingham, AL; Dirk van de Bunt-Guthy-Renker LLC/Santa Monica, CA; Paul Blutter-General American Group, Inc./Northridge, CA; Danielle Marie Owens-Guttman Associates/Beverly Hills; Coleen Raymann/Disney-ABC/Burbank

Today’s Trivia Question:  The last name of the blacksmith on Gunsmoke from 1962-1965 was Asper. What was his first name?   (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.)

Later  — Cyn
05.21.08

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JOB OPENING: CONTENT SYNDICATION MANAGER/Current TV -SF, CA: Oversee daily operations for online video content syndication program. Solid exp. required in tv prog., web-based media & web video . 
EOE (5/29)

JOB OPENING: MEDIA PROJECT MANAGERS & BUSINESS ANALYSTS/Multiple. NYC: Exp. w/content management or rights management required. Exp. w/requirements gathering and use case development a plus. Apply to:
(5/29)

JOB OPENING: Blogger, VH1 Digital, MTV/NYC: 2+yrs blogging exp, Strg Knwldg  of Entertainment/Pop Culture, Strg HTML/XML & Photoshop skills, Knwldg  of VH1 prgrmmng. On Camera exp a plus. EOE/M/F/D/AAP.  Apply www.mtvncareers.com (5/29)

JOB OPENING: ONLINE MEDIA PLANNER/NYC: 1+Online media planning/buying exp.; Proven ability managing multiple campaigns & client relationships; Entertainment industry client exp. a PLUS! Contact
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JOB OPENING: VP, WOMEN@NBCU RESEARCH/NBCU/NYC:  Dev. rsrch strategy incl ROI measurement. High visibility opp. Ext. cross-sectional analytic bckgrd req’d, incl cross-platform, primary, & sales rsrch Apply @ www.nbcunicareers.com (815762)  (5/28)

JOB OPENING: ACCT MGR/BET Ad Sales NY: Cable Salesperson5+yrs exp.Strong presentation skills. Comfortable w/multi-platform & integrated opps.Sales/Agency exp. required. Email Resume:
(5/28)

JOB OPENING: ADMIN ASST/ BET Ad Sales NY: 2-3yrs exp. Must be det. oriented & have ability to multi-task in fast paced environment. Proficient in MS Word/Excel/PP. Exc oral/written skills. Email Resume:
(5/28)

JOB OPENING: TRAFFIC/CLEARANCE/DYNAMIC NYC MEDIA BUYING/PLAN’G AGENCY:  Handle all client commercial clearances & TV trafficking to networks. 1yr exp a + but college appl welcome. Cptr skills needed. Contact:
  (5/28)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, AD SALES/MUSIC CHOICE/NY: 5+ yrs nat’l ad sales exp with strong relationships, proven track record of success, exp selling multi-platform/integrated ops a +.
(5/28)

JOB OPENING: ASSOC RESEARCH ANALYST/CNN Digital/NY: Support sales & research across multiple digital platforms. BA, Strong analytical aptitude, relevant internships pref’d. Apply:
  EOE (5/28)

JOB OPENING: SR PRODUCER/Reach Media, Inc/Dallas:  Experienced for the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show to impact audience of 8 million four hours daily. Send materials to
. EOE. (5/28)

JOB OPENING:  RESEARCH SPECIALIST/(The CW/New York): Sales Media Research Analyst experience. Proficient w/Galaxy,  NPower, Adviews & MRI. Team player, ability to juggle many projects.  Email:  
RE: UCTC/98308BR  (5/24)

JOB OPENING: SUPERSTAR SALES DIRECTOR: Needed For Tribeca Internet Company. Sell the CPM inventory at theU.com and partner sites. Must be aggressive and self motivated. Contact: 
  include your resume and sales history  (5/24)

JOB OPENING: VP, MKTG & LICENSING/NY, 4Kids Entertainment, Inc:  Brand Marketer, Client Services, Strategic, Creative, Team Oriented w/ exp in Toys & Games Mkting/Dev., min. of 10 yrs exp. BS req.  Resume to: 
(5/23)

JOB OPENING: MGR PLANNING & SCHEDULING/USA NETWORK/NYC: Manage all day-to-day on-air promo scheduling, including scheduling all on-air promotion in the traffic system. 3-4 yrs exp and BA degree req. Go to www.nbcjobs.com 820304 (5/23)

JOB OPENING: DEV ASST/LA:  Need long term temp to support VP of Devt at major cable network. Hard working,  highly organized/eager to help. Incredibly fast past paced office. Submit resumes to: 
(5/23)

JOB OPENING: TELEVISION PROGRAM ESTIMATOR/NYC:  2+ years exp estimating broadcast television programming for Upfront in a media/advertising agency. Freelance assignment  lasting approx. 3-4 wks.  Apply
(5/23)

JOB OPENING: MANAGER CONTENT DISTRIBUTION/FUSE/MSG Media-Santa Monica office:  3 yrs exp & travel required. For more info and to apply, go to www.thegarden.com and click on employment   (5/23)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR CONTENT DISTRIBUTION/FUSE/MSG Media-NY Office: 5 yrs related exp. required. For more info and to apply, go to www.thegarden.com and click on employment  (5/23)

JOB OPENING: AUDIO/POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR/NICKELODEON/NY: Sup & schedl audio for animated series, incld post SFX/mix/layback & delivery. Exp w/music, cast, direct, producing A+. Email: 
  (5/23)

JOB OPENING: PRODUCER, SHORT-FORM ORG. PROGRAMMING-LOGO/MTV/NYC: 4+yrs Programming exp, Strg editorial skills, Knwldge of content creation mobile/wireless. Knwldge of LOGO brands. EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (5/22)

JOB OPENING: SALES ASST-DR/SUPERSTATION WGN/NY: Provide admin. & sales support to DR Dept; order entry, confirmations, pre & post logs to clients, etc. Apply @
(5/22)

JOB OPENING:  PRODUCER/ SCRIPPS NETWORKS (HGTV/DIY/Food/FL/GAC) Knox: 5+ yrs prod exp long/short form Lifestyle TV/taped live/Online exp A+/exlent interpersonal skills. Full job descrip/apply at  www.scrippsnetworks.com Knoxville Based  (5/22)

JOB OPENING:  PR COORDINATOR/HGTV/New York: manage press inquiries, requests & events, liaison w/ HGTV talent & production companies, provide Admin support to PR team. 1-3 yrs PR exp. Full details & apply  www.scrippsnetworks.com (5/22)

JOB OPENING:  DIR PRODUCTION/LA: Mng movie prod for Disney Chl/ABC Family/Jetix; frm decision-mkg/budgt/prod to post. 7-10yrs TV, movie prod exp. Knowldg in guild and union agreemnts. Apply at: www.disneycareers.com Req# 162325  (5/22)

SPRING AND SUMMER INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. They are 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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SUMMER INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY:  Film Prod. company and financier is looking for self starters. Learn all aspects of film production. Strng comm skills & good attitude, begin ASAP. thru summer.
  (5/23)

SUMMER INTERNSHIP/CREDITS ONLY:  MKTG/ON-AIR: Fox Reality Channel-LA – summer intern for mktg & on-air production. 30-40 hrs/wk. Majors: Mktg, Adv, PR/Comm, TV/Film. Skills: Writing & computer; On-Air Pro/Avid a plus.
(5/23)

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SITUATION WANTED: NY SHOW RUNNER/DIRECTOR: Accomplished 12 yr tv veteran exp’d in developing & producing all different formats:hidden camera, talk, sports, game show, sketch comedy & music perf.Contact:
  (5/27)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT – Wednesday, May 21, 2008

ABC: Lost [r], Boston Legal [f ]
AZTECA: Camino a la Justicia, Historias Engarzadas, Bellezas Indomables
CBS: Price is Right Million Dollar Spectacular, Criminal Minds [f ], CSI: NY [f ]
CW:  Farmer Wants a Wife [r], Farmer Wants a Wife [r]
FOX: American Idol [f ]
ION: Mama’s Family, Mama’s Family, Quantum Leap, Drew Carey Show, Drew Carey Show
MNT: Under One Roof, In Living Color [r], Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed 5 [r]
NBC: Law & Order [r], Law & Order [r], Law & Order [f ]
PBS: Secrets of the Dead [r], Depression: Out of the Shadows
TELE: La Traicion, Victoria, Pecados Ajenos
UNIV: Al Diablo con los Guapos, Fuego en la Sangre, Don Francisco Presenta

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