CYNTHIA TURNER’S
CYNOPSIS

11/24/04

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, November 24, 2004, and this is your first early morning briefing.

A solid win for CBS on Monday night with an overall 6.0/15 A18-49 rating according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research.  ABC and NBC were just a share point apart (ABC 4.6/12 vs. NBC 4.6/11), followed by Fox 3.0/7, WB 2.3/6, UPN 1.4/3.  At 8pmthe first hour of Fear Factor’s 110m broadcast won the hour with a 4.7/12, well ahead of CBS’ pair of sitcoms which delivered a 3.6/9. ABC and Fox tied each posting an 8 share.  Among the younger sets, WB’s 7th Heaven led with teens (5.0/15), W18-34 (4.3/12 tied with NBC), and ranked #2 with W18-49 (4.1/10 tied with CBS). CBS led the 9p hour with Raymond (6.2/14) and 2-1/2 Men (5.8/15), while NBC’s final 50m of Fear Factor earned a 5.0/11.  At 10p CBS had a big night with a 8.0/20, on par with last week.  The football game on ABC delivered a 6.0/16 for the evening.

March 9, 2005 – Dan Rather’s last day as anchor/managing editor of the CBS Evening News. He’ll still be around for 60 Minutes as well as other assignments.  The only question is, why would a newsman such as Rather chose to announce his big news during the holiday week when so many people aren’t around?

Tonight’s Finale:  ABC – The Bachelor at 8pm

Casting / Development / Production

• WE: Women’s Entertainment has ordered up additional seasons of three of its original programs – Young, S#xy & … will make its second season debut on December 5; Full Frontal Fashion returns for a third season with 13 new eps on January 7; and When I Was a Girl will return with four quarterly specials, the first in March 2005.
• NBC has given a script commitment to Confessions of a Dog (NBC Universal/Doozer), per Hollywood Reporter. The comedy project is about three friends, two of whom are moving into the “spouse & family” portions of their lives, the third the consummate bachelor, from the creators of Scrubs, Bill Lawrence and Eric Weinberg.
• CBS has order a script of a drama project called Ice (Paramount/Humble Journey Films) with Eric LaSalle as exec prod (he will not appear), per Variety.  The project focuses on two agents at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau in Miami.

TNT aired its latest installment of the the Johnson & Johnson Spotlight Presentations, this one titled The Wool Cap with William H. Macy, on Sunday night at 8pm.  The broadcast delivered 4.2 million viewers and 1.7 million viewers A18-49.  Among A25-54, the broadcast did slightly better with an overall 1.88 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. 

The FCC has made a determination on three incidents of what viewers complained of being incidents of indecency on television – an episode of Keen Eddie on Fox; a few episodes of Coupling on NBC in 2003, and a 2002 episode of Off Center on the WB.  In all three cases, the FCC determined the episodes were not “sufficiently explicit or graphic to be indecent.”  However, when it comes to WMAQ-AM in Miami, the FCC has levied a $55,000 fine for the “willful broadcast of s#xually explicit material” during two broadcasts.

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among Total Viewers for the week of November 15-21, 2004:
Primetime       (000)   Total Pgm Day   (000)
ESPN            3036    NICK            2004
TNT             2364    NAN*            1591
TBS             2286    TNT             1277
USA             2265    CARTOON 1213
FOXNEWS 1930    ESPN            1193
NAN             1916    TBS             1144
CARTOON 1745    USA             1075
LIFETIME        1573    LIFETIME        1052
SPIKE TV        1558    FOXNEWS 1030
AMC             1204    ABC FAMILY      720
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 November 15-21, 2004:
Primetime       (000)   Total Pgm Day   (000)
ESPN            1490    NAN*            681
TBS             1298    ESPN            678
TNT             1029    TNT             668
USA             1005    TBS             660
SPIKE TV        852     USA             543
LIFETIME        657     LIFETIME        506
MTV             625     NICK            465
DISCOVERY       585     SPIKE TV        357
FX              569     MTV             349
COMEDY  536     CARTOON 346
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)

The African American-focused Radio One Inc. will purchase a majority stake in Texas-based Reach Media Inc. (Tom Joyner’s media company) for an estimated $56.1 million in cash and stocks.  Reach will continue to operate as a separate entity from Radio One.  The deal is anticipated to close in January.  In addition to receiving ownership rights for the radio personality’s Tom Joyner Morning Show, Radio One will have control of the www.Black-AmericaWeb.com website.  The show currently has 8 million listeners on 115 radio stations nationwide.  The website draws in 800,000 members. 

WPP‘s acquisition of New York-based Grey Global Group has been sidelined temporarily by European antitrust regulators until they receive more supplementary information from the UK-based WPP.  The estimated $1.52 billion deal was expected to close in January.  Once the commission receives the new submitted info, the review process will begin anew for the ad industry’s #2’s purchase of the #7 player.  The proposed merger has already received approval from the US Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission.

Betsy Frank has been named to the newly created position of EVP/Research and Planning, Viacom’s Cable Networks, Film and Publishing; she will report to both Tom Freston, Co-President/Co-COO, Viacom Inc., and Judy McGrath, Chairman/CEO, MTV Networks.  Frank will work with Freston and the heads of the Cable/Film/Publishing divisions to support their creative and business goals by developing supporting consumer research strategies.  Well done, Betsy – Almost as good as hugging a panda, eh?

Marlene Dann has been named EVP/Daytime Programming for Court TV.  The announcement was made by Art Bell, President/COO. Marlene has been with Court TV since 1998.

Monday, November 22, 2004. FINAL Ratings for all Networks – program averages.  Source Nielsen Media Research. Time Period Averages Only. [p] = Premiere; [o] = Original; [r] = Repeat

CBS     11.2/17 Still Standing 7.3/11, Listen Up 7.0/10, Raymond 12.2/18, 2-1/2 Men 12.3/18, CSI Miami 14.3/23

ABC     8.6/13  Life of Luxury 3.8/6, Monday Night Football 10.6/17 (game ended at 12:02am)

NBC     6.4/9   Fear Factor (8-9:50p) 6.8/10, The $25 Million Hoax [F] (9:50-11p) 5.7/9

FOX     4.7/7   Trading Spouses 4.9/7, The Swan 4.5/7

WB      4.2/6   7th Heaven 5.0/7, Everwood 3.5/5

UPN     2.4/3   One on One 2.2/3, Half and Half 2.3/3, Girlfriends 2.6/4, Second Time Around 2.4/4

A18-49  CBS 6.0/15, ABC 4.6/12, NBC 4.6/11, Fox 3.0/7, WB 2.3/6, UPN 1.4/3

A MESSAGE FROM WARNER BROS. DOMESTIC CABLE DISTRIBUTION

Source: NTI Explorer, Premiere-to-date 9/20-11/21/04, US Rtg. TP Rank= Thu, 8-9p, 11/4-11/21/04, ties UPN with M12-17 & CBS with P12-34

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1859:  Charles Darwin publishes his On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, a groundbreaking scientific work that argues organisms gradually evolve through a process Darwin called “natural selection.”  Darwin’s advance was less the theory of evolution itself, which predated his work, than his explanation of its process.  According to the Origin of Species, certain traits occurring through natural variations within species give some individual organisms an advantage over others.  Over time, these traits become more widely distributed.  Darwin collected evidence and conducted research for his volume aboard the ship HMS Beagle, which visited the remote Galapagos Islands among many other places.  Although Darwin’s theory is accepted by scientists around the globe, it remains controversial in certain parts of the United States.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: The most current rendition of this advertising icon was created in the mid 1970’s with the pitch line “Oh yeah!.” The icon, however, was originally created in 1953 as a smiley face in a heart with a 5-cent sign.  What product is this icon for? KOOL-AID.  Oh yeah!  Kudos to the hundreds and hundreds of you working this week – take the rest of the day off! 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  We’ll be back on Monday.

A MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Click through to the scene of the caper to view existing photos and captions.
Then, click on the contest link to write and submit your own caption for the photo marked “Your Caption Here”.

Later — Cyn
11.24.04   4:34am

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Copyright Cynthia Turner 2004

CYNOPSIS CLASSIFIEDS

JOB OPENING:  SHOW RUNNER/SERIES PRODUCER, DC-Based; Format series for Top US Cable Bcaster. Min 2 successful format series or 2 years on formats; Must work as local in DC area.  E-mail resumes to
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JOB OPENING:  MGR/AD SALES RESEARCH, Fox Cable Networks, NYC. 5+ yrs exp; Xcellent comm. skills, highly versed w/Nielsen software. DealMaker exp. A+. Resp. for devlping sales materials/presentations.Apply: www.foxcareers.com (12/1)

JOB OPENING:  DIR, ONLINE MRKTG, MTV.com/NYC. 7yrs TV/Ad exp. Devlp/Implmnt mrktg plans for online prgmng & digital prodcts, mltple platforms, Strng Bkgrnd in mrktg/new media. Strng Leader, EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (12/1)

JOB OPENING:  MANAGER, TALENT, MTV/NYC. 3-5yrs strong Booking exp & contacts esp. celebrities, sports stars, politicians, music. Exp. w/TV production A+, multi-tasking a heavy workload, EOE/M/F/D/AAP. Apply www.mtvncareers.com (12/1)

JOB OPENING:   Morning NYC based National cable TV show looking for female tech savvy, cutting edge REPORTER with live on camera experience for weekly segment. Must be on top of hot industry trends. E-mail

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JOB OPENING:  BE THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR! Both professionals and amateurs can apply.The winner receives a six-episode show on Food Network that will premiere in September 2005. Go to www.foodnetwork.com for more info  (11/25)

JOB OPENING:  VP BRAND MKTG/SCI FI, NY. 10+ yrs Ent. &/or TV exp, BA Mktg. Innovative strategist to dev break-through promotions/stunts & partnerships building buzz. Apply: www.universalstudios.com/jobs, keyword search #387096.EOE  (11/25)

JOB OPENING:  VP PUBLICITY/SCI FI, NY. 10+ yrs Ent. &/or TV exp, consumer press & publicity. Strong industry contacts. Solid relationships. Flair for building buzz. Apply: www.universalstudios.com/jobs keyword search #387308. EOE  (11/25)

JOB OPENING:  TRAFFIC ASSISTANT/The Oxygen Network-NY. 2 positions/commercial copy assistants. Gabriel/Traffic exp pref, detail orientation and org. skills a must. Great benefits / vacation policies. E-mail:
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SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED —

SITUATION WANTED:  LA based TALK/REALITY PRODUCER with 5+ years exp. seeking a creative position in reality/talk/variety programming. Excellent real people and celeb skills, A+++ references, willing to travel; email talkproducer
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SITUATION WANTED: SEEKING CHICAGO AD. SALES ASST. POSITION Enthusiastic, quick learner, focused, recent college grad with network internship experience seeks sales asst. position in CHICAGO Contact: Ashley Glassman,
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SITUATION WANTED:  “OUT OF HOME” MEDIA SALES PRO: Need a successful rep in the NYC area?  OOH/TV sales pro available to increase your sales. Home based, 20 yrs sales exp. in B’cast TV and OOH . Contact Steve at

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SITUATION WANTED:  ASSOCIATE PRODUCER with 5yrs experience working in film, television, and commercials I am very versatile and diligent.  NYC based, willing to travel.  Email
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SITUATION WANTED:  EP/PRODUCER/DEV EXEC. Award Winning-Live Action Series/TV Movies, ww exp, bcst/cable Nets, seeks permanent/freelance assignments-gets it done well & on budget. Motivator. -References.
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT:  NOVEMBER 24, 2004:

ABC             The Bachelor [F], The Bachelor: After the Rose (OTO)
CBS             60 Minutes, King of Queens, Center of the Universe, CSI: NY
FOX             That 70’s Show, Kelly Ruben & Fantasia: Home for Christmas (OTO)
NBC             Tim McGraw: Here and Now (OTO), The West Wing, Law & Order
PAX             Doc, Sue Thomas F.B.Eye, Early Edition
UPN             Top Model, Kevin Hill
WB              Movie Event:  A Walk to Remember
TELE            Prisionera, Gitanas, Te Voy a Ensenar a Querer
UNIV            Rubi, Amor Real, Don Francisco Presenta

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