THREE-PEAT FOR GEORGE LOPEZ
Wins Wednesday Time Period for Three Straight Weeks

GEORGE LOPEZ
Available Fall ’07 from Warner Bros. Domestic Cable Distribution
WBDCD.com:  Get with the programming  online.Source:  NTI, Galaxy Explorer, US AA Rtg, 10/5-10/19/05, 8-8:30pm time period.  A25-54 ties E-Ring.

CYNTHIA TURNER’S
Cynopsis

10/26/05

Good morning.  It’s Wednesday, October 26, 2005, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

The Dolans’ decision last summer to take Cablevision Systems Corp. private, ending up with two companies – the privately held system run by Charles Dolan, and the publicly traded company run by son James Dolan – has been essentially scrapped.  Since that time, terms have not been able to be finalized.  James and Charles co-wrote a letter to the Board of Directors that said they had been unable to reach an agreement with the committee created to oversee the negotiations.  They also suggested that multiples for communications companies of late have declined, and that they probably would want to offer less than the original June proposal of $21 per share, a move the Board of Directors would likely have declined. The letter from the Dolans also recommended the Board consider a $3 billion special dividend in cash payable pro rate to all shareholders.

Season Finales:
FX:  Over There at 10p* MORE GOOD STUFF *CBS will present a special Halloween special on October 27 at 3p available via videostream on CBS.com with interactive capabilities.  James Van Praagh will host Ghost Whisperer Halloween Seance, a one hour live seance where he will do readings for the general public via the streaming video on CBS.com.  Viewers can call Van Praagh to speak with him directly during the show [323-CBS-1000], and others can chat during the show in a chatroom set up at the website. Afterward, viewers can download the seance as a podcast from the CBS.com archive.

Comedy Central announced the launch of its new broadband channel, MotherLoad ( www.comedycentral.commotherload), scheduled to take off on Tuesday, November 1st.  Clips on the channel will include those from current and past Comedy Central programs, as well as original content.  The channel will be organized into five units – one dedicated exclusively to The Daily Show, while the other four are titled TV Shows, Cult Classics, Comedians and Originals, collectively offering more than 450 video clips, with 50-80 new clips added each week. Host Greg Giraldo who will provide a one minute roundup of the days offerings. Clips can be downloaded one at a time, warehoused on a user’s own playlist, or can be set to autoplay, playing them one after the other. Verizon is the launch sponsor for MotherLoad.

A new unit at Warner Bros. called Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, led by Kevin Tsujihara as President, encompasses all of the digital business units under the Warner Bros. umbrella, including home video, wireless, gaming, online and emerging technologies.  Also included in the new group is Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, a new unit under the new Home Entertainment Group that will specifically oversee online, wireless, VOD, SVOD, PPV and other digital platforms.

Part One of Lifetime Television‘s miniseries Human Trafficking averaged 5.1 million viewers during its premiere on Monday, October 24, while drawing a 4.5 household rating. The original film was the most watched program of the day on ad-supported cable among total viewers and out-drew all original basic cable movies of the year. Human Trafficking ranked #1 in its 9-11p time period versus ad-supported cable networks among W18-34 (874,000 viewers), W18-49 (1.8 million) and W25-54 (1.8 million).

Nielsen Monitor-Plus has signed a multi-year renewal agreement with Carat USA, to be the agency’s provider of advertising information services.  Nielsen  Monitor Plus will continue to supply competitive advertising intelligence to Carat.

The YES Network will launch a new series tomorrow called Yogi and a Movie at 8p.  The movie on this night will be The Bad News Bears.  Yogi Berra and YES studio host Bob Lorenz will introduce the films and talk about various segments as interstitial bits.  You can also count on Yogi’s relevant stories and anecdotes to pepper the conversation.  Other movies scheduled for upcoming Thursdays at 8p include The Natural, A League of Their Own, Bang the Drum Slowly and The Jackie Robinson Story.

The film rights to an original 1963 Twilight Zone episode called Deathship, based on the short story by Richard Matheson, has been picked up by Summit Entertainment and Mandalay Pictures, according to Hollywood Reporter.  The script will be re-written, and has been retitled Countdown.

The program lineup on CNN in the morning will change as of November 28 when CNN Daybreak comes off, and American Morning is expanded to four hours, beginning at 6am.  Sticking with the expanded news program will be reporter Carol Costello.  Other members of the Daybreak staff will be reassigned.

GoldPocket Wireless, a provider of content via mobile subscription service, will send “best of” tips from NBC’s The Biggest Loser to its subscribers as text messages.  The messages will include practical diet hints to workout facts, and be sent to subscribers daily. GoldPocket Wireless allows content providers to create, manage and deliver all aspects of their mobile campaign, from subscriber sign ups to delivery of the content. The Biggest Loser message service cost $2.99/month, and mobile users can sign up simply by text messaging the message BL to 62288. The cost will show up on your wireless bill.

Your responses to the Cynopsis question, “Who would you like to see ABC News put in the World News Tonight anchor chair?” Of all the responses, 32% of you chose Charles Gibson; 17% Diane Sawyer (although we know that isn’t going to happen), 8% went with Bob Woodruff, 7% Elizabeth Vargas, and 4% Bill Hemmer.  Other names you bandied about included Anderson Cooper, Terry Moran, Keith Oberman, Bryant Gumbel, Leslie Stahl, Ed Bradley, Connie Chung, Lester Holt, Bernard Shaw, Dana Carvey and Andy Dick.  As for a replacement for Gibson on GMA, the majority of you chose not to tackle this question, but those who did went with Bill Weir (GMA Weekend), Bob Woodruff and Terry Gannon.  Interestingly, nearly all those voting for Diane Sawyer were men, and many of those voting for Bob Woodruff were women.  However, of the 32% who chose Charles Gibson, the splite between the sexes was pretty even.

* NEW ORDERS / CASTING / DEVELOPMENT / PRODUCTION *NBC has ordered a pilot from Jerry Bruckheimer, described as a medical thriller about a renegade researcher tracking a mysterious disease.  Signing on to write the script and direct will be filmmaker Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville, Big).  NBC has agreed to a financial penalty in the event the pilot does not get ordered to series.

TNT‘s drama pilot Saved (from Fox 21 and Imagine Entertainment) has cast Tom Everett Scott in the lead role.  The story focuses on Wyatt Henry, a medical school drop out who becomes an paramedic in San Francisco.

WB has trimmed its original order of 13 episodes down to just a half dozen for Misconceptions from 20th Television and Imagine Entertainment, a comedy about a woman whose daughter meets her anonymous sperm donor father.  This is the second midseason series the network has cut back on its ep order, the first being Bedford Diaries.  Also coming this midseason for the WB is Pepper Dennis and Modern Man, each currently with 13 ep orders.

* EXECUTIVE MOVES *The Africa Channel has named producer Shirley Neal as VP/Production and Development.  The announcement was made today by James Makawa, CEO of The Africa Channel.  Shirley will be responsible for production of original content for The Africa Channel, overseeing network operations, as well as scheduling of shows already on the network.  As part of her responsibilities, she will work closely with many of the top creative and production professionals throughout Africa. The production community on the continent is making top-quality films, dramas, comedies, soap operas, reality series, documentaries, travel programs and music videos, all of which is available in the United States for the first time, and exclusively, on The Africa Channel.  Ms. Neal will also oversee the work of The Africa Channel’s South Africa production office which is based in Johannesburg.

Michelle Russo has been promoted to VP/Corporate Communications for Discovery Communications.  In this role, Michelle handles all facets of corporate press relations and executive communications. She reports to David Leavy, EVP/Communications and Corporate Affairs.

 * RATINGS *Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among Total Viewers for the week of 10/17-23, 2005:
Primetime      (000)    Total Pgm Day   (000)
USA              2487     NICK              1919
TNT              2169     NAN*              1439
ESPN             1957     TNT               1154
FOXNEWS 1864     USA              1115
CARTOON 1767     CARTOON 1114
NAN              1723     FOXNEWS 1042
LIFETIME         1499    ADULT SWIM*     1019
TBS              1367     LIFETIME         868
SPIKE            1307     TBS               838
COMEDY  1254     ESPN              827
 Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 109,600,000 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 10/17-23, 2005
Primetime     (000)     Total Pgm Day   (000)
USA              1155     NAN*              578
TNT              1003     TNT               566
ESPN             952      USA               534
TBS              871      TBS               499
FX               730      ADULT SWIM*     483
SPIKE            717      ESPN              472
COMEDY  708      NICK              432
SCIFI            654      LIFETIME         379
MTV              636      FX                367
ABC FAMILY      571      COMEDY   356
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 109,600,000 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 10/17-23, 2005
FX       NIP/TUCK                  2845
USA     WWE MON 10P              2480
ESPN    NFL PRIMETIME            2279
MTV     LAGUNA BEACH    2241
USA     WWE MON 9P               2209
MTV     REAL WORLD XVI  1988
TBS     SEX & THE CITY  1666
COM     SOUTH PARK               1643
TNT     PRETTY WOMAN    1626
ESPN CLG FBALL THURS    1590
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 109,600,000 homes

Top 10 Broadcast Programs among A18-49 (000) for the week of OCT 17-23, 2005:
ABC:     Desperate Housewives             14,360
CBS:    CSI                                 12,670
ABC:    Lost                                       12,040
ABC:    Grey’s Anatomy                    10,790
NBC:     E.R.                                                  8580
CBS:    CSI: Miami                        8100
CBS:     Survivor                                            7990
CBS:    Without a Trace                               7960
ABC:    NFL Monday Night Football       7470
FOX:    World Series Game #2             7350
Source:  Nielsen Media Research, Galaxy Explorer

Monday — A18-49 Analysis: CBS won the night on Monday in the all important Adult 18-49 demo, posting an overall 5.2/13 from 8-11p, according to final numbers from Nielsen Media Research.  ABC was #2 with a 5.0/13, followed by NBC 3.8/9, Fox 3.7/9, UPN 1.4/4, and WB 1.1/3.  At 8p CBS’s sitcom combo delivered the goods with a 3.9/10, outpacing NBC’s Surface by two share points. At 9p ABC led with a 5.8/13 for the football game, ahead of 2-1/2 Men (5.5/13) and Out of Practice (4.4/10) on CBS. An original episode of Prison Break on Fox at 9p earned a 4.8/11.  At 10p CSI Miami was far and away the leader with a 6.8/16.

FINAL HOUSEHOLD RATINGS:  Monday, October 24, 2005, for all Networks – program averages.  Source: Nielsen Media Research. 

CBS     10.0/15  King of Queens 7.5/11, How I Met Your Mother 7.3/11, 2-1/2 Men 10.8/15, Out of Practice 8.7/13, CSI: Miami 12.9/20

ABC     8.6/13   Wife Swap 5.1/8,  ABC MNF: New York Jets vs. Atlanta Falcons 9.7/16 (game ended at 12:09a)

NBC     7.4/11   Surface 5.9/9, Las Vegas 7.6/11, Medium  8.7/13

FOX     5.3/8    Prison Break [r] 4.3/6, Prison Break 6.4/9

UPN     2.2/3    One on One 2.2/3, All of Us 2.2/3, Girlfriends 2.4/3, Half & Half 2.1/3

WB      2.1/3    7th Heaven [r]  2.8/4, Related [r] 1.4/2

A18-49            CBS 5.2/13, ABC 5.0/13, NBC 3.8/9, Fox 3.7/9, UPN 1.4/4, WB 1.1/3

The History Channel presents This Day in History:
1825-Governor DeWitt Clinton of New York formally opens the Erie Canal, which connects the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River.  It took more than two years for an army of poorly paid and equipped Irish laborers to dig the canal, which was just four feet deep

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question: Each week Carol Burnett closed her variety show by tugging on her left ear. This tug was a silent personal message to whom?  HER GRANDMOTHER      Kudos to:  Karen Feigenbaum-Logo/MTV Networks/NY; Mark Berger-MediaMax Network/Valhalla NY; Harriett Sharrard-Five Mile Capital Partners/Stamford CT; Brian Ricco-MultiVision Media Inc/NY; Kandy Hartsfield-KDAF/Dallas; Paula Christiansen-KAUT UPN43/Oklahoma City OK; Howie Cuevas-Clear Channel TV/Mobil AL; Nicky Skubal-Charter Media/Wisconsin; Darwin Aquinaldo-ICE Box Advertising/Van Nuys CA; Albert Fisher-Fisher Television Productions/LA; Elizabeth Johnson-ABC Inc/Burbank; Greg Stewart-Evolution Film & Tape Inc/Burbank; Lynn Valiquette-Ellis Releasing/Toronto Ontario

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM COURT TV

Find out what loyal viewers already know Psychic Detectives is irresistible. New season. New episodes. New fans. Wednesdays at 10PM E/P. Only on Court TV.

Today’s Trivia Question:  You knew him from his commercials – he was the voice of one of the icons of American advertising.  His real name was Elmer Len Dressler, Jr., and he “stood for goodness”.  He began his career as a song and dance man, having recording several records with the group The Singers Unlimited.  But it was probably this single series of commercials spanning decades that most will remember him.  What was the commercial character he voiced?    (click here 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
10.26.05 – 5:20a
Cynopsis Ad Sales – Barbara Shapiro – 203-583-1224 /

Classified Ad Sales – Trish Pihonak – 203.381-9096 /

If you’d rather listen than read, you can sign up for the Cynopsis: In Your Ear podcast available for download each morning by 630a at www.cynopsis.com or via iTunes 4.9 listed in the podcast directory under “News”  as well as under Yahoo Podcast http://podcasts.yahoo.com/.

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT: Wednesday, October 26, 2005

ABC              George Lopez, Freddie, Lost, Invasion
CBS              Still Standing, Yes Dear, Criminal  Minds, CSI: NY
FOX              MLB World Series Game # 4
NBC              E-Ring, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, Law & Order 
i                Doc,  Diagnosis Murder, Early Edition
UPN              America’s Next Top Model, Veronica Mars
WB               One Tree Hill, Related
TELE             El Cuerpo del Deseo,  Los Plateados, Decisiones
UNIV             Contra Viento y Marea, La Esposa Virgen,  Don Francisco Presenta