Cynopsis

09/17/08

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, September 17, 2008, and this is your first early morning briefing.  
 
Tonight’s Premieres:
Spike TV: Ultimate Fighter at 10p; MANswers at 11p

TNT announced renewals of two of its primetime drama series: Saving Grace starring Holly Hunter and produced by Fox Television Studios will return for season three later in 2009 with 15 episodes. And after being on the air for only a couple of episodes, TNT has also ordered back for a second season Raising the Bar from ABC Studios and Steven Bochco with 15 new episodes.

Showtime’s fourth season finale of Weeds Monday at 10p and 11p drew in 1.3 million total viewers over both episodes. These episodes were equal to an increase of 31% over season three’s last episode over two airings. Showtime has renewed Weeds for two more seasons.

Also closing on Monday night was TNT’s The Closer with 7.6 million viewers and 2.4 million A18-49.

Syndicated version of How I Met Your Mother, set to premiere in 2010, has been cleared in seven key markets to date – NY, LA, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas and Sacramento.  The Fox O&Os picked up the sitcom in the top three markets, it went to CBS in Philadelphia, Boston and Dallas, and to KQCA in Sacramento. Twentieth Television is distributing the show.

SCI FI Channel’s acquired series Lost debuted on the network Monday night airing from 7-11p, delivering 658,000 A18-49 viewers, 719,000 A25-54 viewers and nearly 1.3 million total viewers.

Broadcast Evening News Ratings Wrap-Up: The final results for the week of September 8, 2008:
ABC: 8.88 million total viewers and 2.3/9 A25-54
NBC: 8.36 million total viewers and 2.1/9 A25-54
CBS: 6.21 million total viewers and 1.6/6 A25-54

ION Media Networks, Inc. made a deal with Comporium, a cable operator in South Carolina. Comporium agreed to re-launch ION Television and will add qubo and ION Life to its Digital Basic channel grouping.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM THE WEATHER CHANNEL

FOX and Jeff Foxworthy are teaming on another project as the network approved an animated pilot from Foxworthy about a dysfunctional family involved in NASCAR, reports Variety. The unnamed comedy will be produced by Twentieth Century Fox TV with one of the characters voiced by Foxworthy. In addition, Foxworthy will executive produce and write along with Nancy Hower and John Lehr and J.P. Williams of Parallel Entertainment will also executive produce.

ABC News put Vinita Nair in place as Co-Anchor of World News Now and America This Morning joining Jeremy Hubbard. Vinita will also contribute reports to other ABC News broadcasts and platforms.

Casting Call: Semi Abound, the producers behind Ghost Hunters on SCI FI Channel, is looking for a person to join the paranormal investigation team on a new series which will begin production very soon. The interested candidate should be a professional full- or part-time ghost hunter, spiritual medium, paranormal researcher or someone who is fascinated by the supernatural. The person must also be outgoing, enthusiastic and ready to join the team as early as September 24. Candidates should send an email to
along with name, phone number, a recent photo and a brief description of why you would be great on the show. Applicant deadline is this Thursday.

Casting Call: TV Land announced its search for model wannabes who are 35 and older for season two of She’s Got The Look will open September 29. The winner of the reality competition show, produced by Allison Grodner Productions, will receive $100,000, a modeling contract with Wilhelmina Models, Inc. and a photo spread in a national magazine. Interested candidates can visit www.tvland.com to find out how to apply online. There will also be open casting calls in Los Angeles September 29; Chicago October 5; and New York City October 8. Applicants must bring a photo ID for the casting calls.

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Time Inc. launched Maghound, a new web-based magazine subscription service hoping to do for magazine consumption what Netflix did for DVD rentals. Maghound’s 3 tiers of service are priced as such: $4.95 gets you 3 titles per month, $7.95 for 5 titles, $9.95 for 7 titles and every title beyond that costs an extra $1 per month. The best thing about the service is that you can switch titles at anytime. There are 240 magazines to choose from initially from the vaults of Time, Conde Nast, Rodale and other publishers, but don’t look for any Hearst books such as Cosmo or Esquire. Other standbys including The Economist, National Geographic, Business Week and The Atlantic are also missing.  Full edition: CYN DIGITAL.

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY: Alpine Pictures signs Martin Short and Jim Belushi to star in its upcoming animated musical feature film Dorothy of Oz.  Short and Belushi will lend their voices to the Jester and the Lion respectively.  Based on Roger S. Baum’s books and writing, Dorothy of OZ is the first in a series of animated movies from Alpine Pictures, in association with Box Office Productions III.  The movie is being produced by Bonne Radford (Curious George, Road to El Dorado, Balto) and directed by noted director/animator Daniel St. Pierre (Everyone’s Hero, and upcoming Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey, and Sheepish).  Roger S. Baum is the great-grandson of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and other Oz books.  Full edition: CYN KIDS.

CYNOPSIS INTERNATIONAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Indie production house Baby Cow has birthed a new partner with BBC Worldwide acquiring a minority share. BBCW has been distributing the company’s properties internationally for close to 9 years already.  This relationship will continue in addition to new initiatives created local productions. Full edition: CYN INTERNATIONAL.

Top Ten Basic Cable Ad Supported Network Rankings among A18-49 for the week of: 9/8-9/14/08
Primetime      (000)        Total Pgm Day          (000)
ESPN             1721         ESPN                        745
USA               1362         NAN*                       644
TNT                 997         USA                          631
TBSC               946         TNT                          587
LIF                  793         ADSM*                      550
HIST                752        TBSC                         537
AEN                 732        NICK                         528
FX                   647         LIF                           463
SCIF                622         AEN                          369
FOXN               597         FX                            369
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 114,500,000 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: 9/8-9/14/08       
Primetime     (000)         Total Pgm Day               (000)
ESPN             3378         NICK                           1931
USA               2935         FOXN                          1511
FOXN             2772         NAN*                          1400
TNT               2327         USA                            1333
LIF                1969         ESPN                           1276
CNN               1690        TNT                             1184
TBSC              1671        TOON                          1036
NAN               1652        CNN                             1028
HIST              1486         ADSM*                        1007
AEN               1438         LIF                                957
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 114,500,000 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: 9/8-9/14/08
ESPN   Vikings/Packers                                         6721
ESPN   Broncos/Raiders                                        5671
HIST   Time Machine                                            2694
BRAV   Project Runway                                         2625
MTV    The Hills                                                    2387
FAM    Secret Life/American Teen                          2338
USA    WWE Entertainment 10p                             2303
TNT     The Closer                                                 2208
LIF      Army Wives                                               2208
USA    Burn Notice                                                2200
Source: Turner Research from Nielsen Media Research Data.
All ratings based on Total U.S. Television Universe of 114,500,000 homes

Top 10 Broadcast Programs among A18-49 rating/share and (000) for the week of 9/8-9/14/08
NBC    NBC Sunday Night Football                          7.3/19       9,530
NBC    Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kick                          5.4/15       7,040
ABC    Saturday Night Football                               4.7/15       6,190
NBC    Football Night in America PT 3                     4.4/13       5,760
FOX    Fringe                                                        3.2/9         4,240
ABC    Wipeout SP-9/9                                           3.0/8        3,900
FOX    Bones                                                         3.0/9        3,920
CBS    60 Minutes                                                  3.0/8        3,870
ABC    Wipeout                                                      2.9/8        3,790
CBS    Two and a Half Men                                     2.9/7        3,760
NBC    America’s Got Talent  WED                         2.9/8        3,810
FOX    Kitchen Nightmares                                      2.9/8        3,810
Source: Nielsen Media Research, Galaxy Explorer, Live + SD Data

Saturday – A18-49 Analysis:  ABC scored a resounding win Saturday night at 4.6/15 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. ABC’s Saturday Night College Football match beat the competition each hour: at 8p ABC posted a 4.4/15; during 9p the network kicked in the highest rating at 5.4/17; and then at 10p the action leveled off to a 4.5/13.  

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Saturday, September 13, 2008  time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

ABC: 6.9/13       Saturday Night College Football: Ohio State at USC 7.0/13

CBS: 3.9/7         Crimetime Saturday [r] 3.8/7, 48 Hours Mystery 3.9/7

FOX: 3.2/6          Cops 3.0/6, Cops 3.4/6, America’s Most Wanted 3.3/6

NBC: 2.7/5         Chuck [r] 1.6/3, Law & Order: CI [r] 2.8/5, Law & Order: CI [r] 3.7/7

UNIV: 1.4/3         Sabado Gigante 1.4/3

MNT: 0.7/1           My Saturday Night Movie: Agent Cody Banks 2 [r] 0.7/1

TELE: 0.4/1          Celebrando El Grito I 0.4/1, Celebrando El Grito II 0.4/1

A18-49: ABC 4.6/15, FOX 1.8/6, CBS 1.1/4, NBC 1.1/3, UNIV 0.8/3, MNT 0.3/1, TELE 0.3/1

Sunday – A18-49 Analysis:  NBC matched its winning ratings from the previous week Sunday night at 6.3/17 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. During 7p, the 60 Minutes encore began at 730p and still topped the pack at 3.5/10. Next, the NFL game on NBC held sway the rest of the night: in the 8p hour NBC scored a 6.9/18, then a 7.4/18 at 9p and ending with a steady 7.3/18 through 10p.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Sunday, September 14, 2008 – time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

NBC: 9.5/16       Football Night in America [730p start] 3.3/6, NBC Sunday Night Football: Pittsburgh at Cleveland 10.8/18

CBS: 5.4/9         60 Minutes [r 730p start] 8.2/13, Big Brother 4.3/7, Cold Case [r] 4.3/7, CSI: Miami [r] 4.4/8

ABC: 4.1/7          America’s Funniest Home Videos [r] 4.5/8, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition [r] 4.5/7, Desperate Housewives [r] 3.7/6

FOX: 3.1/5          The Simpsons [r] 1.8/3, The Simpsons [r] 2.6/4, Fringe [r] 3.6/6

UNIV: 1.4/2        Show Suenos Sangre 1.4/2

CW: 1.0/2          One Tree Hill [r] 0.8/1, Privileged [r] 1.0/2, America’s Next Top Model [r] 1.3/2

TELE: 0.4/1        Idolos de Mexico II 0.4/1, Viva Mexico 0.4/1

A18-49: NBC 6.3/17, CBS 2.1/6, ABC 2.1/5, FOX 2.0/5, UNIV 1.1/3, CW 0.7/2, TELE 0.3/1

Monday – A18-49 Analysis:  CBS and FOX shared the top spot Monday night at 2.2/6 A18-49, according to final national ratings from Nielsen Media Research. Starting off, UNIV won at 8p as Al Diablo con los Guapos with 2.3/6 which did better than FOX’s Terminator and NBC’s Deal or No Deal tying for second at 2.1/6 and CW’s Gossip Girl at 2.0/5. CBS’ repeat sitcoms, Two and a Half Men and Old Christine did best at 9p with 2.7/6 over FOX’s Prison Break at 2.4/6. CBS kept up its momentum as the CSI: Miami encore won during 10p with 2.1/5.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Monday, September 15, 2008 time period averages. Source: NTI Galaxy, as dated. Live+SD.

CBS: 5.0/8             The Big Bang Theory [r] 4.0/6, How I Met Your Mother [r] 3.6/6, Two and a Half Men [r] 6.6/10, Old Christine [r] 5.2/8, CSI: Miami [r] 5.2/9

NBC: 3.9/6           Deal or No Deal 5.8/9, America’s Toughest Jobs 3.0/5, Dateline NBC 2.8/5

FOX: 3.6/5            Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles 3.6/6, Prison Break 3.6/5

ABC: 3.2/5            ABC Monday Movie of the Week: Batman Begins 3.2/5

CW: 2.4/4            Gossip Girl 2.5/4, One Tree Hill 2.3/3

UNIV: 2.2/3           Al Diablo con los Guapos 2.7/4, Fuego en la Sangre 2.5/4, Cristina 1.3/2

TELE: 0.7/1          El Juramento 0.4/1, Dona Barbara 0.7/1, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 0.9/2

MNT: 0.5/1           Celebrity Expose [r] 0.6/1, Celebrity Expose [r] 0.4/1

A18-49: CBS 2.2/6, FOX 2.2/6, CW 1.9/5, UNIV 1.8/5, NBC 1.7/4, ABC 1.5/4, TELE 0.5/1, MNT 0.3/1

Animal Planet tapped Whitney Holland to become VP/Program Planning and Scheduling where she will focus on the network’s programming slate including current and those programs in development for the future. Based in New York, Whitney will report to Rick Holzman, SVP/Programming and Scheduling.

Nielsen IAG elevated Scott Grunther to SVP/Account Management and Matt Pagen to SVP/Account Management. Scott and Matt are charged with managing current broadcast and cable clients and increasing new business contacts. Both will continue to report to Rachel Mueller-Lust, EVP.

Gary Treater was upped to Senior Director/Business Operations for PGA.com which is managed by Turner Sports in association with PGA of America. In his new role, Gary will supervise the daily operations for the PGA.com business which includes RyderCup.com and the PGA.com site. He will also head the e-commerce and editorial areas for the sites and will work closely with the PGA of America. Based in Atlanta, Gary reports to Matthew Hong, VP/GM, Sports Digital at Turner Sports.

Independent video website, Heavy.com added Jason Gottlieb in its New York office as AE. He is charged with leveraging new partnerships and revenue streams for the site.

Tunku Varadarajan was recruited as the Opinions Channel Editor with Forbes.com. Reporting to Carl Levin, Managing Editor, Tunku will head the re-launch of the Opinions Channel which has added several new columnists and book reviews.

20th Century Fox Licensing & Merchandising hired Michael Madnick in the new position of Executive Director/Creative Production where he will oversee the division’s creative projects, TV commercials, product development and special events.

Scripps Networks added three executives to its Sales Research and Strategy team: Robert Morgan as Manager/Affiliate Sales Research based in Knoxville; Kristin Eberle as Manager/Ad Sales Research, HGTV in the company’s New York office; and Tiffany Lanham as Senior Research Analyst, Food Network also based in the New York office.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM FUSE

This day in History: Bewitch premiered on ABC-TV (1964), Hogan’s Heroes debuted on CBS-TV (1965) and Mission Impossible premiered on CBS-TV (1966)

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  On the reality series Paradise Hotel, which contestant carried a small stuffed monkey around with him throughout his stay and what was his monkey’s name?  TOM/SMOKEY Kudos to:Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing/NY; Michelle Leon-Time Warner Cable Media/NY; Meredith Bachenheim-The Nielsen Company/NY; Amy Pecorino-The Tyra Banks Show/NY; Robin Schmelling-BCMI/Palm Desert, CA; Lorrie Shilling-DIRECTV/El Segundo, CA; Chip Beaman-Soundelux Design Music Group/Hollywood; Caroline A. Godin-One Girl Revolution Inc./Toronto

Today’s Trivia Question, Sponsored By Fuse. Ignite Your Brand. : What Jane’s Addiction song is used as the opening theme for Entourage? (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
09.17.08

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Cynopsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here    .

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, PRINT + DIGITAL PRODUCTION/BRAVO TV/NY: Manage dept, work flow, team, budget + planning.Strong comm + org skills. Work well under pressure. Previous Network exp req’d. Fill ASAP. Apply nbcjobs.com #846952 (9/23)

JOB OPENING: AFFILIATE RELATIONS MANAGER/iN DEMAND/NYC: Secure carriage, manage accts & relationships. Marketing bkgnd & min 4 yrs cable exp. 40% travel. Reply:
(9/23)

JOB OPENING: PROJECT MGR/AND COMPANY/LA: Entertainment adv agency seeks strong candidate to manage client comm, deadlines, creative dev. Industry exp req’d, sports mktg exp a plus. BS/BA+min 3-5 yrs exp. Resume to
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JOB OPENING: MEDIA BUYER / WPB, FL: In-house automotive agency, Degree & min 5yrs exp. Knowledge of NSI, ARB, Scar & SmartPlus. Competitive salary & benefits. Resumes:
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JOB OPENING: DIR. PARTNERSHIPS/LIFETIME TV/NY: resp. for utilizing Lifetime assets to lead the Part. division in the dev. & exec. of customized sponsorship packages Apply at: http://www.mylifetime.com/about/jobs.html (9/20)

JOB OPENING: NATL SLS ASST/UNIVISION COMM/NY: Provide support for AE’s, act as liaison w/ stations/clients. Highly orgnz’d, det oriented & proactive w/ exc comm. skills. All MS & Donovan skills req’d. Res:
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JOB OPENING: MGR PR/AMC tv/NYC: Mng/exec media relations campaigns to support orig prgrmng, ad sales, affil sales & mktg goals.3+ yrs media relations exp. Strong relationship w/press. Res: www.cablevision.jobs ref# 7056BR (9/19)

JOB OPENING: DIR, TALENT/Discovery/SS: Prep offers, handle deal neg. etc. for Discovery’s Nets & internal bus/ creative units. Assume on-going deal mgmt for life of talent bus. relationship w/ DCL. Apply: www.discovery.com Req#8295 (9/19)

JOB OPENING: DEV EXEC/NY PROD CO proven track record in various genres & strong buyer contacts. Sr level prod credits a must. Network exp in a development capacity pref’d. Res/references/sal req’s to:
(9/19)

JOB OPENING: TV CHANNEL ASST PROGRAMMER/LAPTV/Atlanta: 2 yrs work exp; 1 yr TV Prgrmng exp; PC prof; Spanish & English; BA degree; Knwldg of L. American mrkt, culture & implementation of prgrmng strat. Resume:
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JOB OPENING: ACCT EXEC/Nielsen Media Research/NY: Sales/client service of all Nielsen Media products to nat’l clients including Cable Networks, Brdcst Networks, Nat’l Agencies and Syndicators. Apply: www.Nielsen.com/careers 10412BR (9/18)

SUMMER/FALL INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always 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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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: CNBC Research Intern : Provides reporting & strategic insights & supports internal functions, incl. prgrmng, editorial, mktg, & BD. Provide reporting & analysis. Semester-long, unpaid.
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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: Lightworks/NY: TV dist. co. needs contract admin intern. Focus on rights mgt, prod. agts, sales licensing agts. Know contract law. LAW STUDENTS ONLY! For credit. Send resume to
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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: SOCIAL MEDIA/MARKETING INTERN/NYC: Need hard-working, web-savvy college student for assisting in the execution of online marketing programs for TVGuide.com. Res:
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FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: DEV/PROD INTERN/LA: Need hard-working, college student for Feature film & TV Distrib. Co. PC/MS Office lit; Script Coverage, admin., prod.-related duties. Attend meetings/pitches w/ exec. Res:
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FALL INTERNSHIPS CREDITS ONLY : CREATIVE NETWORK VIDEO INTERN/NYC: Assist video team in planning & executing of projects. Duties: research, production coordination, set production assistance, admin & creative support. Non-paying internship. To apply visit: www.ketchum.com/careers (9/18)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED … Interested in posting your Video Resume? Contact
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SITUATION WANTED: ADMIN OR ASST POSITION WANTED / NYC: 3+ yrs admin exp at well-known companies in exec assistance, licensing, prod development, marketing, with specialization in children’s TV. Creative & professional. 
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SITUATION WANTED: AWARD WINNING NY based WRITER/PRODUCER/EDITOR seeks work in promos, sales tapes, sizzles, short form etc. Own Avid with 13+ years network exp. Email:
. www.bardsleyproductions.tv (9/19)

SITUATION WANTED: SP/ AP/ PRODUCTION COORD: 5+yrs prof brdcst exp will relocate,lifestyle, ent. news, bio, clip, doc, reality. Creative, field, coordination, rights & clearances. Personable, professional 
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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT –  Wednesday, September 17, 2008