CYNOPSIS

Good morning. It’s Thursday January 17, 2019 and this is your first early-morning briefing.

Tonight’s Premieres:

Bravo: Backyard Envy at 10p

Lifetime: Bring It! at 10p

Paramount: Lip Sync Battle at 9p

Tonight’s Finales:

Great American Country: My Lottery Dream Home at 9p

ID: Dead Silent at 9p

IN THE NEWS

Bob Costas is leaving NBC after 40 years, in a separation that appears amicable. “It’s all settled quietly and happily for all concerned,” Costas told the New York Post. Costas, who said last August that he was considering leaving NBC Sports before his contract was up in 2021, has seen his role diminish of late. He was replaced as prime-time host of 2018 Winter Olympics coverage in South Korea and stepped down from the net’s Super Bowl LII pre-show after his comments linking concussions to football. “I have long had ambivalent feelings about football, so at this point, it’s better to leave the hosting to those who are more enthusiastic about it,” Costas told Sports Business Daily last year. Costas will continue working for MLB Network.

NBC renewed Ellen’s Game of Games for season three. The game show started its sophomore run on January 8, topping entertainment programs with a 1.5 rating among A18-49 at 8p. “We are delighted that America has wholeheartedly embraced this wildly entertaining and unpredictable show,” said Meredith Ahr, President, Alternative and Reality Group, NBC Entertainment.

On the flip side, NBC’s Trial and Error has been canceled after two seasons, reports TheWrap. Ratings for the comedy dipped when it was moved from the spring to hourlong blocks in the summer.

Syfy horror anthology Channel Zero was also canceled, after four seasons. Series, based on “creepypasta,” or internet horror stories, was produced by Universal Cable Productions.

Sinclair Broadcast Group launched 24/7 ad-supported streaming service Stirr. The service offers location-based content as well as 20 national networks -Cheddar, Buzzr and Dove Channel among them - with plans to carry over 50 nets by the end of 2019. “We are entering a new era of broadcast television and our number one priority at Sinclair is to help advance the industry and increase access to broadcast content in the midst of a digital age,” said Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley. “With the launch of STIRR, we intend to offer audiences an easy, convenient and free way to watch live local and national channels, as well as access a deep selection of on-demand programming.”

That was quick. Snap CFO Tim Stone, the Amazon alum who joined the company in May, is leaving to “pursue other opportunities.” Said CEO Evan Spiegel, “Tim’s transition is not related to any disagreement with us on any matter relating to our accounting strategy, management, operations, policies, regulatory matters or practices (financial or otherwise).” Instead, reported the Financial Times, the move was in part the result of a “personality clash” between Stone and Spiegel. Stone’s departure is one in a string of Snap exit decisions, including that of Chief Strategy Office Imran Khan last September; Snap shares dropped 13% Wednesday afternoon.

Has your team registered yet? Grab your tickets for the Cynopsis TV Awards, taking place Wednesday, February 6, in NYC, and join a celebration (and networking opportunity) not to be missed. Register here.

Beginning January 19, INSP will have a new tagline: “Heroes Live Here.” The common thread uniting the network’s content is people trying to do the right thing, explains Dale Ardizzone, INSP COO. “Through timeless westerns, we honor the pioneers who bravely settled the West and lawmen willing to defend freedom and stand for principles no matter the cost. Through our growing library of original and exclusive series and films, we feature modern-day men and women who take risks and live on the edge…. This is a key reason for INSP’s continuing growth. We really do seek to celebrate character, integrity and the stories that define them.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

CYNOPSIS PRESENTS

THAT BIG TV CONFERENCE

Content. Distribution. Revenue.

September 9-10, 2019

New York City

www.thatbigtvconference.com

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Imagine Kids & Family, the recently formed division under Imagine Entertainment and Meredith Corporation’s in-house television production company, Four M Studios, have partnered to develop premium children’s television programming from the archives of LIFE magazine. LIFE for Kids, executive-produced by Imagine Entertainment Chairmen Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, Imagine Kids & Family President Stephanie Sperber and Four M Studios’ Bruce Gersh and Bruce Robertson, is the first project out of the gate.

A+E Networks inked an overall two-year deal with Macmillan Publisher’s crowdsourced young adult imprint Swoon to develop and produce YA novels for TV and film. “A+E Studios has fast distinguished itself from competitors as an independent studio that fosters creativity, collaboration and innovation,” said Barry Jossen, head of A+E Studios.

HGTV ordered 70 more episodes of fantasy lifestyle series Caribbean Life, Island Life and Mexico Life. The additional episodes will premiere during the net’s Sunday-night lineup, which attracts more than 15 million viewers every week and helps HGTV rank as a top-three cable network among W25-54 that night. HGTV also recently announced the 14-episode pickup of a new beach-themed series, Mediterranean Life, which premiered New Year’s Day.

Showtime Documentary Films announced the latest project from Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor): Shangri-La (wt), a docu-series about music producer Rick Rubin, co-founder of Def Jam Records, will air on Showtime later this year. Morgan Neville, Rick Rubin, Jeff Malmberg, Danny Breen, Michael Goldberg, Eric Lynn, Isaac Heymann, Dianna Schmedeman and Jason Schrift serve as executive producers of the Tremolo production, which will be screened at SXSW in March as a work in progress.

Netflix ordered a workplace comedy co-created by The Office’s Steve Carell and Greg Daniels. Carell will star in Space Force, centered on the people who create the new out-of-this-world branch of the military envisioned by the Trump administration.

Jason Katims (Parenthood) is leaving his studio berth at Universal Television for an exclusive overall deal with Apple. Starting this summer, Katims will develop and produce projects for Apple via his True Jack Productions.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

MTV’s The Challenge: War of the Worlds premieres Wednesday, February 6, at 9p. MTV’s Challenge vets team up with rookie prospects from franchises including The Bachelor, Big Brother, Survivor and more in physical and mental contests. Reality show is set to air internationally in late February.

On DIY’s Philly Revival, premiering Saturday, January 26, at 9p, general contractor, real-estate agent, designer and former opera singer Rachel Street resuscitates Philadelphia’s historic homes. Street rescues features like custom tile murals, stair banisters, turrets and marble fireplace mantles, then oversees the addition of modern amenities.

Season six of AT&T Audience sports show Undeniable with Dan Patrick launches Wednesday, January 30, at 8p, while You Me Her is back for season four on Tuesday, April 9, at 10p.

WGN America’s Gone, starring Leven Rambin (The Path) and Danny Pinto (Mayans M.C.), launches Wednesday, February 27, at 9p. Drama follows the survivor of a child-abduction case and the FBI agent who saved her as they team to solve cases years later.

The 2018 Cynopsis Salary Survey of media employees found that the gender gap increased in 2018, reversing the 2017 pattern. What might explain a $28,100 difference in annual salary between male and female employees, up from $26,700 in 2017? For details, download the full report here

COMING UP

Killing Beef: Gun Violence in the Black Community makes its world premiere on Revolt on Monday, January 21, at 10p. Doc follows former drug dealer and award-winning journalist Samson Styles, who, after recovering from a near-fatal shooting, searches to find meaning in his life and reconciliation with his shooter.

CBS is airing an hourlong red carpet special ahead of the Grammys on Sunday, February 10. Entertainment Tonight’s Nancy O’Dell, Kevin Frazier, Keltie Knight and TheTalk’s Eve co-host the event, kicking off at 7p.

NBC drama Manifest has been chosen as latest PaleyLive NY TV program, taking place Thursday, February 7, at 6:30p at the Paley Center’s New York location. A limited number of tickets will be on sale, first available to Paley Patron, Fellow and Supporting Members.

Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Steve Harvey Show) and R&B singer Tank will host the 2019 Bounce Trumpet Awards, held in Atlanta on Saturday, January 19. Ceremony airs on Bounce on Sunday, February 17, at 9p.

ID delves into the double life of Dennis Rader in BTK: A Killer Among Us, a two-hour special premiering Sunday, February 16, at 10p.

DIGITAL DATA

Facebook announced a three-year plan to invest $300 million in news, with a focus on local news. The infusion of dollars is intended to help local newsrooms as well as news literacy programs and third-party fact-checking. “The industry is going through a massive transition that has been underway for a long time,” said Campbell Brown, Facebook’s Head of Global News Partnerships. “None of us have quite figured out ultimately what the future of journalism is going to look like but we want to be part of helping find a solution.”

Start-up NewsGuard, a free service that rates news organizations on their trustworthiness, announced it has signed Microsoft as its first major client. Readers can use NewsGuard’s browser extension to show a news outlet’s rating.

Two-thirds of Facebook users didn’t know that the social media giant uses algorithms to classify their interests and traits for targeted advertising, according to a survey from Pew Research. Once they saw their Facebook “your ad preferences” list, 51% of respondents said that they weren’t comfortable about the list. “These findings relate to some of the biggest issues about technology’s role in society,” said Lee Rainie, Director of Internet and Technology Research at the Pew Research Center. “They are central to the major discussions about consumer privacy, the role of micro-targeting of advertisements in commerce and political activity, and the role of algorithms in shaping news and information systems.”

The market for SVOD services is far from saturated, according to Ooyala’s new State of the Broadcast Industry 2019 report. As younger consumers, who see streaming as the norm, grow older, the streaming universe is likely to expand, says the report. The lesson for traditional broadcasters: Adopt the mindset of a diversified media company as more programmers and distributors are joining, rather than fighting, the push into OTT. “Subscription and ad-supported OTT services are steadily replacing traditional content delivery, and there’s no end to the opportunity to create connections with a global audience,” said Ooyala Principal Analyst Jim O’Neill. “OTT is not traditional TV. It thrives upon consumer choice, often random interaction and the convenience of viewing when, where and on what device a consumer chooses. It thrives upon its own ability to iterate in order to respond to the changing conditions of the new TV environment.”

Boldsite Media has joined out-of-home organization DPAA. Boldsite creates immersive media experiences combining digital out-of-home advertising, sponsorship, experiential, branded content and mobile media.

CASTING

January Jones (Mad Men) will star in upcoming Netflix drama Spinning Out as a former figure skater who had to give up her dreams of stardom when she became pregnant and now pushes her two daughters to become Olympians.

AUDIO ANNOUNCEMENTS

Dreamscape Media struck a deal with Hallmark Publishing to produce and distribute Hallmark’s first venture into audiobooks, beginning with the February release of the audiobook of Nancy Naigle’s The Secret Ingredient, a Valentine’s Day-themed story. “Hallmark is a beloved American heritage brand known for celebrating positive family values,” said Dreamscape Media Publisher Tammy Faxel. “Our audiobooks will reflect the creative philosophy of Hallmark Publishing: to empower rising authors, elevate diversity in storytelling and evolve with the audience.”

Cadence13 announced the launch of Meaningful Conversations with Maria Shriver, the first podcast hosted by the journalist and bestselling author. Shriver will use the podcast to explore issues and ideas that she believes people think about but don’t discuss enough.

GOING GLOBAL

Endemol Shine Group’s Israeli drama Queens has been ordered for a second season by HOT. Endemol Shine Israel will produce the show, set to air in 2020. Season one, launched in December last year, was HOT’s most-watched series of 2018.

Armoza Formats announced the launch of new legal drama Red Lines. The series recently began airing on Israel’s Kan and was written by Noa Rotman, granddaughter of Israel’s fifth prime minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and Esther Namdar (Stockholm).

Banijay Rights concluded a host of new format deals around the world for Wife Swap, including a local adaptation in Brazil. Currently in production by Teleimage, the Brazilian addition will make its debut on TV Record in February 2019.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

Spotlighting Short Form’s Finest

The 2^nd Annual Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival

Wednesday, March 6^th, 2019 | The SVA Theatre, NYC

Join your peers as we celebrate our talented finalists, screen the winning videos, feature thought-provoking panels on the state of the industry, and share insights with colleagues over drinks and appetizers. Passionate about short form? This one is for you.

RATINGS

The premiere of WE tv’s Marriage Boot Camp: Hip Hop Edition on Thursday, January 10, drew nearly 1.3 million total viewers in Nielsen Live+3 ratings - the highest premiere for the franchise since season five among W25-54 and 18-49, A25-54, and total viewers.

Syfy’s Deadly Class attracted 2.7 million pre-linear views across multiple platforms. On December 20, the cast and creators took to social media to share the new 10-part series’ premiere episode, which was available commercial-free via Syfy On Demand, online and the SYFY and USA apps.

Guest stars Evan Rachel Wood, Seth Rogen, Elijah Wood and Will Ferrell helped the season six premiere of Comedy Central’s Drunk History deliver a .38 P18-49 Live+SD rating, the series’ highest-rated premiere since season three in 2015.

CW’s Roswell, New Mexico premiered to 1.54 million viewers and an A18-49 rating of 0.4, holding on to 67% of its The Flash lead-in on Tuesday.

SHAREABLEE TOP 10 PRIMETIME TV SHOWS: Top U.S. Shows Overall by Engagement for the week of January 7, 2019

Program, VPI, Video Actions, Video Views, Total Actions

Vikings (History) 484, 355K, 1.1M, 422K

E! News (E!) 231, 872K, 3M, 11.2M

Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC) 203, 161K, 569K, 600K

America’s Funniest Home Videos (ABC) 187, 400K, 18.9M, 421K

The Bachelor (ABC) 173, 594K, 6M, 1.2M

Chicago Fire (NBC) 167, 113K, 477K, 503K

Ridiculousness (MTV) 153, 61K, 5.1M, 103K

Henry Danger (Nick) 149, 50K, 13K, 115K

Modern Family (ABC) 139, 204K, 2.1M, 236K

The Good Place (NBC) 128, 122K, 83K, 545K

Source: Shareablee Inc. Based on Shareablee’s Video Power Index (VPI), which combines viewing, consumer interactions and audience scale across all active platforms and includes the video performance of primetime TV shows.

Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions): Tuesday, January 15, time period averages

Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated Live+SD

CBS: 9.56 million

NCIS 12.10, FBI 9.33, NCIS: New Orleans 7.26

NBC: 6.57 million

Ellen’s Game of Games 6.35, This Is Us 7.70, New Amsterdam 5.67

ABC: 4.08 million

The Conners 6.65, The Kids Are Alright 4.26, black-ish 3.33, Splitting Up Together 2.64, The Rookie 3.81

FOX: 2.44 million

Lethal Weapon 3.20, The Gifted 1.68

CW: 1.61 million

The Flash 1.68, Roswell, New Mexico 1.54

UNIVISION: 0.95 million

Jesus 0.98, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia 0.94, Amar a Muerte 0.92

TELEMUNDO: 0.82 million

La Sultana 0.88, Falsa Identidad 0.91, Senora Acero 0.68

Tuesday A18-49 Rating: NBC 1.6/7, CBS 1.0/5, ABC 0.9/4, FOX 0.6/3, CW 0.5/2, UNI 0.5/2, TELE 0.3/2,

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Discovery, Inc. promoted Loren Ruch, Betsy Ayala and Lynn Sadofsky within its HGTV and Food Network brands. Ruch was elevated to Group SVP of Production & Development for HGTV based in New York, while Ayala was promoted to SVP of Production & Development for HGTV based in Knoxville. Sadofsky was upped to SVP of Production & Development for Food Network.

Data Plus Math hired of Jason Moe as Vice President of Business Development. Most recently, Moe served as the Senior Director of Network partnerships at Sorenson Media.

Nickelodeon has named Paul DeBenedittis to the role of Executive Vice President of Programming and Content Strategy. DeBenedittis was most recently Senior Vice President, Programming Strategy, Disney Channels Worldwide.

Genius Brands International tapped Natalie Setton to spearhead the international content sales of Genius Brands’ programming library. Setton has served as Managing Director for Ludorum since April 2016.

App marketing company Motive Interactive appointed Beatrice Olivas as Chief Revenue Officer. Olivas previously led strategy and operations for the InMobi Performance Advertising business.

44 Blue Productions named Andrew Paskoff as Senior Vice President, Production, and Brent Jacoby as Vice President, Development. Paskoff joins from 495 Productions, where he was Head of Production, while Jacoby was VP of Development at Outpost Entertainment.

This Day in History: 1991 – Operation Desert Storm began, as U.S.-led forces bombed Iraq during the Gulf War.

Answer to our last trivia question: For which series did David Bowie grant rights to use “Under Pressure,” his duet with Freddie Mercury, just days before his death? The Americans. Kudos to: Traci Liner-Endeavor/NYC, Brian Quinn-Comcast Spotlight/Washington, D.C., Christine Walters-truTV/NYC, Lorri Shilling/El Segundo, CA, Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA, Cristine DeVries-CBS Television/NYC

Today’s Trivia Question: For which series did Tyne Daly win her fifth Emmy? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: A limit of four correct answers from each time zone will be selected.).

Lynn Leahey Editorial Director @Lynn_Leahey
Diane K Schwartz Senior Vice President Media Communications Group	Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina \| 203-218-6480 VP, Sales	Albert Nassour \| 917-545-3129 Director, Strategic Partnerships	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak \| 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

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ASSISTANT MANAGER, PR & SOCIAL MEDIA/AD Council/NYC: Ensures that assigned studies have appropriately trained staff, necessary supplies, and necessary forms or electronic systems for data collection. Excellent writer w/ Min 1-2 yrs exp conducting public relations & social media programs. Apply HERE (1/30)

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WHAT'S ON TONIGHT - THURSDAY JANUARY 17

ABC: Grey’s Anatomy, A Million Little Things, How to Get Away With Murder

CBS: The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon, Mom, Fam, S.W.A.T.

FOX: Gotham, The Orville

NBC: Titan Games, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Good Place, Law & Order: SVU

PBS: This Old House Hour, Victoria on Masterpiece [r], Antiques Roadshow [r]

CW: Supernatural [r], Roswell, New Mexico [r]

Telemundo: La Sultana, Falsa Identidad, Senora Acero

Univision: Jesus, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia, Amar a Muerte