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Good morning. It’s Friday April 12, 2019 and this is your first early-morning briefing.

 

Tonight's Premieres:

DIY: Texas Flip N Move at 9p

ID: In Plain Sight at 11p

Smithsonian Channel: Black Hole Hunters at 9p

 

Tonight’s Finales:

ABC: Fresh Off the Boat at 8p, Speechless at 8:30p

 

Saturday’s Premieres:

CNN: Chasing Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta at 9p

TLC: Nate and Jeremiah by Design at 9p

 

Sunday’s Premieres:

Discovery: Expedition Unknown: Rediscovered at 10p

Food: Bake You Rich at 10p

HBO: Game of Thrones at 9p

ID: Murder in the Heartland at 9p

PBS: Les Miserables on Masterpiece at 9p

Science: Egypt’s Unexplained Files at 8p

 

Sunday’s Finales:

BET: Finding Justice at 8p

CBS: God Friended Me at 8p

CNN: Tricky Dick at 9p

Food: Buddy vs. Duff at 9p

HGTV: Mediterranean Life at 10:30p

Showtime: Action at 8p

 

 

IN THE NEWS

 

CBS renewed its longest running scripted drama, NCIS, for a 17^th season. The re-order comes on the heels of NCIS star and executive producer Mark Harmon’s new contract with the series. While franchise offshoots NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans have yet to be picked up, it’s expected they will be.

 

Jake Gyllenhaal is set to star in and executive produce limited HBO series Lake Success, based on the book by Gary Shteyngart. The project, which has been put into development and marks Gyllenhall’s TV acting debut, hails from the actor and Riva Marker’s Nine Stories and Endeavor Content. Shteyngart and Tom Spezialy (Watchmen) are set to co-write and co-showrun. The series centers on narcissistic divorced hedge fund manager Barry Cohen (Gyllenhall), who leaves his past to embark on a cross-country bus ride to find his college girlfriend, while his ex-wife struggles to raise their autistic son and begins a love affair of her own.

 

Fox Business Network signed former CNBC reporter and anchor Jackie DeAngelis as a financial correspondent. Starting April 22, DeAngelis will cover breaking business news from FBN’s headquarters in New York. “

 

Tanya Simon was promoted to Executive Editor of CBS’ 60 Minutes. Simon has worked for the show for nearly 20 years and last served as one of its senior producers.

 

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Transparent creator Jill Soloway revealed that Jeffrey Tambor’s character Maura is being killed off the Amazon Studios series in its musical finale. The news, of course, comes as no surprise, following Tambor’s firing last year after accusations of sexual misconduct.

 

The premiere of Food Network’s The Flay List, originally set for April 11, has moved to a yet-to-be named new date. In the series, chef Bobby Flay and his daughter Sophie hit the streets of New York in search of the greatest local dishes.

 

Ovation acquired U.S. broadcast and digital rights to two series from BBC Studios. The deal includes two seasons of Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond The Lobby, which will be available on Ovation’s AVOD service JOURNY and also air on Ovation’s linear channel and on-demand service Ovation NOW, as well as two seasons of drama series Maigret, starring Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean).

 

Beginning today, April 12, AccuWeather will produce a series of segments related to the rain and chill expected to impact Patriot Day, including both the Boston Marathon and the Red Sox home game. The network is partnering with Runner’s World to provide race forecast videos, including specific location start times, temperatures and cold weather-related tips for runners and fans.

 

Data research shows that people who procrastinate have higher levels of stress and lower well-being. Data can reveal so much about consumer behavior. Don’t procrastinate any longer - today is the last day to get early bird pricing for the Cynopsis Measurement & Data Conference June 11 in NYC. Save $200. Register now.

 

Who Will Win the Race

for The Future of TV?

Find out as experts from AT&T Advertising Company/Xandr , CBS , Hulu , MAGNA Global , Nielsen , Publicis , Roku , Snapchat , WarnerMedia – and dozens more – provide unparalleled insights and guidance at the ARF’s AUDIENCExSCIENCE conference, April 15-16, in Jersey City.

Email registration@thearf.org with CYN in the subject line for an exclusive Cynopsis discount available to those not already registered. Don’t miss out – register now!

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

 

Cari Joji Fukunaga (Maniac, The Alienist, True Detective) and Watchmen director Nicole Kassel have teamed to turn The Last of the Mohicans into a TV series. The project is based on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper and is in development at Paramount Television, where Fukunaga is under an overall deal.

 

Disney+ is adapting LGBTQ film Love, Simon into a comedy series. This Is Us executive producers and showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, who penned the movie, are writing and executive producing the project via their overall deal at 20^th Century Fox TV. The show will focus on the complicated life of 17-year old Simon, who hasn’t told family or friends he’s gay and doesn’t know the identity of the anonymous classmate he’s fallen for online.

 

A classic concept – a man and his dog – is headed to Netflix. The streamer has ordered It’s Bruno!, a comedy, from Solvan “Slick” Naim (The Blacklist, Animal Kingdom, Power) and stars Naim and his dog Bruno. Series from Stage 13, SLI Entertainment and Phiphen Pictures, is created, directed and executive produced by Naim and is set to premiere on Friday, May 17.

 

Kari Lizer, creator of The New Adventures of Old Christine, inked a multi-year overall deal with Sony Pictures Television. Under the pact’s terms, Lizer will develop new TV projects for broadcast, cable and streaming services via her company, Kari’s Logo Here.

 

Harem’s Robi Aboulafia and Fauda writer Michal Aviram have partnered to write female detective thriller The Public, which will be executive produced by Hagai Levi, co-creator of The Affair. The project, which is being produced by EGG Films’ Ben Giladi (American Animals; I, Tonya), follows an ex-Hasidic detective who returns to the community she left behind to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl.

 

The Upfronts are upon us.  Are you ready? Utilize our handy Cynopsis Upfront/NewFronts Navigator: cynopsis.com/upfronts.

 

 

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

 

Bounce set Sunday, July 7 as the Season 4 premiere date for Saints & Sinners. In anticipation of the series’ return, the network is airing the first three seasons of the show with back-to-back episodes at 9p and 10p weekly, beginning Sunday, April 14.

 

Euphoria, the HBO high school drama starring Zendaya, bows Sunday, June 16. The series explores the nitty-gritty of freshman through senior life in 2019.

 

La Reina del Sur returns to Telemundo on Monday, April 22 at 10p. The network is launching “La Ves por Telemundo o no la Ves” (Watch it on Telemundo, or You’ll Miss Out) marketing campaign to generate anticipation for the new season. Beginning the night after the premiere, Telemundo will tease audiences daily across all its platforms by releasing significant story moments from the show.

 

Black Hole Hunters bows Friday, April 12 on Smithsonian Channel. “The now-famous image of the black hole is groundbreaking science,” said Tim Evans, Executive Producer, Smithsonian Channel. “But the truly fascinating part of Black Hole Hunters is watching this team build the technology and develop the techniques that allowed the image to be created. Our producers followed the EHT team for over two years, before they even knew they would get a result, and it’s an inspiring and hair-raising journey, every bit as amazing as the final image.”

 

 

COMING UP

 

Cinelatino commemorates Easter and Holy Week with a lineup of religious films, beginning with the Spanish language premiere of A.D. the Bible Continues on Monday, April 15 at 11p. On Holy Thursday, April 18 at 3:35p, the net bows The Greatest Story Ever Told. The religious films wrap with Saint Paul on Wednesday, April 17 at 9:20p.

 

I Love Lucy Funny Money Special airs Friday, April 19 at 8p on CBS. The one-hour special features two back-to-back colorized episodes, “The Million-Dollar Idea” and “Bonus Bucks.”

 

 

MEASUREMENT

605 struck a strategic relationship with Research Measurement Technologies designed to measure the contextual impact of TV advertising, optimize audience targeting and improve advertising ROI. 605 will combine its analytics solutions and measurement footprint, which includes more than 20 million households across the 210 designated market areas in the U.S., with RMT’s context-based psychographic data, or DriverTag technology, to measure the contextual impact that each and every ad placement has on brand and sales outcomes. “We’ve conducted numerous TV attribution studies over the last three years and it’s very clear that context matters,” Ben Tatta, Co-Founder and President of 605, tells Cynopsis. “This partnership is great because it will provide clients the right data and tools to measure the ‘contextual impact’ of TV and the insights needed to optimize their contextual ad buys based on what contributes most to their brand and sales.”

 

 

CASTING

 

Kate Mulvany landed a series regular role in Amazon Prime Video’s The Hunt, while James Le Gros, Ebony Obsidian, Caleb Emery, Henry Hunter Hall and Jeannie Berlin have joined the cast as recurring players… Iain Glen will recur as Bruce Wayne on the second season DC Universe’s Titans, and Walton Goggins (Vice Principals) is set to recur on HBO comedy The Righteous Gemstones, according to Deadline.

 

 

TECH TALK

 

Facebook is updating its “remove, reduce and inform” strategy in an effort to cut down on offensive and abusive content. “This involves removing content that violates our policies, reducing the spread of problematic content that does not violate our policies and informing people with additional information, so they can choose what to click, read or share,” said Guy Rosen and Tessa Lyons, Vice President, Integrity-Head of News Feed Integrity at Facebook, in a blog post. The tech giant is rolling out a new section on its Community Standards site where users can track related updates, as well as updating the enforcement policy for groups and launching a new “group quality” feature.  To reduce the spread of problematic content, Facebook is seeking help from outside experts and expanding the content the Associated Press will review as a third-party fact-checker. In addition, the company plans to reduce the reach of Facebook Groups that repeatedly share misinformation by incorporating a “Click-Gap” signal into New Feed rankings, so users are exposed to less low-quality content.

 

Google’s drone delivery service launched in Australia. Wing, a subsidiary of Goggle’s parent company Alphabet, started flying fresh food, over the counter medications and other products to select customers in Australia’s capital. Wing partnered with local businesses to deliver small household items to eligible homes in Canberra. Products are lowered from the drone by string to the front yard of paying customers who live in the capital’s northern suburbs of Crace, Palmerston and Franklin.

 

SpotX is teaming with clypd to work together across linear TV and OTT platforms. Discover and Fox Corp will be the first media owner partners for the companies, with MRI-Simmons serving as a partner to deliver audience data across platforms. The companies say their key focus will be audience reach across both TV and OTT “holistically” within an advertising campaign. With emphasis on the OTT part of the business, SpotX has partners that include A+E Networks, AT&T, The CW Network and Discovery. Clypd works on automated/programmatic sales for A+E Networks, Discovery, Disney and Fox Corp for TV business.

 

 

DIGITAL DATA

 

A research study titled “The Evolution of Video Branding” from Hub revealed a dramatic difference between younger and older consumers, when it comes to preferred TV brands. The study showed that by a sizable margin, TV viewers picked Netflix as an indispensable source of content, with 44% choosing Netflix as the source they’d keep if they could keep a limited number. The streamer has an even higher lead among younger viewers with 59% of customers age 16 to 34 saying they’d keep Netflix in their list of must-have TV sources, more than twice as high as second-ranked Hulu. 

 

Consumers who cut the cord on traditional cable and signed up with a streaming service to save money may be in for a surprise. Although online-TV providers like YouTube TV, DirecTV Now and Hulu with Live TV lured users to the fold with “skinny bundles” that were cheaper than cable, many have begun raising their prices. The latest is Google’s YouTube TV, which is upping its monthly fee to $50. It originally launched at $35, but raised prices as it added channels.

 

Cinedigm partnered with leading OTT platform Future Today, Inc. to distribute the company’s Chinese entertainment channel BAMBU, giving the network the widest distribution of any Chinese content AVOD channel in the U.S.

 

 

GOING GLOBAL

 

Laia Costa, star of Germany’s Victoria, and Guillermo Pfening (Cromo, Supermax) will headline Isabel Coixet’s HBO Europe drama Foodie Love. The eight-part, half-hour series explores the relationship between two food lovers who meet through a mobile app. Production on the project has already begun.

 

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RATINGS

 

Season Eight of Married at First Sight on Lifetime was the strongest ever in the series’ history with Total Viewers (1.7 million) and A25-54 (906,000), according to Nielsen Live+3. The show’s audience also saw double-digit growth across key demos including Total Viewers (+13% versus Season 7) and A25-54 (+12%).

 

Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions) Wednesday, April 10 time period averages

Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated Live+SD

CBS: 5.42 million

Survivor 7.57, NCIS 4.20, SEAL Team 4.48

NBC: 3.91 million

Chicago Med 4.16, Chicago Fire 4.06, Chicago P.D. 3.51

ABC: 3.90 million

The Goldbergs 4.60, Schooled 3.79, Modern Family 4.77, Single Parents 3.21, Whiskey Cavalier 3.14

FOX: 3.47 million

Empire 3.77, Star 3.16

UNI: 0.99 million

Jesus 1.01, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia 1.06, Por Amar Sin Ley 0.91

TELE: 0.82 million

Exatlon Estados Unidos 0.79, Betty en NY 0.86, La Reina del Sur 0.80

CW: 0.64 million

In the Dark 0.68, Jane the Virgin 0.60

 

Wednesday A18-49: FOX 1.0/5, CBS 0.9/4, ABC 0.9/4, NBC 0.5/3, UNI 0.4/2, TELE 0.4/2, CW 0.2/1

 

 

EXECUTIVE MOVES

 

Marvista Entertainment promoted Hannah Pillemer to Head of Creative Affairs. Larry Grimaldi, formerly Vice President of Creative Affairs, was upped to Senior Vice President of Creative Affairs. Todd Murata was upped to Vice President of Creative Affairs.

 

Cream Productions appointed Patrick Cameron as Head of Production. Cameron has a long history with the company, having served as producer on many projects.

 

UPROXX appointed Adam Smith as Chief Revenue Officer. He joins from Conde Nast, where he oversaw West Coast video and L.A. sales.

 

BYUtv named Jeff Olsen as Director of Marketing and Creative Director for the network. He last served as Executive Director for Creative Strategy and Client Services at ThomasARTS.

 

Friday Fun Fact: Chewing gum burns about 11 calories per hour.

 

This Day in History: 1992 – Euro Disney opened in Marne-la-Vallee, France.

 

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question: What business did Frank DeFozio, Laverne’s father, own on Laverne & Shirley (1976-1983)? The Pizza Bowl. Kudos to: Luke Watson-Essential TV/NYC; Tori Gallarello-Alcock-Little Roosters Inc./NYC; Jennifer Clark-NBC Universal/Englewood Cliffs, NJ; Carl Mayer-Active International/Pearl River, NJ; Dan Whittford-WTTW/Chicago, IL; Kyle Krebs-KXAS-KXTX/Dallas, TX; Andy Pittman-TAMU/College Station, TX; Frank Nicotero/Studio City, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/Los Angeles, CA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/Los Angeles, CA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank, CA.

 

Today’s Trivia Question: What was the name of the rival high school the students on Head of the Class (1986-1991) often faced off against? (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.)

 

ACCOUNT SERVICES REP/NCM/NYC: Asst acct directors w/all aspects the sales process and responsibilities as needed. Exc presentation, computer, written/verbal skills. Knwldg of the nat’l video and digital ad sales marketplaces. Exp 3 - 5 yrs of working within a sales and mktg envir or an agency. Full info HERE (4/26)

WRITER/PRODUCER/YES Network/Stamford:  Responsible for writing and producing daily topical promo and image spots for the NY Yankees, Brooklyn Nets, New York City FC, & episodic promotion for other prgrmng. 5+ yrs exp in On-Air Promotions or similar agency/prod co. Full info HERE (4/26)

MGR, INTEGRATED MARKETING/AMC/NY: Solutions based account manager for cross platform sponsorships; manage RFPs, executions and communication with sales, clients and internal departments. Create pitch materials to monetize our original series and branded franchise offerings. Full info HERE (4/26)

STRATEGIST, VIDEO MONETIZATION/A + E/NYC: Oversee all rev driven AVOD content creation & release strategy across YouTube, Daily Motion, FB watch, Twitter & Snapchat. Partner w/Preditor to strategically greenlight content to max rev & support linear priorities. 4-6 yrs exp working w/digital video strategies at brand/publishing level. Full info HERE (4/26)

STRATEGIST VIDEO MONETIZATION/History/NYC: Oversee all rev driven AVOD content creation & release strategy across YouTube, Daily Motion, FB watch, Twitter & Snapchat. Partner w/Preditor to strategically greenlight content to max rev & support linear priorities. 4-6 yrs exp working w/digital video strategies at brand/publishing level. Full info HERE (4/25)

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/Nickelodeon/NY: Review scripts & provide copywriting direction to writer/producers. Must have 5+ years of experience writing on-air promotional/brand content. Must be proficient creating brand content for social platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Full info HERE (4/25)

SALES RESEARCH ANALYST/Ion Media/NYC: responsible for supporting Sales organization. 3-8 yrs work exp in media or advertising analytics, i.e. TV network, advertising agency or client experience positioning data for ad sales teams and clients; ability to "tell a story" with data. Full info HERE (4/25)

DIRECTOR, MARKETING INSIGHTS (Primary Research)/Viacom/NYC: Join the Marketing & Media Insights team for Viacom. Conceptualize and conduct proprietary quantitative and qualitative studies resulting in strategic reports and actionable insights for key stakeholders. 5-7 yrs exp. Full info HERE (4/25)

ACCOUNT SERVICE REP/Crown Media Family Networks/NY: Train/mentor sales planners & sales assts. Present new prgrmng & mktg opps to clients & new bus. prospects. Negotiate scatter deals & build targeted sales pitches. Min 2 yrs sales plan’g or buying exp. Ability to create flowcharts & PP pres. BA/BS req. Full info/apply HERE (4/18)

SALES PLANNER/Crown Media Family Networks/ATL: Provide sales and support to the Ad Sales team for Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries & Hallmark Drama. Maintain media schedules, build sales plans, manage added value. BA/BS & min 1 yr exp. req. Apply HERE (4/18)  

DIGITAL RESEARCH ANALYST/Crown Media Family Networks/LA: Analyze subscriber behavior for SVOD, Hallmark Movies Now.  Create, maintain & present daily, wkly &monthly reports. Track/analyze Hallmark Channel Podcast data. BA/BS & min 1 yr exp. translating complex data into bus. insights req. Apply HERE (4/18)

MGR, AD SALES PARTNERSHIPS/A+E Networks/NY: Serve as ad sales partnerships resource & thought leader in the sales dept, managing ideation & response to RFPs, creating prod knwldg one sheets based on assigned network & disciplines, knowledgeable in digital/social mktg products & tools, effectively demonstrating how they can be leveraged in strategic 360 campaigns. Full info HERE (4/18)

 

SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCER/Fox News Channel/NYC: Help produce content for all of our social media platforms. Team player with a positive attitude a must & comfortable working under pressure in a fast-paced envir. Your passion for news is bar none! Exc writing skills & 3+ yrs of exp in news, TV or web. Full info HERE (4/17)

ACCOUNT SERVICES REP /Weigel NTWRKS/CHI - Responsible for maintaining all aspects of account management for the Chicago advertising sales team and providing timely and accurate info to the sales team and to the client. BA deg or previous media exp pref’d.  MS PP, Excel, word exp a must. Full info HERE (4/16)

ACCT EXEC, SALES DEVELOPMENT (Consumer Tech)/ION MEDIA/NY: Seeking sales professional to generate new advrtg accts and revenue for ION’s linear television platform.  Dedicated category focus on companies which specialize in consumer technology, social media, e-commerce and OTT. Self-starter with 8-10yrs of TV selling or related adv sales exp. Full info HERE (4/13)

SALES-MARKETING COORD/AMERICAN TARGET NETWORK/NY: Ideal Candidate will work closely with sales managing client relationships and processing requests, inputting order and traffic. Be able to create mktg sales decks and promotional materials. Manage internal process for credit applications, monthly billing and weekly budget reports. Full info HERE Send resume and salary requirements to info@americantargetnetwork.com (4/13)

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT - FRIDAY APRIL 12

ABC: Fresh Off the Boat [f], Speechless [f], 20/20

CBS: MacGyver, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods

CW: Who’s Line Is It Anyway?, Who’s Line Is It Anyway?, Penn & Teller: Fool Us

FOX: Last Man Standing, The Cool Kids, Proven Innocent

NBC: Blindspot, The Blacklist, NBC Dateline

PBS: Washington Week, Firing Line with Margaret Hoover, American Masters

Telemundo: Exatlon Estados Unidos, Betty en NY, La Reina del Sur

Univision: Jesus, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia, Por Amar Sin Ley