Good morning. It’s Friday April 19, 2019 and this is your first early-morning briefing.

 

Tonight's Premieres:

Comedy Central: The New Negroes with Baron Vaughn and Open Mike Eagle at 11p

Nickelodeon: Ryan’s Mystery Playdate at 12:30p

 

Tonight’s Finales:

Bravo: Don’t Be Tardy at 9p

Cooking Channel: Crazy Cakes at 11p

 

Saturday’s Premieres:

Food Network: Restaurant Impossible at 9p

Ovation: Murdoch Mysteries at 7p

 

Saturday’s Finales:

MotorTrend: Auto/Biography: The Case of the Missing Movie Cars at 9p

Nickelodeon: Knight Squad at 9p

OWN: Family or Fiance at 10p

 

Sunday’s Premieres:

Animal Planet: Jeremy Wade’s Dark Watersat 9p, Fish or Die at 10p

Food: Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition at 9p

 

Sunday’s Finales:

Bravo: Married to Medicine Los Angeles at 9p

CBS: Madam Secretary at 10p

Nat Geo WILD: Animal ER Live at 9p

TLC: Sister Wives at 8p

TV One: Uncensored at 10p

Weather Channel: Highway Thru Hell at 8p

 

 

IN THE NEWS

 

Tim Allen is still standing. Fox renewed the actor’s comedy, Last Man Standing, which airs its 150^th episode tonight. This will be the show’s second season on Fox and eighth overall, counting its time on ABC. The series ranks as Fox’s second most watched and third highest-rated scripted series this season in Live+7 Nielsens.

 

In a not-so-surprising move, Kevin Hunter was ousted as executive producer of The Wendy Williams Show. The news, which comes on the heels of Williams’ announcement that she plans to divorce her husband of 22 years, was announced by a spokesperson for the daytime talk show, produced by Lionsgate’s Debmar-Mercury. Hunter had been with the show since its inception in 2008.

 

HBO scolded Donald Trump after POTUS inserted himself into a Game of Thrones image to celebrate Attorney General Bill Barr’s press conference on Robert Mueller’s report. “No collusion. No obstruction. For the haters and the radical left Democrats – Game Over,” posted the president. “Though we can understand the enthusiasm for Game of Thrones now that the final season has arrived, we still prefer our intellectual property not be used for political purposes,” HBO said in a statement.

 

After being knocked off the air on Thursday, The Weather Channel apologized to viewers. “We experienced issues with this morning’s live broadcast following a malicious software attack on the network,” tweeted the net. “We were able to restore programming quickly through backup mechanisms. Federal law enforcement is actively investigating the issue.” The attack happened during morning show AMHQ, which was scheduled to start at 6a.

 

Verizon Media announced the expansion of new global content studios that will continue to power media brands like Yahoo, HuffPost, TechCrunch and AOL. Locations include LA, NYC, Sunnyvale, London, Paris, Brazil, Singapore, Australia, Canada, Taiwan and Hong Kong. The Verizon Media RYOT 5G Studio located in LA is also the first-ever 5G content studio.  

 

Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), Mastercard and Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame teamed for a new PSA campaign featuring Avengers: Endgame Super Heroes alongside real-life cancer survivor heroes. The PSA will come to life across print, TV, radio, digital and out-of-home networks, aligning with the premiere of Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame in theaters Friday, April 26.

 

The Walt Disney Company is set to present wall-to-wall coverage of the 2019 NFL Draft, with ABC broadcasting the entire event for the first time. ESPN is also televising its 40^thconsecutive draft, which this year, runs from April 25 to 27. Additionally, all seven rounds of the draft will be streamed live on the ABC App and ESPN App, broadcast on ESPN Radio, and available in Spanish on both TV and radio on ESPN Deportes.

 

The Peabody Board of Jurors revealed the nine programs unanimously selected as Entertainment winners, as well as the Children’s and Institutional winners for the 78^th Annual Peabody Awards. Netflix received three awards, for Hannah Gadsby: Nannette, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj and The End of the F***king World. HBO was recognized for Barry and Random Acts of Flyness, while FX Networks was honored for Pose and The Americans. Rounding out the Entertainment winners were NBC’s The Good Place and BBC AMERICA’s Killing Eve. Cartoon Network’s Steven Universe was a winner in the Children’s category. The board also named Sesame Streetwinner of an Institutional Award for 50 years of educating and entertaining kids.

Meet Media’s Most Inspirational Companies…

The 2019 Cynopsis Social Good Awards Winners

Saluting TV’s Commitment to Community

 

Cynopsis is excited to be shine a light on the altruistic companies who have used their influence for the greater good of the community. Whether the focus is disaster-relief, humanitarian efforts, public service announcements, health and safety, environmental relief or something else, these brands made it their mission to make a difference.

 

VIEW WINNERS & HONORABLE MENTIONS HERE

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

DIY Network ordered 16 additional episodes of Maine Cabin Masters. The renovation series was the #1 program on the net during its run, up 30% among P25-54 over its previous season; its third season has garneried over 3.5 million total viewers since its December 3 premiere.

 

HBO Documentary Films is working on a docu-series exploring the NXIVM organization, the “self-improvement” group with which Smallville’s Allison Mack was involved and led to her pleading guilty to racketeering charges of sex trafficking, sex trafficking conspiracy and forced labor conspiracy. The untitled project will follow a range of people who joined the group; Jehane Noujaim and Karim Amer (TheSquare, Control Room, Startup.com) are helming the series.

 

Do you think the DNC should reconsider allowing Fox News to host a Democratic primary presidential debate? Let us know in the Cynopsis poll: http://www.cynopsis.com

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

AXS TV’s Rock & Roll Road Trip with Sammy Hagar bows Sunday, May 5 at 8p. Immediately following at 8:30p, Eddie Money and his family return for a second season of Real Money.

 

Comedy Central debuts new sketch series Alternatino with Arturo Castro on Tuesday, June 18 at 10:30p.

 

According to data compiled by Evia, women make up less than 20 percent of U.S. tech jobs, even though they make up more than half of the U.S. workforce. Women also hold a lower share of computer science jobs now than they did in the 1980s. Who’s bucking the trend? Calling all the data analytic aces, mobile gurus and tech-savvy marketers and content creators - we want to hear how you’re moving the industry forward. There’s still time to nominate your colleagues and company for the Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards. The process is quick and simple. Regular deadline is Tuesday, April 23. Nominate today.

 

Author James Patterson’s Kid Stew returns to public television on Sunday, May 5 at 9:30a (check local listings). Series encourages children’s interest in reading, music, art and creative expression.

 

TNT’s Animal Kingdom is back for Season 4 on Tuesday, May 28 at 9p. Emily Deschanel joins the cast in a recurring role.

 

 

COMING UP

 

The Eagles – Hell Freezes Over special, reuniting Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Don Felder, JoeWalsh and Timothy B. Schmit for the first time 14 years, bows Sunday, May 5 at 9p on AXS TV.

 

 

DISTRIBUTION

 

PBS Distribution and Walter Presents are bringing Belgian crime drama Professor T to the U.S., according to Variety. Season 1 of the series is set to air on PBS broadcast stations across the U.S. beginning Thursday, May 2. The 13-part series will also be available via members-only streaming service PBS Passport. 

 

 

ADVERTISING

 

Video advertising and monetization platform SpotX is teaming with entertainment-focused streaming television service Philo to power the programmatic monetization of its live and video on demand OTT inventory available through SpotX, Philo's supply-side platform. Ninety percent of content consumption on Philo is through connected TV devices, and 90% of its audience views live linear channels, including A+E networks, AMC, Discovery Channel, VH1, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, and more. “We love promoting Philo's CTV inventory to media buyers because they offer such a variety of content to highly engaged viewers," said Geoff Spence, RVP of business development, at SpotX.

 

 

CASTING

 

David Thewlis (Wonder Woman, Fargo, Harry Potter films) landed a lead in National Geographic’s Barkskins… Joel Edgerton nabbed a role in Amazon series, The Underground Railroad, reports Variety.

 

 

TECH TALK

 

Americans received over 26 billion unwanted robocalls in 2018, and T-Mobile and Comcast have joined forces to combat the problem. The companies have begun authenticating calls made between their networks in order to verify for consumers when the caller is an actual human being. The protocol verifies authentic calls by using digital certificates that help determine where a call is actually being placed; if a real caller is identified, T-Mobile will display “Caller Verified” in the Caller ID.

 

Pinterest began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. Shares were priced at $19, and finished the day up 28%, to $24.40. Videoconferencing company Zoom did even better,  rising 72% to close at $62.

 

Amazon and Google announced a range of deals to bring each other’s video apps to each other’s streaming devices. In the months ahead, the pair will launch the official YouTube app on Amazon Fire TV devices and Fire TV Edition smart TVs. The Prime Video app will also receive casting support for Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices. Prime Video will also be available across Android TV device partners, and the YouTube TV and YouTube Kids apps will also come to Fire TV later this year. The YouTube app on Fire TV will support 4K HDR playback at 60fps, and the Amazon Prime app on Chromecast and Android TV will offer Amazon Prime originals and licensed content as well as access to subscription streaming services through Amazon Channels. 

 

In more Amazon news, the company announced the launch of a free, ad-supported music service for Echo speaker owners that has the same two-million-song catalogue as Prime Music. The move offers an incentive for smart speaker buyers to choose Echo, and an opportunity for Amazon to upsell users to its paid subscription services.

 

AdStage launched on Google Sheets. The new product enables any marketer to get their cross-channel paid search, paid social and web analytics data into Google Sheets with a single query. With millions of Google Sheets users around the world, the solution allows marketers to instantly query blended, cross-channel advertising data from within Google Sheets for advanced analysis, budget pacing, A/B Testing and more.

 

 

DIGITAL DATA

 

Facebook adjusted upwards the number of Instagram users affected by a security incident last month – way upwards. Instead of the tens of thousands of users first thought to be affected by passwords stored in a readable format, “We now estimate that this issue impacted millions of Instagram users,” said the company. “We will be notifying these users as we did the others.” An investigation determined the passwords were not internally abused or improperly accessed, said the company.

 

AMC Networks’ streaming video service Shudder acquired all rights to writer-director Issa Lopez’s film Tigers Are Not Afraid for all its territories. The film is set to premiere on the streamer later this year.

 

Free streamer Pluto TV launches Dope State, a mockumentary-comedy series focusing on California’s cannabis culture, on cannabis-inspired channel THC on Saturday, April 20 at 4:20p (of course). The six-episode series covers everything from stoner celebrities to politicians in California, with guest stars including Dan Harmon, Sam Jay and Adrian Grenier.

 

Who’s the Boss? Netflix is bringing back its “FYSee” Emmy campaign activation. Opening this year’s event, which takes place at Raleigh Studios from May 5 to June 9, will be Martin Scorsese and Bruce Springsteen.

 

  

GOING GLOBAL

 

Channel 5 acquired two new series from Sony Pictures Television for its VOD streaming service, My5. The Oath, a crime drama, and Bloom, a mystery drama, will air as first-run exclusives in the UK.

 

Zone-TV struck a content licensing agreement with Endemol Shine Group that brings a wide range of new programming to its zone-fy multi-channel service, including Mr Bean and Bananas in Pyjamas. The deal also includes digital-first short-form content covering cooking, e-sports and fashion.

 

CBC Sports and MEDIAPRO Canada announced a partnership that will see live coverage of 20 games through the 2019 season of Canada’s new tier-one men’s professional soccer league, the Canadian Premiere League, on CBC Sports platforms.

RATINGS

 

Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions) Wednesday, April 17 time period averages

Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated Live+SD

CBS: 6.06 million

Survivor 7.83, Amazing Race 5.80, SEAL Team 4.55

NBC: 3.87 million

Chicago Med 4.31, Chicago Fire 3.86, Chicago P.D. 3.43

FOX: 3.54 million

Empire 3.79, Star 3.28

ABC: 2.76 million

The Goldbergs 3.28, Schooled 2.69, Modern Family 2.77, Single Parents 2.24, Whiskey Cavalier 2.84

TELE: 0.95 million

Exatlon Estados Unidos 0.90, Betty en NY 0.99, La Reina del Sur 0.96

UNI: 0.84 million

Jesus 0.99, Dona Flor y Sus Dos Maridos 0.77, Por Amar Sin Ley 0.76

CW: 0.76 million

Riverdale 0.83, Jane the Virgin 0.69

 

Wednesday A18-49: CBS 1.1/5, FOX 1.0/5, ABC 0.6/3, NBC 0.6/3, TELE 0.5/3, UNI 0.3/2, CW 0.2/2

 

 

EXECUTIVE MOVES

 

Lauren Corrao joined Freeform asExecutiveVice President, Original Programming and Development. She was most recently Co-President of Tornante TV.

 

Paul O’Malley was named Vice President of Development and Casting at 3 Ball Entertainment. He last served as Vice President of Development at Authentic Entertainment.

 

CBS News hired Jose Andino in the newly created role of Senior Vice President Human Resources.

Friday Fun Fact: Ostriches have the biggest eyes in the entire animal kingdom.

 

This Day in History: 1987 – The Simpsons premiered on Fox.

 

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question: Which 1960s detective series was changed to a spy drama in its third, and last, season? Burke’s Law (1963-1966) became Amos Burke Secret Agent. Kudos to: Andrew Goldman-Fathom Events/NYC; Joel Zaremby-The Workplace/Bridgeport, CT; Ted Linhart-NBCU/NYC; Jack Hodgson-Oklahoma State University/Stillwater, OK; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/Los Angeles, CA.

 

Today’s Trivia Question: Which famous singer/comedian/actor guest-starred as an insurance agent on The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (1969-1972)? (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.)

 

JOB OF THE DAY

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MGR, INT’L REVENUE PLANNING & ANALYSIS
A+E
NY

Mgmt of the revenue plng, analysis & acctg processes; database mgmt, trademark acctg & sales admin. BS/BA in Acctg, Min of 7 yrs exp in public or private acctg, knowledge of revenue recognition acctg principles.

Apply HERE

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STAFF ACCOUNTANT /A+E/NY: Produce financial tracking, reporting and payment of A+E activities in regard to programming, production, net ops & other contractual obligations. BS/BA in Acctg, strong Excel skills, familiarity w/Acctg software, detailed oriented. Apply HERE (5/3)

MGR, INT’L REVENUE PLANNING & ANALYSIS / A+E/NY: Mgmt of the revenue plng, analysis & acctg processes; database mgmt, trademark acctg & sales admin.  BS/BA in Acctg, Min of 7 yrs exp in public or private acctg, knowledge of revenue recognition acctg principles. Apply HERE (5/3)

SR BUSINESS ANALYST, GLOBAL CONSUMER PRODUCTS BUSINESS OPERATIONS /Viacom/NYC: Operate as a domain expert for Consumer Products (CP) financial & contract mngmnt processes, solutions & operations related to current bus. platforms. Biz degree & systems exp a +. 3-5 yrs meaningful CP global licensing ind work exp. Full info HERE   (5/3)

CRASH PRODUCER /NBCU/NYC:  Late show producer for the Today Show. Produce orig news content, primarily brdcst, incl rsrch, conducting interviews, writing/editing scripts, field producing & shooting/overseeing editing. Extensive exp working in edit room & 4+yrs editorial exp working in prod ntwk level, pref with morning TV. Full info HERE   (5/2)

AD SALES ACCOUNT EXEC /Crown Media Family Networks/LA:  Sell Nat’l advertising time to established and prospective clients. Strong negotiation skills and presentation skills. Strong knowledge of Los Angeles mktplace. Established relationships with automotive and tech clients.  BA/BS req & Min 2 yrs exp. Apply HERE (5/2)

EXECUTIVE/PERSONAL ASSISTANT/OFFICE MGR /Two Cats Productions/NYC : Support Sr. Producer and overall office in small prodco. Phones, filing, supplies, calendars, inventory, bookkeeping, shipping, payroll. Some travel. Must be able to drive crew van in NYC. WORD/EXCEL a must. 2+ yrs. exp. Resume and cover letter HERE  (5/2)

SR ANALYST, ANALYTICS & INSIGHTS /Viacom/NYC: Responsible for supporting the data and dvlpmnt of dashboards across the Viacom portfolio. Exp in digital mktg data & an agile dvlpmnt envir. 2-4 yrs media reporting & analytics w/hands-on exp across mult clients, pref from a media agency or ent-based org. Full info HERE (5/2)

SR MEDIA SALES EXEC /United Esports/LA: Exp’d & motivated SR sales person to generate business dvlpmnt opps, from established & prospective clients, by devising/ implementing novel & time-tested sales & mktg strategies. 3-10 yrs exp as an Acct exec in business dvlpmnt, media sales, or advertising sales. Esports knwlg a +. Full info HERE   (5/2)

 

SR ANALYTICS, SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYTICS/Viacom/NYC: Monitor/report/analyzeperformance of content across VIMN properties on dig. media platforms, primarily social. 3-5 yrs exp providing digital/social rsrch analytics/data to Sr partners. Strong comm skills & understanding of digital metrics & the wider digital industry. Full info HERE (5/1)

MANAGER, RESEARCH & STRATEGY/NBCU/NYC: Highly motivated/pro-active, organized, and detail-oriented candidate w/3+ yrs TV research exp to Report on NBCU and competitive performance to senior management across a variety of metrics – both linear and digital. Tableau a + Full info HERE (5/1)

MULTI PLATFORM RESEARCH ANALYST/NBCU USA & SYFY/NYC: Resp for regular reporting of TV & multiplatform audience metrics to internal stakeholders incl progrmng/scheduling, mktg, press & finance. 2+yrs exp audience rsch for media co. or ad agency (includes internships). Advanced excel/PP skills a must. Full info HERE  (5/1)

DIRECTOR  PUBLIC RELATIONS/AMC/LA : Resp for helping dvlp/implement various comms strategies to support the network’s ratings, business & branding goals. Working daily w/ full PR teams NY & LA to increase brand awareness & drive tune-in through the creation of comprehensive comms strategies/strategic promotions/partnerships. Full info HERE   (4/30)

MGR, GLOBAL CONSUMER INSIGHTS /Viacom/NYC:  Lead certain consumer insights projects and support others on behalf of Viacom’s suite of brands Help support the team’s responsibility for providing consumer-driven insights on the rapidly changing, complex media and entertainment landscape. 4+yrs consumer insights exp, media landscape a + Full info HERE (4/30)

SR MANAGER PUBLICITY /A + E Networks/NYC:  Responsible for the development and implementation of public relations campaigns resulting in positive media placement. Candidate will be responsible for all aspects of a project launch and on-going publicity support. Min 7 yrs experience in entertainment publicity. Full info HERE   (4/30)

SYSTEMS ENGINEER, BROADCAST MEDIA TECHNOLOGY/Fox News/NYC: Resp for providing top-layer support & maintenance to our large infrastructure of media & brdcst systems. 3+ yrs of system maintenance exp w/proven expertise in media & systems support. Admin support Window 10, Windows Server 2012 & 2016 platforms Full info HERE (4/27)

MGR, MARKETING & MEDIA INSIGHTS/Viacom/NYC: Conduct rsrch & dvlpg aud insights through a variety of qualitative/quantitative methodologies, incl Nielsen data analytics for Comedy Central, Paramount Ntwk & TV Land. 3-5 yrs related rsrch exp incl mktg & creative & Content Rsrch, preferably at a TV brand. Full info HERE (4/27)

PUBLICITY & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER/The Jim Henson Company/LA: Create/execute dynamic & impactful traditional publicity plans as well as cross-platform social media initiatives that support the Company’s productions, corp comm and bus. Exceptional writing, organization skills, and attention to details a must. Full info HERE (4/26)

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)

SENIOR DESIGNER/REELZ/Albuquerque: Design and execute on-air graphics, digital/social media and print. Must have 3-5 yrs experience with AE, Photoshop, Illustrator. C4D and InDesign a plus. Strong design sense is essential. Relocation package. Full info HERE (4/25)

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)

COORDINATOR, INTEGRATED MARKETING/Tennis Channel/NYC: Provide marketing support to the Ad Sales team in NY, CHI & LA. Dvlp, activate & execute monetizable & innovative multi-platform mktg solutions for new & existing sponsors. Ideally 1-2 yrs exp in sports mktg, media, or advertising. Full info HERE (4/21)

WHAT'S ON TONIGHT - FRIDAY APRIL 19

ABC: NBA Countdown, NBA Basketball

CBS: I Love Lucy Funny Money Special, Hawaii Five-0, Blue Bloods

CW: Dynasty,Who’s Line Is It Anyway?, Who’s Line Is It Anyway

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, Dona Flor y Sus Dos Maridos, Por Amar Sin Ley