PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT
UK comedian Katherine Ryan has two projects at Netflix: single mom comedy The Duchess, which she’ll write, exec produce and star in, and stand-up special Glitter Room.
Pulse Films, producer or Shut Up and Play The Hits, and Paramount Television optioned the rights to Dan Hancox’s book Inner City with plans to adapt it for TV, reports Deadline. It explores the story of the British music genre that helped launch the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Stormy and Skepta.
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment announced that the Boniuk Foundation will sponsor a fourth season of series Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Hidden Heroes, the series that shines a bright light on everyday people doing good deeds. Production will be completed in 2018 and begin airing in 2019.
NEW & RETURNING SERIES
Adam Savage returns to television as host and executive producer of MythBusters Jr., when the new Science Channel series premieres on Wednesday, January 2 at 9p. in the 10-episode series, Savage teams with six of the nation’s leading young whiz kids, all under the age of 16.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine premieres its new season on Thursday, January 10 at 9p on NBC, taking over the time slot currently held by Will & Grace. Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming The Titan Games is being rescheduled for Thursdays at 8p. The two shows’ arrivals mean an overhaul of NBC’s Thursday night programming block, with The Good Place and Will & Grace getting new time periods.
COMING UP
ABC News takes an up-close look at Meghan Markle’s royal beginnings as the Duchess of Sussex in primetime special Meghan’s New Life: The Real Princess Diaries. Special airs Thursday, November 22 at 9p.
FOX News Channel presents Modern Warriors: A Veterans Day Special on Sunday, November 11 at 8. Hosted by FOX & Friends Weekend co-host Peter Hegseth, the one-hour special features veterans who will share their war stories, thoughts on today’s military, the reason why they served, and what Veteran’s Day means to them.
Bravo Media’s Shahs of Sunset is headed for a revealing reunion. The feisty friend group, Golnesa “GG” Gharachedaghi, Mercedes “MJ” Javid, Destiney Rose, Mike Shouhed, Reza Farahan and newcomer Nema Vand, join host Andy Cohen startingThursday, November 15 at 9p. Part 2 airs Thursday, November 29 at 9p.
Suspense film Legal Action premieres on INSP Saturday, November 10 at 8p. Legal thriller from INSP Films centers on a big-city lawyer who takes on the case of his ex-wife’s brother.
Turner’s Sports exclusive coverage of Capital One’s The Match: Tiger vs. Phil, the pay-per-view event featuring Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will incorporate some innovative concepts into the life golf presentation, including first-of-its-kind integrations centered on predictive data. Match takes place Friday, November 23 at 12p.
Giuliana Rancic and Jason Kennedy will co-host E!’s Live From the Red Carpet: The 2018 People’s Choice Awards on Sunday, November 11 at 7p. Awards show kicks off at 9p.
SOCIAL GOOD
In honor of Veteran’s Day, History has partnered with CIGNA for a new “Century of Courage” campaign to support Cigna’s free national Veteran Support Line. “Century of Courage” is a custom-branded content and short form series featuring stories of veterans and veteran caregivers. The campaign was produced by CIGNA and features Master Sgt. Cedric King, who lost both legs upon stepping on an IED in Afghanistan and, after relearning to walk, has gone on to become a competitive marathon runner. Series is now live and runs through the end of November across linear, digital and social platforms.
PODCAST POSTS
Team Coco is launching a weekly Conan O’Brien podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, on Monday, November 19 with guest Will Ferrell. In partnership with Earwolf, Stitcher’s comedy podcast network, it will run for 36 weeks and feature big names in entertainment, music and more. Upcoming featured guests include Kristen Bell, Bill Burr, Marc Maron, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Dax Shepard and Wanda Sykes.
CASTING
HBO’s Watchmen has a new series regular: Jean Smart willl be playing an FBI agent… Robin Givens has been tapped for a major recurring role on ABC legal drama The Fix, according to Deadline…Hulu’s Veronica Mars revival added Max Greenfield (The Neighborhood, New Girl), who’ll reprise his original role, and Patton Oswalt (Happy!)… Jeremy Irvine (War Horse, Mamma Mia 2) and Brian J. Smith (Sense8) nabbed leas in USA Network’s straight-to-series drama Treadstone… The cast of upcoming BBC One drama Noughts + Crosses will include Jack Rowan (Peaky Blinders), Paterson Joseph (Timeless), Helen Blaxendale (Cold Feet) and Shaun Dingwall (The Long Firm).
DIGITAL DATA
International publishing brand L’Officiel is announcing La Liste, a digital platform and global community that uses blockchain technology to create a new commercial relationship, a three-way street, between L’Officiel (the media brand), taste makers (the luxury consumer) and L’Officiel’s brand partners (the marketers). Taste makers will be rewarded for their influence and engagement on the platform via Taste Tokens, which they can spend on products from up to 100 brand partners including Chanel, Michael Kors, Dior and Salvatore Ferragamo. “Taste Tokens are the first currency that value and commoditize people’s taste – that which defines the fashion and luxury lifestyle industry”, Bejamin Eymere, L’Officiel’s CEO tells Cynopsis. “It’s the right time to launch La Liste and Taste Tokens because, now more than ever, people want to be rewarded for what they bring to the table – and for the taste makers it is their taste, for the audience it’s their data.”
Bruin Sports Capital’s Deltatre has struck a deal to buy OTT software company Massive Interactive. Together, the companies will be the largest independent OTT solution provider in the world. Massive’s UX management console, AXIS, underpins sports entertainment OTT streaming services for the BBC Worldwide, Bell Media, Channel 5, Telecine, Sony Pictures Television, DR and more.
Discovery platform Taboola struck an exclusive three-year partnership with Tribune Publishing Company, bringing the Taboola Feed its digital audiences. The deal builds on an existing partnership between Taboola and Tribune Publishing with the goal of increasing user engagement and generating revenue across its digital portfolio. Under the partnership, Tribune Publishing will launch Taboola Feed on all digital properties, which include the Chicago Tribune, the Baltimore Sun and the Orlando Sentinel.
DPAA, the organization for everything digital out-of-home, announced today that Mimo Monitors has joined the association. Mimo Monitors, established in 2008, is a global expert and industry leader in small touchscreen monitors, displays and tablets. The goal of DPAA is to serve as a business accelerator and concierge/consultant for members.
Parks Associates released an updated list of the top 10 subscription over-the-top video service in the U.S. market, base on estimated number of subscribers. Netflix, Amazon and Hulu remain in the top three slots, while HBO Now and Starz cracked the top five.
Rankings are as follow: Netflix, Prime Video Users (Amazon Prime), Hulu (SVoD), HBO Now, Starz, MLB.TV, Showtime CBS All Access, Sling TV and DirecTV Now. Brett Sappington, Senior Director of Research, Parks Associates, noted that the company leading OTT video subscription service remains a topic of debate. “According to our estimates, Amazon has more Prime Members than Netflix has subscribers. However, when you consider only those Prime Members that use Prime Video, Netflix is the largest,” said Sappington, adding that “Hulu remains the third largest, but continues to grow its subscriber base.”
GSTV, the company that put TVs running ads at gas station pumps in some 200 markets nationwide, has upped its analytics to give advertisers data about who’s pumping gas and what they’re up to. Most people gassing up are headed home, to work or shopping, and when it’s the latter, GSTV reports that viewers spend 1.7x more in the hours right after fueling their car. Hence, GSTV notes that putting a message before consumers, who are off to shop, is a good place for an advertiser to advertise.
BRANDING
NBC has teamed with Universal Brand Development and the LEGO Group for the debut of LEGO Jurassic World: The Secret Exhibit, slated to air on Thursday, November 29 at 8p. The animated special’s story, inspired by the Jurassic World franchise, takes place before the adventures of Jurassic World 2016. The two-part special will be available to stream on November 30, after its NBC broadcast, across multiple platforms, including the NBC app and NBC.com, as well as on Hulu and On Demand.
ADVERTISING
Guac talk: Avocadoes from Mexico confirmed it is airing a 30-second spot during the Super Bowl, its fifth straight year at the big game. “We have some very exciting things in store for the campaign this year, a complete 360 approach that will execute from all aspects from our collective team, going bigger than we ever have for the big game,” said Kevin Hamilton, senior director of marketing. “We look at it as a build on the story that's been four years in the making. This year's theme is the needle that threads all our past campaigns.” Super Bowl airs Sunday, February 3 on CBS.
GOING GLOBAL
Discovery, the PGA Tour and Jupiter Golf Network, a subsidiary of Jupiter Telecommunications Co., Japan’s largest operator of cable television and program supply business, inked an agreement that will see live PGA Tour coverage featured on Golf Network, as well as the ambition to develop a broader digital ecosystem leveraging GolfTV’s digital content. Japanese viewers will have access to live action on the Golf Network linear channel and simulcast coverage via its Golf Network Plus App, including the PGA Tour’s biggest tournaments.
STARZPLAY premium streaming service is set to launch on Virgin Media in the UK on November 29, giving customers the opportunity to watch STARZ series all in one place. Future STARZ Originals will launch exclusively on STARZPLAY the same day as in the U.S., including Season 2 of Counterpart, starring J.K. Simmons.
