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Today’s Premieres
Apple TV+: The Big Door Prize
CW: Riverdale at 9p
Fuse: Like a Girl at 10p
Netflix: Wellmania; Emergency: NYC; Unseen
TBS: All Elite Wrestling: All Access at 10p

IN THE NEWS

Season two of buzzy Showtime drama “Yellowjackets” premiered with nearly 2 million viewers across platforms, the best season two premiere for the network in more than 10 years and nearly double the series premiere audience. “By tapping into our proven strategy of promoting series across our full portfolio of brands at Paramount Media Networks, we successfully broadened the reach and brought new viewers into this incredible series,” said Chris McCarthy, President/CEO, Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks.

Also off to a great start is HBO’s “Succession.” The season four premiere delivered a series high 2.3 million viewers across linear and HBO Max. Total viewing for Sunday night was up 62% compared to last season’s premiere (1.4 million) and 33% compared to last season’s finale (1.7 million), with season 3 episodes going on to average 7.2 million viewers per episode across platforms.

The Disney division tasked with developing metaverse strategies has been laid off, reports The Wall Street Journal. About 50 team members lost their jobs, part of a restructuring that is expected to eliminate 7000 jobs in total. Mike White, promoted in February 2022 by former Disney CEO Bob Chapek to head the unit, remains at the company.

OOH advertising revenue increased 20.7% in 2022 compared to the previous year, with 2022 outpacing the previous record set in 2019, reports the OAAA. A key driver for the year, the digital out of home segment jumped 24.2% compared to 2021. The news aligns with recent research from MAGNA, which showed that OOH produced greater growth than any other core ad medium in the past year.

Moving to 2023, digital ad spend dipped 2% in January and February of this year, according to Standard Media Index. While ad networks/exchanges saw a 2% lift, that wasn’t enough to make up for declines in digital video, search, general content and social media sites. Overall US ad spending was down 6.9%.

Adult Swim ordered a second season of “Royal Crackers,” ahead of the animated comedy’s premiere this Sunday. “Television has done a great job exploring how families clash over the fate of oil, media or cattle empires, but until now, no one has had the courage to address the savory snack food industry,” said Michael Ouweleen, President of Adult Swim and Cartoon Network.

“Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” has been renewed for season three and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” for season five by Paramount+. “Strange New Worlds” is set to return June 15, while animated “Lower Decks” is expected in late summer.

Dominion Voting Systems wants to call Fox News executives and hosts as witnesses in its $1.6 billion defamation case against FNC, according to court filings. Among those on the potential list are Fox News chief executive Suzanne Scott; Fox News President Jay Wallace; hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo, Laura Ingraham, and Bret Baier; former executive Bill Sammon and politics editor Chris Stirewalt; and former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who alleged Fox News lawyers coerced her into providing misleading testimony. Both Fox News and Dominion have asked Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis to be declared the winner without going to trial. Said Fox News in a statement, “Dominion’s needlessly expansive live witness list is yet another attempt to generate headlines and distract from the many shortcomings of its case. Ultimately, this case is about the First Amendment protections of the media’s absolute right to cover the news.”

Will season 12 of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” be its last? In a since-deleted tweet, producer Jon Hayman posted a behind-the-scenes photo from the comedy along with the message, “Maybe you love the show. Maybe you hate the show. Maybe you don’t give a s–t. In any event, shooting the last scene of the last episode of the final season.” Robert B. Weide, a director and producer during the show’s first five seasons, also posted on Twitter, with two photos, captioned, “1st day: March 1998. Last day(?): March 27, 2023. These 25 years have flown by…What a trip.”

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FILL OUT PROFILE

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Universal Television is developing a series adaptation of the Diane Marie Brown novel Black Candle Women, following four generations of women with a family curse. Jenna Bush Hager (“Today”) and her Thousand Voices are teaming with Carla Banks Waddles (“Bel Air”) and Jenna Bans (“Good Girls”) on the project.

For his next act, former “The Daily Show” host Trevor Noah will host Prime Video’s remake of “LOL: Last One Laughing,” the streamer’s first South African original. Produced by Rapid Blue and Noah’s Day Zero Productions, the updated format will have South African talent compete for charity.

Tomorrow Studios has acquired the just-released Jeannette Walls novel Hang the Moon, set amid secrets and scandals in a small town. Boo Killebrew (“Physical”) will write the television adaptation.

Netflix has ordered “Man on Fire,” from writer/executive producer Kyle Killen, New Regency Productions, and Chernin Entertainment. The drama series adaptation is based on A.J. Quinnel’s Man on Fire and The Perfect Kill. Denzel Washington played the lead role in the 2004 film.

Showrunner Bruce Miller is stepping down for the sixth and final season of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” to work on the TV adaptation of author Margaret Atwood book sequel “The Testaments.” Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang, executive producers and writers on “The Handmaid’s Tale, have been elevated to co-showrunners.

Mike Fleiss is leaving ABC’s “The Bachelor” after 21 years. Claire Freeland, Jason Ehrlich, and executive producer Bennett Graebner take the reins as executive producers and showrunners. “I want to thank WBTV and ABC for 21 extraordinary years,” said Fleiss, who created the reality show. “They’ve found the perfect creative team for me to entrust ‘The Bachelor’ franchise and keep this lightning in a bottle bold and moving forward. Let the journey continue.”

ViX and Reconexión Productions have partnered for travel docuseries “Reconexión: Mexico,” hosted by Mexican-American actor Aarón Díaz (“Quantico”) in his quest to visit all states in Mexico. The 10-episode docuseries is produced by Aarón Díaz, Tim Sexton, and Fernando Mills, co-founders of Reconexión Productions.

British TV and film producer Richard Johns, founder of Argo Films, has established a new production label with director E. Elias Merhige. UK-based Promethean Pictures launches with a slate of TV and film projects in development, the first of which is survival story “Howl.”

WildBrain has signed an agreement to acquire animation pre-production company House of Cool. House of Cool co-founders Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis will be joining WildBrain Studios in the newly created roles of Co-General Managers of House of Cool, reporting to Josh Scherba, President of WildBrain, who heads up the Company’s content and studio business.

Sky has canceled historical drama “Brittania” after three seasons – leaving fans with a whopper of a cliffhanger, with Cait joining Aulus in Rome. Season one aired on Prime Video in the US, while seasons two and three were streamed by Epix.

Belfast-based studio Sixteen South and Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana have optioned and are co-developing and co-producing “A Horse Named Steve”, a new 2D animated series based on the picture book by Kelly Collier. The series will show the importance of friendship, teamwork and appreciating one’s true self.

UPFRONT UPDATE

The benefits of live viewing, integrations, and original programming are selling points for Game Show Network and Sony Pictures Television this Upfront season. GSN boasts over 275 hours of shows, up 26% versus the year prior, with orders for new strip series “Split Second,” hosted by John Michael Higgins (“America Says”); comedic game show “Blank Slate,” hosted by Mario Lopez (“Access Hollywood”); “Riddiculous” (w/t), based on the UK game of riddles; and “Hey Yahoo!”, hosted by Tom Cavanagh (“Ed”). “Game Show Network continues to deliver live viewing levels that rival both sports and news,” said Stuart Zimmerman, EVP, Ad Sales for Sony Pictures Television and GSN. “The benefit to our advertisers is that game shows as a genre have over a 90% completion retention when viewing commercials, and Game Show Network is the destination for viewers. There’s no breaking news or split screens to disrupt this experience. Clients expect a safe harbor in a trusted environment and Game Show Network delivers.”

STREAMING

NewsON, the free OTT streaming service for local news content, has added the Raleigh-Durham DMA to its platform, with the addition of WRAL News+, Capitol Broadcasting Company’s new 24/7 streaming news station.

Big Media, the factual production company and channel provider, has signed an agreement with RCTV International Corp. to become the exclusive distribution partner to parent company RCTV’s catalog for FAST and AVOD platforms worldwide. Big Media will distribute over 7000 hours of telenovelas to streaming platforms around the world and serve as the exclusive distributor of RCTV’s catalogue for all forms of broadcast in Europe and Asia.

SPORTS ROUNDUP

Sportradar announced the integration of its ad:s technology into Snapchat, creating a new channel for betting operators to engage and acquire customers using the sports technology company’s paid social media advertising service. Snapchat’s advanced age and location targeting capabilities ensure that only legally qualified audiences are reached.

Digital activation is an effective way to generate engagement among sports fans, according to UK sports data firm Horizm, with fantasy sport ranking highest (6.65%), followed closely by apparel (6.42%) and e-commerce (6.01%). Soccer continues to dominate the sporting landscape, boasting 16 of the 25 most followed leagues in world sport. The Premier League and La Liga performed the strongest with more than 863 million and 735 million followers and ?566m and ?420m in value generated respectively. Cristiano Ronaldo (800 million), Lionel Messi (over 500 million) and Neymar (over 350 million) ranking highest for individual athlete audience size.

The first Casamigos Tequila MLB Network Showcase telecast will be on Opening Day presented by Chevrolet featuring the San Francisco Giants visiting the New York Yankees on Thursday, March 30 at 1:05p, with Matt Vasgersian (play-by-play), Tom Verducci (analyst) and Jon Morosi (reporter) on the call from Yankee Stadium.

Bleacher Report is holding two sponsored shows from Houston as part of its coverage of the Final Four. On Sunday at 8:30p, House of Highlights will wrap up the inaugural season of the Creator League with the Creator League 2v2 Finals sponsored by Samsung Galaxy. The event will be streamed live on YouTube from Houston. And for both the Final Four and National Championship game B/R will produce a l livestream watch-along in the B/R app and B/R YouTube channel hosted by Adam Lefkoe. Wendy’s Final Four CouchCast will feature Lefkoe alongside Tyler Hansbrough and Robbie Hummel for a live reaction show streamed from NRG Arena. On Monday, the team will be joined by Ashley Shahamadi for the Wendy’s National Championship CouchCast.

Professional wrestler and fitness superstar Natalie Eva Marie has joined the TYR Sport roster as an official athlete ambassador for the brand. Marie is the only wrestler to make it to the main roster of Monday Night Smackdown almost immediately after being discovered through a Diva Search.

TECH TALK

Comscore announced the expansion of “Pulse,” which provides agencies, brands, and media companies with 48-hour TV measurement nationally and in all 210 US media markets. Comscore describes the expanded offering as the first-of-its-kind; previously the industry only had access to timely reporting from the top 60 media markets, 35 of which now also receive advertising campaign pacing or demo-viewing levels. “Our measurement is now the only solution to report viewing in 48 hours for every local TV market, and nationally with the same single source methodology regardless of the market,” said Comscore CRO Carol Hinnant.

Integral Ad Science’s Publisher Optimization Solution is now available within the Amazon Publisher Services Connections Marketplace. With IAS Publisher Optimization, publishers can automatically optimize ad delivery down to the placement level for both direct and programmatic deals, and, as a result, increase inventory yield with greater alignment with their advertisers’ brand safety and suitability priorities. The integration is the first of its kind on a publishing-services platform.

Starting April 15, only verified accounts will be eligible to be in Twitter’s “For You” discovery feed. “It’s the only realistic way to address advanced AI bot swarms taking over,” tweeted Elon Musk. “It is otherwise a hopeless losing battle.”

COMING UP

FX’s “The Secrets of Hillsong,” a docuseries that explores the megachurch, will feature the first interviews with former pastors Carl and Laura Lentz since they were removed from the church. The show launches Friday, May 19 at 10p with the first two episodes; the final two air May 26.

Fresh TV, CAKE, Corus Entertainment’s Cartoon Network Canada and Cartoon Network US have teamed for a new Total Dramarama special, “A Very Special Special That’s Quite Special.” The 40-minute adventure premieres on Cartoon Network in the US on April 15 at 10a and on Cartoon Network and Teletoon+ in Canada April 22 at 7p.

GOING GLOBAL

Comedian, writer, amateur astronomer and astrophotographer Dara O? Briain will explore aspects of the moon in a two-part series produced by BBC Studios Science Unit for Channel 5: “Dara O? Briain: Secrets of Our Moon” (w/t).

Autentic Distribution has over 120 hours of new factual content on its spring slate, including two titles examining the war in Ukraine: “Against All Odds,” and “Weaponized Wheat.”

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RATINGS

Hallmark Channel’s Spring into Love stunt kicked off on Saturday night with the film “A Picture of Her,” helping establish Hallmark Channel as entertainment cable’s #1 most-watched network of the weekend among Women 18+. The film was entertainment cable’s #1 most-watched program of the week among Women and Persons 18+ on a Live+SD basis.

In syndication the week of March 23, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” delivered a 0.9 National Household rating for the second consecutive week and the third time in the last four weeks and increasing +13% (0.9 vs. 0.8) vs. the same week last year. The show averaged 1,363,000 Daily Viewers for the week increasing +8% (1,363,000 vs. 1,259,000) vs. the prior week and increasing +18% (1,363,000 vs. 1,156,000) vs. the same week last year.

The season one finale of HBO’s “The Last of Us” has reached more than 3 million Sky viewers, the biggest finale audience for a freshman US series ever on the net. The series is the most-watched HBO Max show ever in Europe and Latin America.

Fox Business Network posted year-over-year growth across the board in 1Q23, up 2% in business day viewers and 4% in market hour viewers (207,000) year-over-year. The net’s total day viewership averaged 130,000 total viewers, up 5% year-over-year.

Basic Cable Top 10 for the week of March 23
Network, P2+ AA (000s)
Primetime
Fox News 2094
TBS 1543
MSNBC 1135
ESPN 1114
HGTV 910
TNT 905
History 732
INSP 730
Hallmark Channel 678
Food Network 659
Total Day
Fox News 1319
MSNBC 701
ESPN 549
TBS 535
HGTV 467
CNN 425
Hallmark Channel 404
INSP 393
Food Network 376
TNT 370
Source: Nielsen

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Monday, March 27
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: The Bachelor 3.40 (0.6),
CBS: The Young & Restless Anniversary 2.84 (0.3), NCIS 3.18 (0.2), NCIS: Hawai’I 3.14 (0.3)
CW: All American 0.48 (0.1), All American: Homecoming 0.36 (0.1)
FOX: iHeartRadio 1.89 (0.4)
ION: FBI 1.09 (0.1), FBI 1.04 (0.1), FBI 1.06 (0.1)
NBC: The Voice 6.32 (0.6), Quantum Leap 2.25 (0.3)
Telemundo: La Casa de los Famosos 1.27 (0.3), El Señor de los Cielos 1.14 (0.4), Juego de Mentiras 0.68 (0.2)
Univision: Perdona Nuestros Pecados 1.34 (0.4), Mi Camino es Amarte 1.67 (0.5), Cabo 1.30 (0.3)

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Tanya Giles is stepping down as chief programming officer at Paramount+. Giles, who has been at the company for 28 years, was named to the position in 2021.

Angela C. Santomero is exiting as Chief Creative Officer after 5 years at 9 Story Media Group. She will continue to work with 9 Story and its animation studio Brown Bag Films, and has been retained in an ongoing consulting capacity.

Curiosity Inc. has named Tom Pope to the role of Vice President, Advertising and Sponsorships. Prior to joining Curiosity, Pope held executive roles at Discovery Communications, Animal Planet, and Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Circa news network.

Maximiliane Prokop will join Bavaria Fiction as executive producer based in Berlin on April 1. Prokop most recently worked as a producer at X Filme Creative Pool on the ZDF series “Doktor Ballouz.”

BossaNovahas named Claire Runham as its new head of acquisitions. Runham joins from Beyond Rights, which acquired Heaney’s TCB Media Rights in April 2020.

Ryan D’Arcy has joined Compadre as Director of Client Partnerships. D’Arcy was previously at Liquid+Arcade.

Adform has hired Joseph Dressler as VP of Sales, America. Dressler joins from Quotient Technology where he was Regional Vice President of Retail.

Group gaming platform Immersive Gamebox has named Katie Davidson as Commercial Director. Davidson joins IGB from Secret Cinema.

Fanatics Betting and Gaming has tapped Hank Couture to serve as Chief Operating Officer. Couture was most recently VP at DoorDash.

IN MEMORIAM

Royal Blakeman, former president of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, died March 26. He was 99. Blakeman served as national president of NATAS from 1966-68. “Our Academy has lost a member of its founding generation,” said NATAS chairman Terry O’Reilly. “Royal Blakeman was a part of the fabric of the broadcasting industry at its most burgeoning time. He helped shape how several academies celebrate excellence across media today and for generations to come.”

This Day in History
1981 – President Ronald Reagan was shot by John W. Hinckley, Jr.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which TV detective’s antagonist is Dr. Claw? Inspector Gadget. Kudos to: Rosemary Cunningham-MeTV/Chicago; Amit Singh-Scripps/NYC; Ken DuBow-Access Entertainment/LA; David Westberg-SAG-AFTRA Credit Union/Burbank; Erin Bowles-American Public Television/Boston; Sean Meenah-CoxReps/NYC; Gary Feldman-Publicis Media/NYC; Maggie Takei-Direct Donor TV/Paducah, KY; Luke Watson-Bright Moments/LA; Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago; David Garber-Loyola Marymount University/Playa Vista, CA; Scott Deaner-Horizon Media/NYC; Adam Leston-Weigel Broadcasting/Milwaukee

Today’s Trivia Question
What was the first programming to air on Turner Network Television? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)

Cynopsis Team