Thursday September 9, 2021

Today’s Finale
HGTV: Christina on the Coast at 9p

IN THE NEWS

IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said the $94 million four-day take for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is proof that people want to go to theaters again – as well as “an answer to the experiment” of the day-and-date streaming of films. “We release it in the theatrical window and if it’s a good movie people are going to come in pretty good numbers — for ‘Shang-Chi,’ record numbers,” Gelfond said during a CNBC interview. He also suggested the pent-up demand for moviegoing has been “a little bit masked” by hybrid day-and-date releases and piracy.

CNN senior correspondent Richard Roth sent a note to company employees asking for help getting a kidney donation. “I write to say I need your help. Urgently. To save my life,” wrote Roth in the email. Roth received a kidney donation from a deceased donor 23 years ago, but said the “valiant kidney is now rapidly dying inside me…. I need an organ donation soon. Jeff Zucker has graciously allowed me to send this note.” Roth asked readers to “please spread this appeal to your friends/family or anyone you can think of.”

Most ad spots for the next year’s Super Bowl on NBC have been sold, according to Dan Lovinger, EVP of Ad Sales for NBC Sports Group. Prices are up 18% versus last year’s game on CBS, when advertisers wary of COVID-19 took a break. “It’s fairly slim pickings,” said Lovinger during a conference call. “What we’ve tried to do is hold back a couple of units that are next to each other so that, if an advertiser comes to us with a 60-second creative, we can accommodate it. But other than that, we really are out of A positions.”

Media companies including NBCUniversal and Discovery Inc. are being urged by a coalition of rights groups to cancel broadcasting deals for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. “All of your companies are at serious risk of being complicit in China’s plan to ‘sport wash’ the severe and worsening human rights abuses and embolden the actions of the Chinese authorities,” said an open letter from groups representing minorities in China, including Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kong residents and others. The International Olympics Committee chose Beijing as the site for next year’s Games in 2015, after European bids pulled out.

“First Wives Club” scored a season three renewal from BET+. The dramedy has opened a writers room, but Scott Rudin, who executive produced the series’ first two seasons (as well as the movie on which it is based) stepped back from his projects in April following abuse allegations.

Fox is not renewing reality series “Labor of Love” for a second go-round. The show centered on a former “Bachelor” contestant auditioning men to be the father of her future children.

While the search for a new “Jeopardy!” host continues, Sony Pictures Television is taking no chances with “Wheel of Fortune” hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White. A new deal keeps them on the game show throughout the 2023-24 season, with Sajak adding consulting producer to his credits. Jim Thornton, celebrating his 10th anniversary with the show, will now be featured at a new podium on stage as he introduces Sajak and White. And In the game show’s digital space, Maggie Sajak, Pat’s daughter, will be joining the show as Social Correspondent.

The batch of contestants for season 30 of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was announced Wednesday on “Good Morning America.” Among the contenders: Spice Girl Melanie C; Amanda Kloots (“The Talk”); WWE’s Mike “The Miz” Mizanin; social media star – and daughter of Lori Loughlin – Olivia Jade; and Peleton instructor Cody Rigsby. The competition starts Monday, September 20 at 8p.

Bob Odenkirk is back on the Albuquerque set of AMC’s “Better Call Saul” after suffering a heart attack in late July. “So happy to be here and living this specific life surrounded by such good people,” tweeted the actor on Wednesday, with a photo from the makeup chair.

Taking it to the streets: Macy’s will usher in the holiday season with a Thanksgiving Day Parade that has pandemic-era safety precautions (vaccines, masks), but more closely resembles parades of yore than last year’s crowd-less event. “For our 95th celebration, we are delighted to return this cherished holiday tradition closer to its original form as we march down the streets of New York City and into the homes of a nationwide audience,” said Will Coss, Executive Producer of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. NBC will once again televise the proceedings.

As part of Nickelodeon’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of “Blue’s Clues,” Steve Burns, original host of the kids’ show, explained his sudden departure in 2002, acknowledging the impact it had on his young fans. In a video posted to Nick Jr.’s Twitter account, Burns says, “One day, I was like, ‘Oh hey, guess what? Big news, I’m leaving. Here’s my brother Joe, he’s your new best friend,’ and then I got on a bus and I left and we didn’t see each other for like a really long time. Can we just talk about that? Because I realize that was kind of abrupt.” Burns explains he left to go to college, adding, “I just wanted to say that after all these years, I never forgot you. Ever. And I’m super glad we’re still friends.”

That Big TV Virtual Conference is happening in just TWO WEEKS! If you’re not registered, you’re missing out on key insights from the thought leaders from Lexus, American Express, AMC Networks, Lowes, PepsiCo, ViacomCBS, A+E Networks, Discovery, WarnerMedia, Dentsu, The Weather Group, Lincoln, and so much more. Not registered? Save your spot now, before you miss out!

CBS News has launched See It Now Studios, for the production of news, documentary and unscripted programming for ViacomCBS brands. Heading the endeavor is former news division president Susan Zirinsky, who stepped down from that position in April. First project out of the gate: “The 26th Street Garage: The FBI’s Untold Story of 9/11,” debuting today on Paramount+.

Irish crime drama “Kin” debuts on AMC+ today, September 9, centered on the power of family bonds at war with an international cartel. “’Kin’ has found the perfect home on AMC+,” David Davoli, President of Television at BRON Studios, tells Cynopsis. ”The series premiere of ‘Kin’ marks a pivotal moment in BRON’s overall television strategy, as we double down on backing European and UK creators whose visions have universal appeal with the ability to reach both domestic and international audiences.”

Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” will continue, as a feature film on the Roku Channel this holiday season. Production starts in Vancouver this month. All 25 episodes of the series, cancelled by NBC last spring, will start streaming on Roku this fall.

David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) and his wife, Georgia Tennant, will star in and executive produce “Hide,” a drama series in development at Peacock. Universal Television is the studio.

Spirits Network and Kala Entertainment announced original series “Uncorked,” hosted by Patrick Ney and produced by and featuring Cedric the Entertainer. In the premiere episode, Ney and Cedric travel to Napa Valley. This is the first of Spirits Networks’ original wine programming, with two more original shows to be added in the coming months.

Cynopsis’ resource center lists the latest technology, streaming, network offerings, and more tools to help media executives stay up to date and ahead of the curve. Visit the resource center today.

Lewis & Clark has been launched by Joe Lewis, Founder of the Joe Lewis Company, and R.A. Clark, Founder and Executive Producer of Lion’s Heart Entertainment. The firm’s first project will be the 2022 MusicCares Person of the Year Gala honoring Joni Mitchell.

CASTING

Country music star Trace Adkins has joined the cast of Fox drama “Monarch,” as husband to the country music star played by Susan Sarandon. The series debuts Sunday, January 30, following the NFC Championship Game.

Hannah Waddingham (“Ted Lasso”), Richard Ayoade (“I.T. Crowd”), Matt Berry (“What We Do in the Shadows”), Pam Murphy (“Mapleworth Murders”), and Duncan Trussell (“The Midnight Gospel”) are onboard the voice cast of upcoming Fox animated series “Krapopolis,” from Dan Harmon.

Lucy Barrett (“Co-Ed”) has joined the season four cast of The CW’s “Charmed” in a lead role. Madeleine Mantock, who played Macy, has exited.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Social media sensation David Dobrik will star in discovery+ multi-platform event series “Discovering David Dobrik,” sharing the DACA Dreamer’s journey to obtain a green card. The show is set stream later this year.

“Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson” will return for season seven on September 12, with an investigation into the US-Mexico border crisis. The weekly program, airing on Sinclair television stations nationwide on Sunday mornings, focuses on investigative and accountability reporting.

Circle Network’s first animated series, “Road Stories,” premieres Friday, September 10 at 10p. Hosted by singer/songwriter Chuck Wicks, the show will feature country artists transformed into animated characters who relive their greatest stories from being on the road.

French crime drama “Cheyenne & Lola” premieres Thursday, September 16 on Sundance Now. The thriller tells the story of two women bound by murder.

A new season of “Wild Boar Fever: The Art of Boar presented by Aimpoint” premieres on Outdoor Channel and MyOutdoorTV on Saturday, September 11. Viewers hunting for outdoor content can get a free peek at that and other Sportsman Channel and Outdoor Channel content now through September 30 on Dish Network.

COMING UP

Donald Trump and his son, Donald Trump Jr. will provide live commentary for a PPV boxing event to be livestreamed on FITE on September 11. “I love great fighters and great fights,” said the former president, who hosted boxing matches at his Atlantic City casinos in the 1980s and 1990s. The headline fight on Saturday is between Evander Holyfield and Vitor Belfort.

GAC Family announced the network’s first three original movies debuting this fall. First up is “An Autumn Romance,” starring Chad Michael Murray, Jessica Lowndes, Dennis Andres, Moni Ogunsuyi and Michael Brown, premiering October 23; followed by Christmas movies “Much Ado About Christmas,” starring Susie Abromeit and Torrance Coombs on October 30; and “Christmas Time is Here,” starring Dewshane Williams, Rukiya Bernard and Tom Pickett on November 13. GAC Family is set to launch on September 27, with programming that celebrates American culture, lifestyle and heritage.

The 74th annual Writers Guild Awards will take place on Sunday, March 20, 2022, one week before the Oscars. To be eligible for TV & New Media, the first broadcast or exhibit must have taken place between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2021.

Newsmax doc “9/11: The Day That Shook the World” premieres Friday, September 10 t 9p. Among those interviewed are former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani and former police commissioner Bernard Kerik.

A movie adaptation of graphic novel Corrective Measures will premiere on streamer Tubi in spring 2022. The film stars Bruce Willis as a notorious, genius inmate sitting on an untraceable fortune.

AXS TV will offer a collection of documentaries in the “Into The Spotlight: True Stories Of Music’s Unsung Heroes” weekly special event, airing Wednesdays at 8p starting September 29. The docs celebrate little-known figures who had a big impact on music.

Spectrum Networks will air live national coverage of the annual 9/11 commemoration ceremony beginning Saturday at 8:30a. Spectrum News NY1’s Ruschell Boone will anchor “Remembering 9/11: 20 Years Later,” joined by Spectrum News’ Josh Robin and Bob Hardt live from the NY1 studios.

Idina Menzel, Lady A, Lionel Richie, Little Big Town, Reba McEntire and more will perform on “Kenny Rogers: All In for the Gambler,” a special celebrating the late country legend Thursday, September 23 at 9p on CBS and Paramount+.

STREAMING

Sixty-eight percent of consumers prefer to watch shows on demand, versus 12% who prefer linear channels, according to a survey from Future Today. Many also consider ad-supported services as a good way to reduce subscription fees, with 35.5% of respondents saying they plan to decrease the number of services they pay for. But free trials can pay in the long run – 41% of those surveyed who signed on for a free trial offer became subscribers when the trial ended.

AVOD Canela.TV has partnered with Hyundai to bring the Ecuador World Cup Qualifier matches to viewers for free. The qualifier matches will run from September – December. “The World Cup is incredibly important to Latinos and presents an opportunity to connect with their heritage and support their country,” said Angela Zepeda, CMO, Hyundai Motor America. “Soccer is a big part of many of our lives and the world cup is the most exciting time for soccer (or football) fans!” The free, VOD content will include some of the most followed and watched teams for US Latinos with key South America teams.

TEGNA Inc. is launching an ad-supported free streaming service for Quest, its 24/7 adventure and exploration multicast network. The app, available today, offers on demand programming from a catalog of factual entertainment, science, history and engineering programs, and adventure-reality series and is available on Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Android and iOS.

AccuWeather NOW is joining XUMO’s platform. The service features weather videos as well as stories on the potential impact of forecasted weather, major weather events and environmental issues.

Haystack News has launched a special streaming channel covering the 20-year anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. Local, national and worldwide coverage from Haystack’s news content partners will offer 24/7 news for free AVOD viewing through September 12.

Philo is beefing up its film offerings with a Movies & More package for an additional $3/month. Channels include Sony Movies, Reelz, HDNET Movies, MGM HD and Cinemoi. Added to Philo’s FAST content are Pocket.watch, Ryan and Friends, Players TV and Gusto TV.

HBO Max will launch in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Finland and Andorra on October 26, available to new customers as well as existing customers of HBO Espana, HBO Nordic and HBO Go. At least fourteen more territories are slated to be added next year.

Fubo Sports Network has secured the exclusive US broadcast rights for basketball Liga ACB. The league features 18 teams competing for the Liga Endesa title, as well as Copa del Rey and Supercopa, and to avoid relegation.

GOING GLOBAL

The UK’s Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity has launched a learning and entertainment platform to showcase the “Power of Play” and its role in helping children cope with life’s challenges. A new Horrid Henry animated story, and an audio book from CBeebies’ “JoJo and Gran Gran,” will join the line up on GOSH Charity’s new digital Power of Play hub in October.

About Premium Content has secured the first sales for new drama series “Gloria.” Mediaset in Italy, NBCUniversal International Networks for CALLE 13 in Spain and MHZ in the US and Canada, TVP in Poland, SBS in Australia and La Forta in Spain have all picked up the broadcast rights to the series, along with a presale to French SVOD platform Salto.

Fred Media has struck a new partnership deal with ITV Studios Australia, which will see it acquire two of the production company’s new series, “Inside Central Station: Australia’s Busiest Railway,” and “Australia Behind Bars,” commissioned by Nine Network.

For the week of August 30, Fox News topped all broadcast networks with weekday primetime viewers for the third straight week. FNC was also the top-rated cable network with total day A25-54 for the fourth straight week. In primetime FNC earned 2.64 million viewers, 434,000 in the 25-54 demo and 269,000 among A18-49 in primetime.

In syndication, “The Kelly Clarkson Show” (0.8 Live+SD national Nielsen, up 14% from the week before) and “Tamron Hall” (0.7, up 17%) were the only talkers able to score higher ratings in the session ending August 29. The former was in repeats all week while the latter aired encores on four of the five days, which had numerous preemptions for news on Afghanistan. Among the biggest gainers in other categories were day and date magazine “Extra” (nine-week high 0.7, up 17%) and court show “Hot Bench” (1.5, up 7%).

Basic Cable Nielsen Top 5 for the week of August 30
Primetime
Fox News 2.642 million
MSNBC 1.260 million
ESPN 1.198 million
HGTV 1.055 million
TLC 935,000
Total Day
Fox News 1.548 million
MSNBC 744,000
CNN 653,000
ESPN 620,000
HGTV 598,000
Source: Nielsen P2+ Live+SD ratings

Broadcast Nielsen Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of August 23 ranked in order by HH Rtg
Family Feud (CMV) 5.6 AA
Judge Judy (CMV) 4.4 AA
Wheel of Fortune (CMV) 4.3 AA
Jeopardy (CMV) 3.9 AA
The Big Bang Theory (WB) 2.4 AA
Inside Edition (CMV) 2.0 AA
Entertainment Tonight (CMV) 2.0 AA
Live With Kelly and Ryan (DAD) 1.6 AA
Last Man Standing (DAD) 1.5 AA
Hot Bench (CMV) 1.5 AA

Broadcast Nielsen Ratings for Tuesday, September 7
Show, P2+ 000s, (A18-49)
ABC: Bachelor In Paradise 3.00 (0.8), The Ultimate Surfer 1.28 (0.2)
CBS: FBI 3.24 (0.3), FBI 3.24 (0.3), FBI: Most Wanted 3.20 (0.3)
CW: DC’s Stargirl 0.64 (0.1), Supergirl 0.48 (0.1)
ION: Chicago Fire 1.31 (0.2), Chicago Fire 1.50 (0.2), Chicago Fire 1.21 (0.2)
FOX: LEGO Masters 1.428 (0.4), Fantasy Island 1.42 (0.2)
NBC: America’s Got Talent 6.67 (0.8), Capitol One College Bowl 4.52 (0.4)
Telemundo: Las Casa de los Famosos 1.15 (0.3), Hercai: Amor y Venganza 1.36 (0.4), Cafe con Aroma de Mujer 1.05 (0.4)
Univision: Disenando Tu Amo 1.36 (0.3), Si Nos Dejan 1.63 (0.4), La Desalamada 1.83 (0.6)
Source: Nielsen live + same day time period averages

EXECUTIVE MOVES

Origin has hired Molly McArdle as Head of Enterprise Partnerships and Sahil Shah as Head of Programmatic. McArdle previously served as Account Director at STAQ, while Shah worked with Purch and Future plc as Head of Programmatic Sales in North America.

Ethan Nelson has been appointed Head of Program Development for the Scripps Networks news division, and Christina Hartman has been appointed Head of News Standards. Nelson worked for 12 years at ABC News in a variety of leadership positions, while Hartman was previously VP of Newsy.

Norwegian scripted label Rubicon has tapped Håkon Briseid to serve as Chief Executive Officer. Briseid joins Rubicon from Norway’s Monster.

Ross Dagan has been named EVP, News Operations and Transformation, CBS News and Stations. Dagan, who assumes his new responsibilities next month, joins CBS News and Stations after having most recently served as Network Director of News Content at Network 10, the ViacomCBS-owned network based in Sydney, Australia.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which hit movie spawned two unsuccessful, one-season TV spinoff sitcoms, in 1990 and 2016? “Uncle Buck.” Kudos to: Aaron Pacquette-AccelerateSG/Fort Worth, TX; Austin Cassidy-Meridian Interactive/Middletown, DE; Josh Goodman-Turner Sports/NYC; Andrew Goldman-Grooveee/NYC; Scott Deaner-Horizon Media/NYC; John Kukla-KDFW/Dalllas; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
Which show’s setting moved from Barrowsville to Rosehill during its long run? (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.)