 IN THE NEWS |
| The average American spent 23% less on streaming in 2024 (or $42.38/month) than in 2023 ($55.03/month), according to research organization Reviews. One reason for the dip: 27.8% of viewers reported being overwhelmed by the increasing number of streaming apps. Americans also may be spending less on streaming because they’re spending more on cable – Reviews reports cable subscribers pay an average $89.29/month, up 11% from last year. |
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| Apple TV+ has a sweet deal: The service is free this weekend, January 4 and 5. “See for yourself,” urges the streamer in a promo that touts the likes of “Severance” and “Shrinking.”
After weeks of negotiations, Altice USA’s Optimum and MSG Networks’ carriage agreement expired at midnight on December 31, and MSG content was removed from Optimum. Said MSG Networks, “We offered Altice a number of fair and reasonable proposals that called for Altice to pay us less than last year. Altice rejected all of them, including our offer to keep MSG Networks on the air while we continued to try to reach a deal. We remain ready to negotiate in good faith.” Countered the cable provider, “Optimum offered to absorb their egregious price demands if we could package MSG Networks in a way that would give more flexibility and control to our customers, so that fans could continue to watch and pay for their content while non-viewers would not be forced to pay for what they don’t watch. MSG Networks said no and refused multiple offers from us to reach a deal.” The blackout left tri-state fans of the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils scrambling for other options.
Peacock canceled “In the Know” after one season. The adult animation series from Mike Judge (“Beavis and Butt-Head”), Zach Woods (“The Office”) and Brandon Gardner premiered in January of last year. |
 Tony Award-winning actress Linda Lavin passed away on December 29 due to complications from lung cancer. She was 87. Lavin’s television roles included “Alice,” for which she was nominated for an Emmy, “Room for Two,” and “Sean Saves the World,” among other parts and numerous guest appearances. Lavin also recurred on 2024’s “No Good Deed.” Posted Liz Feldman, creator of that Netflix series, “You were, as always, incredibly gracious, totally hilarious and pitch perfect. Ready to play and full of life. Your warmth and kindness was unparalleled.” Lavin had filmed seven episodes of Hulu’s upcoming series, “Mid-Century Modern,” and had three episodes left to shoot. “Working with Linda was one of the highlights of our careers,” wrote “Modern’s” Max Mutchnick, David Kohan and Jimmy Burrows. “She was a magnificent actress, singer, musician, and a heat seeking missile with a joke. But more significantly, she was a beautiful soul. Deep, joyful, generous and loving. She made our days better. The entire staff and crew will miss her beyond measure.” |
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| CTV Connect
Shaping Netflix’s Ad Future
Don’t miss Nicolle Pangis, Netflix’s new VP of Advertising, as she shares insights into the streaming giant’s advertising strategies at CTV Connect 2025. Gain firsthand knowledge from a leader steering innovation in the CTV arena.
Metropolitan Pavilion, NYC, March 12-13, 2025
Register now to hear from industry trailblazers! |
| PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT |
 Max Original adult animated series “Creature Commandos,” written and executive produced by DC Studios Co-Chair James Gunn, has been renewed for a second season. The season one finale drops January 9.
Paramount+ and MTV announced “Dating Naked UK” has been ordered for a second season. The reality series from UK indie Nest Productions follows singles living together and looking for love in a tropical paradise. While completely naked. |
| NEW & RETURNING SHOWS |
 Season six of “The Kardashians” kicks off Thursday, February 6 on Hulu. What to expect? Uncertain futures and pasts coming back to haunt the family, promises a promo.
CNN’s “Have I Got News for You” returns for a second season on Saturday, February 15 at 9p. The adaptation of the BBC’s comedy panel series is led by Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin and Michael Ian Black. |
Today’s Premieres
A&E: Fugitive Hunters Mexico at 10p
ABC: Extreme Makeover: Home Edition at 8p
Bravo: Southern Hospitality at 9p
BritBox: Vera
Crunchyroll: Momentary Lily
Fox: Hell’s Kitchen at 8p; Animal Control at 9p; Going Dutch at 9:30p
Hallmark+: Small Town Setup
Max: Isadora Moon
Netflix: Stranded With My Mother-in-Law
Peacock: Lockerbie: A Search for Truth |
| Cable & Broadband Jobs
Your Gateway to Exceptional Talent
Searching for the perfect addition to your team? Cynopsis Jobs connects you with a highly engaged audience of professionals in TV, digital media, and beyond. As the most visited page on Cynopsis.com, your job listings gain maximum visibility. Plus, with a newsletter averaging a 26% open rate, your opportunities reach a targeted network of qualified candidates.
Post today and find the talent that will take your team to the next level!
Contact Carley Ashley for pricing and details on how to get started. |
| COMING UP |
| Stand-up special “Bill Maher: Is Anyone Else Seeing This?” debuts Friday, January 10 at 10p on HBO. It’s the 13th HBO special for the host of “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
INSP’s Stone Cold Fridays, part of Jesse Stone Movie Month, kicks off January 3 at 9p. |
| STREAMING |
| Stingray, a distributor of music and video content, announced the acquisition of Loupe Art, a visual art streaming service on Smart TVs and Digital Signage. “By integrating Loupe Art’s groundbreaking platform with Stingray’s extensive expertly curated music catalog and robust distribution network, we are poised to revolutionize the way art and music are experienced in homes and businesses worldwide,” said Eric Boyko, President, Co-founder, and CEO of Stingray. |
| GOING GLOBAL |
| Titan OS S.L., the Barcelona-based technology, entertainment, and advertising company, has partnered with CNN International Commercial to expand its content offering with two new channels. CNN Fast will be available across UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and the CNN International channel can be watched in the UK and Germany. |
| RATINGS |
| ABC’s “World News Tonight with David Muir” was the most-watched newscast across broadcast and cable in 4Q24 in Total Viewers (7.596 million), A25-54 (1.076 million) and A18-49 (737,000), by Nielsen’s count. Versus the prior quarter, the show was up in Total Viewers (+4%/+290,000 – 7.596 million vs. 7.306 million), A25-54 (+8%/+80,000 – 1.076 million vs. 996,000) and A18-49 (+9%/+59,000 – 737,000 vs. 678,000).
Netflix’s two Christmas Day NFL games drew an unduplicated audience of nearly 65 million US viewers, according to Live+SD numbers from Nielsen. The Chiefs/Steelers game delivered an average minute audience of 30 million viewers, with 25.8 million in the US, while the Beyonce halftime-fueled Raven/Texans match-up reached an AMA of 31.3 million viewers, with 27.2 million in the US.
“Monday Night Football” on December 30 generated an audience of 22.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes and NFL+. The audience is “Monday Night Football’s” best for the 2024 season and ranks among the five most-watched games for the franchise since ESPN acquired the rights in 2006.
FOX News Channel wrapped 2024 marking nine consecutive years as the highest-rated cable network in all of television, according to Nielsen. FNC held 56% of the cable news audience in primetime and 53% in total day, its highest share of the audience since 2015. averaging 2,384,000 viewers (+30% vs. 2023) in prime time and 1,458,000 viewers (+21% vs.2023) in total day.
2024’s Top 20 Basic Cable Networks
Program based on daypart, Live+SD, ranked on P2+ |
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| The finale of Paramount’s “Yellowstone” drew 13.1 million total viewers in Live+3 numbers, according to VideoAmp, marking the biggest episode in series history. |
| EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Li Haslett Chen, founder and CEO of tech platform Howl, is resigning from the board of Warner Bros. Discovery on January 31. Chen, who has served on the board since April 2022, said she is stepping down in order to dedicate her full attention to Howl. |
| IN MEMORIAM |
| Charles F. Dolan, founder of Cablevision and HBO, died December 28. He was 98. Dolan also founded American Movie Classics network, and launched NYC’s News 12, the country’s first 24-hour cable channel for local news. “His visionary spirit will live on through the programming brands and businesses he created and the people who embody the values he held so dear,” said a statement from AMC Networks. Cablevision was sold to Altice in 2016 in a $17.7 billion deal.
Emm-winning talk show producer Woody Fraser died on December 21 at the age of 90. Fraser reinvented the daytime talk show format, starting with “The Mike Douglas Show”; oversaw the development of “Good Morning America”; and created children’s programming for Nickelodeon, among other accomplishments. His reputation was clouded by allegations of sexual harassment, but lawsuits against him were dropped or dismissed.
Aaron Brown, former anchor at CNN and ABC News, died December 29. He was 76. Brown’s coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks earned him the Edward R. Murrow Award. |
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This Day in History
1890 – Alice Sanger became the first female White House staffer. She was the presidential secretary.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Who were the original hosts of “The Talk” (2010-24)? Sara Gilbert, Julie Chen Moonves, Sharon Osbourne, Holly Robinson Peete and Leah Remini. Kudos to: Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Melissa Friedman/LA; Ed Horwitz-The Jennifer Hudson Show/Burbank; Lorrie Shilling/El Segundo, CA; Eric Litt-Nextstar/Chicago; Beth Tallent-TallentPR; Nashville; John Kukla-KDFW Fox 4/Dallas; Dory Petsrillo-Locality/Dallas; Joel Dearing-Virtual NewsCenter/Indianapolis; Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC
Today’s Trivia Question
Which series premiering this month is set in Cape Cod? (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.) |
SALES LEAD – AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS
UPWAVE
NEW YORK, NY
Build and manage relationships with our agency partners – mostly targeting media buyers and planners – and help them see the value of adding Upwave measurement to The Trade Desk campaigns. You will both leverage your existing network and open new doors to achieve aggressive but achievable sales targets. Full info HERE
VICE PRESIDENT, POLITICAL SALES >>
NEXSTAR MEDIA GROUP, INC./WASHINGTON, DC: Lead the company’s political advertising revenue across its dynamic portfolio of broadcast stations. Responsible for developing sales strategies tailored to the fast-paced, high-stakes political advertising market. You will possess an understanding of the political advertising landscape, and the ability to forge strong relationships with campaigns. Full info HERE
COUNSEL, LEGAL & BUSINESS AFFAIRS >>
MLB NETWORK/SECAUCUS, NJ: Responsible for a variety of matters, including services agreements, production related agreements, talent agreements, software and other technology related agreements, licensing and programming agreements, third party rights clearances, distribution agreements, contract summaries, confidentiality, and general contract matters. Full info HERE
SENIOR INTEGRATED MARKETING CAMPAIGN PROJECT MANAGER
BEACON MEDIA GROUP
NY/NJ
Seeking a diligent, organized, and enthusiastic individual to join our team as we manage Integrated Marketing Campaigns for a candy manufacturer. Responsibilities include ensuring client satisfaction, managing project timelines, and optimizing campaign effectiveness. If you’re proactive and enjoy collaborating with teams, we want to hear from you! Full info HERE
DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL MEDIA
CSI SPORTS
JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY
Proven track record of monetizing digital assets on various social media platforms. Work closely with our production team in creating content and comprehensive marketing plans to increase market share. Full info HERE
INTERNATIONAL SALES EXECUTIVE
CSI SPORTS
JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY
Create and execute sales strategies and proposals- generating new sales from past, current and future leads by networking, building relationships and identifying valuable sales opportunities. Manage existing accounts and excel at identifying clients’ needs. Requires a self-driven individual who is passionate about the sports and media industry. Full info HERE
NATIONAL SALES EXECUTIVE
CSI SPORTS
JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY
Looking for another self-motivated, highly disciplined National AD Sales Executive that enjoys the sales process from beginning to close. If you bring the enthusiasm and determination we will supply the opportunity to make this the best position you’ve ever had. Full info HERE
LEAD BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE >>
CASTIFY.AI/HYBRID: Expand our client base in the digital advertising industry and focus on business development, securing new clients and partnerships, and negotiating contracts with leading advertising brands and agencies as well as experience in the digital advertising sector, showcasing a proven track record of achieving targets and excelling in business development. Full info HERE
TV HOST >>
QVC/WESTCHESTER, PA: Credible while entertaining candidate w/exp hosting TV, digital, radio, spokesperson or live events. Masterful storyteller, enthusiastic & a love for products and shopping a must. Must be quick on their feet w/ability to improv & engage as well as have an elevated sense of style. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT REP: MPT NATIONAL CORPORATE SALES
MARYLAND PUBLIC TELEVISION FOUNDATION
REMOTE
Call on current and prospective sponsors, providing high-quality customer service, in a manner consistent with standard industry practice, for the customer/client accounts for which they have cultivated or have been assigned as well as build sustainable, long-lasting relationships with existing clients. Full info HERE
SENIOR DIRECTOR OF AD SALES >>
HAYSTACK NEWS/NYNY, LA, CHICAGO: Responsible for developing large, meaningful partnerships to drive strategic and creative solutions for clients. You relish the opportunity to help advertisers build their brands by supporting the world’s most premium news publishers. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
INTERSECTION
LOS ANGELES, CA
Drive new revenue for our media around Los Angeles and beyond as well as building relationships with prospects and clients. Full info HERE |
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