Cynopsis

11/07/08

Good morning. It’s Friday, November 7, 2008, and this is your first early morning briefing. 

Tonight’s Premieres:
Animal Planet: Whale Wars at 9p
Discovery Channel: Survivorman at 9p
History: Shadow Force at 10p

Saturday’s Premiere:
Planet Green: Go For the Green at 8p

Sunday’s Premieres:
Style Network: Ruby at 8p
HBO: Summer Heights High at 1030p

FOX revealed the anticipated premiere dates of new midseason and returning series:

Jan 11: 24 (season premiere, part 1) at 8p

Jan 12: 24 (season premiere, part 2) at 8p

Jan 13: American Idol (season premiere, part 1) at 8p

Jan 14: American Idol (season premiere, part 2) at 8p; Lie To Me at 9p

Jan 29: Hell’s Kitchen at 9p

Feb 13: Dollhouse at 9p

Fans of SCI FI Channel’s Battlestar Galactica series can buy a piece of the show as NBC Universal Television, DVD, Music and Consumer Products Group is working with Propworx to provide thousands of unique props, set pieces, costumes and more for a three-day auction event. The auction begins with a preview on January 16 and convenes January 17-18 at the Pasadena Convention Center in Pasadena, CA. The live auction will also be on view at www.battlestarprops.com and additional items will be available for sale via ebay starting January 20. A portion of the auction proceeds will go to United Way.

Charter Communications, Inc. and RFD-TV, LLC joined forces to recently launch RFD-TV on all Charter-owned cable systems in Michigan.

CMT began production in Nashville on a third season of Gone Country. Host John Rich presides over a cast of seven celebrities from various entertainment disciplines as they try their hand at country music. The new crop of celebrities includes: George Clinton, Tara Conner, Taylor Dayne, Micky Dolenz, Sheila E., Richard Grieco and Justin Guarini. The new episodes from Renegade 83 Productions will premiere on CMT next January.

HBO picked up the U.S. television rights to the unnamed documentary about President-Elect Barack Obama from Edward Norton and his production company Class 5 Films. Directors Amy Rice and Alicia Sams have had unprecedented access to Obama, his family, friends and senior level staffers since early 2006, traveling with him on his trip to Africa as well as the last two and a half years campaigning cross-country. Filming will continue through the inauguration with a planned 2009 premiere.

A&E Network is working on a new paranormal-themed procedural drama called Signs & Wonders from Mandalay Television and Fox TV Studios, cites Variety. The plot centers on a psychiatrist who manages the cognitive sciences research unit at a major university and mentors a team of grad students who solve unusual medical cases. Jed Mercurio will produce and Elizabeth Stephen, President of Mandalay is developing the project along with SVP Robin Budd.

ABC will cut back on the number of episodes for two other midseason drama series, Castle and The Unusuals, reports THR. Castle produced by ABC Studios, will have 10 episodes instead of 13; and Sony Pictures Television was asked to trim three episodes of The Unusuals taking that series to 10 total episodes. In this case, ABC is reducing episodes for inventory reasons and not because of creative. This news follows ABC’s announcement it canceled the midseason comedy Single With Parents over creative problems.

Casting Call: TLC will open season three of Say Yes to the Dress with a one-hour special showcasing wedding stories. The show invites those who are planning a wedding to send heartwarming stories involving everything from family and friends who can’t attend the special event to other challenging situations affecting budgets and plans. Stories can be submitted through November 14 via
.

CYNOPSIS DIGITAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Naughty Naughty … Online classified service Craigslist reached an agreement with 40 state attorneys general to curb its “er*tic services” listings, long used for local special services. Clients using the category must now pay a fee using a valid credit card as well as provide Craigslist with a working phone number. The site promises to share this information with law enforcement when subpoenaed. Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has often taken the moral high ground regarding his text-only site, now used by 40 million Americans each month. This initiative will be no exception. The company promises to donate all revenues from these ads to charity.   Full edition: CYN DIGITAL.

CYNOPSIS KIDS – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  Director/writer/producer John Boorman is set to direct a CG-animated adaptation of L. Frank Baum‘s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, per Variety.  This is Boorman’s first animated movie, and it is not a musical.  Set for release in summer 2010, this movie features a screenplay by Boorman, Ron Mita and Him McClain (Robots).  Produced the move are Laurent Rodon and Claude Gorvsky of France’s Films Actions and Boorman’s longtime producing partner Kieran Corrigan. Full edition: CYN KIDS.

CYNOPSIS INTERNATIONAL – TODAY’S TOP STORY:  New Zealand is the new hotspot for Granada International Australia‘s U.K. dramas with a new deal underway with Prime Television.  The ITV Global Entertainment Ltd unit sold season 4 of Agatha Christie’s Marple, season 3 of Lewis and season 11 of Poirot.  Prime also took costume epic Hornblower, the new documentary series Inside the World’s Most Powerful and new episodes of Homes From Hell.   Full edition: CYN INTERNATIONAL.

Wednesday – A18-49 Analysis:  FOX edged out the competition Wednesday night winning with 3.0/8 A18-49, according to fast affiliate ratings from Nielsen Media Research. At 8p, ABC’s Dancing with the Stars Results and FOX’s Bones tied for #1 at 3.2/9 apiece. CBS took the lead during 9p with Criminal Minds at 3.5/9 followed by ABC’s Private Practice at 3.2/8. Then at 10p, CBS retained its #1 status with CSI: NY at 3.3/9 while the season premiere of NBC’s Law & Order placed second with 2.2/6.

Live + Same Day Household Ratings: Wednesday, November 5, 2008 (November Sweep Day 7) time period averages. Source: Nielsen Media Research

CBS: 7.2/11         Old Christine 4.5/7, Gary Unmarried 4.4/7, Criminal Minds 9.3/14, CSI: NY 7.9/13

ABC: 7.0/11          Dancing with the Stars Results 10.2/16, Private Practice 6.4/10, Dirty Sexy Money 4.3/7

FOX: 5.3/8            Bones 6.2/10, House [r] 4.3/7

NBC: 4.1/7             Knight Rider 3.3/5, Life 3.7/6, Law & Order [p] 5.3/9

UNIV: 2.2/4          Querida Enemiga 2.4/4, Fuego en La Sangre 2.4/4, Don Francisco Presenta 1.7/3

CW: 2.0/3            America’s Next Top Model 2.6/4, Stylista 1.3/2

TELE: 0.8/1          Dona Barbara 0.6/1, El Rostro de Analia 0.7/1, Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso 0.9/2

A18-49: FOX 3.0/8, CBS 2.9/8, ABC 2.8/7, NBC 1.9/5, UNIV 1.8/5, CW 1.5/4, TELE 0.6/1

Stephen K. Friedman was appointed GM of MTV where he will supervise the daily operations of the network including strategy as well as its various screens: MTV.com, MTV@, MTV Tr3s, MTV Hits and MTV Jams. Additionally, Stephen will continue to serve as GM of mtvU, a position he has held since 2003. Based in New York, Stephen reports to Van Toffler, President, MTV Networks Music/Logo/Films Group.  Well done, Stephen!

IAC Consumer Applications & Portals established an in-house sales group to service ten properties. Drew Berkowitz was tapped as VP/National Sales; Jeri Brown as AE/NY; Diane Oen as Senior AE/Mid-West Territory; Chris Celona as Senior AE/West Coast; Martha Negin and Deanna Hart as Strategic Account Managers in New York.

Mike Sileck is resigning from his position as COO and member of the Board of Directors of World Wrestling Entertainment, effective December 31. Mike has been with WWE since mid-2005, first as CFO then was upped to COO in February 2007. Donna Goldsmith, EVP/Consumer Products will succeed Mike as COO and has been elected to the Board of Directors.

Young Broadcasting Inc. upgraded Brian Greif to President/GM of KRON/San Francisco starting immediately. Brian takes on this new responsibility in addition to continuing as VP/News.

Correction: Nick Buzzell as President/EP is heading the new full-service production company NBTV Studios based in New York.

Friday Fun Fact:  Need to know measurements but don’t have a tape measure? All U.S. paper currency is 6 inches long.

This day in History: 1965 – The Pillsbury Dough Boy debuted in television commercials.

Answer to Yesterday’s Trivia Question:  The Foo Fighters parodied the ad campaign for this refreshing product in one of their music videos (1996). What was the name of the product and what was the song in the video?  MENTOS/BIG ME Kudos to: Kelly Guida-FOX 4/Cape Coral, FL; Karen Feigenbaum-Fuse/NY; Nicole Egidio-Berklee College of Music/Boston; Michele Meyer–Univision/NY; Eddie Hsu-KCTV/Kansas City; Dan Radman-Prometheus/Chicago; Kimmi Ray-Garman Productions, LLC/Oklahoma City; RT Harris- OSi/ Kansas City; Zachary Rouse-The Walt Disney Co.-ABC Networks Group/LA; Tim Monson-BNC/LA; Phil Ranta-Viva! Vision/Santa Monica, CA; Katherine Cohen-E-Poll Market Research/Encino, CA; Corinne Herman-Decode Entertainment, Inc./Toronto

Today’s Trivia Question:  On Cheers, everyone knew him as Norm. Named after his grandfather, what was Norm’s real first name?   (Email
with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: Only the second four correct answers from each time zone will be mentioned; and once you’ve been mentioned in any of the Cynopsis editions, you can’t be mentioned again that calendar week.)

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM WE tv

Later — Cyn
11.07.08

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Cyn opsis CLASSIFIEDS – For More classifieds, visit the Cynopsis.com classifieds page here    .

JOB OPENING: SR. MGR-HARDLINES/Cookie Jar Ent/Burbank Min. 3-5 yrs Dom. License exp in Consumer Products industry with developed relationships. http://www.thecookiejarcompany.com (Careers). Send Res/CL:
(11/13)

JOB OPENING: PUBLICIST/Telepictures Prods/LA: Unit pub for synd TV show. News bkgd & exp on assign desk pref’d. Pitch/secure stories/content. Write/distrib releases.Fast paced enviro. 5-8yrs exp Res:
(11/13)

JOB OPENING: MKTG & SALES ASSOCIATE/IME-IESE Business School/NY: Min 3yrs exp in marketing education programs. Media/Entertainment background. Internet Marketing, lead generation, hands-on recruitment/sales.
jobC10 (11/13)

JOB OPENING: MGR CORP COMM/Rainbow/NY: Work across all Rainbow brands.Asst creating strat/write releases/pitch stories. 3+yrs media relat’s. Impeccable writing skills.strong media rltnshps, cbl exp a + www.cablevision.jobs ref#7483BR (11/12)

JOB OPENING: DIR CORP COMM/Rainbow/NY:Mng daily trade/business PR,work closely with Sr mgmt to dvlp/execute strat. 6-8 yrs PR exp, cable a +. Exc writing skills a must. Strong media relationships a +. www.cablevision.jobs ref#7486BR (11/12)

JOB OPENING: DIGITAL PRODUCER/CNN’s American Morning/NY: 5 yrs min major mkt tv news production exp, 1 yr min exp with web/interactive content, strong writer, leader. See full posting & apply to www.turner.jobs req# 108698BR (11/12)

JOB OPENING: CONTENT DESK EDITOR/WNBC: Conceive/execute news coverage, make front line editorial decisions on a story-by-story basis. Dvlp/monitor journalistic & editorial elements of news gathering. www.nbcunicareers.com #856232 (11/12)

JOB OPENING: SR DESK CONTENT DESK EDITOR/WNBC: Execute editorial vision of Content Desk across platforms;mng who will generate content from Content Desk Editors, Reporters, Field Crews to Content Prods.  www.nbcunicareers.com #853930 (11/12)

JOB OPENING: DIR, PROGRAM LICENSING & ACQUISITIONS/iN DEMAND/NYC: Oversee licensing/acquisitions, programming & packaging of content. Degree + 4-8 yrs exp in TV. Apply:
(11/11)

JOB OPENING: DIRECTOR, ANIMATION PROGRAM SALES: Resp for coordinating prgrm sales to domestic, internat’l free-TV & pay-TV broadcasters as well as home entertainment distributors. Resumes to:
(11/8)

JOB OPENING: DIR PRODUCTION OPERATIONS/National Geographic Television: Oversee the production management of documentary programs. To apply, visit www.nationalgeographic.com/jobs Job ID 3676. EOE (11/8)

JOB OPENING: MGR, NEW MEDIA INVENTORY/DISCOVERY/NY: Mng stewardship/optimization of dig. accts. Frcst inventories, analyze site activity, work closely w/ad sales client to guarantee deliverables. Apply: www.discovery.com Req#8394 (11/8)

JOB OPENING: DIR/PROG DEV/TLC/SS: Communicate/Coordinator w/Ind. Producers-Prod, other Companies/Depts outside of Discovery; serve as network liaison btw prod/dev. Apply: www.discovery.com Req#8335 (11/8)

JOB OPENING: SR RSRCH ANLYST/Lifetime (LA): Analyze & prdce reprts- daily ratings & compet perfmnce to guide Prgm, Mktg, & Aff Mktg strat. Exp TV Rsrch/data anlyst/Star Trak/Nielsen/math/stats. Res:
(11/8)

INTERNSHIPS – These positions are for credit only – nobody gets paid here. These ads are always posted for free , and students work for school credit only. For more information on the specs for posting an Internship ad, email Trish at
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WINTER/SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: RESEARCH ANALYST/Trendrr (NYC): Analyze & produce reports work w/Mktg.
Exp: Rsrch/data anlyst/stats/social media. Res:
(11/14)

WINTER/SPRING INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY: RoCart, Inc./LA:Seeks RESEARCH INTERN for new NICK JR. live-action preschool show; position to start in JANUARY ’09. Submit cover letters/resumes to
(11/12)

FALL INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY:  INTERNS /LA: Bright & passionate. Neal Stevens/Stevens & Assoc., prod 5 features films in past 6 yrs. Learn ropes from A-Z. Script coverage, dvlpmnt, possible assoc of credit for movies & much more.Email:
(11/11)

SITUATION WANTED ADS, POSTED BY THOSE LOOKING TO BE HIRED … Interested in posting your Video Resume? Contact
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SITUATION WANTED: Creative children’s TV producer/director w/ 18+ yrs hands-on exp. seeks web/TV projects/agent/team to join. Credits: PBS Kids (Buster, Fetch!, Zoom), History, CBS, BBC. Screen reel & CV @ http://www.alangrazioso.com (11/13)

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WHAT’S ON TONIGHT –  Friday, November 7, 2008

ABC: Wife Swap, Supernanny, 20/20
AZTECA: Camino a La Fama, Viernes Espectacular: Forever Young
CBS: Ghost Whisperer, NCIS [r], Num3brs
CW: Everybody Hates Chris, The Game, America’s Next Top Model [r]
FOX: Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, Don’t Forget the Lyrics!
ION: Movie: The Titanic [7p]
MNT: Friday Night Smackdown!
NBC: Deal or No Deal, Crusoe, Lipstick Jungle
PBS: Washington Week, Now on PBS, Bill Moyers’ Journal, In Search of Myths and Heroes [r]
TELE: Dona Barbara, El Rostro de Analia, Letra y Musica
UNIV: Cuidado con el Angel, Fuego en la Sangre, La Rosa de Guadalupe

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