A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM CROWN MEDIA FAMILY NETWORKS

HALLMARK HAS 2 TOP 10 CABLE NETWORKS

IN 4^TH QUARTER ON THE WEEKENDS

Hallmark Channel #1 Cable Network with

HHs, P2+, A25-54, W25-54 and W18-49

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A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM MSNBC

2018 IS MSNBC’S BEST YEAR EVER – FOR THE THIRD YEAR IN A ROW.

MSNBC BEATS CNN BY RECORD AMOUNT.

And, MSNBC is the only cable news network to grow year-over-year in 2018.

Thanks to our viewers for recognizing the sharp journalism, clear context, and insightful analysis

delivered by a remarkable team of journalists in an unprecedented era of news.

MSNBC

This is who we are.

Source: Nielsen; 1/1/18-12/12/18, P2+, M-Su 6A-6A

IN THE NEWS

Netflix renewed Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, ordering 16 additional episodes that will air in two parts. The streamer originally ordered 20 episodes of the series, which imagines the origin of Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a dark coming-of-age story and was split into two 10-episode segments. The new season will begin production in 2019. Meanwhile, the second half of Season 1 is set to premiere on Friday, April 5.

Actor, producer, author and activist George Takei (Star Trek) is joining the second season of Ridley Scott-produced anthology series The Terror on AMC as a consultant and series regular. The new 10-episode season will air in 2019.

NBC released its schedule for the rest of the broadcast season. New series The Enemy Within, a spy-hunting thriller, bows Monday, February 25, at 10, while The Village, a drama about the residents of a Brooklyn apartment building, debuts Tuesday, March 12, at 10p. Sophomore series Good Girls and A.P. Bio return Sunday, March 3, at 10p and Thursday, March 7, at 8:30p, respectively. The net also set premiere dates for Season 15 of The Voice, featuring new coach John Legend, on Monday, February 25, and Tuesday, February 26, at 8p. World of Dance bows following The Voice on February 26 at 9p. Of special note: The new season of The Voice will take a break on Tuesdays for a few weeks, marking the first time since the show’s first season that it will air on only one night for a portion of its run.

Prosecutors in New York settled their consumer fraud lawsuit against Charter Communications for a whopping $174.2 million and are calling the $62.5 million direct refund to customers the biggest by an internet provider in U.S. history. The agreement settles a lawsuit alleging that the state’s largest ISP, which initially operated as Time Warner Cable and, later, under Charter’s Spectrum brand name, denied customers the reliable and fast internet service it promised them.

Advertisers continue to pull their commercials from Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tonight after Carlson made his “poorer and dirtier” remarks about immigrants coming into the United States last week despite his attempt at an apology. Smile Direct, Pacific Life Insurance, Indeed, Nautilus Inc.’s Bowflex, Ancestry.com, NerdWallet, and the IHOP restaurant chain have all bowed out. According to the Associated Press, some of the show’s biggest advertisers will continue to stand with the show.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences named Adam Sharp as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. Sharp has previously held posts at NBC, C-SPAN and Twitter.

Shirley MacLaine was named the winner of AARP’s annual Movies For Grownups Career Achievement Award. The Oscar-winning actress will receive the award at a ceremony on Monday, February 4, in Beverly Hills.

Miley Cyrus, Katy Perry, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were added to the line-up of stars appearing at the 2019 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute concert honoring Dolly Parton on Friday, February 8. The annual event will benefit the Recording Academy’s charitable arm, MusiCares, which offers health and human services and programs to members of the music community.

Penny Marshall, who starred on TV comedy Laverne & Shirley and directed feature films Big and A League of Their Own, died Monday, December 17, of diabetes complications in her Los Angeles home. She was 75.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

JUST ANNOUNCED: The 2019 Cynopsis TV Awards Finalists!

Awards Event: FEB 6 in NYC

The Cynopsis TV Awards salute excellence in national TV programming and we're thrilled to announce this year's finalists! Joining us will be a range of companies, including: 7ATE9 Entertainment, A+E Networks, Animal Planet, Beck Media, BET Network, CNBC, Cooking Channel, Crown Media, Discovery, E! Entertainment, Food Network, and MANY more (click here to view full list).

The awards gala will take place on February 6th at the Yale Club in NYC.

PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT

Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect) is set to star in Les Norton, a 10-part drama series based on Robert G. Barrett’s novels, for Australian public broadcaster ABC. Set in 1985, it follows the exploits of a man on the run from a troubled past who lands a job as a bouncer at an illegal casino and ends up dragged into a criminal web. Alexander Bertrand plays the lead, while David Wenham (Romper Stomper) stars alongside Wilson.

Timothy Simons, who currently appears on Veep, which is filming its final season, already has his next project set at HBO. The premium cabler is developing Exit Plans from Simons and William Graham (Mozart in the Jungle) via his Field Trip Productions. Written, starring and executive-produced by Simons, the series centers on assisted suicide.

There’s another reboot in the works. According to Variety, Bravo is developing a new version of Queer as Folk. Russell T. Davies, creator of the original UK series, is onboard as an executive producer, while Stephen Dunn is attached to write, direct and executive-produce.

Syfy renewed Van Helsing for a fourth season, just ahead of its season finale on Friday, December 28, at 10p. The series is expected to begin production on 13 new episodes early next year and return in 2019 with Jonathan Walker boarding as its new showrunner.

Amblin TV secured the rights to Akira Kurosawa’s 1950 classic Rashomon with plans to develop it into a dramatic mystery thriller series. Each 10-episode season will center on a singular event told from different points of view.

Deadline reports that Netflix, which secured the international rights to Studio Lambert’s British reality hit The Circle format earlier this year, is remaking the show with French and Brazilian contestants. Studio Lambert will use the London apartment block where it filmed the UK version for the international version of the series, which are said to be a mix of Big Brother and Catfish.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Cynopsis Rising Stars Awards will spotlight stand-out performers, innovators and emerging leaders in the media industry. Join us as we celebrate this great list of honorees on February 6 in NYC.

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Conan returns for its ninth season on TBS on Tuesday, January 22, at 11p, debuting a new 30-minute format four nights a week. TBS said the revamped show and expanded fan experience, headed by host by Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco, “will define a new era in multi-platform comedy.”

A&E Network chronicles the journey of a 28-year-old mother of two living with dissociative identity disorder in Many Sides of Jane. The docu-series bows on Tuesday, January 22, at 10p.

Astronomers and experts examine neutron stars, supernovas, interstellar space, the Big Bang and more when the Science Channel’s longest-running space series, How the Universe Works, returns for its seventh season on Tuesday, January 8, at 10p.

VH1 debuts Grown & Sexy on Friday, January 4, at 9:30p with back-to-back episodes. The talking-head-style series features irreverent commentary and sketches from today’s top celebrities and comedians, weighing in on how to survive and thrive in your thirties.

Chef and food truck aficionado Brad Miller takes viewers on a journey to find the best meals on wheels in Food Truck Nation. The new series premieres Tuesday, January 22, at 9p on the Cooking Channel.

COMING UP

Cinelatino airs the U.S. television premiere of buddy cop film and Mexican box-office hit Compadres on Monday, December 24, at 7p.

Fox Sports Films presents a Magnify movie marathon on FSI, starting Sunday, December 30, at 6a. The documentaries use sports as a lens to explore important cultural stories and investigates the challenges, changes and unity they bring to communities.

CASTING

Kiki Sukezane (Lost in Space), Miki Ishikawa (9-1-1), Shingo Usami (Unbroken) and Naoko Mori (Everest) have joined the second-season cast of AMC’s The Terror … Chante Adams (Monsters and Men) nabbed a lead opposite Anika Noni Rose in TNT drama pilot Beast Mode (wt).

KID STUFF

Hopster, the preschool learning and entertainment experience, launched a new children’s learning service on DISH. The agreement with the U.S. pay-TV giant sees the UK-based preschool app make its content available to millions of DISH subscribers across the U.S.

ADVERTISING

SpotX partnered with Discovery to power programmatic monetization for TV everywhere video during the holiday season. The collaboration has resulted in Discovery running Automated Guaranteed campaigns via SpotX, the only supply-side platform currently offering Discovery’s entire portfolio to advertisers. “Content consumption increases dramatically during the holidays. With more people home binge-watching and new devices being purchased, the viewership numbers we see across Discovery’s properties explode,” said Bill Murray, VP, Programmatic Revenue and Ad Products at Discovery Inc. “SpotX provides a streamlined approach to monetization, and we’re excited to be working so closely with their team to connect more buyers to all of our inventory.”

DIGITAL DATA

Streaming video wars are heading to virtual reality. Sling TV, the Dish Networks-owned streaming virtual multichannel video provider, is set to launch on Oculus Go, the Facebook-owned VR headset platform. ESPN is also bringing an app, including its ESPN+ subscription service, to Oculus, as is Fox’s Fox Now app. Oculus Go owners will be able to download the aforementioned apps in the Oculus store this week. Watching Sling content through the headset is said to be equivalent to watching it on a 180-inch TV screen.

Marin Software and Google struck a three-year revenue-share deal that aims to help Marin further develop the company’s enterprise technology platform and software products.

Local Now partnered with YouTube TV to deliver its hyperlocal news and information service to the streamer’s members. Powered by The Weather Channel television network and other content partners, Local Now delivers real-time localized information about current events, weather, lifestyle, sports and more.

Cinedigm teamed with Samsung to give viewers access to a pair of digital-first networks: the fandom-dedicated CONtv and the family-friendly faith-based Dove Channel. Both are now available on Samsung’s TV Plus video service.

Publishers using Facebook Audience Network to sell ads in their apps and mobile websites now have access to Google’s Open Bidding program. The connection between the digital ad giants gives publishers access to more potential buyers of their ad inventories. Facebook Audience Network allows advertisers to reach audiences on mobile sites and apps other than Facebook.

GOING GLOBAL

Puerto Rico’s WAPA Television network announced its new programming slate for 2019. Included in the mix are new seasons of originals Pegate Al Mediodia and Viva la Tarde, reality shows The Four and Guerreros, and novelas La Reina del Flow and Paquita La del Barrio. Most of the net’s original programming will air in the U.S. on its sister cable network WAPA America.

Kazakh broadcaster KTK TV commissioned crime thriller Death Highway from Armosa Formats. Inspired by true events, the series takes viewers on a ride down Moscow highway M-4 where the GTA gang begins killing people for no apparent motive.

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE

The 8^th Annual Cynopsis Sports Media Awards

[ENTER BY 1/25]

Entries are now open for the 8th Annual Cynopsis Sports Media Awards. This awards program is dedicated to celebrating the work of talented producers, hosts, sponsors and executives alike, and saluting the initiatives that drove audiences and turned sports viewers into fans over the past year. The best and brightest will be gathering on April 25th in NYC to watch as winners are announced, and the best of the best are celebrated in style, so save the date!

GET STARTED!

RATINGS

Last week’s episode of Bravo’s Dirty John grew in all key demos from the week before with 2.7 million Total Viewers (+7%), 1.3 million P25-54 (+4%) and 1.1 million P18-49 (+6%), making it the network’s highest-rated scripted telecast ever.

FOX Business Network dominated across Business Day and market hours during the week of December 10. FBN’s Business Day delivered 209,000 Total Viewers.

Hallmark Channel’s “Countdown to Christmas” and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ “Miracles of Christmas” have a reached a combined audience of 69.2 million unduplicated viewers to date. The Hallmark Channel premiere of Entertaining Christmas on December 15 averaged a 2.6 Household rating, 2.7 million Total Viewers and 458,000 W-25-54, while the December 16 debut of A Gingerbread Romance averaged a 2.5 Household rating, 2.7 million Total Viewers and 558,000 W25-54. In addition, the premiere of Movies & Mysteries’ Northern Lights of Christmas on December 15 averaged a 2.5 Household rating, 2.1 million Total Viewers and 287,000 W25-54 and was the highest household-rated original-movie premiere in network history.

A handful of entertainment magazine shows were in positive territory in the session ending December 2, as the vast majority of programs were dragged lower due to preemptions for coverage of the memorial and funeral for President George H. W. Bush. In the plus column were Access (1.3 Live+SD national Nielsen rating up 8% from the week before), which matched its season high and tied TMZ (1.3, up 8%). Also moving up was Extra (1.1, up 10%), which hit a three-week high and overtook Daily Mail TV (1.0, down 9%). Page Six (0.7, steady) refused to decline despite not airing on some days in many markets.

On the true crime show front, off-net Dateline (1.3, up 18%) was the top gainer among all strips in syndication. Meanwhile, police procedural Chicago PD (1.0, up 11%) equaled its strongest Nielsen rating to date.

Dr. Phil (2.7, down 7%) had trouble extending its winning streak among talk shows to 118 weeks in a row. Runner-up Ellen DeGeneres (2.4, down 4%) finished slightly ahead of Live with Kelly and Ryan (2.2, down 4%).

Syndication’s highest-rated show, Judge Judy (6.6, down 13%), took a preemption-fueled breather but has now led all first-run and off-net programs every week for the past four months.

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/3/18 ranked in order by HH Rtg

Judge Judy (CTD) 6.6 AA

Family Feud (2/T) 6.2 AA

Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 6.2 AA

Jeopardy! (CTD) 6.1 AA

The Big Bang Theory (WB) 4.6 AA

Inside Edition (CTD) 3.0AA

Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 2.9 AA

Dr. Phil (CTD) 2.7 AA

Ellen DeGeneres Show (WB) 2.3 AA

Hot Bench 2.3 AA

Top 10 M-F Syndicated Strip Series for the week of 12/3/18 ranked in order by A18-49 Rtg

The Big Bang Theory (WB) 1.7AA

Family Feud (2/T) 1.6 AA

Judge Judy (CTD) 1.5 AA

Wheel of Fortune (CTD) 1.2 AA

Jeopardy! (CTD) 1.1 AA

Modern Family (2/T) 0.9AA

Family Guy (2/T) 0.9AA

Entertainment Tonight (CTD) 0.7 AA

Last Man Standing 0.7 AA

The Goldbergs (SPT) 0.7 AA

Top 12 Broadcast Programs Among A18-49 ratings/share for the week of December 10, 2018

NBC: NBC Sunday Night Football 5.4/22

FOX: FOX + NFLN Thursday Night Football 5.0/22

NBC: Football Night America Part 3 2.8/11

FOX: FOX + NFLN Thursday Night Pre-Kick 2.7/13

CBS: 60 Minutes 2.5/10

NBC: Football Night America Part 2 2.0/8

CBS: Survivor 1.5/7

NBC: The Voice 1.4/6

ABC: The Connors 1.4/6

ABC: Modern Family 1.4/6

FOX: FOX + NFLN Thursday Night Pregame 1.4/8

Broadcast Evening News Shows Weekly Average Ratings week of December 10, 2018

ABC World News Tonight 8.88 million total viewers; 1.5/7 and 1.86 million A25-54

NBC Nightly News 8.57 million total viewers; 1.5/7 and 1.86 million A25-54

CBS Evening News 6.36 million total viewers; 1.1/5 and 1.29 million A25-54

Broadcast Morning News Shows Weekly Average Ratings week of December 10, 2018

NBC: Today 4.20 million total viewers; 1.2/12 and 1,446,000 A25-54

ABC: Good Morning America 4.23 million total viewers; 1.1/11 and 1,294,000 A25-54

CBS: This Morning 3.13 million total viewers; 0.7/7 and 816,000 A25-54

Late Night Shows Weekly Average Ratings week of December 10, 2018

CBS: The Late Show 3.09 million total viewers; 0.42/3 among A18-49

NBC: The Tonight Show 2.23 million total viewers; 0.47/3 among A18-49

ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live 1.89 million total viewers; 0.36/3 among A18-49

Live + Same Day Viewers AA (millions) Monday, December 17, 2018, time period averages

Source: NTI, Galaxy as dated Live+SD

NBC: 8.19 million

The Voice 9.80, America’s Got Talent: A Holiday of Champions 6.57

CBS: 5.02 million

The Neighborhood 6.06, Happy Together 4.11, Magnum P.I. 4.04, Bull 4.90

ABC: 3.91 million

The Great Christmas Light Fight 3.87, 2018: In Memoriam 3.95

FOX: 2.29 million

The Resident 2.25, 9-1-1 2.33

CW: 0.47 million

Arrow 0.54, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow 0.39

TELE: 0.90 million

La Sultana 0.84, Falsa Identidad 0.86, Rosa de Guadalupe 1.01

UNI: 0.89 million
Jesus 0.89, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia 0.91, Amar e Muerte 0.86

Monday A18-49 Analysis: NBC 1.5/7, ABC 0.7/3, CBS 0.7/3, FOX 0.5/2, CW 0.1/1, TELE 0.4/2, UNI 0.4/2

EXECUTIVE MOVES

NBC’s Alternative and Reality Group has made four key moves – three promotions and one new hire – all at the Executive Vice President level. Jenny Groom will spearhead Alternative Programming and Development. George Sealey will oversee Creative Affairs for projects put into production at Universal Television Alternative Studio. Enrique Guillen will drive International Commercial Strategy, while John Pollak fills a similar role domestically for Universal Television Alternative Studio and first-run syndication business.

BBC Three named Fiona Campbell as its new Controller, to start in 2019. She is currently Head of BBC Studio’s Documentary Unit.

Mal Young has exited The Young and the Restless as Head Writer and Executive Producer. A replacement has yet to be named.

Susana Schuler is joining Hearst Television as President and General Manager of WVTM-TV, the company’s NBC affiliate in Birmingham, AL, effective January 1. She was previously Executive Vice President of Content and Operations at Raycom Media.

Rudiger Boss has opted to leave his post as Executive Vice President, Content Acquisitions and Sales at ProSIebenSat.1 Media SE. Henrik Pabst, Chief Commercial Officer Entertainment, will take on his responsibilities.

Seth Lawrence boarded ICM Partners’ International and Media Department. He was previously at United Talent Agency.

This Day in History: 1971 – CBS aired Homecoming: A Christmas Story introducing The Waltons.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question: In which 1970s Christmas special did legendary actor/singer/dancer Gene Kelly make a guest appearance? The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait in 1978. Kudos to: Gerry Bixenspan-TV Marketing Inc./NYC; Synda Kollman-Charter Marketing Group/Boca Raton, FL; Paul Blutter-Walk and Talk Production Rentals/Burbank, CA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/Los Angeles, CA; David Westberg-AFTRA-SAG Credit Union/Burbank, CA.

Today’s Trivia Question: How much did Lucy charge for a psychiatric session in A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four.)

Lynn Leahey Editorial Director @Lynn_Leahey
Diane K Schwartz Senior Vice President Media Communications Group	Roberta Caploe Publisher @robertacaploe	Cynopsis Ad Sales Mike Farina \| 203-218-6480 VP, Sales	Albert Nassour Director, Strategic Partnerships	Cynopsis Job Listings Sales Trish Pihonak \| 203-899-8459 Director of Operations

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JOB OF THE DAY

CREATIVE DIRECTOR/WRITER
WRIGLEY MEDIA GROUP
LEX, KY

ISO battle-tested m/f CD for fast-paced media/TV/Digital prod co. Must: write, PITCH & manage in an agency-style environment. Min 5 yrs in the big leagues. Tasty salary/bennies/re-location pkg for “the one”.

Reel/Res/Pitch to [email protected]

JOB OPENING: MANAGER, INVENTORY/Crown Media Family Networks/NY: Monitor and track all inventory through WideOrbit and Dealmaker. Build ADU packages and analyze and strategize pre and post upfront reporting. Min 2 years exp. in pricing and planning or ad sales req. Apply HERE (1/6)

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JOB OPENING: Sr. DIRECTOR GLOBAL ACQUISITIONS/A+E/Stamford, CT: Plan, implement, monitor & optimization of content delivery; technical, file-based procurement of Domestic and International content; 10+ yrs exp technical procurement of content cable or broadcast network. Full info/apply HERE (1/5)

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JOB OPENING: PRODUCER/Spectrum/Albany: Produce assigned newscasts & news inserts making decisions on story lineup, video/audio elements, graphics and timing to construct show. 3+ yrs TV news exp. Writes news stories for an assigned newscasts. Full info/apply HERE (1/5)

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WHAT'S ON TONIGHT - WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 19

ABC: Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, Shrek the Halls, Modern Family, Single Parents,

The Goldbergs, American Housewife

CBS: Survivor [f], Survivor

CW: Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, Penn & Teller: Fool Us

FOX: Empire, Star

NBC: Pentatonix: A Not So Silent Night, Darci Lynne: My Hometown Christmas: Ellen’s Game of Games

PBS: Nature, NOVA, The Andes: Kingdoms of the Sky

Telemundo: La Sultana, Falsa Identidad, Senora Acero

Univision: Jesus, Mi Marido Tiene Mas Familia, Amar e Muerte