Cynopsis 09/20/24: HBO renews “Industry” for season four – Cynopsis Media

Today’s Finale
ABC: Lingo at 9p

Saturday’s Premieres
CBS: 48 Hours at 10p
Travel: Help! My House is Haunted at 10p

Sunday’s Premieres
A&E: Airline Wars at 1p
CBS: Matlock at 8p
CNN: TV on the Edge: Moments That Shaped Our Culture at 9p
Food Network: Halloween Wars at 9p
Fox: Rescue: Hi-Surf at 8p
MGM+: From at 9p

Sunday’s Finales
AMC: Snowpiercer at 9p
Nat Geo: National Parks: USA at 8p

IN THE NEWS

The FTC issued a report about the data practices of social media and video streaming services, saying they engage in “surveillance advertising.” Not so, responded the Interactive Advertising Bureau. “While we are still digesting the report, we are disappointed with the FTC’s continued characterization of the digital advertising industry as engaged in ‘mass commercial surveillance,’” said David Cohen, CEO, IAB. “This charged statement suggests that the personal data of consumers is covertly collected and used for advertising purposes. Nothing could be further from the truth, as countless studies have shown that consumers understand the value exchange, and welcome the opportunity to have access to free or highly subsidized content and services.”

This bodes well: The trailer for Ryan Murphy’s upcoming ABC medical drama “Doctor Odyssey” racked up 77.8 million views in its first 48 hours, making it the most-watched trailer ever for a new broadcast show. The series premieres Thursday, September 26.

Amazon Ads announced a new feature that uses generative AI technology to help advertisers create more interesting and relevant video ads for customers, at no additional cost. Using a single product image, the video generator curates custom AI-generated videos tailored to a product’s distinct selling proposition and features, leveraging Amazon’s insights to bring a product story to life. Amazon Ads also introduced a new live image capability that makes it fast and easy for brands to create short, animated campaign images.

Publicis Groupe is acquiring retail media agency Mars United Commerce. Said Arthur Sadoun, Publicis Groupe CEO, of the company, “Their innovative spirit and proprietary platforms will further connect and complement our existing capabilities, to deliver industry-leading, end-to-end commerce solutions for our clients, both online and offline.” It’s not the holding company’s first retail media grab – Publicis acquired e-commerce software company Profitero in 2022, and CitrusAd in 2021.

HBO has renewed drama “Industry” for a fourth season. No surprise there – season three, concluding September 29, is pacing nearly 40% ahead of season two with an average of 1.6 million viewers per episode, and growing. Viewership for in the past five weeks rank among its top five weeks ever.

Fifty-eight percent of marketers say they will run holiday ads on CTV this year, with 57% stating their primary goal for CTV campaigns is to drive lower funnel performance across KPIs like sales and ROAS, according to tvScientific’s 2024 Holiday Advertising Trends report. Additionally, the survey found 57% of marketers anticipate reduced spending this holiday season. “As marketers finalize their holiday advertising plans, it’s important to remember that an adaptable strategy will drive the most meaningful outcomes,” concludes the report.

Call of Duty
AT&T
Riot Games
Subway Surfers
Mastercard
Chipotle
NBA 2K League

And more!

Join us on October 29th for the industry’s virtual celebration of the year!

SECURE MY SPOT

Another husband-and-wife team, Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, have launched Winter Coat Films. The production company has signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television to produce scripted series. “Kumail and Emily are a dream team – artists who bring humanity, humor and authenticity to everything they explore,” said Katherine Pope, President Sony Pictures Television Studios. “We couldn’t be happier to support them and their newly formed production company, which we know will be hugely successful.”

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“The Walking Dead”) will host and executive produce NBC’s upcoming adventure reality competition “Destination X.” Based on a Belgian format, the series is produced by Twofour.

“Beyond the Gates,” premiering on CBS in early 2025, has booked its first cast members. Joining the daytime drama are Tamara Tunie (“Law & Order: SVU”), Daphnee Duplaix (“One Life to Live”) and Karla Mosley (“The Bold and the Beautiful”). Production begins later this fall in Atlanta.

BritBox and the BBC announced the cast of “Riot Women,” the new series from writer Sally Wainwright (“Happy Valley”). Leading the drama are Joanna Scanlan (“After Love”), Rosalie Craig (“Serpent Queen”), Tamsin Greig (“Sexy Beast”), Lorraine Ashbourne (“Sherwood”), and Amelia Bullmore (“The Buccaneers”).

NEW & RETURNING SERIES

Darkly comic coming-of-age series “Sweetpea” premieres Thursday, October 10 at 8p on Starz. The six-part episode series stars Ella Purnell as a quiet wallflower who develops a vengeful and intoxicatingly liberating taste for murder.

Starz’ first, weekly interview series, “Fat Joe Talks,” will premiere Friday, October 4 with Method Man, music artist and star of “Power Book II: Ghost” as its inaugural guest.

Nonprofit media organization WorkingNation is teaming with TelevisaUnivision to launch “The Hispanic Communities Powering a New American Economy.” The five-part series delves into the employment realities of Hispanic and Latino communities, shining a light on wage disparities, labor exploitation, and educational barriers, while highlighting stories of success. New episodes will air on Univision’s digital platforms, with a special hour-long broadcast airing on Univision’s linear channels on Sunday, October 13 at 10p and also on WorkingNation.org.

COMING UP

AXS TV’s October Concert Lineup includes performances from Bruce Springsteen, The Doobie Brothers, Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Queen, Maroon Five, Imagine Dragons, Shania Twain and more, airing every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in primetime, and continuing with themed blocks every Saturday and Sunday. First up: “Lady A: Live from the Artists Den” on Tuesday, October 1 at 9p.

Holiday special “A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter” drops Friday, December on Netflix. “The holidays have always been so special to me,” said Carpenter. “I am excited to bring my take to a classic holiday variety show — infusing my love of music and comedy to make something that is uniquely me.”

Kane Brown Jelly Roll will perform live from downtown Nashville on “New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash” on Tuesday, December 31 at 8p on CBS.

Telemundo and Billboard announced the first group of performers for the 2024 Billboard Latin Music Awards. Fuerza Regida, Grupo Niche, Luis Alfonso, María Becerra, Xavi and Yande will take the stage on Sunday, October 20 at 9p.

STREAMING

Stingray announced the launch of two new free ad-supported TV channels, Stingray Naturescape and ZenLIFE, on Amazon Fire TV Channels. Additional videos are available on ad-supported video on demand on the platform.

The first five seasons of CBS’ “Young Sheldon” have delivered nearly 106 million views on Netflix, according to the streamer.

TECH TALK

Roku announced the launch of Roku Ads Manager, a direct self-service solution designed for CTV performance. “In order to meet growth marketers’ needs across all direct-to-consumer brands, we built a seamless solution to buying CTV video ads for brands of any size,” said Louqman Parampath, VP of Product Management, Roku. “Roku Ads Manager is uniquely positioned to offer data, optimization, and ad formats that no other CTV self-serve solution has, like native shoppable campaigns with Shopify, all while providing a familiar buying experience similar to search and social.”

StackAdapt, a multi-channel advertising platform, announced a new direct integration with L2, a provider of voter and consumer data. The integration enables political advertisers to create, launch, and activate voter audiences within the same day. “Political advertisers must connect with the right voters quickly, especially during the intense pace of an election cycle,” said Mark Positano, Head of Political for StackAdapt. “Our integration with L2 enables immediate audience activation, enhancing both operational efficiency and campaign effectiveness.”

Mediacom Communications is implementing OpenVault’s Profile Management Application technology to drive peak levels of available bandwidth and network performance for subscribers using DOCSIS 3.1 or higher modems. “Our goal throughout the broadband era has been to keep our Xtream internet capabilities ahead of customer expectations,” said J.R. Walden, SVP Technology and CTO for Mediacom. “OpenVault PMA ensures that we continue to maintain our competitive edge by giving our subscribers an outstanding experience whenever they are online.”

SPORTS UPDATE

Tennis Channel is offering exclusive coverage of the annual Laver Cup team competition with stars from Europe taking on stars from the rest of the world, live today through Sunday. Among the headliners taking part in the event are Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and young phenom Ben Shelton.

Monumental Sports Network will air the fourth annual “Truth and Service Classic” football game between Howard University and Hampton University on Saturday, September 21 at 4p.

KPMG will serve as the title sponsor for the 2025 HBCU Showcase track and field invitational. The HBCU Showcase is scheduled to take place at the Nike Track & Field Center at The Armory on Saturday, January 18, and will be live streamed on Peacock at 2:30p.

The Top Women in Media Awards is a place to honor standouts in the industry – but it’s also a place to have fun! (Did you check out the dance floor last year?) Grab your party clothes and come kick up your heels at an event you won’t want to miss.

See you in NYC on the 11th!

REGISTER NOW

OneGate Media has picked up the new historical biopic feature “A Christmas Miracle – by Johann Sebastian Bach” from EIKON Media in co-production with epo Film, ARD Degeto, MDR, BR, and ORF for worldwide distribution.

Banijay Entertainment announced the return of crime thriller “Penoza” to Polish screens. After an eight-year hiatus, Banijay label Endemol Shine Poland is producing a third season, which will air on TVP 2 in the spring.

wedotv has expanded its audience in the UK via Freeview. The company’s FAST channel wedotv movies is now available to viewers receiving Freeview via connected TVs on channel 275.

Agile Content announced the launch of Agile TV in Italy through a strategic partnership with Italian telecom operator Convergenze.

RATINGS

Average viewership for the State Farm WNBA Friday Night Spotlight on ION increased by 133% from 2023, and the network attracted 23.37 million unique viewers across games and wrap shows. The male audience (ages 25-54) grew 181%.

EXECUTIVE MOVES

TelevisaUnivision CEO Wade Davis has been replaced by former Activision president and chief executive Daniel Alegre. Davis, who led the acquisition of Univision in 2020 and its merger with Televisa in 2022, will remain a TelevisaUnivision shareholder and serve on the company’s board of directors as its vice chairman.

Erin Calhoun is stepping down from her role as Paramount Global’s EVP, Head of Communications, Paramount Streaming & Showtime and Cross-Company Publicity. Calhoun had been with the company for seven years.

Also headed out is Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Legal Officer Savalle Sims. In a lengthy note to staff, reported by Deadline, CEO David Zaslav lauded Sims’ achievements and impact on the company and beyond. “Throughout her time at Discovery and now WBD, Savalle has been known for both her sophisticated litigation strategies as well as her passion for mentoring her team and the next generation of legal minds,” wrote Zaslav. “She will be continuing in her role as she transitions and provides continuity on several important matters she is overseeing.”

Scott Weisenthal has joined Comcast Advertising as Head of Global Marketing and Insights. Weisenthal was previously SVP, Global Marketing at Major League Baseball.

Lance Frank has been promoted to the Head of Communications for CBS News, Stations and Media Ventures, where he will oversee strategy for the news, stations, syndication, talent and programming.

Shout! Studios has appointed Max Einhorn to the newly created role of SVP of Acquisitions and Innovations. Prior to joining Shout! Studios, Einhorn spent 10 years as the Head of Content and later Strategic Advisor for FilmRise.

“Hannity” executive producer Robert Samuel was let go after an internal investigation into claims of sexual harassment. “Employees who violate Fox News Media’s Anti-Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation policy are subject to appropriate remedial action, up to and including immediate termination,” said the company in a statement.

Friday Fun Fact
Winnie the Pooh was banned from a Polish playground because he doesn’t wear pants.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Before he landed his best-known role as Robert Conrad’s sidekick Artemus Gordon in “Wild, Wild West” (1965-1969), Ross Martin was on another series, playing sidekick to the owner of a floating gambling casino in international waters. What was the name of the series? “Mr. Lucky” (1959-1960). Kudos to: Len Klatt-The Winning Run/LA; Ken DuBow-DuBow Media Distribution/LA; Wendy Holmes/Denver; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Larry Hutchings/Pismo Beach, CA; David Stern-Bard Entertainment/NYC; Lewis Cosby/Knoxville; Marc Goldstein-Media Solutions/NYC; Paul Gluck-TUTV/Philadelphia

Today’s Trivia Question
On which sitcom did Paul Lynde and Dom DeLuise recur as the same character? (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.)