FIRST LOOK
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ON TELEVISION (WEDNESDAY 3/18/20)
FREEFORM: Motherland: Fort Salem (Premiere) at 9pm
FUSE: Genius x Fuse (Premiere) at 11pm
IFC: Brockmire (Premiere) at 10pm
MOTORTREND: Vintage Voltage (Premiere) at 10pm
TRAVEL CHANNEL: True Terror with Robert Englund (Premiere) at 10pm
A&E: America’s Top Dog (Finale) at 9pm
ViacomCBS Entertaiment Youth & Entertainment brands MTV, Comedy Central, Paramount Network, CMT and VH1 have teamed with the Ad Council for #AloneTogether, a social distancing campaign to promote safety and unity during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Sample tweet from Drunk History: “Typhoid Mary got people sick wherever she went, and all because she didn’t wash her hands. Don’t be like Mary!”). The campaign will also be supported by Nickelodeon, BET, CBS, CBS All Access, Awesomeness, Pluto TV and Showtime, designed to expand across ViacomCBS and beyond.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Efforts like that were applauded by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a call yesterday. “I’m grateful for the steps that broadcasters are taking,” Pai said on Tuesday. “Going forward, I urged them to air public service announcements featuring prominent entertainment and sports personalities, and local news anchors asking Americans to practice the social distancing that is needed to combat this pandemic. We need this vital message to be delivered by Americans who are familiar to different segments of our society, and broadcasters are ideally situated to the task.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBCUniversal announced that Universal Pictures will make its movies available for home viewing the same day they are released in theaters, starting with animated Trolls World Tour on April 10. Recently released films, including Emma, The Invisible Man and The Hunt will also be available from corporate sibs Sky and Comcast on on-demand services by Friday. “Rather than delaying these films or releasing them into a challenged distribution landscape, we wanted to provide an option for people to view these titles in the home that is both accessible and affordable,” said NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell. NBCU added the company will “continue to evaluate the environment as conditions evolve.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
FOX News Channel named Dr. Janette Nesheiwat as a medical contributor, effective immediately. Dr. Nesheiwat joins newly-signed Dr. Martin Makary as part of FNC’s expert medical team, providing insights and analysis about the coronavirus pandemic.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Facebook is giving a $1000 bonus to each of its full-time employees (about 45,000) to help employees during the COVID-19 crisis. The tech giant is also giving away $100 million in “cash grants and ad credits” to 30,000 small businesses to help with rent, cover operational costs and connect with consumers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
For six months, Fox Corp. will cover medical insurance premiums for employees enrolled in Fox-sponsored plans, COO John Nallan informed employees. “We will continue to look for ways to ease the stress and inconvenience that these circumstances have brought to our daily lives,” he added.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Kentucky Derby, slated to take place May 2 and air on NBC, has been postponed until September 5 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The most recent developments have led us to make some very difficult, but we believe necessary decision,” said Churchill Downs CEO Bill Carstanjen. The only other time the Derby wasn’t held on the first Saturday of May was in 1945, when horse racing was banned due to World War II….The European soccer championship, held every four years, has moved from 2020 to 2021. The tournament was supposed to run June 12-July 12 this year….The British Academy Television Craft Awards and Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards have been postponed until later in the year. They were scheduled to take place April 26 and May 17, respectively….Tennis’ French Open, set to start May 18, had moved to September 20-October 4.
(Source: Cynopsis)
CBS soaps The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful have joined ABC’s General Hospital in suspending production due to the coronavirus.
(Source: Cynopsis)
ABC News will temporarily replace episodes of GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke with special daytime coverage of COVID-19 beginning today, March 18, at 1p. Pandemic: What You Need to Know, anchored by Amy Robach with health and safety guidance from ABC News’ chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton, will address the widespread issues caused by the global pandemic.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Noticias Telemundo launched Noticias Telemundo Presenta – Coronavirus: Un Pais en Alerta (Noticias Telemundo Presents Coronavirus: A Nation on Alert), a new national weekday newscast, yesterday at 11:35p.
(Source: Cynopsis)
AXS TV’s Top Ten Revealed is back for season three on Sunday, April 19 at 8p. Categories will include Epic Songs of ’74, Rockin’ Siblings, 80s Breakup Songs, and more.
(Source: Cynopsis)
It’s season sweet 16 for Discovery’s Deadliest Catch, launching with a two-hour premiere on Tuesday, April 14 at 8p. For the first time, the Alaskan crab fleet will face off against their biggest rival, the Russians.
(Source: Cynopsis)
About half of all US internet users with kids under 10 subscribe to Disney+, according to UK market research company Ampere Analysis. Among 18 to 24-year-olds, 41% have access to the service, according to the report.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Sundance Now is offering stuck-a-home new subscribers a 30-day free trial (previous free trial was 7 days). The AMC Networks’ streaming service offers series including A Discovery of Witches, Riviera, Cheat, and more.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Also offering a 30-day free trial is newly-launched Marquee TV, streamer of performances in dance, opera and theater.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Community will launch on Netflix on April 1, in a non-exclusive agreement with Sony Picture Television. The streamer landed global SVOD rights to the 2009-2015 comedy, and shares domestic right with Hulu.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Broadcom, a supplier of chips for cable set-top boxes, is suing Netflix for allegedly violating eight patents covering technologies used to run Netflix’s streaming infrastructure, including dynamic load balancing on networks, systems and methods for processing data. As a result of Netflix’s streaming services, Broadcom contends, “the market for traditional cable services that require set top boxes has declined, and continues to decline, thereby substantially reducing Broadcom’s set top box business.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, Google, LinkedIn, YouTube and Reddit issued a joint statement saying they are “working closely together” to combat fraud and misinformation on their platforms about COVID-19, as well as elevate authoritative content on their platforms, and share updates.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Amazon is buying the former Lord & Taylor flagship store on NYC’s Fifth Avenue, according to the New York Post. The landmark building, for which Amazon will pay $1.15 billion, will serve as the company’s New York HQ.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The Weather Channel announced new on-air educational content for families with children currently staying at home due to school closures. Each hour of live programming at :50 past the hour will include scientific explanations on everything from how raindrops and rainbows form, to why thunder happens, how to stay safe in all kinds of weather, and more.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The season three debut of HBO’s Westworld delivered 1.7 million viewers across two linear airings, plus digital on Sunday, opposite the Democratic debate.
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBC’s Tonight Show hit a 9-week high among A18-49 (0.38/3) and a 10-week high in viewers (1.958 million) the week of March 9.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Although breaking news coverage of Super Tuesday put a damper on most syndicated numbers in the week ending March 8, Jeopardy (6.4 Live+SD national rating, unchanged from the week before) led the game shows for the tenth week in a row. Family Feud (6.1, down 3%) and Wheel of Fortune (6.1, unchanged) were not far behind.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Kanal D Drama, launched in November for the first time in the US Hispanic market through Comcast’s Xfinity Latino TV package, ranks eighth in VOD views within all Hispanic networks which offer VOD content via Xfinity.
(Source: Cynopsis)
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