FIRST LOOK
http://www.eonline.com/news
ON TELEVISION (WEDNESDAY 2/15/23)
AXS TV: Power Hour (Premiere)
FOX: The Masked Singer (Premiere) at 8pm
HULU: Wu-Tang: An American Saga (Premiere)
HULU: Big Bet (Premiere)
HULU: Horario Estelar (Premiere)
INSP: Into the Wild Frontier (Premiere) at 10pm
NETFLIX: Full Swing (Premiere)
NETFLIX: African Queens: Njinga (Premiere)
NETFLIX: #NoFilter (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Eva Lasting (Premiere)
NETFLIX: The Law According to Lida Poet (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Red Rose (Premiere)
NETFLIX: Mita in the Multiverse (Premiere)
HGTV: Brother vs. Brother (Finale) at 9pm
MTV: The Challenge (Finale) at 8pm
Showtime laid off about 120 employees on Monday, about 10% of its workforce, ahead of the integration of Showtime into Paramount+. As previously reported, a number of senior executives, including Co-President Jana Winograde, were among those exiting the company.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fox Corp. has turned down offers topping $2 billion for streaming service Tubi, purchased three years ago for $440 million reports Bloomberg. Tubi grew revenue by 25% in the quarter ending December 31, and viewing time was up 41% year-over-year.
(Source: Cynopsis)
A New York appellate court rejected Fox News’ request that it end voting technology company Smartmatic USA’s $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against the network, host Maria Bartiromo and former host Lou Dobbs. The court also reinstated similar claims against Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, claims a lower court had thrown out, and said claims against Fox Corp. should be dismissed. Smartmatic USA alleges Fox News helped spread lies that it helped “steal” the 2020 election from Donald Trump; Fox News counters it was just reporting the news when Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell made false claims about voting machines.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and FOX Entertainment have entered into a non-exclusive multi-project broadcast direct deal calling for Jackson, through his production company G-Unit Film & Television, to develop scripted dramas, live-action comedies and animated series that would air on FOX. Series created under the deal will be owned by FOX Entertainment and produced by its in-house unit, FOX Entertainment Studios, in collaboration with G-Unit Film & Television.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Sony Pictures Television has inked a deal with Unconventional Entertainment, headed by Gena McCarthy, former EVP and Head of Programming at Lifetime Unscripted and Head of Programming at FYI. “Gena and Unconventional represent a fantastic addition to SPT’s growing portfolio, and we look forward to leveraging our partnership to build a new slate of long-running franchises,” said SPT President of Nonfiction Entertainment Eli Holzman and Co-President Aaron Saidman.
(Source: Cynopsis)
As part of a development deal with ID, TV host and journalist Elizabeth Chambers will host and executive produce a series exploring the complexities of toxic relationships. “We’re big admirers of Elizabeth and know that this new series will resonate with our passionate true crime audience,” said Jason Sarlanis, President of Turner Networks, ID & HLN, Linear and Streaming. “Elizabeth brings a unique empathy to help elevate victim’s voices which perfectly aligns with ID’s mission to use its platform to share powerful stories of hope, resilience and survival.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Fremantle is making a minority investment in graphic fiction innovator Artists, Writers & Artisans. The move deepens the initial partnership made between Fremantle and AWA in April 2022, which saw the companies collaborate on co-developing a slate of TV projects based on AWA’s IP library. The two companies also announced that the first project on the joint development slate is “Devil’s Highway,” a thriller based on the comic series by Benjamin Percy and Brent Schoonover in which a young woman seeks to unravel a sinister mystery hidden in the dark underbelly of the long-haul trucking industry.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Genius Brands International, through its Frederator Network subsidiary, inked an exclusive content deal with BuzzFeed giving Frederator the exclusive opportunity and first right to develop and produce longform series based on original digital properties created by the BuzzFeed Animation Lab. The first short-form content for series development by Frederator will be buddy comedy “The Land of Boggs.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Factual production company and channel provider Big Media has entered into a joint venture agreement with BlackRifle Co, a veteran affairs organization (not associated with the coffee company), for the newly created BlackRifle TV (BRTV) channel. Big Media will be managing the video production and distribution of BRTV while BlackRifle Co manages veterans’ relations and content authoring. BRTV launched in January on YouTube and has drawn over 500,000 subscribers.
(Source: Cynopsis)
REELZ has ordered 90 new episodes of “On Patrol: Live,” produced by Half Moon Pictures, extending the run of the hit documentary series through January 2024. The show gave Reelz audience gains of 270% in primetime in the A25-54 demo in 2022, with 3.85 million viewers P2+ (Live+7) tuning in each week. For both Friday and Saturday nights, premiere telecasts of “On Patrol: Live” were the #1 regularly scheduled cable program among A25-54.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Ben McKenzie will star in ABC pilot “The Hurt Unit.” The medical drama follows a team of trauma surgeons and nurses.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Season three of Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” kicks off Wednesday, March 15 – a new premiere day for the show. It’s the first Apple TV+ series to launch midweek.
(Source: Cynopsis)
HGTV’s “Flip the Strip” is bringing the stars of Las Vegas stage showAustralia’s Thunder from Down to the world of home renovation. Headliners by night, dancers will put their extensive construction experience to use and will work with celebrated interior designer Kelly to help make their clients’ home design dreams a reality. The series will include six one-hour episodes premiering on the network in late summer 2023.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story” premieres May 4 on Netflix. The “Bridgerton” prequel follows Queen Charlotte’s rise to power.
(Source: Cynopsis)
MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show” and “Help! I’m in a Secret Relationship”are returning on Tuesday, February 28 beginning at 8p, with back-to-back premieres. Nev Schulman and Kamie Crawford return to host “Catfish” with guest hosts Dylan Sprayberry, Tallulah Willis, Shan Boodram and Laura Perlongo. “Help!” has Travis Mills and Rahne Jones returning to uncover more heartbreaking and shocking stories.
(Source: Cynopsis)
NBC Sports is expected to make an “aggressive” offer for NBA rights, reports CNBC, rights it lost to Disney and Turner Sports back in 2002. The package would include playoff games to air on NBC, sources told CNBC, with some regular season games possibly exclusive to Peacock. Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery own the NBA rights until the end of the 2024-25 season, and Disney, along with Apple and Amazon, are expected to bid on new NBA packages.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Viewership for the Super Bowl averaged 113.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen, peaking at 118.9 million from 8-8:25p. FOX’s average audience represents the second most-watched non-overtime Super Bowl on record and the second most-watched program in FOX Sports history, with 182.6 million viewers watching all or part of the game on FOX and FOX Deportes. FOX’s pregame show drew 19.8 million viewers (up 13% versus last year), with the postgame show scoring 58.5 million (up 8%).
(Source: Cynopsis)
Corporate cousins Disney and ESPN are teaming with the NHL for a live, animated NHL game telecast. “Big Greens Classic,” with players modeled after characters on Disney’s “Big City Greens,” will feature the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers, presented on ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ (the main telecast will be available on ESPN and ESPN+) on March 14 at 7p. Why? “’Big City Greens has a huge following in a younger audience that we are excited to tap into, offering a fun and creative way to enjoy the game across Disney platforms,” said Ilan Ben-Hanan, SVP of Programming and Acquisitions, ESPN.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The PGA TOUR today announced that Barracuda Networks has signed a multi-year extension as title sponsor of the Barracuda Championship. The tournament, which is recognized as a FedEx Cup event on the PGA TOUR and Race to Dubai event on the DP World Tour, is held at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Golf Course in Truckee, California. The Barracuda Championship is the only PGA TOUR event to use a Modified Stableford Scoring format, having done so since 2012.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The upcoming 2023 LIV Golf League season will air all of The CW’s markets across the US, as part of the network’s previously announced multi-year exclusive broadcast agreement with the golf league. The first official full season of Saudi-backed LIV Golf will also air on Nexstar owned and operated stations in key markets including Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Tampa and Hartford.
(Source: Cynopsis)
Golf Digest has debuted The Golf Digest Art Collection: “Bobby Jones” by Christopher “CR” Obetz, a collection featuring 50 illustrations of the legendary Bobby Jones. The collection represents Mr. Obetz’s transformation of famed artist Anthony Ravielli’s original drawings and other archived photos of Mr. Jones into both contemporary Pop Art pieces and companion digital collectibles in the form of NFTs.
(Source: Cynopsis)
With its three Super Bowl spots, Tubi drove more than 2x the mentions of any other brand on Twitter. The ads collected 5,546 mentions and 21,094 engagements, according to Super Sunday 2023 Social Media Buzz Data. “While much of the streaming world still revolves around an obsession with the latest movie or series, we are on a mission to give all people access to all the world’s stories,” said Nicole Parlapiano, CMO. “That means having a deep and diverse library that allows people to dive into their own personal content journey.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
“Reggie,” a documentary that examines the career and legacy of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and activist Reggie Jackson, will premiere March 24 exclusively on Prime Video. “Coming off the recent success of our ‘Coach Prime’ docuseries, we’re thrilled to bring our Prime Video customers back into the world and psyche of another iconic, larger-than-life sports figure with ‘Reggie’,” said Matt Newman, head of Prime Video Original sports content. “Reggie’s impact on the game of baseball has been defined as much by the work he has done off the field as his clutch heroics on the field, and we’re very proud to be working with this living legend to tell his authoritative story.”
(Source: Cynopsis)
Lifetime set its spring slate of movies with back-to-back original filmsbeginning on Saturday, March 11 with “Girl in the Closet,” starring Tami Roman(“Truth Be Told”) and multi-platinum artist Remy Ma, inspired by actual events of a young girl who was imprisoned in a basement and closet by her aunt.
(Source: Cynopsis)
For Black History Month, Lifetime is creating original shortform content called “Her Take” featuring pieces from Mary J. Blige; ballet dancer Courtney Taylor Key; Dr. Monica Gary; Rashidat; and Farmata. In addition, the network has created a TVE/VOD BHM Music Playlist from roster of popular movies featuring the inspiring stories of Simone Biles; Gabby Douglas; A Day Late & A Dollar Short; Color of Love; Beaches; Steel Magnolia; Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel; Whitney; and Salt & Pepa. In addition, movies featuring African American casts are in rotation each weekend throughout BHM.
(Source: Cynopsis)
“The Rise of Metal” premieres Sunday, February 26 at 9p on Reelz. The music special explores the genesis of the 1980s glam metal scene.
(Source: Cynopsis)
On a different note, “CMT Crossroads: For King + Country & Jimmie Allen” premieres with a special one-hour presentation on Tuesday, February 28 at 10p on CMT. The episode pairs Christian pop duo For King + Country with chart-topper Jimmie Allen.
(Source: Cynopsis)
The post-Super Bowl season two premiere of FOX’s “Next Level Chef” delivered 15.5 million Total Viewers, becoming the most-watched cooking series telecast in television history. The show averaged a 4.9 Live + SD rating among A18-49, marking television’s highest-rated entertainment telecast in two years.
(Source: Cynopsis)
In syndication, “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (13-week high 0.7 live plus same day national Nielsen, up 17% from the week before and up 50% in the W25-54 demo) was the only one of the 12 syndicated talk shows to score a rising household rating. The show matched its best Nielsen marks since its September premiere and tied fellow rookie “Sherri” (0.7, unchanged) as the number one new show in syndication’s household rating.
(Source: Cynopsis)
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