A+E Networks Goes Full-On “Biography" Mode – Upfront News and Views

Editoramp8217s Notes amp160This column features reporting by Janet Stilsonamp160Also starting with this column we are adding two categories to our Upfront and NewFront reviewsamp160 Data Insights spotlighting unique researchderived conclusions or themes and Innovative Opportunity looking at new audiencebuilding or reaching projectsVenue amp160Twofortwo with Jazz at Lincoln Center However where Nick used Rose Hall AE Networks settled inside the open multilevel space with the wide view of 59th St and Central Park behind the stage Prepresentation there was an art gallery of large blackandwhite photos of people which represented their audience Beside each photo was a little digital screen on a pedestal which provided statistics and messages intended to convey how their audience members think or who they are Example One screen read quotThe Power of Possibilityquot in large type and then in small type read quotWomen Who Say 39I Can39 When Others Say 39She Can39t39quot That screen then switched to quotSisterhood Is Universalquot in large typeamp160 There was no survey attribution for any of the messages offered throughout the gallery Other screen mottos included quotIntelligence is Confidencequot and quotChampion Diversityquot Attendees found tables and chairs inside the room arranged dinner style Grade 4 JacksPresentationamp160 Heavy on monologues where individual AE executives detailed their personal lives and the role TV played in them Sizzle reels from various programs separated each monologue Using a twist on the closing monologue in The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams now on Broadway in a revival starring Sally Field AE Networks President and Chief Executive Officer Nancy Dubuc commented that quotthe shortest distance between two people is entertainmentquot then talked about her grandmother who apparently raised her watching General Hospital and Tom ampamp Jerry cartoons with her after school Saturday night was quotholy grailquot TV time in the Dubuc household featuring a menu of Fantasy Island The Love Boat and Saturday Night Live amp160On a more poignant note audience insights department staffer Marcela Tabares who migrated from Columbia to the US said that quotTV became my compassquot to navigate the new culture she was thrown into gaining a quotsocial identityquot to live by amp160Intervention impacted program development executive Devon Graham Hammonds because her sister was an addict amp160That made Hammonds feel she needed to work for AE amp160quotI came to the conclusion that while we don39t make shows for ourselves we make shows from ourselvesquot she said Dubuc is pictured above center with Vikings star Katheryn Winnick left and Hammonds amp160Grade 35 JacksNews amp160Biography for years AampampE39s flagship program in both weekly and nightly editions at one point graduating into a separate network will make a multichannel comebackamp160 Instead of weekly or nightly presentation new episodes will be presented as twohour specials or miniseries on AampampE History or Lifetime depending on the subject The initial lineup of profiles includes Vladimir Putin Mike Tyson Biggie Smalls and Elizabeth Smart with the first episode playing later this spring amp160At History work is underway on The Commanders a set of miniseries four to 10 episodes each on key moments in US history as witnessed through various Presidents In play for the first miniseries coming in 2018 Ronald Reagan Franklin D Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Bill Clinton and Thomas Jefferson Lifetime39s forthcoming attractions include madeforTV movies on the Flint water crisis executive produced by Cher Michael Jackson coming May 29 and the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping amp160The channel also has two unscripted series in production This Time Next Year emotional journeys of ordinary people with So You Think You Can Dance host Cat Deeley and Model Moms former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Yolanda Hadid coaching teen models and their mothers to succeed on and beyond the fashion runway Grades 3 Jacks for all that news 1 Jack for not announcing it during the presentationHost amp160Ad sales head Peter Olsen bookended the monologues and generated plenty of comic relief to the entire proceeding Olsen probably made many in the audience very happy after declaring that there would be no data presented leaving that task to his team when they called on agencies and advertisers individually Grade 4 JacksStar Time amp160Limited to shoutouts for celebrities including Katheryn Winnick of History39s Vikings and cast members from History39samp160Sixamp160sitting on the bottom level of the auditorium The notable exceptions Violinist Ezinma who looks like a young Tina Turner with the kind of wowza outfit you39d expect from Turner and the huge hair doing her thing prepresentation a performance by hiphop artistamp160Lizzo and an appearance by new Viceland hosts Desus and Mero who interrupted Olsenamp8217s memory moment with references to a Farrah Fawcett poster and Fonzietype leather jacket with some funny lines quotThe most important thing in advertisingamp160is being early on a cool thingquot Mero told the crowd quotIf you advertise here youamp8217ll be in early on a cool thing Trust me Iamp8217m mad fking coolquot Noted Desus quotOn the streets Iamp8217m also known as Young KPIquot Nancy Dubuc and Katheryn Winnick are pictured above center with Six stars Kyle Schmidt left Juan Pablo Raba and Barry Sloan rightamp160amp160Grade 3 JacksCuisine amp160Plenty was served before and after the presentation Best eats filet mignon scalloped potatoes salad featuring squash thin beet slices watercress and citrus on a bed of white creamy dressing and short rib slices Worst eats most of the slider appetizersamp160 Note amp160Cuisine ratings do not figure into the overall Jacks scoreamp160 Grade 35 JacksData Insights amp160None offered as promised by Olsen Therefore no Jacks gradeInnovative Opportunity amp160Joining forces with Live Nation and Main Street Advisors on a 9 million investment in MillennialsGeneration Zminded content house Beautycon Media amp160Beautycon specializes in fashion and beautyoriented digital media and under CEO Moj Mahdara39s leadership the company has branched out from Internet sites and videos to community events amp160Lifetime will explore a number of relationship pathways on and off TV with Beautyconamp160 Grade 4 JacksOverall Grade amp1604 Jacksamp160 One of the more personal and intimate events of this nature in several years thanks to the monologue approach that combined life stories with how TV shapes those lives It took courage on the part of some AE executives to go public about difficult aspects of their own livesNext up Scripps Networks InteractiveA quick review of our Jacks scaleamp160 5 Jacks amp8211 Excellent 4 Jacks Very Good 3 Jacks amp8211 Good 2 Jacks amp8211 Fair 1 Jack amp8211 Poor 0 Jacks Don39t go therePhotos courtesy of AE Networks Credit for photo at top D Dipasupil Getty Image Others Nicholas Hunt Getty ImageClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated bloggersamp160

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A+E Networks Goes Full-On “Biography" Mode – Upfront News and Views

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A+E Networks Goes Full-On “Biography" Mode – Upfront News and Views

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